How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Arctic Flyers?

Arctic Flyers publishes $170 per hour for the Cessna 152 and $70 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 8, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $18,675, in a range of $16,100 to $21,300. That covers roughly 72 hours of flying and instruction plus the one-time fees most quotes leave out, including the written test, the examiner's checkride fee, a medical, and study materials. It is a PilotBound estimate built on the school's published rates, not a quote from Arctic Flyers.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Arctic Flyers?

Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Arctic Flyers to reach the private pilot checkride, at roughly 72 hours. Pace is the single biggest variable: flying once a week typically stretches the timeline and raises the total, because time between lessons gets spent re-learning. Weather, aircraft availability, and instructor turnover all push the same direction.

Is Arctic Flyers a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?

Arctic Flyers trains under Part 61, the flexible path. There is no FAA-approved syllabus to follow, so lessons can be scheduled around your life and adapted to your pace. The tradeoff is a slightly higher paper minimum for the private certificate (40 hours versus 35) and, for most students, no VA benefit eligibility.

Do Arctic Flyers's aircraft rates include fuel?

Arctic Flyers publishes $170 per hour for the Cessna 152, a wet rate, so fuel is included in the hourly figure. A wet rate is the easier one to compare, because the number you see is the number you fly on. Rates checked September 8, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Arctic Flyers?

Arctic Flyers trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction runs $70 to $80 per hour depending on the rating and the aircraft, since advanced and type-specific instruction is priced above the standard rate. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Arctic Flyers's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Anchorage (Lake Hood), AK · Checked September 8, 2026

What flight training at Arctic Flyers costs

Website arcticflyers.net

Section 1Cost estimate

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

Two-seat.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Arctic Flyers

$18,675

range $16.1K – $21.3K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Arctic Flyers's published rates: Cessna 152 at $170/hr + $70/hr instruction, checked September 8, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$11,415

at the hours students actually take$18,675

+$7,260 on Arctic Flyers's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$16.1K – $21.3K

Aircraft rental$12,240

Instruction$4,060

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$16,300

72 hrs in Cessna 152 @ $170/hr + 58 dual @ $70/hr

One-time fees ($2,375)

Knowledge (written) test$175
Checkride / DPE fee$800
Medical certificate$150
Headset$700
Ground school / test prep$300
Books, charts & supplies$250

Hours at a steady pace72 hrs

Examiner records (DPE dataset).

The hourly flying is priced on Arctic Flyers's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Arctic Flyers's prices, and several are set by third parties.

Estimates use PilotBound's own completion-hours model, examiner-completion data where it exists and FAA minimums where it does not, applied to each school's published rates. They are PilotBound estimates, not the school's quote, and will differ from a school's own figures. Full methodology and sources →

Put this calculator on your site

Section 2The rate card

What Arctic Flyers publishes

checked September 8, 2026

Cessna 172 (wheels)$190/hr wet

Cessna 152Two-seat.$170/hr wet

Piper PA-18 Super CubTailwheel/bush trainer. Instruction in this airplane $80/hr.$360/hr wet

Cessna 172 (floats, STOL kit)Floatplane, dual only. Instruction in this airplane $80/hr.$360/hr wet

Instructionstandard $70/hr$70 – $80/hr

The examiner's checkride fee is not on this card: the examiner sets it, not the school. The estimate above includes PilotBound's own figure for it.

See the published rates →

Section 3Paying for it

Two ways to cover $18,675.

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, plus 1 in Alaska. Top awards reach $22,200. Joe Stancil Jr. Flight Training Scholarship$3,000 · Check dates: 47
Money you pay backLenders that cover $18,675All 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

See scholarships Compare lenders

Section 4Add to my plan

Turn this into a plan.

Your $18,675 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.

Add to my plan

Section 5What to ask

What to ask when you call

What turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

Does the instructor rate change for the Instrument, Commercial, or CFI, or is it flat across everything?
Plenty of schools charge more for advanced instruction. A flat rate quoted for the Private can climb later.
Do you offer block rates or prepay discounts, and what is the refund policy if I stop partway?
Block discounts are common and rarely published. The refund terms matter more than the discount.
What do you charge for the written test, the checkride, and the examiner's fee?
The DPE fee alone runs $800 to $1,200 in most of the country and is almost never in a quoted hourly rate.
How many trainers and how many full-time instructors do you have right now?
Availability decides your pace, and pace decides your total more than the hourly rate does.

Section 6Questions

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Arctic Flyers?: Arctic Flyers publishes $170 per hour for the Cessna 152 and $70 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 8, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $18,675, in a range of $16,100 to $21,300. That covers roughly 72 hours of flying and instruction plus the one-time fees most quotes leave out, including the written test, the examiner's checkride fee, a medical, and study materials. It is a PilotBound estimate built on the school's published rates, not a quote from Arctic Flyers.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Arctic Flyers?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Arctic Flyers to reach the private pilot checkride, at roughly 72 hours. Pace is the single biggest variable: flying once a week typically stretches the timeline and raises the total, because time between lessons gets spent re-learning. Weather, aircraft availability, and instructor turnover all push the same direction.
Is Arctic Flyers a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Arctic Flyers trains under Part 61, the flexible path. There is no FAA-approved syllabus to follow, so lessons can be scheduled around your life and adapted to your pace. The tradeoff is a slightly higher paper minimum for the private certificate (40 hours versus 35) and, for most students, no VA benefit eligibility.
Do Arctic Flyers's aircraft rates include fuel?: Arctic Flyers publishes $170 per hour for the Cessna 152, a wet rate, so fuel is included in the hourly figure. A wet rate is the easier one to compare, because the number you see is the number you fly on. Rates checked September 8, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Arctic Flyers?: Arctic Flyers trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction runs $70 to $80 per hour depending on the rating and the aircraft, since advanced and type-specific instruction is priced above the standard rate. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Arctic Flyers's own published rates.

Section 7Sources

Estimates use Arctic Flyers's published Cessna 152 and instructor rates (checked September 8, 2026), shown in USD for planning only. Real cost varies by student, weather, and pace. A range, not a quote.

PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Arctic Flyers. School names are used only to identify the school. Estimates use PilotBound's own completion-hours model, examiner-completion data where it exists and FAA minimums where it does not, applied to each school's published rates. They are PilotBound estimates, not the school's quote, and will differ from a school's own figures. Disclaimer & removal policy.

Are you Arctic Flyers? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.

Other Alaska flight schools

Alaska Float & Tailwheel Training · Sterling
Alaska Float Ratings · Moose Pass
Alaska Floats And Skis · Anchorage
Angel Aviation Alaska · Anchorage
Angle of Attack · Homer
Beluga Air · Homer
Birch Creek Aviation · Anchorage
Blue River Aviation · Palmer
Elmendorf Aero Club · Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

All Alaska flight schools

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.

What flight training at Arctic Flyers costs

Section 1 · Cost estimate

Section 2 · The rate card