Is a $450 PPL checkride normal?
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 748
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From: LFMD
Don't know about it being a licence to print money. At best a DPE can do one checkride per day. In practice there just aren't that many to be done. I would not want to try to make a living as a DPE (though people do, along with some instruction).
It's just like flight instructing. Round here most instructors charge $60-80/hr. Not bad - IF you can get 40 hrs/week of instruction. But you can't. I don't know how many billable hours per week a full-time instructor gets, but I'd imagine that even 20 would be unusual.
It's just like flight instructing. Round here most instructors charge $60-80/hr. Not bad - IF you can get 40 hrs/week of instruction. But you can't. I don't know how many billable hours per week a full-time instructor gets, but I'd imagine that even 20 would be unusual.
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,633
Likes: 137
From: USA
Depends on where you do your checkride. In South Florida, one can expect to pay ~$500 per checkride. It's also quite possible to make a small fortune as a DPE, as you can normally do 2 checkrides per day.
I know a guy who's all but quit his day job, because as a DPE, his income exceeds that of the your typical widebody major airline captain- and he never has to do an overnight.
Sweet gig!
I know a guy who's all but quit his day job, because as a DPE, his income exceeds that of the your typical widebody major airline captain- and he never has to do an overnight.
Sweet gig!
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 382
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From: Belgium
Give DPE's a break !
Don't know about it being a licence to print money. At best a DPE can do one checkride per day. In practice there just aren't that many to be done. I would not want to try to make a living as a DPE (though people do, along with some instruction).
And, like flight instruction, DPE's appear to be more expensive in CA, FL and NY.
In the North-Central region, check rides are more in the $250-$350 ball park.
As Silvaire already remarked, $100/hour for a DPE is not exaggerated. But it must be enjoyable, because you get to teach from a privileged position to very motivated students.
Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Paris
European prices are much higher than these, a thousand euros or more. America is cheap
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 382
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From: Belgium
Yes, Serge, but Tom is a bit of a special case as the single designated FAA DPE for Europe. The two considerations there are :
- Tom has to make a living out of it
- Tom sets his fee taking into account that the alternative of his applicants is taking a trip to the US (in Economics we call this monopolist pricing).
I personally think that Toms price setting is not ideal, and that by lowering his fee he would attract not only more customers, but also increase his overall revenue. Quite a few candidates still prefer to go to the US, because it provides them with an additional opportunity to build (twin) hours at a much lower rate.
Saint-Charles Flying Service (Saint-Charles, MO)*, for instance, rents out a Duchess for around $250/hour wet to qualified pilots. Which compares to prices of €500+/hour dry that you pay in Europe (if you can find one).
*MODS: No advertisement intended, many other flight schools in the North-Central region will rent out their planes to checked-out and insurance qualified pilots, when they are not used for instruction. Interested readers are encouraged to do some Google searches combined with the AOPA member services (Airport information in the flight planning section also contains listings of FBO's / Flight Schools)
And the two examiners I know in the greater St. Louis area charge $250 and $300 respectively for a check ride.
- Tom has to make a living out of it
- Tom sets his fee taking into account that the alternative of his applicants is taking a trip to the US (in Economics we call this monopolist pricing).
I personally think that Toms price setting is not ideal, and that by lowering his fee he would attract not only more customers, but also increase his overall revenue. Quite a few candidates still prefer to go to the US, because it provides them with an additional opportunity to build (twin) hours at a much lower rate.
Saint-Charles Flying Service (Saint-Charles, MO)*, for instance, rents out a Duchess for around $250/hour wet to qualified pilots. Which compares to prices of €500+/hour dry that you pay in Europe (if you can find one).
*MODS: No advertisement intended, many other flight schools in the North-Central region will rent out their planes to checked-out and insurance qualified pilots, when they are not used for instruction. Interested readers are encouraged to do some Google searches combined with the AOPA member services (Airport information in the flight planning section also contains listings of FBO's / Flight Schools)
And the two examiners I know in the greater St. Louis area charge $250 and $300 respectively for a check ride.
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 382
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From: Belgium
$ 300 + dual rate ?
...on top of the dual rate
Now with dual instruction rates around $40-50, you are looking at at $ 375 price tag then ? Is that in the Sun State ?
