How much does Cactus Aviation cost?

Cactus Aviation publishes $77,240 for its Zero to CFII (single engine), as listed on the academy's own pricing page (September 24, 2026). It publishes 7 tracks in total, priced by how much flight experience you start with. 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 Cactus Aviation's program price?

Cactus Aviation's published programs cover Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. The headline track plans for about 245 flight hours. On what it excludes, the academy states: The component courses fold in the medical, renters insurance, ground school, written tests and an estimated $1,000 practical test fee. No multi-engine, no MEI and no ATP are in this ladder. Prices are stated to be subject to change with fuel, oil and maintenance.

Does going to Cactus Aviation 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.

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Accelerated academy · Henderson, NV · Checked September 24, 2026

What Cactus Aviation's program costs

A full-time, integrated career program sold at a fixed price, not an hourly rate. Every figure below is Cactus Aviation's own published price, with the source and the date we read it. This is the published sticker, not a personalized quote.

Website cactusaviation.com

Cactus campuses in Nevada

Henderson (HND)

Section 1Program price

Published program price

$77.2K

Zero to CFII (single engine)

Other tracks from $11K.

Average price

Published as an average. Your real cost rises if you fly more than the average hours.

Every figure is built on national average hours rather than on what you will fly, and the school says so. It also publishes its hourly rates, $185 to $235 for the aircraft and $65 or $70 for instruction, so unlike most academies here an overrun can be priced in advance.

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 Cactus Aviation.

The programs, with sources

Zero to CFII (single engine): $77,240; PPL · IR · CPL · CFI · CFII · 245 hrs; September 24, 2026Source; The component courses fold in the medical, renters insurance, ground school, written tests and an estimated $1,000 practical test fee. No multi-engine, no MEI and no ATP are in this ladder. Prices are stated to be subject to change with fuel, oil and maintenance.; Stratus Financial, with six published loan options over 15, 10 and 6 year terms.; 245 flight hours plus 50 simulator hours, 295 total. Built from the five course figures below, which sum to exactly this total. The school notes that time building flown with other pilots lowers the rental share of the cost.
Private Pilot Certificate (FAA minimum time): $10,993; PPL · 38 hrs; September 24, 2026Source; This is the FAA-minimum-hours figure, which almost nobody achieves. The school publishes a national-average version of the same course alongside it at $18,905, and that is the more realistic planning number.; 38 hours of flight time, 20 hours of instruction and 2.5 hours of simulator, plus medical, renters insurance, ground school, written and an estimated $1,000 practical test.
Private Pilot Certificate (national average): $18,905; PPL · 65 hrs; September 24, 2026Source; Includes $1,930 of required fees inside the total. Built on 65 hours, the school's stated national average.
Instrument Rating: $21,175; IR · 60 hrs; September 24, 2026Source; Stated to include the 50-hour cross-country PIC requirement, which many schools price separately.
Commercial License: $25,425; CPL · 95 hrs; September 24, 2026Source; 95 hours of aircraft rental split across two rate bands, plus 30 hours dual, 15 simulator and 20 ground.
Certified Flight Instructor: $6,440; CFI · 15 hrs; September 24, 2026Source; Includes two written exams at $350 and an estimated $1,200 practical test.
Certified Flight Instructor Instrument: $5,295; CFII · 8 hrs; September 24, 2026Source; Includes the written at $175 and an estimated $1,200 practical test.

Section 2Paying for it

Two ways to cover $10,993.

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 for51 open to anyone. Top awards reach $22,200.No Nevada-only awards in the directory yet.: 51
Money you pay backLenders that cover $10,993All six lenders in our comparison lend this much. That is whether a loan this size is on offer, not whether you would be approved.: 6 of 6

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Section 3Add to my plan

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Turn this into a route to your checkride, with Cactus's published price built in.

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Section 4In the app

Track your training at Cactus.

Enter the aircraft and instructor rates for your training at Cactus Aviation when you set up PilotBound, and the app tracks every flight you log against the projection. On a fixed-price program, it shows what the hours you actually fly would cost by the hour, to set beside the package.

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PilotBound log-a-flight card pre-filled from the aircraft and instructor rates, updating the spent total

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Section 5Questions

How much does Cactus Aviation cost?: Cactus Aviation publishes $77,240 for its Zero to CFII (single engine), as listed on the academy's own pricing page (September 24, 2026). It publishes 7 tracks in total, priced by how much flight experience you start with. 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 Cactus Aviation's program price?: Cactus Aviation's published programs cover Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. The headline track plans for about 245 flight hours. On what it excludes, the academy states: The component courses fold in the medical, renters insurance, ground school, written tests and an estimated $1,000 practical test fee. No multi-engine, no MEI and no ATP are in this ladder. Prices are stated to be subject to change with fuel, oil and maintenance.
What happens if you need more hours than Cactus Aviation's program includes?: Published as an average. Your real cost rises if you fly more than the average hours. Every figure is built on national average hours rather than on what you will fly, and the school says so. It also publishes its hourly rates, $185 to $235 for the aircraft and $65 or $70 for instruction, so unlike most academies here an overrun can be priced in advance. 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 Cactus Aviation 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 6Sources

Figures are Cactus Aviation'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 Cactus Aviation. Disclaimer & removal policy.

Primary sources: cactusaviation.com·cactusaviation.com·cactusaviation.com

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What Cactus Aviation's program costs

Section 1 · Program price