At MyFBO.com I work with hundreds of flights schools scheduling and billing thousands of flight instructors. I did a random un-official survey of flight instructor rates around the country and got the following results.
| Region | Average Rate |
| Northeast | $49.00 |
| Mid-Atlantic | $30.00 |
| South | $33.00 |
| Florida | $39.00 |
| Midwest | $33.00 |
| Southwest | $40.00 |
| So-Cal | $41.00 |
| Northwest | $40.00 |
| Nationwide Average | $38.00 |
Then I did Google® searches on instructor rates for other miscellaneous hobbies. The results are below.
| Hobby | Average Rate |
| Ballroom Dancing | $40.00 |
| SCUBA | $80.00 |
| Golf Pro | $120.00 |
| Skydive Tandem Jump | $175.00 |
| Snowboard Lesson | $80.00 |
| Average Total | $99.00 |
Personally I think these numbers say a lot. I think that almost any flight school operator reading this post could take the rate that they have on their board, multiply it by at least 1.6 and not loose a lick of business.
Wow! I used to do a lot of scuba instruction and I'm currently working (very slowly) toward a CFI rating -- maybe I should reconsider :) I taught scuba as a hobby and as a way to share my love for the sport. My reasons for wanting to be a CFI are pretty much the same. However, it sure seems to me that CFI’s are grossly underpaid.
Posted by: Mark Bennett | March 18, 2007 at 08:21 PM
One thing to keep in mind is that with other hobbies or rentals you do not have the additional cost of the aircraft to add onto your instructor rental.
Imagine having to pay $80 for the snowboard instructor and then having to rent the snowboard for $150 per hour in addition!
I think it is because of the steep price of aircraft rental flight schools do not have the privilege of adjusting their instructor rates to meet other national instructor averages. Would you pay over $200 per hour to train in a 172 or 152?
Posted by: James Knight | February 09, 2008 at 09:37 AM
How many of those other hobbies require the instructor to spend $25k+ to become qualified?
Posted by: Scott Jones | March 12, 2008 at 01:17 PM
I also seem to see that snowboarding instructors have free lodging,and in some cases free meals. What a great proffesion!! :D
Posted by: Lizzi | January 21, 2009 at 01:19 PM
The disparity between teaching to fly and teaching almost anything else is astounding and all too real. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
You can make and accept excuses like some I've read... planes cost too much or some other excuse. Straight fact is, most leisure time activities cost a good deal. Golf - memberships cost thousands, green fees cost hundreds and yet golf pros get paid a good deal to teach someone to swing a club (both feet firmly on the ground).
We charge and get $80.00 per hour for flight instruction and do it aircraft costing $189.00 per hour to rent (dry). Why? Because we focus on quality. We provide value for the money. Our clients love us and we feel the same about them.
You love flying, are excited about sharing that love with others, are enthusiastic about aviation, want to help others learn the sheer joy of climbing up into the sunlight and soaring above the clouds???
Do what you love, provide quality and value and the rest will follow. Don't be embarassed about asking a fair price for your service. Read those price comparisons carefully and act accordingly
Posted by: Rick Wright | February 23, 2009 at 03:32 PM
Rick is right. We have no one to blame but ourselves if we do not charge what we are worth. I own a flight school staffed only by highly experienced Flight Instructors. When I say that, none of my Instructors have less than 1000 dual given and some a great deal more. We charge higher rates because of that experience. Our business is word of mouth largly and we are having no trouble getting higher rates because of the experience and safety of our Instructors. This even with our aircraft cost at $150.00 an hour wet. People like a quality safe product and that is what we provide.
Posted by: Robert | October 23, 2009 at 01:24 PM