Pricing & FAQ

Discovery Flight

Wondering what it’s like to fly an airplane? You can do a Discovery Flight with us! 

Discovery Flights include:

  • Free instruction on the ground learning about the airplane and its controls, and what it takes to earn a pilot license.
  • Flight time during which you can fly the airplane! Your instructor will do the takeoff (unless you want to try it) and the landing. 
  • Flight time is $255 per hour, based on the 1/10th hour as displayed on the aircraft hour meter (Hobbs meter).

Instruction

  • $70 per hour for ground instruction and flight instruction.

Airplane Rental

Our Cessna 172C is $185 per hour (Hobbs), tax and fuel included.  The airplane is furnished with life vests and a four-man life raft that has a survival kit included.

Visiting pilots who wish to fly without our instructor on board

Visiting Pilots planning to rent without our instructor on board require:

  • A minimum of 500 hours and an instrument rating.  They must present their pilot certificate, government issued photo ID, logbook showing a current flight review, and must have a current medical certificate or proof of current Basic Med.
  • Proof of non-owned aircraft (renter’s) insurance.
  • Credit card on file.   
  • Rental application and liability release forms must be signed. 
  • Renters without an instructor on board will be responsible for minor damage and insurance deductibles unless an accident is clearly not your fault (such as engine failure).
  • A checkout including approximately one hour of ground instruction and a flight to demonstrate your proficiency. Passing the checkout flight is not guaranteed.  

We strongly suggest doing your flying here  with our instructor, as he has local knowledge of weather and procedures. He can handle the radios and suggest the most direct way to see the coolest sights here, tell you a bit about local history and what you are seeing, and take the controls when you want to take photos. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What does it take to earn a pilot license?

The FAA requires a minimum of 40 hours of flight training which includes time flying with an instructor, and when you’re ready, flying by yourself to practice.  You’ll need to take a ground school course to learn the rules, basics about airplanes and how they work, and other subjects. The ground school will prepare you for the “knowledge test” which is a written test you’ll take at an FAA authorized testing site.  At the end of your training, you’ll take a practical test (also called a check ride) to demonstrate to an FAA authorized examiner that you are proficient in your knowledge and flying skills.

Most people aren’t quite proficient enough at 40 hours to take the test, and the national average is somewhere between 50 and 70 hours of flight time for passing the check ride.  It all depends on how much you study, your aptitude (some people simply learn faster than others), and how often you fly. Flying infrequently will cause you to have more hours logged  before you’re proficient enough to take your checkride. 

2. What does a Private Pilot License allow me to do?

Having a Private Pilot License  lets you fly a single engine airplane with passengers anywhere you want to go, day or night. You’ll be restricted to good weather unless you subsequently earn an Instrument Rating which will allow you to fly inside clouds. The Private Pilot License is much like your driver’s license in that it allows you to share costs with your passengers, but you can’t make money with it. 

3. I can't afford to buy an airplane, so how do I keep flying when i earn my license?

Most airports across the USA have businesses which will rent  airplanes to you after you do a checkout in their airplane with one of their instructors. Many pilots have also found that pooling their resources allows them to buy an airplane and share it in either a partnership or by forming a flying club. That allows their flying costs to be substantially less than renting an airplane would be. The most expensive part of airplane ownership is maintenance costs, and spreading the costs among  several people makes it much more affordable.