How Much Does it Cost?

That depends on the price of fuel and how long it takes you to prepare for and pass your FAA check ride.

As a non-profit organization, TSS is not making any money from your dues or fees. You pay what it costs to operate, maintain, store and insure the airplanes. You share those costs equally with your fellow members.

The following breakdown is a rough estimate of costs for a new TSS member who spends a year earning a private pilot certificate.

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Things to remember about the cost of getting your pilot’s license:

• All costs are current as of May 1, 2010.

• As fuel prices increase, hourly operating costs also increase. Conversely, as fuel prices drop (and they do!), hourly operating costs decrease.

• The above estimate is based on the FAA’s minimum requirement of 40 flight hours. Most pilots need more time to be properly prepared for their FAA check ride.

• Your training will be more effective and efficient if you fly regularly and follow a program that you design with your instructor. The longer it takes, the more money you will spend.

• The one-time initiation fee will be returned to members in good standing when they leave the club. This significantly reduces the total estimate above.

Who We Are

The TSS (Takoma – Silver Spring) Flying Club Inc., is a member owned, nonprofit flying club based out of the Montgomery County Airpark (Gaithersburg, MD) established in 1957 and incorporated under the laws and regulations of the state of Maryland.

Our club provides cost-effective and airworthy airplanes for use by club member pilots. The membership is limited to 20 members for the first airplane and 15 members for each additional airplane that the club owns or leases (presently, all aircraft are owned).

TSS operates a fleet of 4 Cessna aircraft that meet the variety of missions any club member may require. As a new member, we have a plane for your every reasonable need (no jet yet!) from training to mid-range traveling to cross country workhorse. Our fleet consists of:

• 2 Skyhawks (aka Cessna 172)
• 2 Skylanes (aka Cessna 182… one with retractable landing gear)

You can find out more about our fleet in the our fleet section.

There are many advantages to joining a club, below are just a few of the highlights:

• One of the largest club fleets in the metropolitan area
• Competitive rates below that of an FBO
• Hourly rates based on tachometer rather than straight time
• No Pricing Tiers – one buy-in gives you access to all aircraft (subject to checkout requirements)
• Internet and/or phone scheduling of aircraft
• Numerous club instructors who can help you get your private pilot certificate or instrument rating (or Commercial or Flight Instructor or…)

TSS is non-profit and we do all we can to keep costs as reasonable as possible. To cover club operations we have three types of costs:

• One-Time Buy-In: $1,200
• One-Time Membership Fee: $50
• Monthly Dues: $116
• Hourly Rate: Varies per aircraft

Does another member of your household fly? TSS offers significant discounts to family members who join TSS. The cost for each additional family member (after the first regular membership) is:

• One-Time Buy-In: No additional buy-in required
• One-Time Membership Fee: $50
• Monthly Dues: Regular Member’s Dues +$15
• Hourly Rate: Same as Regular membership

Even if you’ve never been in a light airplane, we can help.

Check us out, compare us to FBOs and other flying clubs. We think you’ll find that TSS is the best value for pilots in the Maryland/DC-Metro region.