Questions to Ask a Flight School
A list for a student pilot choosing where to train: the questions to ask when visiting a flight school, and the ones to settle before starting flight school at all, since money tends to change hands on the first day. The 57 questions run in the order the decision goes: what you need before you start, cost and payment, the fleet and the schedule, instruction, safety, then the test and what comes after. Part 61 and Part 141 are United States terms, so if you will train under another authority, ask how each point works there.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Before you start
Do you train under Part 61 or Part 141, and what does that mean for me?
Why ask it
These are the two sets of United States rules a school can train under. A Part 141 school works to an approved syllabus and can graduate students at lower minimum hours, while Part 61 is more flexible about pace and content. Which suits you depends mostly on how often you can fly and whether your funding requires one of them, so listen for an answer about you and not about the school.
What medical certificate will I need, and when should I get it?
Why ask it
Usually the medical is needed before your first solo and not before your first lesson, which is how a student gets weeks into paid training before learning that a condition or a medication needs review. The class you need depends on your goal and your country, so get the school's answer and book the exam before you pay for a course.
What paperwork do I need before the first lesson: identification, proof of citizenship, a student pilot certificate?
Why ask it
In the United States a school has to see proof of citizenship before flight training begins, and a student who is not a citizen needs a security clearance first, which takes time to come through. Find out what to bring on day one and who helps with the student pilot certificate application. If you are training in another country, ask what its aviation authority wants on file.
Do you offer full-time training, part-time training or both, and how long does each usually take?
Why ask it
The calendar matters as much as the hours, because a student flying three times a week forgets less between lessons than one flying twice a month. Get the range their own students have taken at the pace you can manage, in months, and plan your money around the long end.
Can I fly with the instructor I would actually be assigned before I commit any money?
Why ask it
Instruction is a personal fit, and an introductory flight with your prospective instructor tells you more than a tour of the building. Check whether that flight goes in a logbook as your first lesson. If the answer is that instructors are assigned after you enroll, weigh that before you pay.
Is there a minimum age to start lessons, to solo and to take the test?
Why ask it
Lessons can usually begin before a student is old enough to fly alone, but the ages for solo and for the certificate are set by the regulator and differ by country and by type of aircraft. For a teenager, ask how the school paces the course so the student is not ready to solo a year before it is allowed.
Is there a weight or height limit for your training aircraft?
Why ask it
A two-seat trainer has little load to spare once two adults and fuel are aboard, and some cabins are tight for a tall pilot. It is an easier conversation at the front desk than beside the airplane, and the fix is often just a four-seat trainer at a higher hourly rate.
Would you train me differently for a flying career than for flying for fun?
Why ask it
A weekend pilot and a future airline pilot need different things from the first day: the class of medical, the pace, and whether the course structure matters for later ratings or for funding. Say your goal out loud and listen for whether the plan changes. If both goals get the same pitch, the school has one product.
How long has the school been running under its current owner?
Why ask it
Ownership history is the background to every money question that follows. A recent change of hands does not make a school a bad one, but it is a reason to prefer paying lesson by lesson until you have seen how it is run.
Cost and payment
What will a private pilot certificate cost here in total, and what does that estimate assume?
Why ask it
An advertised price is often built on the legal minimum hours with no repeated lessons. Once you know the hours, the rates and the extras behind each figure, two quotes that looked impossibly far apart can be compared line by line.
How many hours do your students actually take to solo and to the check ride?
Why ask it
Most students need more than the legal minimum, so the school's own average is the number to budget on. Have it given for students who fly as often as you will, and be skeptical of a claim that everyone here finishes at the minimum.
What does the hourly rate cover: fuel, the instructor's time, ground briefings before and after the flight?
Why ask it
A wet rate includes fuel and a dry rate does not, and the instructor is usually billed separately from the airplane. Briefing time before and after a flight adds up across a course, so find out whether it is charged at the flight rate, at a lower ground rate or not at all.
Is the airplane billed by Hobbs time or tach time, and when does the instructor's clock start?
Why ask it
A Hobbs meter usually counts clock time while the engine is running, and a tachometer counts more slowly at taxi and idle power, so the same lesson can come out shorter on tach. Instructor time may be billed from the booking time and not from engine start. Two schools quoting the same hourly rate can end up some way apart on this alone.
What will I spend that is not on the hourly rate?
Why ask it
The list usually runs to a headset, charts and study materials, an app subscription, the medical exam, the written test fee, the examiner's fee and the aircraft rental for the practical test. Have the school put a figure beside each one, since these are the costs an advertised package tends to leave out.
Is any of your pricing a fixed package, and what happens when I go past the hours it includes?
Why ask it
A package is priced on a set number of hours, and the hours beyond it are where the real rate shows. Get the per-hour price once the package runs out, and whether unused hours are refunded if you finish early or stop.
How do payments work, and what happens to money I have paid in advance if I stop or the school closes?
Why ask it
Block payments bought at a discount are common, and schools have closed with students' prepaid money unspent. Find out whether prepaid funds are held separately and get the refund terms in writing. Paying as you fly, even at a slightly higher rate, keeps the amount at risk small.
Do your rates change with fuel prices, and how much notice do students get?
Why ask it
Some schools add a fuel surcharge or reprice once or twice a year, which matters over a course that can run longer than you planned. With a prepaid block, the detail to get in writing is whether you bought hours or dollars, because a balance held in dollars buys less flying after a rise.
Do you work with lenders, veterans' education benefits or scholarships, and who decides whether I qualify?
Why ask it
Approval sits with the lender or the funding program and not with the school, and some funding can only be used at certain kinds of school or toward certain certificates. Take the program's name and check with it directly before you count on the money. With a loan, read the total repaid as well as the monthly figure, and have someone you trust with money look over the terms.
How will I see what I have been charged after each lesson?
Why ask it
An itemized receipt after every flight lets you catch a wrong time or rate while you and the instructor both remember the lesson. A balance you can only see by asking at the desk is much harder to check three months in.
What does your insurance cover, and what am I liable for if I damage an aircraft?
Why ask it
A school's policy is written to protect the school, and a student can be billed for the deductible or for more than that. Get the deductible as a figure, and find out whether students are expected to carry a renter's policy of their own and what one costs.
Fleet and schedule
How many aircraft do you have, and how many active students share them?
Why ask it
Fleet size against student numbers decides whether you can fly as often as you plan to, and a student who flies too rarely repeats lessons and pays for them twice. Count only the aircraft you could book for your own course, since part of a fleet may be kept for advanced ratings or rental.
How often is an aircraft down for maintenance, and what happens to my booked lesson when it is?
Why ask it
Training aircraft come off the line for scheduled inspections on top of anything that breaks, so a small fleet has regular gaps. What matters is whether a spare of the same type exists, and whether a cancelled lesson is rebooked that week or goes to the back of the queue.
Who maintains your aircraft, and can I look at the open squawks for one of them?
Why ask it
A squawk is a fault a pilot has written up, and the list shows how quickly small problems get fixed here. An in-house mechanic usually means a faster turnaround than a shop across the field with other customers. How comfortably the school hands over that sheet is an answer too.
What is in the panel of your trainers: traditional gauges or glass screens?
Why ask it
Neither is wrong, but switching between them in the middle of a course costs flights, so check that the aircraft you would book most all match. If you plan to go on to an instrument rating, find out which panel that training is flown on here.
Do you have a simulator or training device, and how much of that time can go in my logbook?
Why ask it
A device is cheaper by the hour than the airplane and useful for procedures, and for the days when weather cancels the flight. The amount that counts toward a certificate is capped by the regulator and depends on how the device is approved, so ask for the figure that applies to this one.
What is your cancellation policy, and do I pay if weather cancels the lesson?
Why ask it
Late-cancel fees are common, and the detail that matters is the marginal day. Pin down how much notice is required, who decides that conditions are too poor to fly, and whether a lesson scrubbed for weather is ever billed.
Can you show me next week's schedule for the aircraft and instructor I would be using?
Why ask it
The booking screen is the one piece of evidence a visit can give you that a phone call cannot. Look for open slots at the times you are free, and count how many days ahead the calendar is solid, which is how far ahead you would have to book.
Is this a towered airport, and how far away is the practice area?
Why ask it
A towered airport gets you comfortable on the radio early, while at a quiet field less of each paid hour goes on waiting to take off. The distance to the practice area matters as well, because the flight there and back is on your bill every lesson.
How much flying does the weather here cost your students in a typical winter or summer?
Why ask it
Most regions have a season that grounds students, whether the cause is low cloud, afternoon storms, heat or snow. Knowing which months are slow lets you start at the right time of year, or plan your ground study for the weeks you will not fly.
Instruction
Will I have one assigned instructor, and how long do your instructors usually stay?
Why ask it
Many instructors are building hours toward an airline job and move on once they have them. A change midway costs flights while the new instructor works out where you are, so find out how a handover is done and whether you get a say in who takes over.
How long has the instructor I would fly with been teaching, and how many of their students have passed the test?
Why ask it
A newly certificated instructor can be an excellent teacher, and often has more time for you than a senior one. What you are checking is whether anyone has gone the whole way to a certificate with this person yet, and who supervises them if not.
How many students does each instructor carry?
Why ask it
A heavy load means less flexibility and less preparation between lessons. It also predicts whether you can hold the same slot each week, which is what keeps training moving.
Are your instructors paid for ground time as well as for hours flown?
Why ask it
An instructor who earns only while the engine is running has little reason to linger over a briefing. One who is paid for ground time can afford to explain a maneuver at the whiteboard, before you are paying for the airplane as well.
Who is the chief instructor, and how often do they fly with students themselves?
Why ask it
Someone senior should be checking what the newer instructors teach, and you should know that person's name. A chief instructor who flies progress checks personally is a second opinion built into the course.
If my instructor and I are not a good match, how do I change, and has anyone done it recently?
Why ask it
Students put this off for months because it feels rude, and pay for lessons that are not working. If switching is a request at the front desk and not a conversation you have to open with your own instructor, the awkward part is already handled.
Is there a written syllabus for the course, and may I take a copy home?
Why ask it
A syllabus shows what each lesson is for, so you can prepare before you pay for it. A Part 141 course has to follow an approved one, while at a Part 61 school it is the school's or the instructor's choice, which makes the answer a measure of how organized the training is.
Is ground school in person, online, or left to me, and is it included in the price?
Why ask it
Ground school is often quoted separately from the flying, and it takes real evenings. Self-study is the cheapest route and does not suit everyone, so find out who you can sit down with when a subject will not go in.
How is my progress recorded, and can I see my training record whenever I ask?
Why ask it
Your logbook shows hours, not what you can do. A record that marks each task as introduced, practiced or up to standard tells you and any later instructor what is left, and it is what spares you repeated flights when an instructor leaves.
What do you do with a student who is stuck at one stage?
Why ask it
Most students stall somewhere, often on landings or radio work. The answer to hope for is a flight with a different instructor or a change of approach, and not the same lesson repeated at your expense.
Safety
What has your safety record been over the last few years?
Why ask it
Include accidents, incidents and any action by the regulator, and what the school changed afterward. A plain account with a specific change in it is more reassuring than a claim that nothing has ever gone wrong. In the United States accident reports are public, so the answer can be checked.
What are your weather minimums for students, and do they change as I gain experience?
Why ask it
Written limits for wind, cloud and visibility take the decision out of the moment, when a student has driven an hour and wants to fly. Minimums that start tight and are relaxed stage by stage show that someone has thought about what a beginner can handle.
How does a student report a safety worry or a fault with an aircraft, and what happens to the report?
Why ask it
You want a route that does not depend on your own instructor agreeing with you: a form, a named person, a line on the dispatch sheet. Ask for an example of something that changed because a student spoke up.
What limits do you set on solo students: wind, distance, which airports?
Why ask it
An instructor sets limits when signing a student off to fly solo, and many schools add house rules on top. Clear numbers are a good sign, and so is hearing that the limits are gone over with you before each solo and not left as a line in the logbook.
When I am out solo, who knows where I am and when I am due back?
Why ask it
A dispatch board, a tracking app or a call to the desk after landing are all ordinary ways to do it. On a solo cross-country the point is that a named person notices when you are late and knows what to do next.
How much of the course is spent on emergencies such as engine failures and stall recovery?
Why ask it
These are taught to every student, so the useful part of the answer is how often they come back after the first time. Find out whether they are revisited before the solo and again before the test, and whether spin or upset training is offered as an extra.
If I think a flight should not go and my instructor disagrees, what happens?
Why ask it
The rule you want to hear is that either person can call it off without an argument. A student who gets talked into flying in the first month carries the wrong lesson about pressure into every flight afterward.
Test and after
What is your first-time pass rate on check rides, and how is it counted?
Why ask it
A pass rate can be raised by sending forward only the students certain to pass, so find out whether it covers everyone who started or just those recommended for the test. Then ask how many attempts their last few students needed and watch for hesitation.
How long is the current wait for a practical test, and which examiners do your students use?
Why ask it
Examiner availability varies enormously by region and can add weeks between being ready and being certificated, at a cost in refresher flights. Having more than one examiner to call is a real advantage here.
Where do students sit the written knowledge test, and how do you prepare them for it?
Why ask it
In the United States the written test is taken at an approved testing center and needs an instructor's sign-off or a course completion first, so someone at the school has to own that step. Ask when in the course they want it done. A student who leaves it to the end can be ready to fly the practical test with the written still not passed.
Of the students who start here, how many finish?
Why ask it
Plenty of people who start flight training never finish, at good schools as well as poor ones, so a low number is not damning by itself. What counts is whether the school tracks it at all, and whether the figure you are given includes the people who quit in their first ten hours.
What is the most common reason your students stop before finishing?
Why ask it
Money, scheduling and lost momentum are the usual answers, and a quick, specific one means somebody here has looked into it. Whatever they name is the thing to guard against in your own plan. Be wary of an answer that blames the students' commitment.
If I want to continue to instrument and commercial ratings, what does that path look like here?
Why ask it
Not every school can carry you past the private certificate. Check for aircraft equipped for instrument training, access to a multi-engine airplane if you will need one, and instructors who hold the ratings to teach each stage.
Do you hire your own graduates as instructors, and how many did you take on last year?
Why ask it
For many people heading toward a flying career, instructing is how the hours get built, and the school that trained you is the obvious place to apply. A promise is not a number, so get both figures: how many were hired and how many applied.
Do you have agreements with airlines or other operators, and what exactly do they promise a graduate?
Why ask it
Pathway programs range from an interview held open for you to a logo on a brochure. Ask to read the terms, including the hours and ratings you must hold and whether the airline can end the arrangement, before the program influences what you pay.
Once I have my certificate, can I rent your aircraft, and what are the rules for taking one away overnight?
Why ask it
Many new pilots keep flying where they trained, so the rental terms are part of what you are choosing. Daily minimum charges, currency rules and a checkout flight for each type are all common, and together they decide whether a weekend trip is affordable.
If I move or change schools partway through, what goes with me?
Why ask it
Your logbook and its endorsements are yours, but how much of your training a new school credits is its decision, and an approved course may accept only part of what was flown elsewhere. Ask for copies of your training record as you go, not on the day you leave.
Can I talk to two of your recent graduates?
Why ask it
Former students can describe the scheduling and the billing as they were lived, not as they are advertised. Two questions are enough: how long it took, and what it finally cost against the first quote.
Visiting a flight school
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you go
Split the list between the phone and the visit
Before you start and Cost and payment can mostly be handled by phone or email, which also leaves you the answers in writing. Keep Fleet and schedule, Instruction and Safety for the visit, where you can look at the flight line and the booking screen while someone describes them.
Settle the medical question early
If anything in your health history makes you unsure, it is worth seeing an aviation medical examiner before a school has any of your money. Which class of medical you need depends on your goal and your country, so ask the school and then confirm it with the examiner.
Know your own week and your own budget
Work out which days you can fly and what you can spend each month before you walk in. Those two figures turn a school's averages into your own timeline, and being asked for them before you are quoted a total is a good sign.
How to visit
Go on a weekend morning, unannounced
A busy Saturday shows how many aircraft are flying, how many students are waiting and whether the desk is coping. A scheduled tour on a quiet Tuesday shows you the sales version, so if you book one, come back on your own at the time you would normally fly.
Look at the flight line
Clean windscreens, tread on the tires, no oil streaks down the cowling, no aircraft parked in the same spot for weeks with a cover on. Ask what is wrong with anything that has not moved.
Talk to students without staff present
Find the lounge and ask two people how often they get cancelled, whether they have kept the same instructor, and what they have spent so far. Their numbers are the ones to set against the quote you were given at the desk.
Visit more than one school
Two or three visits give you a baseline for hourly rates, availability and honesty about hours. Without a comparison, every quoted number sounds reasonable.
Get these in writing
The full price list
Aircraft rate wet or dry, instructor rate, ground instruction rate, ground school, exam and check ride fees, books and headset. Add them up yourself rather than accepting a package figure.
What happens to prepaid money
Whether a block payment is refundable, on what notice, and whether it is held separately. Ask in writing, and be cautious about large discounts for large deposits.
The cancellation terms both ways
What you owe if you cancel late, and what you are owed if they cancel for maintenance. The second half is often missing from the paperwork.
Red flags
Pressure to pay a large block today
A discount that expires today is a sales tactic, and prepaid money is the money at risk if a school closes. A genuine offer will still be there next week.
Vagueness about hours and pass rates
These numbers sit in the school's own training records. Being told that it depends on the student, with no range offered, means either nobody has looked or nobody wants to say.
One instructor, no backup
If a single instructor covers all the students, your training stops when they are sick, on vacation or hired by an airline. Ask what the plan is for that week.