Flying Clubs / Illinois
Flying Clubs in Illinois
Last updated September 3, 2026
A flying club is a group of pilots who share planes, so flying costs much less. In Illinois, a club is one of the cheapest ways to build hours toward 1,500.
Illinois snapshot
- Flying clubs tracked
- 60
- Major areas
- Naperville, West Chicago, Peru, Sugar Grove, Romeoville, Savoy
- Membership
- 53 non-equity, 3 equity, 4 not stated
- Clubs with published rates
- 7 of 60
- Median hourly (wet)
- $125/hr
Counts reflect clubs FlyTo1500 has verified against each club's own website. Rates and membership terms change — always confirm current figures with the club.
Map and list of flying clubs in Illinois
Each club below links to its own website where one is on file — we don't have a public site for every club. Cost figures appear where the club publishes them, with the date last checked and a source link; a club with no published rates still appears — just without a cost block.
Access Aero Flying Club
Non-equityBOLINGBROOK · 1C5 — Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport
Altimeters Anonymous
Non-equitySugar Grove · KARR — Aurora Municipal Airport
Aurora Flying club
Non-equitySugar Grove · KARR — Aurora Municipal Airport
Blackhawk Flying Club, Inc.
Non-equityRockford · KRFD — Chicago/Rockford International Airport
- Buy-in
- $500
- Hourly (wet)
- $133/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Bradley Flying Association
Non-equityPeoria · KPIA — General Downing - Peoria International Airport
Central Illinois Aviators
Non-equityGALESBURG · KGBG — Harrel W Timmons Galesburg Regional Airport
Chapter 15 Aviation
Non-equityRomeoville · KLOT — Lewis University Airport
Cloudhoppers Flying Club
Non-equityEffingham · 1H2 — Effingham County Regional Airport
Crosswinds Flying Club, Inc.
Non-equityBloomington · KBMI — Central Il Regional/Bloomington-Normal Airport
Decatur Aero Club
Non-equityDECATUR · KDEC — Decatur Airport
- Buy-in
- $1,800
- Monthly dues
- $125
- Hourly (wet)
- $165/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
EnginAires Aero Club
EquitySavoy · KCMI — University of Illinois/Willard Airport
- Buy-in
- $9,200
- Monthly dues
- $275
- Hourly (wet)
- $116/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
F & W Flying Club
Non-equityUrbana · 0LL5 — Busboom
Flying 20 Club
Non-equitySpringfield · KSPI — Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport
Flying Bald Eagles, Inc.
Non-equityNew Lenox · KLOT — Lewis University Airport
Flying Country Club, Inc
EquityCoal Valley · KMLI — Quad Cities International Airport
Franklin County Flying Club
Non-equityBENTON · H96 — Benton Municipal Airport
Freeport Flyers, Inc.
Non-equityFreeport · KFEP — Albertus Airport
GAW (Get A Way) Flying Club
Non-equityPalos Heights · KMDW — Chicago Midway International Airport
Gift of Flight, Inc NFP
Non-equityWest Chicago · KDPA — Dupage Airport
Havana Flyers
Non-equityPetersburg · 9I0 — Havana Regional Airport
Illini Glider Club
Non-equityDanville · KDNV — Vermilion Regional Airport
- Buy-in
- $500
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Illinois Valley Flying Club
Non-equityPeru · KVYS — Illinois Valley Regional-Walter A Duncan Field
Instrument Trainer Flying Club
Non-equitySavoy · KCMI — University of Illinois/Willard Airport
International Flying Club
Non-equityNaperville · KDPA — Dupage Airport
Jasper County Flying Club Airport
Newton · 7LL3 — Jasper County Flying Club Airport
Lake Shelbyville Flying Club
Non-equityShelbyville · 2H0 — Shelby County Airport
Land of Lincoln Flying Club
Non-equityMattoon · KMTO — Coles County Memorial Airport
Leading Edge Flying Club
Non-equityWheeling · KPWK — Chicago Exec Airport
Lena Flying Club Landing Field
Lena
Macoupin Flyers Inc.
Non-equityPALMYRA · 5K1 — Zelmer Memorial Airpark Inc
Marshall County Flying Club
Non-equityLacon · C75 — Marshall County Airport
Monmouth Flying Club
Non-equityMonmouth · C66 — Monmouth Municipal Airport
Neo-Flites Flying Club
Non-equityWest Chicago · KDPA — Dupage Airport
OK Flying Club Incorporated Airport
Fillmore
Open Hangar Collective
Non-equitySt Jacob · IL48 — St Louis Metro-East/Shafer Field
Piasa Flyers Aero Club
Non-equityEast Alton · KALN — St Louis Regional Airport
Prestige Worldwide Aviation
Non-equityRomeoville · KLOT — Lewis University Airport
Quad City Area Flying Eagles, Inc.
Non-equityMilan · KMLI — Quad Cities International Airport
- Buy-in
- $100
- Monthly dues
- $125
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Rock River Flying Inc.
Non-equityMT MORRIS · C55 — Ogle County Airport
- Buy-in
- $600
- Monthly dues
- $35
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Schaumburg Flying Club
Non-equityCrystal Lake · 06C — Schaumburg Regional Airport
Skyhawk Flying Club Inc
Non-equityDIXON · C73 — Dixon Muni-Charles R Walgreen Field
Springfield Flying Club
Non-equityRochester · KSPI — Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport
Starved Rock Flying Club
Non-equityPeru · KVYS — Illinois Valley Regional-Walter A Duncan Field
Stick & Rudder Flying Club
Non-equityWaukegan · KUGN — Waukegan Ntl Airport
Symonds Aviation
Non-equityCahokia · KCPS — St Louis Downtown Airport
Twin Cities Air Activities Club
Non-equityRock Falls · KSQI — Whiteside County/Jos H Bittorf Field
- Buy-in
- $1,500
- Monthly dues
- $40
- Hourly (wet)
- $115/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Vagabond Flying Association
Non-equityWest Chicago · KDPA — Dupage Airport
Vermilion County Flying Club
Non-equityDanville · KDNV — Vermilion Regional Airport
Wabash Valley Soaring
Non-equityLawrenceville · KLWV — Lawrenceville-Vincennes International Airport
Wampus Cats
Non-equityIllinois City · KDVN — Davenport Municipal Airport
Windy City Soaring Association
Non-equityHinckley · 0C2 — Hinckley Airport
What a club costs vs. renting from an FBO
A flying club spreads an aircraft's fixed costs — hangar, insurance, annual, reserves — across its members, so the hourly rate is usually lower than renting the same airplane from an FBO. You pay for that lower rate with a one-time buy-in and monthly dues. The break-even is simple: the more hours you fly, the more a club beats rental. For a pilot grinding from 200 toward 1,500 hours, that adds up fast.
Across the 4 Illinois clubs that publish a wet hourly rate, the median is about $125/hr — typically well below FBO rental for a comparable aircraft.
Insurance minimums low-time pilots run into
The most common surprise for newer pilots isn't price — it's the club's insurance. Policies often set a minimum total time, a dual checkout, or a recent-experience requirement before you can fly solo or carry passengers, and complex or high-performance aircraft carry higher minimums. Clubs that welcome student and low-time members are flagged on this page; when a club doesn't say, ask what its insurance requires at your hour level before you pay a buy-in.
Equity vs. non-equity: which fits a time-builder
- Non-equity clubs charge dues for access without an ownership stake — lower up-front commitment and easy to leave, which suits a pilot passing through on the way to 1,500 hours.
- Equity clubs sell you a share of the aircraft; the buy-in is larger but often refundable when you leave, and it can be cheaper per hour if you're staying put for years.
- For most hour-builders, a non-equity club (or an equity club with a modest, refundable buy-in) is the lower-risk choice — you're optimizing for cheap hours now, not long-term ownership.
Can you build commercial time in a club?
Building time for your own logbook — pilot-in-command, cross-country, night — is exactly what clubs are for, and it counts toward the 1,500 hours an ATP requires. Flying for compensation is different: most clubs operate strictly non-commercial under Part 91 and prohibit using the aircraft for hire, and their insurance usually says the same. If your plan is to get paid to fly, a club builds the hours cheaply but isn't where you'll earn them. Before joining, ask: what are the insurance minimums, are there scheduling or currency rules that limit how fast you can build, and is any for-hire or time-building-for-others use restricted?
Building toward 1,500 hours in Illinois?
A club gets you flying cheaply — the next step is getting paid to fly. FlyTo1500 tracks 24 low-time, hour-building employers in Illinois.
See low-time pilot jobs in IllinoisFlying clubs in other states
Sources
Each club's details are verified against, and link to, the club's own website (its listing here cites that page). Club discovery draws on the AOPA Flying Club Finder among other public directories. The 1,500-hour ATP requirement is set by the FAA.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a flying club cost in Illinois?+
It varies by club and aircraft. Most clubs charge a one-time buy-in (refundable in equity clubs), monthly dues, and an hourly rate — often "wet" (fuel included). Among Illinois clubs that publish a wet rate, the median is roughly $125/hr.
Are flying clubs cheaper than renting in Illinois?+
Usually, if you fly enough. Members share the fixed costs of the aircraft, so the hourly rate is typically lower than an FBO's — the buy-in and dues are what you pay for that lower rate. The more you fly toward 1,500 hours, the more the math favors a club.
Can I build hours toward 1,500 in a flying club?+
Yes. Pilot-in-command and cross-country time you log in a club counts toward the 1,500 needed for an ATP (14 CFR § 61.159 — ATP aeronautical experience (airplane)). Clubs are one of the cheapest ways to build that time — though flying for compensation is a separate thing (see below).
Do flying clubs in Illinois accept student or low-time pilots?+
Many do, but not all — some set an hours or checkout minimum for insurance reasons. Where a club states that it welcomes student or low-time members, this page flags it; otherwise ask the club directly before joining.
How many flying clubs are in Illinois?+
FlyTo1500 currently tracks 60 verified flying clubs in Illinois, each confirmed against the club's own website. It's not exhaustive — if your club is missing, you can submit it.
Ready to get paid to fly?
A club builds your hours cheaply. When you're ready to earn them, FlyTo1500 matches live low-time pilot jobs to your logbook — hours, certificates, and goals.
See the jobs I qualify forCancel anytime · Apply directly with employers