Flight training at Hendrickson Aviation

Aircraft: $175/hr

Flight instruction: $75/hr

Published as 'Rate for this award winning Citabria $175.00 per hour' and 'Rate for this Instructor $75.00 per hour both on the ground and in the air'. Renters insurance is preferred. The site never says whether fuel is included.

1. 1

   Do the published aircraft rates include fuel, or is fuel billed separately?

   The site does not say, and it is the difference between two rates that look identical and are not.

2. 2

   Which certificates and ratings do you train all the way through, and where would I have to go elsewhere?Missing from their site

   This is the difference between one school for your whole path and switching partway.

3. 3

   Can I train for a Private Pilot certificate with you, or do you teach endorsements and aerobatics only?Missing from their site

   The site names tailwheel, spin and aerobatic modules and no certificate course, so what it can take you all the way to is unclear.

4. 4

   Does the $175 include fuel?

   Neither figure on the page says wet or dry.

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 Hendrickson's rates. The middle of what 5 Montana 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. Hendrickson is not in it.

What we checked

PUBLISHES BOTH RATES AND NAMES NO CERTIFICATE, which is why it is here rather than in the directory: without a rating to price, the two figures have nothing to be applied to. One Citabria and one instructor, Don Hendrickson, an AOPA Flight Training Experience Designated Flight Instructor for the Western Region three years running and a Rich Stowell Emergency Maneuver Training graduate. What he sells is named on the page: tailwheel instruction, stall and spin including the spin endorsement, basic aerobatics, and the IAC Primary Smooth Patch. The other figures on the domain are merchandise in an online shop. Checked August 14, 2026.