Flight training at North Coast Air

All rates are wet. The figures are published to the cent rather than rounded, which usually means a base rate with a fuel or tax adjustment applied on top, so ask what the components are before assuming the number is fixed.

1. 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. 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. 3

   Your rates are quoted to the cent. Is that a base rate plus a fuel adjustment, and does it move month to month?

   A rate that ends in .20 or .70 is usually calculated rather than set, which means it can change without the page changing.

4. 4

   What does multi instruction cost in the Baron, and is a separate multi instructor rate charged?

   The Baron is published at $485/hr, so multi instruction on top is the single biggest line in a multi rating here.

5. 5

   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.

6. 6

   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.

7. 7

   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.

What to compare their answer against

Not North Coast Air's rates. The middle of what 60 California schools charge, to hold your phone quote against.

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

What we checked

Nine aircraft priced wet, from a light-sport Tecnam through to a Baron twin, with a turbocharged retractable Skylane covering the complex time in between. No instruction rate anywhere on the site. The rates are quoted to the cent, which is unusual and suggests they are computed rather than posted. Checked August 6, 2026.