Flight training at Commonwealth Aviation

Commonwealth's fleet page also lists an FTS Touch Trainer FM210 simulator at $80 per hour. The cheapest aeroplane is at the Norfolk base, not Manassas.

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

   Do the published aircraft rates include fuel, or is fuel billed separately?

   The site does not say, and it is the difference between two rates that look identical and are not.

4. 4

   What does instruction cost per hour, and is it the same at Manassas and Norfolk?Missing from their site

   Every aeroplane is priced and no instruction rate appears anywhere on the site, including the FAQ.

5. 5

   Do the rates include fuel?

   The fleet page never says wet or dry.

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 Commonwealth's rates. The middle of what 16 Virginia 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. Commonwealth is not in it.

What we checked

Four aeroplanes across two bases three hours apart, every one priced to the tail, and no instruction rate. The only other dollar figure on the site is in the FAQ and it is the cost of an FAA medical. Checked August 13, 2026.