Cessna 172 Rental FAQs

You need to complete a local checkout flight with a High Tide flight instructor and hold a valid non-owned aircraft (renter's) insurance policy. Once your instructor signs off your rental privileges, you can reserve an airplane. If you are earning a certificate or coming back to flying, we can help you plan the right next step. Contact us and we will walk you through the checkout and the paperwork.

A checkout flight typically lasts one to one and a half hours. Your instructor covers local airspace and procedures, basic airwork such as steep turns, slow flight, and stalls, and a set of takeoffs and landings, including short-field, soft-field, and engine-out practice in the pattern. Pilots who have not flown in a while may want extra time with an instructor first, and our team will help you decide. We keep the checkout friendly and straightforward.

A standard Cessna 172 rents for $195 per hour wet, and our technically advanced 172K, N79475, rents for $210 per hour wet. A two-hour flight is $390 in a standard 172 and $420 in the TAA 172K. Your checkout and insurance are separate from the hourly rate. Contact us to confirm current rates and availability before you plan a trip.

Yes. All of our Cessna 172 rental rates are wet, which means fuel is included in the hourly price. You do not need to add a fuel line to your budget for the flight itself. That keeps the price of an hour easy to plan, and our team can answer any question about what the rate covers.

Yes. You need a valid non-owned aircraft policy before you fly solo. High Tide carries hull and liability coverage on the fleet, and your renter's policy protects you from deductibles or damage claims if an incident occurs while you are pilot in command. We partner with Avemco, and you can get a quote at www.avemco.com/ht02 or by using source code HT02. Request your quote before your checkout so your coverage is ready.

We dispatch rentals from Southport, NC (Cape Fear Regional Jetport, KSUT) and St. Simons Island, GA (McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport, KSSI). Our Wilmington base focuses on training, so solo rentals are not dispatched from there. Tell us where you live and we will help you choose the base that fits your drive and your flying plans.

A wet rental includes fuel in the hourly rate, and a dry rental does not, so the renter buys fuel separately. To compare two rates fairly, add the cost of fuel to any dry rate and compare the totals. Our Cessna 172 rates are wet, and we are glad to explain how that works for your flight.

Our standard Cessna 172s rent for $195 per hour wet and carry avionics that range from a Garmin GNX 375 with WAAS to dual G5 displays with a Garmin GPS 175. Our TAA 172K, N79475, rents for $210 per hour wet and carries a Garmin G3X Touch display, a G5, a GTN 650, and a GFC 500 autopilot. Pick the panel that matches the flying you want to do. Our team can talk through the choice with you.

Rental privileges depend on your certificate, your experience, and your checkout. If you are still earning your certificate, your instruction usually happens with an instructor in a training aircraft. When you are ready to fly on your own, we will help you plan the steps. Talk with us about your stage of training and we will point you to the right path.

If your flying builds toward a certificate or rating, financing options may help. We work with partners such as AOPA Flight Training Finance, and we accept 529 education savings plans for eligible training. Rental hours that are not part of a training program are a separate budget item. Our team can help you find the right fit.