Flight Course Costs and Payment

The University uses a cash basis payment method pay-as-you-go (PAYG). Under the PAYG system, the actual cost of services used will be calculated and paid for immediately following each flight, simulator or oral training session at Flight Operations. Methods of payment available to you include:

• Credit Cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover)
• Flight Dollars
  • Private Deposit Form (student login required)
  • Public Guest Deposit Form

If you have approved financial aid, you may use all aid in excess of tuition, fee, and room and board costs to pay for training until the aid is credited to your account. Contact ERNIE Central for details.

Embry-Riddle recommends that students and parents budget approximately $23,000-$33,000 per year for flight fees during the first two years and approximately $10,000-$15,000 for the third year of flight. These estimates are based on the minimum course requirements. All students are charged the same flight training rates; however, students who require training beyond the minimum course requirements may incur additional flight training costs. See the Flight Course Costs tabs below for more details.

The required flight training hours for each flight course are as indicated on the Training Course Outlines (TCO). The associated costs per hour, per resource, for the TCO hours are the maximum amounts Veteran Affairs (VA) will consider for payment. If flight training hours exceed the number of TCO hours approved by the State Approving Agency (SAA), any additional training expenses must be paid by the student and not VA. VA will cover flight courses only as part of an SAA-approved degree program that requires a component of flight. Students who receive VA educational assistance for programs other than approved degree programs with a component of flight may not take flight courses as electives or to fulfill other academic requirements. Flight courses taken outside of the SAA-approved degree programs will not be covered with VA educational assistance.

Embry-Riddle adjusts cost annually based on a fiscal schedule that begins at the start of each fall semester.

Flight training is expensive, so planning to manage your flight cost is critical. Flight costs are not billed as part of your tuition; you will pay as you go. Here are our top five tips to manage and minimize your costs.

Tip #1: Don’t let yourself run out of funds midway through training! If you can’t cover the cost of scheduled flight training, you will lose your flight block. If you lose your flight block, you’ll also lose much of the proficiency you’ve gained and can find yourself having to retake lessons, incurring more costs. Estimate your costs for the semester to ensure you have enough money to avoid unnecessary delays in training. We recommend starting with the entire average cost of the flight course you are beginning.

Tip #2: The more frequently you fly, the more money you’ll save in the long run because you’ll be making steady progress. But the more frequently you fly, the faster you’ll rack up costs, so you need to plan for periods when flight training is accelerated, like private pilot training or over the summer months.

Tip #3: Monitor your flight funds regularly. Keep track of your weekly and monthly flight costs so you can anticipate your needs moving ahead, and can take action to secure more funding before you risk losing your flight block. Always ensure that you have funds available so that you can avoid delays in training.

Tip #4: Make flight training your priority. Many students travel home for holidays and summers, but for flight students, this break in training can be a serious setback.