Accelerated academy · Madison, WI · Checked August 24, 2026
What Wisconsin Aviation's program costs
A full-time, integrated career program sold at a fixed price, not an hourly rate. Every figure below is Wisconsin Aviation's own published price, with the source and the date we read it. This is the published sticker, not a personalized quote.
Website wisconsinaviation.com
Wisconsin Aviation campuses in Wisconsin
Madison · Watertown · Juneau (Dodge County)
Section 1Program price
Published program price
$79.1K
Professional Aeronautics Certificate (Private through Commercial)
Published as an average. Your real cost rises if you fly more than the average hours.
Wisconsin Aviation publishes the certificate total as an estimate that varies with training location, hours in aircraft type, and individual proficiency. The figure is stated to include tuition, flight fees, and exam fees.
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 Wisconsin Aviation.
The programs, with sources
- Professional Aeronautics Certificate (Private through Commercial)
- $79,120
- PPL · IR · CPL · 200 hrs
- August 24, 2026Source
- Published estimate for the combined certificate (Private $25,227, Instrument $31,215, Commercial $22,679) over about 200 total hours plus about 50 simulator hours minimum; 10 to 14 months full-time or 17 to 22 part-time. Optional add-ons: CFI $17,999, multi-engine $19,826. The certificate is issued through a Madison College partnership.
- Operates at Madison, Watertown, and Dodge County airports. The certificate partner is a college, but this is a non-degree vocational track. Does not reduce the 1,500-hour airline minimum.
Section 2Paying for it
Two ways to cover $79,120.
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 Wisconsin-only awards in the directory yet.
- 46
- Money you pay backLenders that cover $79,120Four 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.
- 4 of 6
Section 3Add to my plan
Turn this into a plan.
Turn this into a route to your checkride, with Wisconsin Aviation's published price built in.
Add to planSee how an academy stacks up against Part 61, Part 141, and a 2-year or 4-year degree.
Compare the pathsSection 4Questions
- How much does Wisconsin Aviation cost?
- Wisconsin Aviation publishes $79,120 for its Professional Aeronautics Certificate (Private through Commercial), 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 Wisconsin Aviation's program price?
- Wisconsin Aviation's published programs cover Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. The headline track plans for about 200 flight hours. The academy states about 14 months to finish. On what it excludes, the academy states: Published estimate for the combined certificate (Private $25,227, Instrument $31,215, Commercial $22,679) over about 200 total hours plus about 50 simulator hours minimum; 10 to 14 months full-time or 17 to 22 part-time. Optional add-ons: CFI $17,999, multi-engine $19,826. The certificate is issued through a Madison College partnership.
- What happens if you need more hours than Wisconsin Aviation's program includes?
- Published as an average. Your real cost rises if you fly more than the average hours. Wisconsin Aviation publishes the certificate total as an estimate that varies with training location, hours in aircraft type, and individual proficiency. The figure is stated to include tuition, flight fees, and exam fees. 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 Wisconsin 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 5Sources
Figures are Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin Aviation. Disclaimer & removal policy.
Primary sources: wisconsinaviation.com
Other academies in Wisconsin
All Wisconsin flight academiesAll academy prices, cheapest first
Plan the money before you commit
A program price only makes sense next to what each rating costs on its own, what free money exists, and what borrowing actually looks like.
What each rating costs
Honest per-rating ranges, with the fees most quotes leave out.
Free money first
Verified flight training scholarships. Every scholarship dollar is a dollar you never finance.
If you borrow
Compare lenders and see the real monthly payment before you sign.