Flight training at Barnstormers

Flight instruction: $60/hr

Published in an FAQ answer as $60 per hour, with the school noting that the rate does not change between certificates or between flight and ground.

1. 1

   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.

2. 2

   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.

3. 3

   What does the aeroplane cost per hour, and does it include fuel?Missing from their site

   The instructor rate is published and no aircraft rate appears anywhere on the three-page site.

4. 4

   Do you train in floatplanes, and does that change the rate?

   AOPA's record lists seaplane alongside single-engine for this operator, and seaplane time is normally priced separately.

5. 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. 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. 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.

What to compare their answer against

Not Barnstormers's rates. The middle of what 8 Minnesota 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. Barnstormers is not in it.

What we checked

AN INVERSE PARTIAL: the instructor rate is published and the aeroplane is not, which is the rarer half of the gap. The whole site is three pages and the rate is an answer in an FAQ rather than a rate card. One of two flight schools at Bemidji Regional, the other being Bemidji Aviation Services which is rated in this directory. Checked August 14, 2026.