Flight School Fleet Planner.
Free flight school fleet calculator: turn students, hours per student, utilization and maintenance downtime into the number of aircraft you need.
Estimates only, before tax, insurance and maintenance. Real terms depend on the aircraft, operator and lender.
Start a deal fileHow this calculator works
Annual demand is active students times flight hours per student per year. Usable capacity per aircraft is your target monthly hours times twelve, reduced by the share of time lost to maintenance. Dividing demand by capacity, and rounding up, gives the aircraft you need. The current load shows how hard your existing fleet would have to fly to meet demand.
Frequently asked questions
What utilization should a training aircraft target?
It varies with weather, instructor availability and scheduling. Use your own history if you have it, and test a range to see how sensitive the fleet size is.
Should spare aircraft be included?
Many schools keep a buffer for maintenance surprises. Raise the downtime percentage to build that in.
How do I finance the gap?
Common options are operating leases, sale-leasebacks of owned aircraft and fleet facilities. See the flight school financing guide.