I know of a flight club that rents a 172RG for $109/wet located at APA. It shouldn't take more than 10 hours for CFI training. 10 hours at $109 works out to be $1090.

FAA books are free.

The FAA provides check-rides for free.

A low-time CFI usually charges/earns around $15-$30 per flight/ground hour.

If one has a friend who is a CFI, one could negotiate a reasonable price for flight instruction.

There are flight schools in AZ that hire CFIs with 250 hours.

Some flight schools provide instructors with free flight hours and free dual instruction towards training for a CFII and/or MEI. My CFII cost me under $1000. I took advantage of free dual instruction and free flight time provided by the flight school I worked at, at the time.

One could easily pay $3000-$3500 for a CFI initial and a CFII.

How much does the club charge for membership? I have never seen a club that didn't require an initial buy in plus a monthly fee on top of the hourly rate.

Not saying your wrong, just saying that reliable aircraft suitable for a check ride are not easy to find at the $100 price point.

I do agree with the general point of your post. With time and some effort you can find affordable ways to add on ratings.

Good Point, the club I'm referring to has low annual fees. I recall they have an annual fee of around $60-$90 and a six month option for around $35-$50. For $109 an hour, you're not getting a pristine looking aircraft, but does the quality of paint really make a difference?


How do you determine what is a reliable and suitable aircraft for a check-ride?

Ask the FAA...

You could I guess..

I have seen things like fixed trim tabs added to Cessna ailerons at some budget rental ops (worked for them too). They get added when the eccentric bolts in the wing will not provide enough adjustment for wings level flying. For DPE rides you probably would not hear a thing. If you took it to an Inspector for a check ride the plane will be red tagged and you don't finish your ride. That is more what I'm talking about in my earlier post. The kind of situation that is not necessarily unsafe but is not legal and will not fly at a FSDO check ride.

All of the hair splitting aside your advice is sound I was just commenting on the chance of success at 100 per hour

Make some more posts so your PM function works.

Try here:
kelly's Aviation Flight Instruction, learn to Fly in Tucson, AZflight instruction and airplane rental at Kelly’s Aviation.
$117 an hour for 172 at Ryan

Aircraft
$95 per hour with $100 monthly fee at TUS

How many posts do I need to make?