Flight training at Heartland 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 aircraft can I rent and train in, and what do they cost per hour?Missing from their site

   The site lists flight instruction and aircraft rental as services without naming an airplane or a price.

6. 6

   Is there a full-time instructor at Alliance, or does one travel in?Missing from their site

   It is a long way to the next school, so instructor availability decides whether training here is realistic at all.

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 Heartland Aviation's rates. Nebraska has too few published rate cards for a state median, so this is all 271 schools we track, to hold your phone quote against.

From the schools here that publish full rate cards, the same sample behind the Flight Training Cost Report. Heartland Aviation is not in it.

What we checked

A full-service FBO in the Nebraska panhandle that lists flying lessons and aircraft rental among its services. The only prices published anywhere on the site are for fuel, 100LL at $6.55 and Jet-A at $5.95 a gallon. Listed because Alliance is remote enough that knowing a school exists there is worth something, and the call script asks the two questions that decide whether it is usable. Checked August 6, 2026.