Flight training at High Tide Aviation

Aircraft: $195/hr

$195/hr wet covers High Tide's standard Cessna 172s, with better-equipped tails at $210/hr. Its Redbird FMX simulator is $85/hr. High Tide also flies helicopters, which this estimator does not price.

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 does instruction cost per hour, and does it differ between the aeroplane and the helicopter?Missing from their site

   Sixteen aeroplane rates are published and no instruction rate for either category.

4. 4

   Is the Part 141 approval for the aeroplane courses, the helicopter courses, or both?

   High Tide runs both, from two airports, and Part 141 approval is granted course by course.

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 High Tide's rates. The middle of what 9 North Carolina 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. High Tide is not in it.

What we checked

Two brands and two domains for one operator: `hightideaviation.com` and `flyhightide.com`, at Southport and Wilmington, with High Tide Helicopters alongside. Recorded once. A large published fleet, priced tail by tail, and no instruction rate anywhere in it. Checked August 13, 2026.