Accelerated academy · Des Moines, IA · Checked August 24, 2026
What US Flight Co's program costs
A full-time, integrated career program sold at a fixed price, not an hourly rate. Every figure below is US Flight Co's own published price, with the source and the date we read it. This is the published sticker, not a personalized quote.
Website usflightco.com
US Flight Co campuses in Iowa
Des Moines (DSM)
Section 1Program price
Published program price
$95K
Fast Track Airline Pilot Program (zero to MEI)
The academy does not publish how hours beyond the estimate are billed. Confirm before enrolling.
US Flight Co publishes the program as a fixed price and states unused hours are reimbursed, but it does not state how hours beyond the planned 295 are billed. Third-party testing fees are extra and can run up to about $10,000 for the full program per the school. Confirm the overage policy before enrolling.
The academy's own published price. It does not reduce the 1,500-hour airline minimum (only a qualifying degree does). Prices change. Confirm current figures with US Flight Co.
The programs, with sources
- Fast Track Airline Pilot Program (zero to MEI)
- $94,995
- PPL · IR · CPL · Multi · CFI · CFII · MEI · 295 hrs
- August 24, 2026Source
- Published fixed price before sales tax and third-party examiner and testing fees, and before an iPad with ForeFlight. Covers 295 total flight hours (25 multi-engine), about 200 hours of one-on-one ground, and unlimited simulator, with books, materials, and equipment included. You are charged only for hours flown and unused payments are refunded in full.
- Des Moines International Airport (DSM) academy, zero to MEI, published as 9 to 12 months. Does not reduce the 1,500-hour airline minimum.
Section 2Paying for it
Two ways to cover $94,995.
Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left. Neither figure assumes anything about you: one is what our scholarship directory holds, the other is what the lenders publish.
- Money you keepScholarships you could apply for46 open to anyone. Top awards reach $22,200.No Iowa-only awards in the directory yet.
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- Money you pay backLenders that cover $94,995Four of the six lenders in our comparison lend this much. That is whether a loan this size is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
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Section 3Add to my plan
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Compare the pathsSection 4Questions
- How much does US Flight Co cost?
- US Flight Co publishes $94,995 for its Fast Track Airline Pilot Program (zero to MEI), as listed on the academy's own pricing page (August 24, 2026). That is the published sticker for the program, not a personalized quote, and it is what the academy asks before the fees the sticker excludes.
- What is included in US Flight Co's program price?
- US Flight Co's published programs cover Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL), Flight Instructor, Instrument Instructor and Multi-Engine Instructor. The headline track plans for about 295 flight hours. The academy states about 12 months to finish. On what it excludes, the academy states: Published fixed price before sales tax and third-party examiner and testing fees, and before an iPad with ForeFlight. Covers 295 total flight hours (25 multi-engine), about 200 hours of one-on-one ground, and unlimited simulator, with books, materials, and equipment included. You are charged only for hours flown and unused payments are refunded in full.
- What happens if you need more hours than US Flight Co's program includes?
- The academy does not publish how hours beyond the estimate are billed. Confirm before enrolling. US Flight Co publishes the program as a fixed price and states unused hours are reimbursed, but it does not state how hours beyond the planned 295 are billed. Third-party testing fees are extra and can run up to about $10,000 for the full program per the school. Confirm the overage policy before enrolling. This is the question worth asking hardest at any accelerated academy, because the published price and the price a student who flies over the plan actually pays are two different numbers.
- Does going to US Flight Co lower the 1,500-hour airline requirement?
- No. An accelerated academy does not reduce the 1,500-hour ATP minimum. Only a qualifying aviation degree does, under 14 CFR 61.160, which lowers it to 1,000 hours for a bachelor's or 1,250 for an associate's. What an academy sells is speed and a fixed price to the commercial certificate and instructor ratings, not a shortcut to the airlines. Most graduates then instruct to build the remaining hours.
Section 5Sources
Figures are US Flight Co's own published program prices, shown with the date we read them. They are not a personalized quote, and a student's actual cost will differ with location premiums, the fees the sticker excludes, and pace. Published prices generally assume the program's planned hours; flight training often runs over the FAA minimums, and how extra hours are billed varies by academy (some hold a truly fixed cost, others charge an hourly rate for additional time). Confirm the overage policy with the academy. An accelerated academy does not lower the 1,500-hour airline minimum; only a qualifying degree does, under 14 CFR 61.160. PilotBound is not affiliated with US Flight Co. Disclaimer & removal policy.
Primary sources: usflightco.com
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