Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Effective rate per flight hour
$210.00
Cost per flight (block billed)
$210.00
Premium over quoted rate
$35.00
Premium as % of quoted rate
20.0%
Extra cost per month vs flight-time billing
$140
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How to use this
- 1Enter billed rate ($/block hr).
- 2Enter typical flight time in the air (min).
- 3Enter typical taxi + runup time (min).
- 4Enter flights per month.
- 5Read your effective rate per flight hour on the right — it updates as you type.
- 6Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Rental and charter operators almost universally bill by block time — engine start to engine shutdown — not by actual flight (Hobbs air time or tach time in the air). At a busy towered airport with long taxi routes, block time can run 10-20% higher than pure flight time, which means your effective cost per flight hour is meaningfully higher than the advertised rate. This calculator takes your typical block time versus flight time split and shows the real cost premium so you can budget accurately and compare operators fairly.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Billed rate: 175 $/block hr
- Typical flight time in the air: 60 min
- Typical taxi + runup time: 12 min
- Flights per month: 4
Results
- Effective rate per flight hour: $210.00
- Cost per flight (block billed): $210.00
- Premium over quoted rate: $35.00
- Premium as % of quoted rate: 20.0%
- Extra cost per month vs flight-time billing: $140
What each field means
Inputs
- Billed rate ($/block hr)
- The billed rate used in the calculation, measured in $/block hr. Starts at 175 $/block hr so you have a working example on load.
- Typical flight time in the air (min)
- The typical flight time in the air used in the calculation, measured in min. Starts at 60 min so you have a working example on load.
- Typical taxi + runup time (min)
- The typical taxi + runup time used in the calculation, measured in min. Starts at 12 min so you have a working example on load.
- Flights per month
- The flights per month used in the calculation. Starts at 4 so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Effective rate per flight hour
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Cost per flight (block billed)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Premium over quoted rate
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Premium as % of quoted rate
- Returned as a percentage. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Extra cost per month vs flight-time billing
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why do operators bill block time instead of flight time?
Block time is easy to verify from the aircraft's Hobbs meter, which typically starts on oil pressure or master switch and runs continuously until shutdown, unlike flight time which requires separate tracking of wheels-up to wheels-down. It also compensates the operator for engine wear during taxi, which does happen even though the airplane isn't flying.
How much does taxi time really vary by airport?
At a small non-towered field you might taxi 3-5 minutes total; at a busy Class B or C airport with a long taxi to a distant runway, 15-20 minutes of ground time per flight is common. If you fly regularly from a congested airport, this premium adds up to real annual dollars and might justify choosing a satellite airport for training flights.
Does this affect logbook currency requirements?
No — currency and certificate requirements (like the 3 takeoffs/landings in 90 days) count actual flight events, not billed hours. But total loggable flight time for certificates and ratings is based on flight time, so you're paying for block time while only accumulating flight time toward your rating, another reason the effective rate matters.
Can I negotiate flight-time billing instead?
Some flight schools and clubs do bill tach or Hobbs air-time-only, especially membership clubs with member-maintained aircraft. It's worth asking directly, since a school billing pure flight time at the same nominal rate is meaningfully cheaper than one billing block time, even with an identical quoted hourly figure.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Block Time vs Flight Time Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/block-time-vs-flight-time-cost
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/block-time-vs-flight-time-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Block Time vs Flight Time Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Block Time vs Flight Time Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/block-time-vs-flight-time-cost) (2026).