In setting rates both fixed and variable costs have been calculated and factored into the cost of the training. Fixed costs include hangar, insurance, and maintenance costs such as 100 hour inspections. Variable costs are items such as fuel and oil.

Investigation into what other flight training organizations charge was also done, and it was our goal to ensure that our rates were compatible with what was normal for these services. In fact, these prices are under the median for both the instructor and the aircraft, while still being enough to avoid going broke!

Instructor

Ground instruction is part of every training offering. I believe that every component of training, tailwheel or spin or anything else, starts with a thorough ground session.

  • Instructor Rate - $50/hour

Aircraft

The aircraft I currently use for instruction is a 1978 Super Decathlon which was fully restored in 2011. The Super Decathlon is a fully aerobatic capable aircraft with inverted fuel/oil, a 180HP Lycoming engine, and a constant speed propeller. It is a good tailwheel trainer, as well as being an excellent choice for spin training, upset/confidence training, and basic aerobatics.

The aircraft has a tandem seat configuration. In this configuration the student will sit in the front, and the instructor in back. This requires a thorough cockpit familiarization section since numerous critical aircraft controls can only be reached from the front seat.

Tailwheel Training

Earining a tailwheel endorsement takes a variable amount of time depending upon the skills, experience, and aptitude that the client brings into the exercise. I tell everyone that most people require between 6 and 10 hours to gain an adequate level of proficiency. For that reason I charge a la carte rather than flat-rate for tailwheel training.

  • Tailwheel- $220/hour

Spin Training

Spin training, including being given a CFI spin endorsement, is a relatively straight forward exercise. It is my intention that clients spend about an hour to hour and a half in ground instruction then approximately an hour flying. So that we are not watching the Hobbs and counting tenths, and so if a client needs to take a bit of a break in the middle of flying (which consumes some more tenths) I have made the decision that spin training uses flat-rate pricing. This keeps it simple and allows a client to take a break in the middle without worrying they are wasting time. It also protects me from a client who does that first spin or two, and has to bail out due to physiological challenges.

  • Spin Training - $350 flat-rate

If someone wants to explore spins in more depth, and I do encourage that as we get to explore alternate recoveries and improper recoveries, that training I will do a la carte at a combined aircraft/instructor rate of $270/hour.

Aerobatics Training

Aerobatics training does not guarantee any specific level of proficiency, but is geared toward simply providing the client with new expanded experiences (and hopefully some new skills). Therefore aerobatics training is also provided at a flat-rate rather than using a la carte pricing. Unlike tailwheel and spin training which has a concrete outcome (generally speaking, an endorsement) aerobatic training does not. Therefore, all I can offer are the lessons and the experiences, without any guarantee of some specific level of skill as the outcome.

What I offer is a basic aerobatics course, including spins. It is broken into four sessions, enumerated below.

  • Ground Instruction / Aileron Rolls

  • Loops (brief ground review)

  • Hammerheads (brief ground review)

  • Ground Instruction / Spins

The first and last session have significant ground instruction sessions to prepare the student to get the most out of the training flights. Each flight will have some amount of ground instruction, however, though for two flights it will be more in the form of a brief review prior to flying to refresh on material already covered.

The cost for the basic package is $350/session which, if the client flys for the full four sessions, a total of $1400. This approach spreads the cost of the ground instruction as well as the expense of the additional equipment (parachutes!) over the four sessions. It also gives clients a chance to try acro and stop short if they don’t like it without a commitment to the full $1400 price tag.