Rates partly published · Clear Lake, IA
Flight training at North Iowa Air Service
No instructor rate. North Iowa Air publishes rates for all 4 of its airplanes and nothing for instruction, so there is no total on this page.
Checked September 13, 2026 against North Iowa Air Service aircraft rental page.
- Based at
- Mason City Municipal Airport(MCW)
- FAA part
- Not stated on their site
- Phone
- 641-424-9366
- Website
- northiowaair.com
Section 1What is published
North Iowa Air's own figures
Checked September 13, 2026 · Source
| Aircraft | Published rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Piper Cherokee PA28-140 (N4361X)1975 | $155/hr | 125 mph cruise, four seats. |
| Piper Cherokee PA28-140 (N131LR)1974 | $155/hr | 125 mph cruise, four seats. |
| Piper Cherokee PA28-151 (N2122J)1978 | $165/hr | 125 mph cruise, four seats. |
| Piper Cherokee PA28-180 (N3053E)1978 | $170/hr | The faster airframe, 150 mph cruise. |
Airframes built 1974 to 1978. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read September 20, 2026.
Rates are wet, and fuel bought away from base is reimbursed against a receipt. The same company runs a third base at Ames under the name Central Iowa Air Service, which does publish an instructor rate; whether that rate also applies at Mason City and Charles City is not stated anywhere.
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 North Iowa Air's rates. The middle of what 7 Iowa schools charge, to hold your phone quote against.
- Trainer, medianWhat the airplane costsRange $91 to $190 per hour.
- $165
- Instruction, medianWhat the instructor costsAcross 7 schools with published rates.
- $60
From the schools here that publish full rate cards, the same sample behind the Flight Training Cost Report. North Iowa Air 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 Iowa-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
Section 4What to ask
What to ask when you call
The marked ones are what North Iowa Air'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.
Is instruction at Mason City the same $60/hr you publish for Ames, or a different rate?Missing from their site
The company publishes one instructor rate, and only on the Central Iowa Air Service page. Nothing says it carries across the three bases.
Which of these airplanes is based at Charles City rather than Mason City?
The rental table marks the Ames airplanes but does not separate the other two fields, and a 40 minute drive to reach your airplane changes how a training schedule works.
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 number over and North Iowa Air Service gets a full listing with an estimate, marked as sourced by phone on the date you called.
Send what they told youSection 5Nearby schools
7 Iowa 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.
- Central Iowa Air ServiceAmes, IA · Checked September 8, 2026$165/hr$60/hr instruction
- Classic AviationPella, IA · Checked September 8, 2026$165/hr$60 to $120/hr instruction
- Exec 1 AviationAnkeny, IA · Checked September 9, 2026$190/hr$55/hr instruction
- Green Castle Aero ClubOxford, IA · Checked September 5, 2026$150/hr$50/hr instruction
- Livingston AviationWaterloo, IA · Checked September 8, 2026$91/hr$45/hr instruction
- US Flight CoDes Moines, IA · Checked September 8, 2026$190/hr$65/hr instruction
Section 6Sources
- That the school exists
- North Iowa Air Service aircraft rental pageChecked September 13, 2026
- The rates above
- North Iowa Air Service rental tableChecked September 13, 2026
Are you North Iowa Air Service? Send your rate card and this becomes a full listing with an estimate, free. Or have it removed.
This page says one thing is not stated on your site. Send us where it is published and it shows here instead.
- What instruction costs per hourSend it
PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by North Iowa Air Service. 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 Iowa flight schools
- Advance Aviation · Monticello
- AirFlair · Maurice
- Carroll Aviation · Carroll
- Centerville AIR Techs · Centerville
- Central Iowa Air Service · Ames
- Classic Aviation · Pella
- Estherville Aviation · Estherville
- Exec 1 Aviation · Ankeny
- Farnham Aviation Services · Boone
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