Redbird Flight’s annual State of Flight Training Report, released March 4 at the 2026 Migration Flight Training Conference in Lakeland, Florida, shows that large and medium-sized flight training organizations (FTOs) — those with 10 or more aircraft in their fleet—continue to report more favorable business outcomes than small flight training providers and independent flight instructors.
In 2025, large FTOs rated their business results at 4.1 out of 5, compared with 3.5 for independent CFIs.
And flight schools are getting bigger.
In Redbird’s inaugural survey in 2020, 84% of large FTOs reported having only one location. In the 2025 report, the number of FTOs reporting a single business location decreased to 33%, while 17% said they have two or three locations, 23% said four or five, 11% said six to 10, and 11% said more than 10.
While locations increase, the student experience is becoming more transient, according to the report.
In a shift from just two years ago, 74% of students now have more than one primary CFI, compared to 66% in 2023, while 28% of students are training at multiple flight schools, compared to 12% in 2023.
There is some good news for students: They are learning faster.
Data from the report suggest that the average time to complete a private pilot certificate was around 24 weeks in 2025, a steady decline from 30 weeks in 2020. The average time to complete an instrument rating was 15 weeks, down from 20 weeks in 2020.
But there is a price for that speed. The median cost for a private pilot certificate was $16,500 in 2025, compared to $9,000 in 2020. The median cost of an instrument rating was $11,500 in 2025, up from $7,500 in 2020 — but down from $12,750 in 2024.
And students should expect those costs to continue rising.
According to the report, 31% of FTOs raised their prices in 2025, with another 25% planning to raise prices in the next year. While 24% of FTOs had no plans to raise prices, 20% said they raised prices in 2025 and will raise them again in 2026.
There may be another kind of backlash from that speed: Only 7% of Designated Pilot Examiners (DPEs) think the quality of applicants is better today than it was five years ago.
About a quarter, 26%, say the quality of applicants is the same, while 45% said it is worse — up from 30% in 2024 — and 21% said it is much worse.
In 2025, the average first time pass rate for check rides was reported as:
- 86% by FTOs
- 70% by independent CFIs, and
- 76% by DPEs.
The primary reason for check ride failure in 2025 was piloting skill, followed by training oversight. That’s flipped from 2024, when training oversight was the No. 1 Reason for failure.
DPEs remain busy, averaging 120 applicants a year. But in a positive trend, while 52% of DPEs had a wait list in 2024, that number dropped to 26% in 2025. Average price of a check ride ranged from $800 to $1,000.
The 2026 State of Flight Training Report is based on responses from more than 1,100 students, pilots, and flight training providers collected between January and February of this year. The majority of respondents, 89%, live in the United States.
You can download the full report at RedbirdFlight.com.
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