Flight training at Plane Training

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 do the two Rapid City aircraft cost per hour, and what does an instructor cost?Missing from their site

   The fleet page prices only the Phoenix-based Decathlon. Both South Dakota aeroplanes say "Block Rates Available" and no figure.

6. 6

   What is a block rate here, and how many hours must be bought up front?

   Block buying is the only pricing this school mentions for its South Dakota fleet, and the commitment is not stated.

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 Plane Training'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. Plane Training is not in it.

What we checked

A stick-and-rudder school split between Rapid City and a Phoenix satellite, and the split matters: the ONLY priced aircraft on its fleet page is the Arizona-based Decathlon at $215/hr. Its two South Dakota aeroplanes offer block rates and no numbers, so nothing on this listing can be costed. The site is served over plain HTTP. Checked August 6, 2026.