DPE rates

Arithansa said:
In SoCal any checkride seems to hover around $1,200 nowadays.
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"Florida wraps the driver's license and permit license cost in one price: $48. If you fail the the road test, you will need to pay $20 for a skill retest."
Apples to Oranges but still?

Maybe we should move pilots licenses back to the States like we are doing with education? LoL
 
bonefishpete said:
"Florida wraps the driver's license and permit license cost in one price: $48. If you fail the the road test, you will need to pay $20 for a skill retest."
Apples to Oranges but still?

Maybe we should move pilots licenses back to the States like we are doing with education? LoL
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I can just imagine some of the training/testing additions that would be made by various states. If you think FSDO shopping is bad, try figuring out which state to take your checkrides in.
 
I'm guessing the suggestion was made in jest
 
How many of those DPEs are employees of an airline, a training provider a la "FlightSafety", or a Part 141 pilot mill? Doesn't that give their students unequal access to FAA testing? A clear case of regulatory "rent-seeking" I'd say.

Rene said:
Oops! I feel silly. Not the "Director", the "Administrator". (The allmighty "Administrator" of the FAA as referenced in the FARs.) I'll go back and fix my post then take my seat in the corner. No soup for me (and it was lohikeitto).
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I wonder how the FAA "Administrator" escaped the "Director-fication" of the Aughts. For over two centuries, the head of the bureau that granted US patents, which had by that time come to be the US Patent & Trademark Office, held the title of "Commissioner". Apparently, the edict came down that all heads at that level were to be called "Directors", so the change was made. The positions formerly known as "Assistant Commissioner for Patents" and "Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks" got, to my mind, a paper promotion to respective "Commissioners". To the extent title matters, and when recalling 2 centuries of tradition (as with patents) or 120 years of tradition (as with aviation), I'd say that titles matter.

:confused2:
 
brien23 said:
I got this from a new DPE in the area, is what he charges about the same elsewhere.

My fees are:
All checkrides: USD 1,000
Retest flight: USD 500
Retest oral plus flight is full fee
Discontinue is free
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I am so glad I earned my ratings when I did. That’s ridiculous
 
DJTorrente said:
How many of those DPEs are employees of an airline, a training provider a la "FlightSafety", or a Part 141 pilot mill? Doesn't that give their students unequal access to FAA testing? A clear case of regulatory "rent-seeking"
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I disagree…neither the airline check airman nor the Part 142 FlightSafety examiner can give a Private, Instrument, Commercial, or Multi checkride. They’re limited to the equipment and operations they’re allowed to test and check. They are technically not DPEs, but Training Center Evaluators or check airmen.

Technically the same for a Part 141 pilot mill employee…I don’t know what they’re called, but they’re only authorized to check the products of their own training programs.

Generally speaking, the above makes DPE availability better for the Part 61 applicant.
 
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I remember paying $800 or $900 for Commercial and multi commercial, $1200 for CFI initial, $800 for CFI-I. Central Florida.
 
Cwspilot said:
I am so glad I earned my ratings when I did. That’s ridiculous
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I appreciate posts like yours. It's a great thing to admit one one's timing and luck. It's the ones who try to rationalize their lot in life as a condition of ultimate merit that I find odious ladder pulling.
 
hindsight2020 said:
I appreciate posts like yours. It's a great thing to admit one one's timing and luck. It's the ones who try to rationalize their lot in life as a condition of ultimate merit that I find odious ladder pulling.
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It isn't all luck and timing. Sometimes, you have to do the unpleasant. :cool:
 
I try to be off the controls as much as possible, but sometimes the "You hear that stall horn? Pitch the nose down" isn't enough on a student go around.
 
My Private Pilot was $350 in Central Florida in 2006.

I paid $700 each for IR, CP and multi in 2020 and 2021 in South Carolina. All done in conjunction with CRAFT, but not Pt 141. (As an aside, the DPE is not affiliated with CRAFT but they schedule the checkride then work backward to give you a schedule for the intensives which is how I did all those. The DPE was personable, tough but fair and a great resource of related info.)

My CP-SES was $600 in central Florida in Jan of 2023. My CP-MES would have been $1,000 in August of 2024 in Coeur D'Alene, ID but the DPE passed away before I went out so an FAA examiner did it and I didn't have to pay (directly).
 
DJTorrente said:
Flying gliders is the best training. Every flight is a dead stick emergency. You get good at handling them.

or... you don't.
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There are fewer ways to have an emergency in a glider than in an airplane, and most that I can think of would be the result of the pilot f****** up. But a glider landing without an engine isn't an emergency, it's usually the status quo.
 
Lindberg said:
There are fewer ways to have an emergency in a glider than in an airplane, and most that I can think of would be the result of the pilot f****** up. But a glider landing without an engine isn't an emergency, it's usually the status quo.
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To be fair, most of the ways you have an emergency in powered aircraft are also the pilot screwing up.
 
midwestpa24 said:
Honestly I've only ever seen that clip, never the entire show/movie. Before my time.
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It was shown recently (I think on GRIT).

Anyway, IIRC, the mom comes up to Hondo saying that her son can't swim. He says that he'll learn. It was how he was taught. and, anyway, go in a get him if you want...

The mom says she can't swim.

Hondo turns to her... she starts backing away saying "you wouldn't" and then runs away.
 
cowman said:
Wow, last time I had a checkride was 2017 IIRC and it was $300. Has it really come up that much or are these just coastal/major metro prices?
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Yes, prices are that high even in rural areas. Add in a travel fee to pay the DPE to come to your airport (generally a good idea for the initial PPL). I paid $900 last year in rural Wisconsin. I'm expecting $1,000+ for Instrument this year, probably doing this one in Houston.
 
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Just to add some numbers, the problem is not budget. The FAA is getting money.

It goes up (quite rapidly) each year
  • 2015: $15.9 billion
    • Enacted budget, reflecting funding from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) and General Fund contributions, supporting operations, facilities, and NextGen initiatives.
  • 2016: $16.3 billion
    • Enacted budget, with increased investments in air traffic control modernization and safety programs.
  • 2017: $16.4 billion
    • Enacted budget, maintaining focus on infrastructure and safety oversight amidst temporary reauthorization extensions.
  • 2018: $16.8 billion
    • Enacted budget, bolstered by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which ensured funding stability through September 2023.
  • 2019: $17.5 billion
    • Enacted budget, supporting controller staffing and NextGen deployment, with AATF contributions covering over half.
  • 2020: $17.9 billion
    • Enacted budget, supplemented by CARES Act funding to address COVID-19 impacts on aviation, totaling additional temporary support.
  • 2021: $18.1 billion
    • Enacted budget, with continued reliance on AATF ($11.4 billion in excise tax revenue) and General Fund support.
  • 2022: $18.6 billion
    • Enacted budget, with AATF contributing $11.4 billion (54.8% of total), focusing on safety and infrastructure.
  • 2023: $24.0 billion
    • Enacted budget, with AATF funding $16.5 billion (68.9%), reflecting significant increases for modernization and staffing per USAFacts data.
  • 2024: $20.3 billion
    • Enacted budget per the FY2024 appropriations bill, including a $1.255 billion boost for IT modernization and hiring 1,800 controllers.
  • 2025: $21.0 billion (proposed)
    • Based on the FY2025 Budget Estimates, including $20.2 billion from AATF excise tax forecasts and $1.8 billion for aviation safety oversight. This is a request, not yet enacted as of April 6, 2025.
 
LA/OC area
$1,000 to $1,500
CFI initial up to $2,000. I’ve even heard as high as $2,500.
 
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Some low activity DPEs are necessary. Glider, Balloon, Gyrocopter for example.

Those annual FAA statistics always seem to vary wildly from what myself and other examiners are experiencing in the real-world anyway. I never put much faith in them.
 
tonycondon said:
Some low activity DPEs are necessary. Glider, Balloon, Gyrocopter for example.

Those annual FAA statistics always seem to vary wildly from what myself and other examiners are experiencing in the real-world anyway. I never put much faith in them.
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"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -Samuel Clemens
 
jbarrass said:
Just to add some numbers, the problem is not budget. The FAA is getting money.

It goes up (quite rapidly) each year
  • 2015: $15.9 billion
    • Enacted budget, reflecting funding from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) and General Fund contributions, supporting operations, facilities, and NextGen initiatives.
  • 2016: $16.3 billion
    • Enacted budget, with increased investments in air traffic control modernization and safety programs.
  • 2017: $16.4 billion
    • Enacted budget, maintaining focus on infrastructure and safety oversight amidst temporary reauthorization extensions.
  • 2018: $16.8 billion
    • Enacted budget, bolstered by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which ensured funding stability through September 2023.
  • 2019: $17.5 billion
    • Enacted budget, supporting controller staffing and NextGen deployment, with AATF contributions covering over half.
  • 2020: $17.9 billion
    • Enacted budget, supplemented by CARES Act funding to address COVID-19 impacts on aviation, totaling additional temporary support.
  • 2021: $18.1 billion
    • Enacted budget, with continued reliance on AATF ($11.4 billion in excise tax revenue) and General Fund support.
  • 2022: $18.6 billion
    • Enacted budget, with AATF contributing $11.4 billion (54.8% of total), focusing on safety and infrastructure.
  • 2023: $24.0 billion
    • Enacted budget, with AATF funding $16.5 billion (68.9%), reflecting significant increases for modernization and staffing per USAFacts data.
  • 2024: $20.3 billion
    • Enacted budget per the FY2024 appropriations bill, including a $1.255 billion boost for IT modernization and hiring 1,800 controllers.
  • 2025: $21.0 billion (proposed)
    • Based on the FY2025 Budget Estimates, including $20.2 billion from AATF excise tax forecasts and $1.8 billion for aviation safety oversight. This is a request, not yet enacted as of April 6, 2025.
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Going from $16B (2015) to $20B (2024)over 9 years is barely keeping up with inflation over that period. You really need to back out ATO and AIP to get a better sense of how money is spent on safety oversight.
 
Per an inflation calculator, $15B in 2015 is the equivalent of $21.2B in 2024. So funding didn't even keep up with inflation.
 
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