In both clubs that I have or belong to, instruction is free. If an instructor wants to try to charge you a fee, see if the club has another instructor. The only time I've seen an instructor charge is if a student comes from another club but wants to learn at our club. Instructors should try to establish a scehdule with their students (I like to fly early in the morning with students before the rest of the club shows up). Just don't get ina hurry. Let the instructor figure out when you are ready to progress to the next level. Sometimes, I've had student that were ready to solo in an hour of flight time (the very rare exception), sometimes I've flown with a student for 4 to five hours of flight time prior to solo. Plus the time on teh ground discussing what the instructor wants to happen and then afterwards what went right and what went wrong.