How would a CPL have cost in 1988?

[Blip]

I started learning to fly out of Bankstown Airport in 1987 and obtained a single engine VFR CPL in 1988.
I flew Cessna 152, Cessna 172, and Piper Warrior at the Illawarra Flying School, and Socata Tobago TB10, and Trinidad TB20 over at AFTS.
Looking at my logbook, in the end when I got my CPL I had: 83 hours Command, 33 hours ICUS, 77 hours Dual.

Can anyone who was an instructor (or student) in those days care to estimate how much it would have cost?
Thank you so much.

[Checkboard]

I think it was about $85 solo and $110 dual back then.

Probably about $30-35k all up.

I was an instructor at Moorabbin at the time.

[kikatinalong]

I started out in '83 with JBA at BK. I was paying $48/hr dual for a Tomahawk for the RPPL. I then went over to AFTS to do my UPPL/NVMC/CPL because I really liked the looks of then new Tobagos and Trinidads which IIRC were around $75hr dual for the Tobago and $95 for the Trinny. A Duchess was about 150/hrl I think the damage up to CPL and IR was about 22.5K.

Kika

[Stikman]

I went to the Civil Air Training Academy in 1989/1990. The cost of the course was $30k. This got you a CPL with multi-engine.

[non_state_actor]

I went to the Civil Air Training Academy in 1989/1990. The cost of the course was $30k.

For comparison I ran that through the RBA inflation calculator for 2020 and it came up with $65000

A Duchess was about 150/hrl I think the damage up to CPL and IR was about 22.5K.

That is worth $73 896 in 2020 dollars

[tail wheel]

In 1960 a 15 minute TIF was 15 shillings ($1.50) and an hour dual was £4/10/- ($9) in a Chipmunk. At the time as a 16 or 17 year old I was earning £8/10/- per week.

In 1988/89 I owned a number of aircraft, don't remember all the training and charter rates but the Cessna 172 training rate was $110 solo and $125 dual.

[RENURPP]

It was $25/hr when I started in 1974. That was in a C150, same for dual and solo.

[triadic]

As an aside, I believe the general standard of training and testing was better back then than it is now.

[airdualbleedfault]

Yep about 30k I reckon, my first flight was 55/hr from memory around that mid to late 80s era

[awair]

My recollection is that the full “Approved Course” (UK CAA) was around £25,000 at the time, with the “self-improver” route costing half. GBP-AUD was around 1:3…

In the US, I was paying $25-40/hour, with one offer of $12 dry rate. A US Commercial was believed to cost about half the UK rate.

UK typical quote for a PPL was £2,000, whereas it went as low as $1500 in US. Now I’m seeing $10,000 mentioned.

[Pinky the pilot]

In 1985 the TKFS Seneca 1 was $140/hr. That included TK himself. :D

And the packet of durries which he kept on the fuel selectors!:E

[Roj approved]

G’day All,

I started ASBK in ‘89, $91 dual, $81 solo in the Pa28.

Did my Unrestricted PPL + NVFR, then a 30 hour trip getting lost in the outback. Back the the flying school and straight onto the Instrument Rating on the Pa28, then the Mighty Duchess, Be76, to finish off.

I had about 155 hours at the end of the MECIR, so only needed to do a few Nav’s to be ready for the CPL test.

Then out looking for a job with all the others at the back end of the pilots dispute.

[tail wheel]

Much of the cost increase in flying training is regulatory cost and airways charges. Prior to 1987 there were no airways or airport charges, flying for free.

And the regulatory burden and cost since the early 1990s (from CAA to CASA) has grown very significantly, in inverse proportion to its usefulness and safety benefit. I haven't costed the regulatory and airways cost over the past 50 years (since the days of DCA), but in sum I suspect regulatory and airways costs amount to at least 40% of CPL training cost.

[aroa]

In 1957 the dh 82 was 3 pounds an hr and dual add 10 shillings. At the end of the PPL course the aero cub got a subsidy payout from the govt. Wage at the time was 5 pds 5 and 5 pence.
Took a while... but worth every penny.!

[Vag277]

Tailwheel and others
Air navigation charges were introduced in July 1947.Among other charges, An airport charge for Commercial operation of DH82 was 9 pounds 15 shillings per annum and in1983 a new proposal was presented by the Minister to introduce cost recovery.

In 1975 dual in a C150 at Port Hedland was $32/hr

[Roj approved]

G’day All,

I started ASBK in ‘89, $91 dual, $81 solo in the Pa28.

Did my Unrestricted PPL + NVFR, then a 30 hour trip getting lost in the outback. Back the the flying school and straight onto the Instrument Rating on the Pa28, then the Mighty Duchess, Be76, to finish off.

I had about 155 hours at the end of the MECIR, so only needed to do a few Nav’s to be ready for the CPL test.

Then out looking for a job with all the others at the back end of the pilots dispute.

Further to the above, to get some perspective.

Bar Work $8-$10/hr

Coffee was about $2

$5 Jugs of beer

$5 to get into see a band

[Bend alot]

Much of the cost increase in flying training is regulatory cost and airways charges. Prior to 1987 there were no airways or airport charges, flying for free.

And the regulatory burden and cost since the early 1990s (from CAA to CASA) has grown very significantly, in inverse proportion to its usefulness and safety benefit. I haven't costed the regulatory and airways cost over the past 50 years (since the days of DCA), but in sum I suspect regulatory and airways costs amount to at least 40% of CPL training cost.
Taking into account post #5 the "cost increase" seems inflationary.

[megan]

In 1960 an hour dual was £4/10/- ($9) in a ChipmunkDitto, a tradesman at the time earnt £21 for a 40 hour week.

[Capt Fathom]

In the mid 70’s, I paid $7000 for my CPL. I was employed very soon after on a salary of $8500 per year.

What is the cost now, $80k - $120k? For a salary of? If you can get a job!

[maui]

Circa 1967/68 N. Zedland Victa 100
$8.40 solo $10.20 dual

[Clare Prop]

IN the UK in 1990 0-BCPL which was 250 hours was about sixteen thousand pounds.
I did all the training in Jersey and England and the command time in Florida.

[geeup]

1993 I was paying $100 / hr on a c152 at Camden.

What’s the rate today?

Medicals and publication were a lot cheaper

[Okihara]

Publications could be $0 if these people allowed taking them in electronic format.

[deja vu]

In 1966/67 at Royal Vic a PA 28 was $12 dual, $10 solo but at that rate you never got the same instructor twice and no briefings at all. Of course the Chipmunk was a couple of dollars cheaper and the smell of vomit and fuel was at no extra cost.

[megan]

the smell of vomit and fuel was at no extra costAbsolutely nothing wrong with the smell of fuel, but can't say it was a feature in the Chippie when bashing about with Clem Atkins, or when solo, nor vomit. Maybe you or your passenger just had a bad case of halitosis. :p

[rcoight]

Geez I must have been getting shafted.

Started in ‘89 and was paying $115/hr dual in a C172.

On the plus side every instructor I flew with was 30+ (most were probably 40+) and had hundreds (more likely thousands) of hours experience.

[deja vu]

Absolutely nothing wrong with the smell of fuel, but can't say it was a feature in the Chippie when bashing about with Clem Atkins, or when solo, nor vomit. Maybe you or your passenger just had a bad case of halitosis. :p

Yeah, Clem Atkins was probably the only instructor that I didn't fly with at RVAC and maybe Bill Campbell Hicks. I did work for Clem a few years later at Airchart, nice guy, he organised another job for me when they closed down.

[DeltaT]

In the mid 70’s, I paid $7000 for my CPL. I was employed very soon after on a salary of $8500 per year.

What is the cost now, $80k - $120k? For a salary of? If you can get a job!


I think thats the best telling comparison right there.

[megan]

On the plus side every instructor I flew with was 30+ (most were probably 40+) and had hundreds (more likely thousands) of hours experienceYou make a very good point, but folk do have to start somewhere. Did an instrument trip in a 172 with one instructor, Peter Raven, all of 21 years old at the time, only trip I ever did with him. One day a pax forwarded an exercise book to the cockpit with a request to fill out the details, was a quasi log book, flipping through it came to Peters name, command in a QF 744, a lot grander machine and position than the one I was punting.

[pbwhi0]

G’day All,

I started ASBK in ‘89, $91 dual, $81 solo in the Pa28.

Did my Unrestricted PPL + NVFR, then a 30 hour trip getting lost in the outback. Back the the flying school and straight onto the Instrument Rating on the Pa28, then the Mighty Duchess, Be76, to finish off.

I had about 155 hours at the end of the MECIR, so only needed to do a few Nav’s to be ready for the CPL test.

Then out looking for a job with all the others at the back end of the pilots dispute.

Hey Roj, I can relate. Early 1990 I gained the CPL and ME IR. Pilot's dispute just coming to an end so a heap of 500-1,000hr CPLs ahead of me. Over the next 15 years built a few hours then parked the licence for 15 years. Late 2019 dusted off the old Part 5 licence and upgraded to Part 61 - some training then BFR and commenced IFR recency training with the aim to resume an aviation career, albeit belatedly. Then COVID hit so parked the refresher training :(

Back in 1990 the CPL, ME IR cost me around $30,000 and included ATPL subjects. Instructor rating in 1991 was around $7,000. All 50 hours was with rated instructors - we didn't do any mutual with other instructor students which I believe was allowed back then.

[machtuk]

My memory is slipping but recall an IR in the 80's driving a Twin Can was under $3K, can't recall the Commercial side of it but working 3 jobs I had zero debt at the end of it all.
i was part ownership of a C150 in the late 70's where our group worked on $10 HR inc gas..........what happened to those figures? -)

[georgeeipi]

I did my 200 hour VFR CPL, in the mid 1980s. I remember the cost of a Tomahawk at the start of my training was $33/hr. All up that was around $20k. There wasn't much you could do with that, so needed around another $5K for an instructor rating, and another $5k for an multi-instrument rating. That could get you a casual charter job out bush or casual instructing job in a major city paying around $20k/year, if you were lucky.

[43Inches]

Early/Mid 90s 152 hire rate was about $65/$75 solo with 172 and PA28 rates about $10-$20 an hour dearer, an extra $30 or so per hour for dual rates. I think that was with club discounts, still have some rate sheets somewhere. I remember private licences were quoted about $5k and commercial around $20k with CIR and IR courses an additional $5-$8k dependent on operator. By 2000 those figures were starting to double.

[pbwhi0]

Also no landing fees back in the 80s/early 90s. This certainly adds to the cost of training these days.

[Obidiah]

It cost the same back then as it does now......All of it

[Ollie Onion]

I did my CPL in NZ in 1991 and it cost me $90/hour solo in a C152, instructor was $40 per hour on top. No landing fees or airways charges. CPL IR and Insteuctors rating cost me just under $35k. To put it in perspective though, the fulltime job I had that paid for this in 2.5 years had a salary of $23.5k per year :-).