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Article UPDATED 1/29/24 — See at bottom —DJ You may have experienced this but I just got sticker shock. A young pilot told me he is facing a $1,000 fee for his Private Pilot check ride. What?! I got my license so long ago I forgot how much I paid but, obviously… “A dollar doesn’t buy what it used to!” A few sources confirmed $1,000 is a common fee. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying a check ride isn’t worth that much; it’s merely a bigger number than expected, although my young pilot friend still has to come up with that amount of dough. Whew! When friends and family complain about grocery store prices or the cost of air travel, I shrug and say, “Tell me something that has not gone up by 50 or 100% in the last three years.” No one loves the situation but those are economic facts.