Rates partly published · Topeka, KS
Flight training at Top Aviation Services
No instructor rate. Top Aviation 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 Top Aviation Services program costs.
- Based at
- Philip Billard Municipal Airport(TOP)
- FAA part
- Part 61
- Trains
- PPL · IR · CPL
- Phone
- 785-251-3325
- Website
- goflytopeka.com
Section 1What is published
Top Aviation's own figures
Checked September 13, 2026 · Source
| Aircraft | Published rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cessna 172M (N61684)1975 | $159.95/hr | |
| Cessna 172K (N84794)1969 | $169.95/hr | Added to the fleet since August 2026. |
| Van's RV-12iS (N901SJ) | $159.95/hr | Light-sport (LSA), 2025 build. The site prices it twice and not identically; see the rates note. |
| Piper J3 Cub (N98349)1946 | $165/hr | Tailwheel, dual only; this rate includes the instructor. |
Airframes built 1946 to 1975. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read September 16, 2026.
All rates are per Hobbs hour plus Kansas sales tax, fuel included. The J3 Cub is the one published figure that includes an instructor, at $165/hr dual only, but the school never separates the airplane from the instruction inside it, so it cannot be used to work out the hourly instruction rate. The fleet has changed since August 2026: a 1969 Cessna 172K (N84794) has been added at $169.95/hr, and what was two RV-12iS is now the single 2025 N901SJ. The site does not agree with itself about that aircraft, quoting $159.95/hr on its own page and in the fleet navigation and $149.95/hr on the cross-sell card shown at the foot of the other aircraft pages. The higher figure is recorded because it is the one on the aircraft's own page, and the disagreement is worth asking about. The 172K has no detail page yet: its rate appears in the navigation and on the fleet cards, and its own URL returns a 404.
Section 2Discovery flight
$174.95
Checked September 14, 2026
Instructor included.
Section 3Why 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 Top Aviation's rates. The middle of what 4 Kansas schools charge, to hold your phone quote against.
- Trainer, medianWhat the airplane costsRange $52 to $210 per hour.
- $167
- Instruction, medianWhat the instructor costsAcross 4 schools with published rates.
- $57
From the schools here that publish full rate cards, the same sample behind the Flight Training Cost Report. Top Aviation is not in it.
Section 4Paying 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 Kansas-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 5What to ask
What to ask when you call
The marked ones are what Top Aviation'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.
Your program page budgets $2,500 to $3,500 for 40 hours of dual. What is the actual hourly instruction rate behind that range?Missing from their site
That range works out to somewhere between $62.50 and $87.50 an hour, which is too wide to budget against. The school has the real number.
You bill ground instruction at the instructor hourly rate. What is that rate?Missing from their site
The program page says ground is billed hourly and then never gives the figure, so it is missing from the one place it is promised.
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 Top Aviation Services gets a full listing with an estimate, marked as sourced by phone on the date you called.
Send what they told youSection 6Nearby schools
4 Kansas 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.
- Hetrick Air ServicesLawrence, KS · Checked September 8, 2026$167/hr$45/hr instruction
- Lyddon Aero CenterLiberal, KS · Checked September 8, 2026$52/hr$35/hr instruction
- Marsh Flying ServicesEl Dorado, KS · Checked September 12, 2026$146/hr$57/hr instruction
- Ortega Aviation ServicesWichita, KS · Checked September 8, 2026$210/hr$80/hr instruction
Section 7Sources
- That the school exists
- Top Aviation Services program costsChecked September 13, 2026
- The rates above
- Top Aviation Services fleet pagesChecked September 13, 2026
Are you Top Aviation Services? 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 Top Aviation Services. 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 Kansas flight schools
- Aviation Academy · Wichita
- BeckAir FBO · Great Bend
- Butterfly Aviation · Goodland
- Coulson Aviation · Great Bend
- Crotts Aircraft Service · Dodge City
- Empyrean Aero · Olathe
- Flex Air · Manhattan
- Flying Club of Kansas City · Olathe
- Hetrick Air Services · Lawrence
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