Zero to CFI: what it costs in Redlands, CA

From a first lesson to a flight instructor certificate at Redlands Municipal Airport (KREI), priced phase by phase: about $51,313 – $52,813 at typical hours, and $45,620 – $47,120 at the FAA minimums. That is 270 hours in your logbook at the CFI checkride.

• Private Pilot: $11,635 – $11,835, 60 hours in the Cessna 172
• Instrument Rating: $10,401 – $10,601, 45 hours in the Cessna 172
• Time building: $10,533, 95 hours in the Cessna 150
• Commercial Pilot: $10,449 – $11,149, 28 hours in the Cessna 172 and 12 in the Cessna 150
• Flight Instructor (CFI): $7,795 – $8,195, 20 hours in the Cessna 172

Airplanes are rented dry at block rates; you buy the fuel. Instruction is $45 an hour for the private and $50 an hour after it, paid directly to your instructor.

Private pilot training · Commercial pilot training · Flight instructor (CFI) training

Never flown? An intro flight, also called a discovery flight, is a 30-minute flight with an instructor, and you fly the airplane: $120. Book an intro flight.