That is not a bad price at all. I paid about $60/hr w/instructor almost 15 years ago, and that was when gas was cheap! So $88, not bad. Once you are qualified and can fly solo, obviously the price drops a bit since it's just you and the plane. You can figure that with ground school and the minimum hours and gear you will need, that total you are looking at $3000-4, maybe? (pulling that out, maybe I am way off...)

Yea, it is an investment, but it is worth it. It is an awesome hobby. Some people's only frame of reference is flying on an airline, so they wonder, why would you ever spend that much money. But, compare it to if you only ever rode on a bus, how much more different is it to get behind the wheel of a car and drive yourself? Know what I mean? Consider that you can save that much in a year, but not eating out all that much. Some people spend more than that a year on a "hobby" if you add it up.

$250, might have been the ground school price. TA I think will cover the ground school piece. I know they had a change in rules last year or so. I need to find out what they cover now.