Pricing · Sacramento McClellan Airport
What Flight Training Costs
$110 an hour for flight education — the aircraft and your instructor together, fuel and oil included — bought as you go. No membership fee, no deposit, no package to sign up for.
Our pricing
$110an hour of flight education, all in
One number, and nothing is added to it afterwards. The aircraft, your instructor, aviation fuel and oil are all inside it, billed for actual time in tenths of an hour, in the air and on the ground.
- $0
- separate instructor charge
- $0
- membership, enrollment or deposit
| What | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Flight education — aircraft and instructor | $110 per hour | All in: aviation fuel and oil included, instructor included. |
| Time on the ground with your instructor | $110 per hour | Same rate. Billed for actual time, in tenths of an hour. |
| Private pilot — typical total budget | $12,000–$17,000 | A planning range. What moves it is the hour count. |
| Instrument rating — typical total budget | $8,000–$12,000 | Depends on the cross-country PIC time you already hold. |
| Commercial pilot — typical budget | $8,000–$15,000 | Depends on how many hours you are missing at the start. |
| CFI — typical budget | $5,000–$8,000 | Mostly a teaching qualification; ground hours vary widely. |
| CFII — typical budget | $3,500–$6,000 | Added after the initial CFI. |
| MEI — typical budget | $4,500–$7,500 | Flown in the school’s Piper PA-44 Seminole. |
| Discovery Flight — 1 passenger | $200 | About 45 minutes in the air. Everything included. |
| Discovery Flight — 2–3 passengers | $300 | Same flight, subject to weight and balance. |
| Gift certificate — 1 passenger | $200 | Same price as booking it yourself. |
| Gift certificate — 2–3 passengers | $300 | Same price as booking it yourself. |
What the $110 Hour Covers
Your $110 hour is the aeroplane with aviation fuel and oil in it and your instructor sitting beside you. There is no second line to add to it.
Paid to other people: the FAA medical, the knowledge test, the checkride examiner, an online ground course if you use one, and your own supplies.
How the Time Is Counted
The $110 rate is the same for private, instrument, commercial, CFI, CFII and multi-engine training, whichever of our four aircraft you are flying. If you refuel away from McClellan, we credit the fuel at our current price per gallon against your receipt; anything above that price is yours.
- Flight time runs on the Hobbs meter. It starts when the engine starts and stops when it stops.
- Ground time is actual time, from the start of the planned briefing to the end of the debrief, rounded to the nearest tenth of an hour — at the same $110.
- A typical lesson carries 0.3–0.5 hours of ground time on top of the flight.
What You Don’t Pay
Six charges you will never see on an invoice from us, and one thing worth being precise about.
- No enrollment fee. Nothing to pay to start.
- No membership. You are not joining a club, and there is nothing to renew.
- No mandatory deposit. Nothing has to sit with us before you can book a lesson.
- No monthly minimum. Fly four hours one month and none the next, and you pay for four hours.
- No required prepaid block. You can pay lesson by lesson.
- No card surcharge. Paying by card costs the same as paying any other way.
To be precise about it: the aircraft and your instructor are one line at $110 an hour, and the medical, the knowledge test and the examiner are paid directly to the people who provide them. Every one of those figures is on this page, so you can budget the whole certificate before you start.
Why Pay-as-you-go Matters
Across the industry, students are commonly asked for a prepaid block of hours, a course fee, or a club membership before their first lesson — and the money sits with the school. That model is legal and often discounted, but it moves the risk onto the student: if plans change, if a schedule falls apart, or if the school does, the student is the creditor.
Here your money stays with you until the aeroplane is flying with you in it. You pay for the lesson you have just had, and nothing else is committed.
If you do want to top up a training balance in advance, you can. Prepaid training is intended to be used within 12 months, and the balance is held in dollars rather than locking in the old hourly rate if rates change.
A Worked Estimate: Private Pilot Certificate
We plan a private pilot budget around 55 flight hours, not the 40-hour legal minimum, because almost nobody finishes in 40.
| Item | Planning figure | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Flight education — the aircraft and your instructor | $110 per hour | DIVA Flight School Sacramento |
| Private pilot — the school's typical total budget | $12,000–$17,000 | DIVA Flight School Sacramento |
| Online ground course | about $300 | course provider |
| FAA medical certificate | about $150 | aviation medical examiner |
| FAA knowledge test | about $175 | testing centre |
| Checkride — examiner’s fee | about $900–$1,200 | designated pilot examiner |
| Headset, charts, kneeboard and other supplies | about $100–$250 | retailer |
| Typical total | $12,000–$17,000 |
Commercial, CFI and CFII
| Programme | Prerequisite | Planning figure |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial pilot (CPL ASEL) | Private certificate; instrument rating strongly recommended | $8,000–$15,000 as a typical total budget, excluding time building. Every hour, in the air or on the ground, is billed at the same $110. |
| CFI | Commercial certificate and instrument rating | about $3,550 for roughly 25 hours of ground and 10 hours of flight, plus the examiner and spin training with a suitable provider. |
| CFII | Current CFI and instrument rating | about $2,280 for roughly 12 hours of ground and 8 hours of flight, plus the examiner. |
| MEI / multi-engine | Commercial certificate | Flown with an operator that has a twin — ask us and we will point you to one. |
What Affects Your Total Cost
How often you fly. The biggest single factor, and the one you control. Flying skills are physical memory. Fly twice a week and each lesson builds on the last; fly twice a month and the first part of every lesson goes to re-learning. Students who fly frequently generally reach a checkride in fewer total hours — which means the frequent schedule is usually the cheaper one.
How well you prepare between lessons. An hour of reading before a lesson can save a full hour in the aeroplane, and that hour costs $110.
Ground knowledge. The written exam covers weather, navigation, airspace, regulations and aerodynamics. You can work through it with a self-study online course, with your instructor, or a mix of both. Students who do it early get more from each flight.
Breaks in training. A three-month pause is not fatal, but it does cost review hours when you come back. If you have to pause, pause — just plan for a couple of catch-up flights.
What You Pay Other People
Paid to a doctor, a testing centre, an FAA-designated examiner or a shop — and they exist no matter which school you train with. We do not mark them up.
| Item | Paid to | Planning figure |
|---|---|---|
| FAA medical certificate | Aviation medical examiner | about $150 |
| FAA knowledge (written) test | Approved testing centre | about $175 |
| Checkride examiner’s fee | FAA-designated pilot examiner | about $900–$1,200 |
| Online ground course | Course provider | about $300 |
| Headset, charts, kneeboard, study materials | Retailer | about $100–$250 |
| Student pilot certificate | FAA | no FAA fee |
How Payment Works
Card details are entered into Stripe’s own payment fields and are never stored on our website.
- We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover through Stripe, plus ACH bank transfer, Zelle and cash. We do not take personal cheques or cryptocurrency, and we do not add a surcharge for card payments.
- Discovery flights: you ask for a date, we check the aircraft, the instructor’s diary and the forecast, then hold the slot and send you a secure payment link — so you only pay for a date we have already confirmed.
- Ongoing training: pay lesson by lesson, or top up a training balance in smaller amounts. There is no advantage to paying further ahead than suits you.
Cancellations and Refunds, in Short
Free to cancel or move a booking up to 24 hours before the start time. Cancel at least 24 hours ahead and you choose a full refund or a new date; refunds usually land in 5–10 business days. If weather, instructor illness or maintenance stops us, you choose a free reschedule or a full refund and it does not count against your allowance.
The full wording is in our Terms of Service.
How much is a flight hour?
$110 an hour for flight education, all in — the aeroplane and your instructor together. The rate is the same whether you are working toward a private, instrument, commercial, CFI, CFII or multi-engine certificate.
What does the $110 include?
The aircraft with aviation fuel and oil included, and your instructor beside you. Time is billed for what you actually use, in the air and on the ground. There is no separate instructor charge to add.
Do I have to pay a deposit or buy a block of hours?
No. There is no enrollment fee, no mandatory deposit and no required prepaid block. You can pay lesson by lesson. If you would rather top up a training balance in advance you can, and it is intended to be used within 12 months.
Are there membership fees or monthly charges?
No. You are not joining a club, there is nothing to renew, and there is no monthly minimum. Fly four hours one month and none the next, and you pay for four hours.
What will my private pilot certificate cost in total?
Our typical total budget for the private pilot certificate is $12,000–$17,000. We plan around 55 flight hours rather than the 40-hour legal minimum, and the range covers the medical, the knowledge test, the examiner and supplies alongside the flying. It is a planning range, not a package price — the variable is the hour count.
Is time on the ground included in the hourly rate?
It is the same rate. $110 an hour covers your instructor in the air and at a table, and a typical lesson carries 0.3–0.5 hours of ground time alongside the flight. Nothing is billed separately for it.
How do I pay, and can I get a refund?
Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover through Stripe, plus ACH, Zelle and cash, with no card surcharge. Cancel at least 24 hours before a booking and you choose a full refund or a new date; refunds usually land in 5–10 business days.
From The Flight Line
The school as it flies — straight from its Instagram.
Ready When You Are
Start Your Flight Training
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