Which schools are listed
Airplane flight schools that train the public, found in Google Maps results for “flight school” around each metro (via the DataForSEO Maps API, October 20, 2026). Name, address, phone and website come from those map listings. We leave out airline type-rating centers, simulator venues, helicopter and glider schools, youth programs, and listings with no website. 74 schools in 4 metros.
Which schools are left out on purpose
Some schools’ website terms forbid copying their content or reading it with automated tools. We respect that and don’t list them at all. On the first check (October 20, 2026) that was eight schools or groups, including several of the best-known academies in these metros; the second check (November 1, 2026) left out seven more.
Where prices come from
- Posted: a price on the school’s own public website, recorded with a short quote, the page address and the date. 47 of 74 schools (64%) post at least one price; 211 prices in all.
- Price not posted: we found no price on the pages we read, the site refused our requests, or its pages load with scripts our checker doesn’t run. 18 with no price found, 6 that refused our requests, 3 script-rendered.
- Computed: the private pilot cost from a school’s posted aircraft and instructor rates, always labeled Computed and shown with its arithmetic. The method.
How we read sites
Our checker identifies itself (OmniSitesResearchBot/1.0), reads robots.txt first and obeys it, reads a site’s terms before its price pages, waits at least 10 seconds between pages on a site, reads at most 20 pages per site per day, and never fills in forms, quote tools or booking systems. We don’t copy prices from directories, review sites, social media or map listings.
Wet, dry and trainer rates
Each aircraft rate is marked wet (fuel included), dry, or not stated, from the school’s own words. The “172 / PA-28” figure is the lowest regular hourly rate a school posts for a Cessna 172 or Piper PA-28 Warrior, Archer or Cherokee: the four-seat trainers most students fly. Block rates, two-seat trainers, complex and twin-engine rates appear on school pages but don’t set that figure.
Regulations
FAA training minimums are quoted from 14 CFR 61.109 and Part 141 Appendix B (via Cornell’s Legal Information Institute) and cited where they appear.
Corrections
A rate wrong or out of date? Report it. Schools can ask for a correction the same way.