Pricing
Honest numbers.
Nothing hidden.
Flight schools bundle, mark up, and bill you handshake to handshake. We keep it simple: you pay your instructor for engine-on Hobbs time only, and you rent the airplane straight from a flying club. Every dollar you spend is an hour you can log.
Discovery Flight
Your first hour in the air, on the controls, with a CFI beside you. The best $160 you'll ever spend on figuring out what you want.
- ~1 hour flight experience
- You fly the airplane
- Pre-flight walkthrough included
- Counts toward your license
Flight Instruction
Independent FAA-certified instruction at a rate flight schools won't touch. Billed on Hobbs time only: no extra charge for pre-trip, pre-flight briefing and post flight debrief.
- Every rating: PPL through multi-engine
- You only pay for loggable engine-on time
- No extra charge for pre-trip, pre-flight briefing and post flight debrief
- Pay as you fly. No contracts, no blocks
Aircraft Rental
Rent well-maintained trainers directly from partnered flying clubs. No school markup between you and the airplane.
- Cessna 152 at $120/hr wet
- Cessna 172 with GPS: $160/hr wet
- Rented at club rates, not school rates
- Rates vary by aircraft and club*
Redbird FMX Simulator
Full-motion FAA-approved AATD. Build confidence, sharpen procedures, and fly practice approaches in a realistic, controlled environment. Instruction and simulator fees included.
- Instruction and simulator fees included
- Full-motion platform
- Loggable time toward ratings
- Any approach, any weather, any time
- Perfect for instrument training
*Aircraft rentals are provided by participating flying clubs. Rental rates vary by aircraft and club.
See what you'd save
Pick your trainer and drag to your estimated hours. The FAA minimum for a private pilot license is 40, but most students finish between 55 and 75.
And that's before billing style: schools charge handshake to handshake, so 20 to 30 minutes of every lesson is instructor time you pay for on the ground. Here, there's no extra charge for briefings and you pay for Hobbs time only.
*Estimates based on typical area rates. Aircraft rentals are provided by participating flying clubs; rental rates vary by aircraft and club.
Do the math
Here's what one training hour looks like with a school's markup on every line, versus paying each piece at its real price:
Typical Flight School
- Instructor$75–$90/hr
- Aircraft rental (marked up)$165–$195/hr
- Billed handshake to handshake+20–30 min/lesson
- Total$260+/hr
Aces Aviators
- Independent instruction$40/hr
- Club aircraft rental*Cessna 152 $120/hr wet
Cessna 172 $160/hr wet - Hobbs time only, briefings included$0 extra
- Totalfrom $160/hr
That's $120/hr wet in the Cessna 152, or $160/hr wet in the GPS-equipped Cessna 172, plus $40/hr for your instructor. Over a typical 60–70 hour private pilot course, that difference is thousands of dollars staying in your pocket.
