Flight training at Chester Charter

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

   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.

4. 4

   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.

5. 5

   Do you train under Part 61 or Part 141?Missing from their site

   It changes the minimum hours, and for some students it changes financing eligibility.

6. 6

   Which certificates and ratings do you train all the way through, and where would I have to go elsewhere?Missing from their site

   This is the difference between one school for your whole path and switching partway.

7. 7

   Do you still run flight training, and which certificates do you train for?Missing from their site

   The site's own Flight Training link returns a 404, so the training page is either gone or moved. The footer still lists flight instruction as a service.

8. 8

   Which aeroplane would I train in? The site only shows the charter fleet.Missing from their site

   The aircraft shown are a Navajo Chieftain, Seneca Vs and a Skyhawk, presented as charter equipment. Only the Skyhawk reads like a trainer.

9. 9

   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.

10. 10

    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.

11. 11

    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 Chester Charter's rates. The middle of what 4 Connecticut 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. Chester Charter is not in it.

What we checked

Primarily a Part 135 charter operator and the FBO at Chester Airport, flying since 1958. It advertises flight instruction and aircraft rentals in its footer, but the site's own Flight Training link 404s, so there is no training page to read and no rate on any of the three pages that do exist.