Flight training at ATY 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

   Do you still train, and what does it cost?Missing from their site

   The website contains the business name and nothing else, so there is nothing online to check.

6. 6

   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.

7. 7

   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.

8. 8

   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 ATY Aviation's rates. South Dakota has too few published rate cards for a state median, so this is all 283 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. ATY Aviation is not in it.

What we checked

The domain resolves and returns a page containing the business name and no other content. A placeholder rather than a failed load, which is why AOPA's record carries the existence citation. Note that Aberdeen Flying Service also lists a Watertown base, so there may be more than one operator on this field. Checked twice, August 6, 2026.