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Flight training at Flying Particles

Livermore, CA · Rates partly published

No instructor rate. Flying Particles publishes rates for all 7 of its airplanes and nothing for instruction, so there is no total on this page.

Checked October 16, 2026 against Flying Particles membership page, a nonprofit club at Livermore (KLVK) open to student pilots.

Based at
Livermore Municipal Airport(LVK)
FAA part
Not stated on their site
Trains
PPL
Website
flyingparticles.org

What is published

Flying Particles's own figures

Checked October 16, 2026 · Source

Flying Particles published aircraft rates
AircraftPublished rateNotes
Cessna 172N (N733BE, 1977)1976$155/hrWet, per tach hour, plus $13 per half day.
Piper Warrior II (N2933A, 1979)1979$155/hrWet, per tach hour, plus $13.50 per half day.
Piper Archer II (N5525V, 1977)$155/hrWet, per tach hour, plus $13.50 per half day.
Piper Archer II (N9658K, 1976)1976$165/hrWet, per tach hour, plus $13.50 per half day.
Mooney M20J (N5772R, 1985)1984$180/hrWet, per tach hour, plus $18.50 per half day. Retractable, GTN 750.
Cessna 182P (N100FP, 1974)1974$185/hrWet, per tach hour, plus $18 per half day. High performance.
Cessna 182Q (N1080M, 1978)1977$195/hrWet, per tach hour, plus $18 per half day. GTN 650, autopilot.

Airframes built 1974 to 1984. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read October 21, 2026.

Rates are per tach hour, which runs below the Hobbs time most schools bill, and each airplane adds a small charge per half day. A members-only club open to the public: $95 a month with a $2,500 initiation fee that is refunded when you leave. Student pilots join and train with one of the club's instructors, who set their own rates.

Why there is no total

An estimate needs an instructor rate.

A training total is hours multiplied by rates. With instruction unpriced there is nothing to multiply, and we will not fill the gap with a plausible number: every figure on this site carries a link that shows it today.

  • Instructor rateMissing from their site

    Instruction is the second biggest line on a training bill, after the airplane.

What to compare their answer against

Not Flying Particles's rates. The middle of what 65 California schools charge, to hold your phone quote against.

Trainer, medianWhat the airplane costsRange $95 to $269 per hour.
$160
Instruction, medianWhat the instructor costsAcross 65 schools with published rates.
$80

From the schools here that publish full rate cards, the same sample behind the Flight Training Cost Report. Flying Particles is not in it.

Paying for it

Two ways to pay for it.

Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left. Neither figure assumes anything about you: one is what our scholarship directory holds, the other is what the lenders publish.

Money you keepScholarships you could apply for50 open to anyone, plus 1 in California. Top awards reach $22,200.
51
Money you pay backLenders that fund flight trainingSix lenders, compared on the limits and rates they publish. That is what is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
6
See scholarshipsCompare lenders

What to ask

What to ask when you call

The marked ones are what Flying Particles's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

  1. What do you charge per hour for flight instruction, and is ground instruction billed at the same rate?Missing from their site

    This is the number that is missing from the site. Ground is often billed separately and at a different rate.

  2. Does the instructor rate change for the Instrument, Commercial, or CFI, or is it flat across everything?Missing from their site

    Plenty of schools charge more for advanced instruction. A flat rate quoted for the Private can climb later.

  3. Which club instructor would you suggest for a new student, and what does that instructor charge per hour?Missing from their site

    Club instructors are independent and the club publishes no instruction rate; a new student is asked to find one of them to train with.

  4. Do you offer block rates or prepay discounts, and what is the refund policy if I stop partway?

    Block discounts are common and rarely published. The refund terms matter more than the discount.

  5. What do you charge for the written test, the checkride, and the examiner's fee?

    The DPE fee alone runs $800 to $1,200 in most of the country and is almost never in a quoted hourly rate.

  6. How many trainers and how many full-time instructors do you have right now?

    Availability decides your pace, and pace decides your total more than the hourly rate does.

Called them? Send us what they said.

Send the number over and Flying Particles gets a full listing with an estimate, marked as sourced by phone on the date you called.

Send what they told you

In the app

Track your training at Flying Particles.

Flying Particles is in the PilotBound app. Choose Flying Particles when you set up and enter the rates it gives you; the app prices your training on them and tracks every flight you log against the projection.

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Nearby schools

4 other schools fly from Livermore Municipal Airport.

3 of them publish at least one rate. LVK is the identifier to give when you ask.

Every school in the state

65 California schools publish a full rate card.

Each one has an estimate built on its own published rates. Listed alphabetically, because ordering them by price would be a ranking this page is not making.

All California flight schools

Sources

That the school exists
Flying Particles membership page, a nonprofit club at Livermore (KLVK) open to student pilotsChecked October 16, 2026
The rates above
Flying Particles fleet pageChecked October 16, 2026

Are you Flying Particles? Send your rate card and this becomes a full listing with an estimate, free. Or have it removed.

This page says one thing is not stated on your site. Send us where it is published and it shows here instead.

  • What instruction costs per hourSend it

PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Flying Particles. School names are used only to identify the school. Rates shown are the school's own published figures with the date we checked them. This page carries no PilotBound estimate, because the school does not publish enough for one. Disclaimer & removal policy.

Other California flight schools.

All California flight schools →All Livermore flight schools →

Plan the money before you commit.

A program price only makes sense next to what each rating costs on its own, what scholarships exist, and what borrowing actually looks like.

What each rating costs

Per-rating ranges, with the fees most quotes leave out.

Scholarships first

Verified flight training scholarships. Every scholarship dollar is a dollar you never finance.

If you borrow

Compare lenders and see the real monthly payment before you sign.