How much does Cornerstone Aviation cost?

Cornerstone Aviation publishes $66,627 for its Preferred Pathway to Single-Engine Commercial Pilot, as listed on the academy's own pricing page (September 24, 2026). It publishes 5 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 Cornerstone Aviation's program price?

Cornerstone Aviation's published programs cover Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL), Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. The headline track plans for about 183 flight hours. On what it excludes, the academy states: Unusually, the DPE practical exam fees, the FAA medical, the knowledge tests and the KSLC TSA badge are INSIDE this total rather than excluded. What is not included is any training beyond the syllabus minimums, which is billed hourly, and fuel surcharges.

Does going to Cornerstone 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 · Salt Lake City, UT · Checked September 24, 2026

What Cornerstone Aviation's program costs

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

Website cornerstoneaviation.com

Cornerstone campuses in Utah

Salt Lake City (SLC) · Ogden (OGD)

Section 1Program price

Published program price

$66.6K

Preferred Pathway to Single-Engine Commercial Pilot

Other tracks from $20.2K.

Minimum hours

Assumes the program's planned hours. Most students fly over the minimums, and the extra flight time is billed separately.

The totals assume the 183 flight hours the Part 141 syllabi require, against 250 under Part 61, and the school states that any training beyond the syllabus minimum is charged by the hour. Its hourly rates are published, so an overrun is priceable: $80 an hour for instruction and $210 for a Cessna 172.

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 Cornerstone Aviation.

The programs, with sources

Preferred Pathway to Single-Engine Commercial Pilot: $66,627; PPL · IR · CPL · 183 hrs; September 24, 2026Source; Unusually, the DPE practical exam fees, the FAA medical, the knowledge tests and the KSLC TSA badge are INSIDE this total rather than excluded. What is not included is any training beyond the syllabus minimums, which is billed hourly, and fuel surcharges.; Stated to fall within Veterans Administration and Liberty University guidelines. VA and GI Bill accepted.; Private, Instrument and Commercial single-engine, all under Part 141. The sheet is stamped Prices Valid 1 Jan 2025.
Preferred Pathway to Multi-Engine Commercial Pilot: $78,777; PPL · IR · CPL · Multi · 183 hrs; September 24, 2026Source; Same inclusions and exclusions as the single-engine pathway, plus 15 hours of multi-engine rental at $450 inside the add-on.
Preferred Pathway to Single-Engine CFI: $74,797; PPL · IR · CPL · CFI · 183 hrs; September 24, 2026Source; The CFI stage is priced under Part 61 in this pathway, which the sheet shows is $5,913 cheaper than the Part 141 version of the same course.
Preferred Pathway to Single-Engine CFII: $80,832; PPL · IR · CPL · CFI · CFII · 183 hrs; September 24, 2026Source; The full ladder to a first income. Same inclusions as above.
Private Pilot (Part 141): $20,165; PPL; September 24, 2026Source; Includes $1,980 of fees inside the total: the FAA medical at $135, the knowledge test at $175, a $1,000 DPE fee, checkride aircraft rental and the $250 KSLC TSA badge.; The first stage on its own. Published breakdown includes 44.2 hours of single-engine rental at $210, 29 hours of flight instruction at $80 and 31 hours of pre and post-flight briefing.

Section 2Paying for it

Two ways to cover $20,165.

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 Utah-only awards in the directory yet.: 51
Money you pay backLenders that cover $20,165Five 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.: 5 of 6

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Section 3Add to my plan

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Section 4In the app

Track your training at Cornerstone.

Enter the aircraft and instructor rates for your training at Cornerstone 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

See how an academy stacks up against Part 61, Part 141, and a 2-year or 4-year degree.

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Section 5Questions

How much does Cornerstone Aviation cost?: Cornerstone Aviation publishes $66,627 for its Preferred Pathway to Single-Engine Commercial Pilot, as listed on the academy's own pricing page (September 24, 2026). It publishes 5 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 Cornerstone Aviation's program price?: Cornerstone Aviation's published programs cover Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL), Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. The headline track plans for about 183 flight hours. On what it excludes, the academy states: Unusually, the DPE practical exam fees, the FAA medical, the knowledge tests and the KSLC TSA badge are INSIDE this total rather than excluded. What is not included is any training beyond the syllabus minimums, which is billed hourly, and fuel surcharges.
What happens if you need more hours than Cornerstone Aviation's program includes?: Assumes the program's planned hours. Most students fly over the minimums, and the extra flight time is billed separately. The totals assume the 183 flight hours the Part 141 syllabi require, against 250 under Part 61, and the school states that any training beyond the syllabus minimum is charged by the hour. Its hourly rates are published, so an overrun is priceable: $80 an hour for instruction and $210 for a Cessna 172. 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 Cornerstone 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 Cornerstone 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 Cornerstone Aviation. Disclaimer & removal policy.

Primary sources: cornerstoneaviation.com·cornerstoneaviation.com·cornerstoneaviation.com

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What Cornerstone Aviation's program costs

Section 1 · Program price