Time Building Cost Calculator
Price your hour-building block: hours needed × honest rate, with the safety-pilot split that halves the cost per logged hour.
Time building is a unit-cost problem: $/logged-hour. The safety-pilot split — two pilots, one rental, both logging — is the single biggest lever.
Safety-pilot logging must be done correctly (sole manipulator under the hood / acting-PIC agreement) — see the safety pilot log tool for the legal structure.
With your numbers: 150 logged hours at a 0.5 share of a 140/h aircraft = 75 paid aircraft hours and roughly 10,500 total.
⚠️ Not for operational decisions. This is a record-keeping and planning aid only — not certified avionics, not a source of regulatory truth. Always verify against official sources (FAA) and your operator's approved documents before flying.
Disclaimer: This tool is for general informational and estimation purposes only and is not professional financial, tax, accounting or legal advice. All figures are estimates — verify with a qualified professional before making decisions. Read the full disclaimer.
Free time-building cost calculator with the safety-pilot share factor: hours needed, honest rate, split arrangement — the unit-cost math behind every 1,500-hour plan.
About Time Building Cost Calculator
Between the commercial certificate and the ATP's 1,500 hours lies aviation's most expensive arithmetic problem, and it's won on unit cost: dollars per LOGGED hour, not per rental hour. The structural lever is the safety-pilot split — two building pilots share one aircraft, alternating hood time, each legally logging (the flying pilot as sole manipulator, the safety pilot as required crewmember or acting PIC by agreement) — which halves the effective rate while building the simulated-instrument time that keeps IFR skills alive. This calculator prices your block with the share factor explicit: solo at factor 1.0, a clean split at 0.5, club equity rates wherever you can get them. Run scenarios before committing to a building plan; across 300 hours, the difference between $140 solo and $70 split is a type rating.
How to use Time Building Cost Calculator
- 1Set the hours your next gate requires (ATP, 135 minimums, insurance).
- 2Choose the share factor your arrangement honestly supports.
- 3Read the total; compare scenarios before signing any building plan.
Why use Time Building Cost Calculator?
- ✓Unit-cost framing: $/logged-hour is the metric that matters
- ✓Share factor models safety-pilot splits and club arrangements
- ✓Scenario tool: solo vs split vs club across your whole block
- ✓Pairs with the safety-pilot log for the legal structure
- ✓Instant, free, browser-only
Frequently asked questions
How does safety-pilot time building work legally?+
One pilot flies under the hood (logging PIC as sole manipulator plus simulated instrument time); the other acts as safety pilot — a required crewmember under 91.109(c) — logging SIC, or PIC if both agreed the safety pilot was acting pilot-in-command and they're qualified to be. Swap roles each leg and both logbooks grow on one rental. The structure must be logged correctly to survive interviews; the safety-pilot log on this site encodes the three legal configurations.
What do airlines think of safety-pilot and split time?+
It counts, with caveats: properly logged sole-manipulator PIC and required-crewmember SIC are legal time, and regionals consume them routinely at the 1,500-hour gate. What interviews discount is junk structure — vague entries, time that doesn't reconcile, or 1,000 hours of identical local hops. Building with purpose (cross-countries, night, varied airspace) keeps split time interview-proof; clear logging keeps it audit-proof.
Are time-building 'packages' from schools worth it?+
Price them against this calculator: divide the package price by genuinely loggable hours and compare with your split-rental unit cost. Packages win when they include scarce assets (multi-engine blocks, where 25 ME hours matter more than 100 single hours) or guaranteed availability; they lose when they're ordinary rental hours with a brochure. The multi-engine question dominates late building — weigh ME package hours against your target job's actual minimums.
Where is this data stored?+
Everything you enter is saved in your browser's local storage on your own device — nothing is uploaded to any server. Your records stay completely private, work offline, and load instantly. Use the CSV export regularly to keep an off-device backup copy.
How do I back up or print these records?+
Use the Export CSV button below the table: it downloads your full building plan as a spreadsheet-ready file. From there you can print a clean copy, archive it with your records folder, or import it into any other system. Exporting monthly is a good habit since the working data lives only in your browser.
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