PilotBound

Rates not published · Spearfish, SD

Flight training at Black Hills Aero

No aircraft rate or instructor rate. Black Hills Aero publishes no rates at all, so there is no total on this page.

Checked September 20, 2026 against Black Hills Aero flight instruction page.

Based at
Black Hills Airport, Clyde Ice Field(SPF)
FAA part
Not stated on their site
Trains
PPL · IR · CPL · CFI
Phone
605-642-0277
Website
blackhillsaero.com

Section 1What is published

Black Hills Aero publishes no rates.

Everything we could source about Black Hills Aero is in the facts above: where it flies from, what it trains, and how to reach it. No aircraft rate and no instructor rate appear anywhere we can cite.

Checked September 20, 2026 against Black Hills Aero flight instruction page.

Section 2Why there is no total

An estimate needs an aircraft rate and an instructor rate.

A training total is hours multiplied by rates. With the airplanes or instruction unpriced there is nothing to multiply, and we will not fill the gap with a plausible number: every figure on this site carries a link that shows it today.

  • Aircraft rateMissing from their site

    The airplane is the biggest line on a training bill.

  • Instructor rateMissing from their site

    Instruction is the second biggest line on a training bill, after the airplane.

What to compare their answer against

Not Black Hills Aero's rates. South Dakota has too few published rate cards for a state median, so this is all 535 schools we track, to hold your phone quote against.

Trainer, medianWhat the airplane costsRange $52 to $430 per hour.
$165
Instruction, medianWhat the instructor costsAcross 535 schools with published rates.
$66

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

Section 3Paying for it

Two ways to pay for it.

Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left. Neither figure assumes anything about you: one is what our scholarship directory holds, the other is what the lenders publish.

Money you keepScholarships you could apply for46 open to anyone. Top awards reach $22,200.No South Dakota-only awards in the directory yet.
46
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
See scholarshipsCompare lenders

Section 4What to ask

What to ask when you call

The marked ones are what Black Hills Aero's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

605-642-0277

  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. 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. 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. 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. What does the PA-28 cost per hour, and what does an instructor cost?Missing from their site

    The school names three training aircraft and trains through CFI, and publishes no figure for any of it.

  6. Is tailwheel training done in the Aeronca or the Bellanca, and does that change the rate?

    Two thirds of the training fleet is tailwheel, which is unusual and is the reason to choose this school.

  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. 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. 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.

Called them? Send us what they said.

Send the numbers over and Black Hills Aero gets a full listing with an estimate, marked as sourced by phone on the date you called.

Send what they told you

Section 5Nearby schools

One other school flies from Black Hills Airport, Clyde Ice Field.

It does not publish a rate either, so that one is a phone call too. SPF is the identifier to give when you ask.

Every school in the state

One South Dakota school publishes a full rate card.

Each one has an estimate built on its own published rates. Listed alphabetically, because ordering them by price would be a ranking this page is not making.

  • Legacy AviationTea, SD · Checked September 16, 2026
    $192.77/hr$67.73 to $78.15/hr instruction
All South Dakota flight schools

Section 6Sources

That the school exists
Black Hills Aero flight instruction pageChecked September 20, 2026

Are you Black Hills Aero? Send your rate card and this becomes a full listing with an estimate, free. Or have it removed.

This page says these are not stated on your site. Send us where each one is published and it shows here instead.

  • What your aircraft rent for per hourSend it
  • What instruction costs per hourSend it

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

Other South Dakota flight schools

All South Dakota flight schools

Plan the money before you commit

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

What each rating costs

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

Free money first

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

If you borrow

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