Flight training at Cardinal Wings Aviation

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

   What do the aeroplanes rent for and what does instruction cost?Missing from their site

   Thirty pages were read and eight fleet index pages followed, and no aircraft page behind them carries a price.

6. 6

   Is Cirrus transition training priced differently from the rest?

   The school advertises Cirrus transition training alongside its ordinary programmes, and Cirrus instruction usually carries a premium.

7. 7

   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.

8. 8

   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.

9. 9

   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 Cardinal Wings's rates. The middle of what 4 Kentucky 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. Cardinal Wings is not in it.

What we checked

The second flight school at Bowman Field alongside Louisville Aviation, offering flight training, aircraft rental, Cirrus transition training and helicopter instruction. Eight fleet index pages were followed and not one aircraft behind them is priced.