Rates partly published · Palo Alto & San Carlos, CA
Flight training at West Valley Flying Club
No aircraft rate or instructor rate. West Valley publishes rates for all 21 of its airplanes and nothing for the airplanes or instruction, so there is no total on this page.
Checked August 6, 2026 against West Valley Flying Club training aircraft page.
- Based at
- Palo Alto Airport (also based at San Carlos, KSQL)(PAO)
- FAA part
- Not stated on their site
- Phone
- (650) 856-2030
- Website
- wvfc.org
Section 1What is published
West Valley's own figures
Checked September 9, 2026 · Source
| Aircraft | Published rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cessna C182S Skylane (N727VT)1999 | $255/hr | Wet. 1999. Palo Alto. High performance. |
| Cessna C182T G1000 Skylane (N2463S)2005 | $265/hr | Wet. 2005. San Carlos. High performance. |
| Cessna C182T Skylane (N53KP)2005 | $280/hr | Wet. 2005. Palo Alto. High performance. |
| Cessna C182T G1000 Skylane (N324RP)2004 | $290/hr | Wet. 2004. Palo Alto. High performance. |
| Cessna C182T G1000 Skylane (N65504) | $290/hr | Wet. 2004. Palo Alto. High performance. |
| Piper PA28-236 Dakota (N3038B)1978 | $300/hr | Wet. 1979. San Carlos. High performance. |
| Cessna C182T G1000 Skylane (N456CS)2016 | $305/hr | Wet. 2016. Palo Alto. High performance. |
| Cirrus SR20G3 G1000 (N654TR)2012 | $325/hr | Wet. 2012. Palo Alto. |
| Cessna C182T G1000 Skylane (N945G)2019 | $333/hr | Wet. 2019. Palo Alto. High performance. |
| Cessna C182T G1000 Skylane (N285CS)2020 | $335/hr | Wet. 2020. Palo Alto. High performance. |
| Cirrus SR20G6 G1000 (N816CT)2018 | $350/hr | Wet. 2018. Palo Alto. |
| Cirrus SR20G6 G1000 (N76JF)2022 | $355/hr | Wet. 2022. Palo Alto. |
| Cessna C182T G1000 Skylane (N32LP)2025 | $360/hr | Wet. 2025. Palo Alto. High performance. |
| Cirrus SR20G6 G1000 (N784DS)2021 | $360/hr | Wet. 2021. Palo Alto. |
| Piper PA32-301 Saratoga (N335MD)1982 | $369/hr | Wet. 1982. Palo Alto. High performance, six seats. |
| Cirrus SR22G5 G1000 (N413AK)2016 | $465/hr | Wet. 2016. Palo Alto. |
| Cessna CT206H G1000 Stationair (N95LG)2019 | $475/hr | Wet. 2019. Palo Alto. High performance, six seats. |
| Cirrus SR22G6 G1000 (N472KE)2019 | $480/hr | Wet. 2019. San Carlos. |
| Cirrus SR22G6 G1000 (N122BM)2017 | $490/hr | Wet. 2017. Palo Alto. |
| Piper PA46-310P Malibu (N28BR)1986 | $525/hr | Wet. 1986. Palo Alto. Pressurised, high performance. |
| Cirrus SR22TG7 G1000 (N101TP)2025 | $650/hr | Wet. 2025. Palo Alto. The most expensive aircraft in the club. |
Airframes built 1978 to 2025. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read September 20, 2026.
Twenty-one advanced aircraft are priced to the tail and the dollar, all wet, and every one of them is a Skylane or bigger. None is a primary trainer, so the figure a student starting from zero would pay is not among them: the trainers are described only as a range, from about $120 an hour to around $300, with worked examples at $149 for a Cessna 152, $229 for a 172S and $249 for a 172S with G1000. This is a two-base club at Palo Alto and San Carlos, so the aircraft you fly depends on which field you join at, and dues are on top of every rate here.
Section 2Why there is no total
An estimate needs an aircraft rate and an instructor rate.
A training total is hours multiplied by rates. With the airplanes or 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.
Aircraft rateMissing from their site
The airplane is the biggest line on a training bill.
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 West Valley's rates. The middle of what 63 California schools charge, to hold your phone quote against.
- Trainer, medianWhat the airplane costsRange $95 to $269 per hour.
- $159
- Instruction, medianWhat the instructor costsAcross 63 schools with published rates.
- $80
From the schools here that publish full rate cards, the same sample behind the Flight Training Cost Report. West Valley is not in it.
Section 3Paying 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 for46 open to anyone, plus 1 in California. Top awards reach $22,200.
- Hiller Aviation Museum Flight Training Scholarship$15,000 · San Francisco Bay Area · Opens Feb 5, 2027
- 47
- 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
Section 4What to ask
What to ask when you call
The marked ones are what West Valley's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.
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.
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.
What is the hourly rate on your cheapest trainer, and which airplane is that?Missing from their site
This is the number that is missing from the site, and it is the largest line on your bill.
Is that rate wet or dry, meaning does it include fuel?Missing from their site
A dry rate and a wet rate are not comparable. Dry rates can run $40 to $60 an hour lower for the same airplane.
What does each TRAINER rent for, tail by tail, the way you publish the advanced fleet?Missing from their site
The advanced aircraft are priced individually and publicly. The 152s and 172s a new student would actually fly are given only as a range and a few examples.
Which instructors are taking new students, and what do they charge?Missing from their site
The club has more than forty instructors who are independent contractors setting their own rates, paid directly rather than through the club, so there is no single number to budget against.
What does membership cost, and do I pay dues for the whole of my training?Missing from their site
Dues are charged on top of every hourly rate here, and the club's own cost examples add them for the full length of a course.
Do I join at Palo Alto or San Carlos, and can I fly aircraft based at the other field?
The fleet is split across two airports and most of it sits at Palo Alto.
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.
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.
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 numbers over and West Valley Flying Club gets a full listing with an estimate, marked as sourced by phone on the date you called.
Send what they told youSection 5Nearby schools
3 other schools fly from Palo Alto Airport.
2 of them publish at least one rate. PAO is the identifier to give when you ask.
- Stanford Flying ClubFull rate card, Cessna 162 Skycatcher at $174/hr and $110/hr instructionPalo Alto
- Advantage AviationPublishes a $155/hr aircraft rate, no instructor ratePalo Alto
- Sundance Flying Club, IncPublishes no ratesPalo Alto
63 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.
- Above All AviationSanta Barbara, CA · Checked September 16, 2026$154/hr$104 to $124/hr instruction
- Aces High AviationLong Beach, CA · Checked September 16, 2026$140/hr$90 to $100/hr instruction
- Aero AviationLong Beach, CA · Checked September 10, 2026$135/hr$100 to $120/hr instruction
- AeroDynamic AviationSan Jose, CA · Checked September 16, 2026$143/hr$82/hr instruction
- Air Paso Flight ServicesPaso Robles, CA · Checked September 16, 2026$125/hr$95/hr instruction
- Ascent Aviation AcademyVan Nuys, CA · Checked August 20, 2026$145/hr$75/hr instruction
Section 6Sources
- That the school exists
- West Valley Flying Club training aircraft pageChecked August 6, 2026
- The rates above
- West Valley Flying Club advanced aircraft ratesChecked September 9, 2026
Are you West Valley Flying Club? Send your rate card and this becomes a full listing with an estimate, free. Or have it removed.
This page says these are not stated on your site. Send us where each one is published and it shows here instead.
PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by West Valley Flying Club. 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
- 30 DAY CFI Flight Training Academy · Van Nuys
- A.F.I.T. Accelerated Flight and Instrument Training · Newport Beach
- Above All Aviation · Santa Barbara
- Acampo Flying Club · Acampo
- Aces High Aviation · Long Beach
- ActivePILOT Flight Academy · Van Nuys
- Advantage Aviation · Palo Alto
- Adventure Air · Chino
- Adventure Flight · Lincoln
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