Flight training at Flying Club of Kansas City

THESE RATES ARE FOR MEMBERS AND MEMBERSHIP IS EXPENSIVE. Joining costs a NON-REFUNDABLE $3,000 for an individual, plus $2,000 for each additional family member, and dues are $135 a month. Applications go to the board, which votes, followed by an interview with the club president. This is shared ownership rather than rental, which is why the hourly figures are so far below local school rates: the club states outright that you are "an owner, not a renter". Seven aeroplanes across Johnson County Executive in Kansas and Lee's Summit Municipal in Missouri.

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

   Which instructors are taking new students right now, and what does each of them charge?Missing from their site

   The club's CFIs are members, not employees, and set their own prices. The club says most charge "between $50 and $60 per hour" and that you pay them directly. A range is not a rate, and the site warns that not all instructors take new students or teach in all aircraft.

4. 4

   How long does the application and board vote take before I can start flying?

   Membership needs an application, a board vote and an interview with the president, so there is a delay between deciding to train and being able to.

5. 5

   Is any part of the $3,000 recoverable if I leave?

   The club states the joining payment is not refundable. On a Private that finishes in a year, $3,000 plus $1,620 of dues is a large fixed cost that no hourly rate shows.

6. 6

   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.

7. 7

   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.

8. 8

   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 Flying Club of KC's rates. The middle of what 4 Kansas 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. Flying Club of KC is not in it.

What we checked

Kansas City's oldest and largest flying club, seven aircraft and over 100 members, and by some distance the cheapest hourly flying in this directory: $89/hr for a 172 against $150 to $210 at the state's schools. The catch is entirely in the fixed costs, $3,000 to join and $135 a month, and in the fact that the instructors are independent members who set their own prices, so the club cannot publish an instruction rate at all. Instruction by a CFI who is not a club member is not permitted.