Aviation degree · Asheville, NC · Checked September 2, 2026
What an aviation degree at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College costs
A 2-year associate's (AAS) program. Tuition, room & board, and flight fees, each from the school's own published pages, summed into an all-in estimate. Flight fees are billed separately and on top of tuition. This is a planning estimate, not the school's quote.
PilotBound all-in estimate
$53.3K
In-state, all-in
$66.2K
Out-of-state, all-in
Tuition + room & board (2years) + whole-program flight fees. Sourced figures summed, not the school's quoted package. Tuition changes yearly.
The numbers, with sources
- Tuition (in-state)
- $5,798
- Tuition (out-of-state)
- $18,662
- Room & board
- $0
- Flight training (whole program)
- $47,548
- All-in (in-state)
- $53,346
North Carolina's community college rate of $76 per credit. The Career Pilot Technology AAS is 67 credits over five semesters, so $5,092 of tuition plus $705 of fees across the program (insurance $2, technology $48, matriculation $25 and campus access $30 every semester, activity $45 in fall and spring), entered as half per year of the two years this tool models. The $1,216 full-time cap at 16 or more credits rarely applies at about 13 credits a term.
$268 per credit, so $17,956 for the 67 credits plus the same $705 of fees, halved per year.
Commuter campus, no on-campus housing, and A-B Tech's cost estimate carries no housing line, so this is entered as zero the way CCBC is. WNC Aviation, the flight partner, offers furnished apartments near the airport at an unpublished monthly rate.
Partial: school does not price every rating, so the full sequence costs more.
A-B Tech's 2026-27 catalog estimate for the two ratings the degree trains, Instrument $14,343 + Commercial $33,205, paid to WNC Aviation, its Part 141 partner at Asheville Regional, not to the college. PARTIAL for a reason that runs the other way from most: the Private certificate is a pre-admission requirement, earned outside the degree at any school, and A-B Tech puts it at 'at least $14,000', so zero to Commercial is at least $61,548. No CFI or multi-engine is trained. The estimates reflect FAA minimum hours and A-B Tech says many students need more. Its 2023 fee sheet, still on the site, priced the same two ratings at $12,300 and $28,200 from hourly rates of $235 dual, $175 solo and $60 for ground and briefings, and its cost-estimate page still says 'approximately $40,000' for all three ratings, which is that older total. The catalog figures are the newest and are the ones recorded.
Paying for it
Two ways to cover $53,346.
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.
- Scholarships you could apply forTop awards reach $22,200. Every dollar won is a dollar you never finance.
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- Lenders that cover $53,346Four 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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Compare the pathsCommon questions about Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
- How much does an aviation degree at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College cost?
- Summing Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College's own published tuition, room and board, and flight fees over 2 years, PilotBound estimates about $53,346 all in for an in-state student and $66,210 out of state. That is a sum of the school's published figures, not the school's own quoted package price, and flight fees are billed pay-as-you-go on top of tuition rather than as a fixed bill.
- How much are flight fees at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College?
- Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College publishes about $47,548 for the whole flight sequence its 2-year associate's degree trains (2026-27), separate from and on top of tuition. That figure is incomplete: the school does not price every rating the degree trains, so the full sequence costs more. Flight fees move with your pace and the hours you actually fly, which is why they are the least predictable line in a collegiate aviation budget.
- What is tuition at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College?
- Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College publishes about $2,899 per year in-state and $9,331 out of state for 2026-27. Over the 2-year program that is roughly $5,798 versus $18,662, before room and board and before any flight fees. Residency is usually the largest single lever on a collegiate aviation budget.
- Does an aviation degree from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College lower the airline hour requirement?
- Yes. Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College's 2-year associate's aviation degree is a qualifying degree under 14 CFR 61.160, which lets you hold a restricted ATP at 1,250 hours instead of the standard 1,500. That is the concrete thing the degree buys beyond the credential itself, and it is worth weighing against the tuition and room and board a non-degree path does not carry.
Other North Carolina aviation degree programs
- Elizabeth City State University · Elizabeth City
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Figures are Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College's own published tuition, room & board, and flight fees, summed by PilotBound into a planning estimate. They are not the school's quoted program price, and they will differ from a student's actual cost. Flight fees are pay-as-you-go and vary with a student's pace. Confirm current numbers with the school. The 1,250-hour airline minimum comes from a qualifying degree under 14 CFR 61.160. PilotBound is not affiliated with Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. Disclaimer & removal policy.
Primary sources: abtech.edu·abtech.edu·abtech.edu·abtech.edu·abtech.edu·abtech.edu