Aerial photo of Crystal Airport, Minneapolis, MN
Imagery: USDA NAIP

Club Cherokee

Flight training at Crystal Airport.

Checked November 13, 2026 by Samip Shah

At a glance

  • 4 aircraft types.

Basics

CertificatesPrivate Pilot
Websiteclubcherokee.com
Phone(763) 296-7300

Aircraft and rates

4 types

A Piper PA-28
A Piper PA-28 (N2273Q), not this school’s aircraft. Photo: James from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Piper Warrior II

Rate (dry)
$50/hr
InstructionNot published

Rates are dry, per tach hour, effective October 1, 2025, and each hour adds an automatic fuel fee set by the airplane's burn, plus sales tax. The club is equity-based: one share was valued at $8,250 on September 15, 2026, and dues are $140 a month plus tax. Membership is open to students, and member instructors teach for hire.

Checked November 13, 2026 · Club Cherokee membership page

Airport

Aerial photo of Crystal Airport

Crystal KMIC

Home field · 3 runways · longest 3,751 ft · asphalt and grass

View on the map

Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP imagery via the USGS National Map

Weather

297
flyable days a year
May to Sep
most flyable months
18 of 31
in December, the fewest
Flyable 297Low clouds or poor visibility 68
What counts as a flyable day

Clouds no lower than 3,000 feet and visibility of 5 miles or more (VFR weather) for at least half the hours between 9 am and 5 pm. Hourly observations from the airport's own weather station, 2016 to 2025. Source: Iowa Environmental Mesonet ASOS archive, Iowa State University.

Paying for it

Two ways to pay for it.

Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left.

Money you keepScholarships you could apply for43 open to anyone, plus 2 in Minnesota. Top awards reach $22,200.
45
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

What to ask when you call

Not on their website

  1. What do you charge per hour for flight instruction, and is ground instruction billed at the same rate?

    Ground instruction is often billed at a different rate.

Also ask

  1. Your published rates are dry. Roughly what does fuel add per hour on the trainer?

    The published rates don't include it.

  2. Do you offer block rates or prepay discounts, and what is the refund policy if I stop partway?

    Block discounts are rarely published, and the refund terms matter more than the discount.

  3. What do you charge for the written test, the checkride, and the examiner's fee?

    The examiner's fee alone runs $800 to $1,200 in most of the country.

  4. How many trainers and how many full-time instructors do you have right now?

    Availability sets your pace, and pace drives your total more than the hourly rate.

Called them? Send us what they said.

Send the number over and Club Cherokee gets a full listing with an estimate, marked as sourced by phone on the date you called.

Send what they told you

In the app

Track your training at Club Cherokee.

Club Cherokee is in the PilotBound app. Choose Club Cherokee when you set up and enter the rates it gives you; the app prices your training on them and tracks every flight you log against the projection.

Download on the App Store

Is this your school?

Send Club Cherokee's rate card and this page gets an estimate. Or have it removed.

Send your instruction rate

Sources

That the school exists
Club Cherokee membership pageChecked November 13, 2026
Rates
Club Cherokee membership pageChecked November 13, 2026

PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Club Cherokee. School names are used only to identify the school. Rates shown are the school's own published figures with the date they were checked. This page carries no PilotBound estimate, because the school does not publish enough for one. Disclaimer & removal policy.

Plan the money before you commit.

A program price only makes sense next to what each rating costs on its own, what scholarships exist, and what borrowing actually looks like.

What each rating costs

Per-rating ranges, with the fees most quotes leave out.

Scholarships first

Verified flight training scholarships. Every scholarship dollar is a dollar you never finance.

If you borrow

Compare lenders and see the real monthly payment before you sign.