PilotBound

Rates partly published · Sauget, IL

Flight training at STL Flight Training

No instructor rate. STL Flight publishes rates for all 2 of its airplanes and nothing for instruction, so there is no total on this page.

Checked August 9, 2026 against STL Flight Training home page.

Based at
St. Louis Downtown Airport(CPS)
FAA part
Part 61
Trains
PPL · IR · CPL · CFI · CFII
Website
stlflight.com

Section 1What is published

STL Flight's own figures

Checked August 20, 2026 · Source

STL Flight Training published aircraft rates
AircraftPublished rateNotes
Cessna 172$185/hrWet, with no tax or fuel surcharge on top.
Evektor Harmony$199/hrLight sport. Wet. $185/hr on a 10-hour block bought by bank transfer; card payments do not get the block rate.

A Redbird MCX simulator is $95/hr for students and $125/hr otherwise. STL Flight publishes whole-certificate ranges rather than an instruction rate: about $11,000 to $15,000 for the Private, about $7,000 for the Instrument, about $7,000 for the Commercial and about $2,000 to $6,000 for the CFI and CFII.

Section 2Why 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 STL Flight's rates. The middle of what 14 Illinois schools charge, to hold your phone quote against.

Trainer, medianWhat the airplane costsRange $130 to $430 per hour.
$159
Instruction, medianWhat the instructor costsAcross 14 schools with published rates.
$65

From the schools here that publish full rate cards, the same sample behind the Flight Training Cost Report. STL Flight 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. Top awards reach $22,200.No Illinois-only awards in the directory yet.
46
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

Section 4What to ask

What to ask when you call

The marked ones are what STL Flight'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. What is the hourly instruction rate, and is ground billed at the same rate?Missing from their site

    Both airplane rates are published plainly and no page prices the instructor, including the rentals page and the online store.

  4. Does the Illinois base or the Chesterfield, Missouri base have the airplane I would train in?

    STL Flight runs two locations across a state line, and the rate page does not say which airplane sits where.

  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. 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. 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 STL Flight Training gets a full listing with an estimate, marked as sourced by phone on the date you called.

Send what they told you

Section 5Nearby schools

One other school flies from St. Louis Downtown Airport.

It does not publish a rate either, so that one is a phone call too. CPS is the identifier to give when you ask.

Every school in the state

14 Illinois 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 Illinois flight schools

Section 6Sources

That the school exists
STL Flight Training home pageChecked August 9, 2026
The rates above
STL Flight Training ratesChecked August 20, 2026

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

PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by STL Flight Training. 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 Illinois flight schools

All Illinois flight schools

Plan the money before you commit

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

What each rating costs

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

Free money 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.