How much does a flying club cost? Dues, joining fees and the real hourly rate at 17 clubs

A flying club is the cheapest way most pilots get regular access to an aircraft, but its price is never one number. You pay dues whether you fly or not, an hourly rate when you do, and often a fee to get in. Which club is cheapest therefore depends on how much you fly. We read the rates and membership pages of 17 member-owned flying clubs — nine in the United States, four in the United Kingdom, and four in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany — and worked out what an hour really costs.

Short answer: a flying club charges dues plus an hourly rate for the aircraft. The eight US clubs we checked that publish their dues charge $50 to $230 a month and rent a Cessna 172 or Piper PA-28 for $80 (dry) to $175 (wet) an hour. Spread over the hours you fly, the dues decide what an hour really costs: at 25 hours a year they add $24 to $110 to every hour, at 100 hours only $6 to $28. Ten of the 17 clubs also charge a one-off joining, initiation or application fee — $100 to $1,000 at the US clubs.

What a flying club charges its members

Every one of the 17 clubs charges two things, and most charge a third:

• Dues. All 17 clubs charge recurring dues. The eight US clubs that publish an amount charge them monthly, from $50 (Hokie Flying Club, Oregon State Flying Club) to $230 (Westchester Flying Club). The British and continental clubs mostly charge a yearly subscription: seven of them yearly, KLM Aeroclub per quarter.
• An hourly rate for the aircraft, on the Tach (Tacho) or Hobbs meter, usually wet — fuel included. Which meter a club bills on changes what an hour costs; nine of the 17 bill on Tach and three on Hobbs.
• One-off fees. Ten clubs ask a joining, initiation or application fee, four a deposit (refundable at three of them), and three set a minimum, such as an hour charged for a day away.

The full list of fees per club — dues, joining fee, deposit and minimum, with a link to each club's page — is in the fee table on our billing guide.

What an hour really costs at a flying club

The hourly rate on a club's website is not what an hour costs you. A year of dues spread over the hours you fly sits on top of it, and the fewer hours you fly, the heavier that weighs.

What one hour costs a member at eight US flying clubs, dues included

• Hourly rate
• Dues spread over the hours flown

Club	Per hour at 25 hours a year	Per hour at 50 hours a year	Per hour at 100 hours a year
TSS Flying Club — $175 an hour (wet) + $2,160 dues a year	25 h $261	50 h $218	100 h $197
Westchester Flying Club — $144 an hour (wet) + $2,760 dues a year	25 h $254	50 h $199	100 h $172
FAA Flying Club — $150 an hour (wet) + $1,500 dues a year	25 h $210	50 h $180	100 h $165
Oregon State Flying Club — $155 an hour (wet) + $600 dues a year	25 h $179	50 h $167	100 h $161
Skyhawk Flying Club — $105 an hour (wet) + $1,620 dues a year	25 h $170	50 h $137	100 h $121
Fox Flying Club — $104 an hour (fuel not stated) + $1,200 dues a year	25 h $152	50 h $128	100 h $116
Mitchell Flying Club — $80 an hour (dry, fuel extra) + $1,560 dues a year	25 h $142	50 h $111	100 h $96
Hokie Flying Club — $94 an hour (wet) + $600 dues a year	25 h $118	50 h $106	100 h $100

Westchester Flying Club shows it most clearly. Its Piper Archer costs $144 an hour, but with $230 a month in dues a member who flies 25 hours a year pays $254 for every hour, and one who flies 100 hours pays $172. At Hokie Flying Club, with $50 a month in dues, the same hours cost $118 and $100.

That also means the cheapest club depends on your hours. Oregon State Flying Club charges $155 an hour and $50 a month; Skyhawk Flying Club $105 an hour and $135 a month. Below about 20 hours a year Oregon State's lower dues win; above that Skyhawk's lower rate does. If you fly little, compare dues first; if you fly a lot, compare the rate.

The real hourly rate at 14 clubs, in three currencies

The real hourly cost at 14 flying clubs, at 25, 50, 100 hours a year

Club	Hourly rate	Dues a year	Per hour, 25 h	Per hour, 50 h	Per hour, 100 h	First year, 50 h
Hokie Flying ClubUSA	Rate: $94.39 per tach hour (Cessna 172M)wet	Dues a year: $600	Per hour at 25 h: $118	Per hour at 50 h: $106	Per hour at 100 h: $100	First year, 50 h: $5,520
Mitchell Flying ClubUSA	Rate: $80 per hour, dry (Cessna 172R)dry, fuel extra	Dues a year: $1,560	Per hour at 25 h: $142	Per hour at 50 h: $111	Per hour at 100 h: $96	First year, 50 h: $6,560
Fox Flying ClubUSA	Rate: $104 per tach hour (Cessna 172)fuel not stated	Dues a year: $1,200	Per hour at 25 h: $152	Per hour at 50 h: $128	Per hour at 100 h: $116	First year, 50 h: $6,750
Skyhawk Flying ClubUSA	Rate: $105 per hour (Cessna 172)wet	Dues a year: $1,620	Per hour at 25 h: $170	Per hour at 50 h: $137	Per hour at 100 h: $121	First year, 50 h: No joining amount
Oregon State Flying ClubUSA	Rate: $155 per hour (Cessna 172M)wet	Dues a year: $600	Per hour at 25 h: $179	Per hour at 50 h: $167	Per hour at 100 h: $161	First year, 50 h: $8,650
FAA Flying ClubUSA	Rate: $150 per tach hour (PA-28-151)wet	Dues a year: $1,500	Per hour at 25 h: $210	Per hour at 50 h: $180	Per hour at 100 h: $165	First year, 50 h: No joining amount
Westchester Flying ClubUSA	Rate: $144 per tach hour (PA-28-181 Archer)wet	Dues a year: $2,760	Per hour at 25 h: $254	Per hour at 50 h: $199	Per hour at 100 h: $172	First year, 50 h: No joining amount
TSS Flying ClubUSA	Rate: $175 per tach hour (Cessna 172S)wet	Dues a year: $2,160	Per hour at 25 h: $261	Per hour at 50 h: $218	Per hour at 100 h: $197	First year, 50 h: $11,010
Bristol Aero ClubUK	Rate: £190 per hour solo hire (Piper PA-28)fuel not stated	Dues a year: £100	Per hour at 25 h: £194	Per hour at 50 h: £192	Per hour at 100 h: £191	First year, 50 h: No joining amount
Civil Service Flying ClubUK	Rate: £247 incl. VAT per tacho hour (Cessna 172)fuel not stated	Dues a year: £25	Per hour at 25 h: £248	Per hour at 50 h: £248	Per hour at 100 h: £247	First year, 50 h: No joining amount
Vliegclub TwenteNetherlands	Rate: €169 per hour (Cessna 172)fuel not stated	Dues a year: €1,030	Per hour at 25 h: €210	Per hour at 50 h: €190	Per hour at 100 h: €179	First year, 50 h: €9,740
Fliegerclub NürnbergGermany	Rate: €189 per hour (Cessna 172 TDI)wet	Dues a year: €940	Per hour at 25 h: €227	Per hour at 50 h: €208	Per hour at 100 h: €198	First year, 50 h: No joining amount
Sabena AeroclubBelgium	Rate: €216 per hour (Piper Archer III)wet	Dues a year: €210	Per hour at 25 h: €224	Per hour at 50 h: €220	Per hour at 100 h: €218	First year, 50 h: €11,260
KLM AeroclubNetherlands	Rate: €220 per flight hour (Cessna 172P)fuel not stated	Dues a year: €330	Per hour at 25 h: €233	Per hour at 50 h: €227	Per hour at 100 h: €223	First year, 50 h: No joining amount

The British and continental clubs price the other way round: low yearly dues and a higher hourly rate, so an hour costs nearly the same however much you fly. The Civil Service Flying Club charges £25 a year in standard membership — £1 an hour at 25 hours — and £247 per tacho hour including VAT. Bristol Aero Club charges £100 a year and £190 an hour for solo hire.

The exception is Vliegclub Twente in the Netherlands: €160 a year in membership plus €870 a year for use of the club aircraft, settled monthly. That makes it behave like a US club — €210 an hour at 25 hours, €179 at 100 — even though its hourly rate, €169 for a Cessna 172, is the lowest of the continental clubs.

What you pay before your first flight

Joining fees and deposits come on top of the first year. As each club states them on its own page:

• TSS Flying Club: $100 application fee (non-refundable) and a $1,200 refundable deposit.
• Fox Flying Club: $350 initiation fee.
• Mitchell Flying Club: $1,000 initiation fee, non-refundable.
• Hokie Flying Club: $200 initiation fee ($100 for student pilots) and a refundable deposit of $400 or $800 depending on the aircraft.
• Oregon State Flying Club: $300 initiation fee ($150 for full-time students).
• FAA Flying Club: a $500 deposit per aircraft ($1,500), non-refundable.
• Southport and Merseyside Aero Club: £830 one-off joining fee.
• Vliegclub Twente: €260 entrance fee; Sabena Aeroclub: a one-off contribution of €250.

Skyhawk Flying Club asks a fractional ownership buy-in and International Flying Club an application fee and a refundable security deposit, without naming the amounts. Counting the joining fee, a year of dues and 50 hours of flying, a first year costs $5,520 at Hokie Flying Club and $11,010 at TSS Flying Club. Six of the clubs also ask for a checkout or recent flying before a member may book; the booking rules the 17 clubs publish are compared on our scheduling guide.

Flying club, partnership or your own aircraft?

Between them, a club's dues and hourly rate pay for the aircraft itself: its insurance, its hangar, its engine reserve and the fact that someone bought it. A partnership or your own aircraft puts those costs on you directly.

Our aircraft ownership cost calculator shows the comparison. A new Cessna 172S shared by four owners who each fly 40 hours a year costs each owner about $178 per hour they fly, counting hangarage, the annual inspection, the engine overhaul reserve, fuel, oil, maintenance and the other running costs — but not depreciation or insurance, which depend on the price you pay. On a new aircraft the calculator's default depreciation and insurance add about $190 an hour per owner on top. Flying the same aircraft alone, the running costs alone come to about $402 an hour. What owning one costs per year, per month and per hour flown, line by line, is in how much it costs to own a plane.

So a four-way partnership in a new aircraft is not cheaper per hour than a club. It becomes competitive with an older, cheaper airframe, with more hours per owner, or when what you pay for is not the hour but the availability: an aircraft that is free when you want it, equipped the way you want it. The partnership guide has the cost per owner for one to six owners, and the calculator runs it for 33 aircraft types and your own hours.

If you run the club: billing dues and hours

Every club above bills two different things: a fixed amount per member per period, and a rate per hour on the meter. The FAA Flying Club writes that its dues "are used to cover the fixed costs"; the hourly rate pays for what grows with every hour flown. How the clubs turn that into a bill — monthly statements, hours paid in advance, late fees — is on our flying club billing guide. Setting up a new club? How to start a flying club works out the dues and hourly rate for one aircraft at 10 to 30 members.

In Pilot-Next, each settled flight is invoiced to the pilot's account at the club's own rate, on Hobbs or Tacho, and dues or a joining fee are booked by an admin as a charge on the member's account. The account shows each member every charge and payment.

Rates and fees as each club published them on its own website, read on 6 October 2026 and re-read on 16 October 2026; amounts are in the club's own currency and year. They show how clubs price — check the club's own page before you join.