Flight training at WINGS Flight School

Ten aircraft priced per tail across a wide band, all of them 172s bar the two-seat 150. Two simulators are published separately, a motion DCX-MAX at $80/hr and a CR-12 at $55/hr, and the site notes how much simulator time each of Part 61 and Part 141 allows. The rate page does not say whether fuel is included.

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

   Do the published aircraft rates include fuel, or is fuel billed separately?

   The site does not say, and it is the difference between two rates that look identical and are not.

4. 4

   What does instruction cost per hour?Missing from their site

   Ten aircraft and two simulators are priced to the dollar and instruction is not priced at all.

5. 5

   Do you train under Part 61 or Part 141, and which would apply to me?

   Your simulator page cites allowances under both, so the choice is presumably available, and it changes the minimum hours.

6. 6

   Is there a block or member rate below the regular rate?

   The fleet page is headed "Regular Rate", which usually implies another one exists.

7. 7

   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.

8. 8

   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.

9. 9

   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 WINGS'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. WINGS is not in it.

What we checked

Ten aircraft priced per tail at Nut Tree Airport, from a $126 two-seater to a $203 172SP, plus two simulators. The column is headed "Regular Rate", which suggests a block or member rate exists somewhere unpublished. No instruction rate. Checked August 6, 2026.