Accelerated academy · New Mexico · Checked August 27, 2026
What U.S. Flight Academy costs in New Mexico
A full-time, integrated career program sold as a package, not an hourly rate. U.S. Flight Academy publishes the program and not what it costs, so there is no figure on this page and no estimate standing in for one. What is here is the program as the academy describes it, the source, and the questions that get you the number.
Website usflightacademy.org
USFA campuses in New Mexico
Portales (PRZ)
Published program price
Not published
USFA 1300 Commercial Single and Multi-Engine with Instrument, Ground Instructor and CFI
U.S. Flight Academy publishes these programs and not a price for any of its programs. We have not estimated one, because an academy price is a package rather than an hours times rate sum and there is nothing here to calculate it from.
The academy publishes no price, so there is nothing here to overrun. What it does publish is a promise about the price it quotes you: "the student can expect to graduate within the allotted cost", and on the ground school, "we will train you until you pass the FAA written test, no matter how many additional hours". It also says previous flight time is credited and may reduce the price, and that courses can be split or combined to cut cost. Get all of that in writing with the quote, because a guarantee you cannot read is worth what you can get confirmed.
An academy program does not reduce the 1,500-hour airline minimum (only a qualifying degree does). Get the price in writing, with the date it was set.
The programs, with sources
IR · CPL · Multi · CFI · CFII
The academy states that equipment, books and FAA exam fees are inside the course price, and that the quoted figure includes an average cost for the required text, equipment and testing. It publishes no figure, so there is nothing to check that against.
The deepest course on the published list: Commercial single and multi-engine land with instrument privileges, 13 hours multi-engine, Certified Ground Instructor Advanced and Instrument, and Certified Flight Instructor Airplane and Instrument. Separately the academy markets a "Professional Pilot Program" on which "you can be a Commercial Pilot within eight months from zero time", which is where the eight months comes from. The course list does NOT say whether 1300 itself includes the Private, so this listing does not claim it does.
PPL
Equipment, books and FAA exam fees are stated to be inside the course price. No figure is published.
The published starting point, for a student arriving with nothing.
IR · CPL · Multi
Equipment, books and FAA exam fees are stated to be inside the course price. No figure is published.
The same certificate as 1280 with less multi-engine time. USFA 1280 is the 25-hour multi-engine version and USFA 1260 the single-engine-only version; all three are on the same published list.
IR
Equipment, books and FAA exam fees are stated to be inside the course price. No figure is published.
The rating on its own, for a student who already holds the Private.
What to ask when you call
The marked ones are what U.S. Flight Academy's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.
What does the USFA 1300 Commercial Single and Multi-Engine with Instrument, Ground Instructor and CFI cost, all in, starting from where I am today?Missing from their site
This is the figure the academy does not publish. Ask for it in writing, and ask for the date it was set: program prices move.
Is that a fixed price or an estimate, and what is it based on, FAA minimums or what students actually fly?Missing from their site
A fixed price and an estimate against FAA minimums are different products. The second one is a floor and most students land above it.
What is billed on top of it: examiner fees, written tests, the medical, headset and supplies, and any location premium?Missing from their site
Every academy that does publish a price excludes some of these, and the exclusions are where a sticker and a bill part company.
If I need more hours than the program allows, what do the extra hours cost per hour?Missing from their site
Without an hourly rate there is no way to price an overrun, and flight training running long is the normal case, not the exception.
What is the payment schedule, and what is refunded if I stop partway?
Academies take money up front. The refund terms decide what a change of plan costs you.
How many aircraft and full-time instructors do you have right now, and how many students are enrolled?
An accelerated program is a promise about pace, and pace is decided by that ratio rather than by the brochure.
What proportion of your last intake finished in the advertised time, and at the advertised price?
The single most useful question here. An academy that tracks this will tell you; one that does not has told you something too.
Next leg
Turn this into a plan.
Turn this into a route to your checkride. USFA publishes no price, so the plan records the academy and leaves the cost open until you have the figure.
Add to planSee how an academy stacks up against Part 61, Part 141, and a 2-year or 4-year degree.
Compare the pathsCommon questions about U.S. Flight Academy
- How much does U.S. Flight Academy cost?
- U.S. Flight Academy does not publish a single fixed figure for its USFA 1300 Commercial Single and Multi-Engine with Instrument, Ground Instructor and CFI, so we do not list one rather than guess. You will need to request pricing from the academy directly. When you do, ask what the number excludes and how hours beyond the program's plan are billed, which is where academy costs usually move.
- What does U.S. Flight Academy's program include?
- U.S. Flight Academy's published programs cover Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL), Flight Instructor, Instrument Instructor and Private Pilot. The academy states about 8 months to finish. On what it excludes, the academy states: The academy states that equipment, books and FAA exam fees are inside the course price, and that the quoted figure includes an average cost for the required text, equipment and testing. It publishes no figure, so there is nothing to check that against.
- What happens if you need more hours than U.S. Flight Academy's program includes?
- The academy does not publish how hours beyond the estimate are billed. Confirm before enrolling. The academy publishes no price, so there is nothing here to overrun. What it does publish is a promise about the price it quotes you: "the student can expect to graduate within the allotted cost", and on the ground school, "we will train you until you pass the FAA written test, no matter how many additional hours". It also says previous flight time is credited and may reduce the price, and that courses can be split or combined to cut cost. Get all of that in writing with the quote, because a guarantee you cannot read is worth what you can get confirmed. 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 U.S. Flight Academy 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.
- Where does U.S. Flight Academy train in New Mexico?
- U.S. Flight Academy lists one campus in New Mexico: Portales (PRZ). The published program price is national and does not change by campus, though living costs do.
Other academies in New Mexico
All New Mexico flight academiesAll academy prices, cheapest first
Plan the money before you commit
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Figures are U.S. Flight Academy'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 U.S. Flight Academy. Disclaimer & removal policy.
Primary sources: usflightacademy.org·usflightacademy.org·usflightacademy.org