PilotBound

Rates partly published · Abingdon, VA

Flight training at Dorton Aviation

No instructor rate. Dorton publishes a $185/hr aircraft rate and nothing for instruction, so there is no total on this page.

Checked August 13, 2026 against AOPA flight school finder, Dorton Aviation at KVJI.

Based at
Virginia Highlands Airport(VJI)
FAA part
Not stated on their site
Trains
PPL · IR · CPL · CFI
Website
dortonaviation.com

Section 1What is published

Dorton's own figures

Checked August 13, 2026 · Source

Dorton Aviation published aircraft rates
AircraftPublished rateNotes
Cessna 172N Skyhawk$185/hrWet. Used for primary instruction and rental.

A VIs X flight simulator rents for $30 per hour.

Section 2Why there is no total

An estimate needs an instructor rate.

A training total is hours multiplied by rates. With 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.

  • 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 Dorton's rates. The middle of what 14 Virginia schools charge, to hold your phone quote against.

Trainer, medianWhat the airplane costsRange $90 to $225 per hour.
$165
Instruction, medianWhat the instructor costsAcross 14 schools with published rates.
$69

From the schools here that publish full rate cards, the same sample behind the Flight Training Cost Report. Dorton 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, plus 1 in Virginia. Top awards reach $22,200.
47
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 Dorton's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

  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 does instruction cost per hour?Missing from their site

    The aeroplane rate is published and stated wet, and no instruction rate appears on any of the site's four pages.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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 number over and Dorton Aviation 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

2 other schools fly from Virginia Highlands Airport.

1 of them publishes at least one rate. VJI is the identifier to give when you ask.

Every school in the state

14 Virginia schools publish 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.

All Virginia flight schools

Section 6Sources

That the school exists
AOPA flight school finder, Dorton Aviation at KVJIChecked August 13, 2026
The rates above
Dorton Aviation home pageChecked August 13, 2026

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

PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Dorton Aviation. 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 Virginia flight schools

All Virginia flight schoolsAll Abingdon 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

Compare lenders and see the real monthly payment before you sign.