PilotBound
Aerial photo of Falcon Field, Mesa, AZ
Imagery: USDA NAIP

SWAZ Aviation

Flight training from Private Pilot through Commercial Pilot at Falcon Field.

Checked November 13, 2026 by Samip Shah

At a glance

  • 2 aircraft types.
  • A private pilot certificate here, flying 2x a week, is estimated at $11,975.

Basics

CertificatesPrivate Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot
Websiteswazaviation.com

Aircraft and rates

2 types

A Piper PA-28
A Piper PA-28 (N2273Q), not this school’s aircraft. Photo: James from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Piper PA-28-161 Warrior

Six in the fleet. A seventh, N1041Q, rents at $100.

Rate (dry)
$85/hr

Instruction and rate notes

Checked November 13, 2026
Instruction$60/hr

Rates are dry: fuel is extra. Rentals and instruction are available around the clock, and block rates are offered for time building.

The examiner's checkride fee is paid separately. The estimate uses Part 61 hours. SWAZ doesn't say whether it trains under Part 61 or 141.

See the published rates →swazaviation.com/cessna-172-rentals →swazaviation.com/airplane-rentals-arizona →

Airport

  • Aerial photo of Falcon Field

    Falcon Field KFFZ

    Home field · 2 runways · longest 5,100 ft · asphalt

    View on the map

Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP imagery via the USGS National Map

Weather

363
flyable days a year
Year-round
most flyable months
28 of 28
in February, the fewest
Flyable 363Low clouds or poor visibility 2
If you start in

In an average year, January to June has 180 flyable days out of 181. That is the six months your estimate covers, marked under the chart.

What counts as a flyable day

Clouds no lower than 3,000 feet and visibility of 5 miles or more (VFR weather) for at least half the hours between 9 am and 5 pm. Hourly observations from the airport's own weather station, 2016 to 2025. Source: Iowa Environmental Mesonet ASOS archive, Iowa State University.

What it costs

Certificate

Flying

Hours

Six in the fleet. A seventh, N1041Q, rents at $100.

Shown at SWAZ Aviation's published dry rate. Fuel is billed separately and is not included in this estimate.

72 hrs
What students typically take.
Where this comes fromExaminer records (DPE dataset).

PilotBound estimate

$11,975

Usually $10,300 to $13,700 · about 6 months

  • Airplane72 hrs in Piper PA-28-161 Warrior × $85/hr$6,120
  • Instructor58 hrs dual × $60/hr$3,480
  • One-time feesWritten test, checkride, medical, headset and more$2,375
    • Knowledge (written) test$175
    • Checkride / DPE fee$800
    • Medical certificate$150
    • Headset$700
    • Ground school / test prep$300
    • Books, charts & supplies$250

The hourly flying is priced on SWAZ Aviation's published rates (dry; fuel billed separately). The one-time fees are typical national figures, not SWAZ Aviation's prices, and several are set by third parties.

Paying for it

Two ways to cover $11,975.

Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left.

Money you keepScholarships you could apply for43 open to anyone. Top awards reach $22,200.No Arizona-only awards in the directory yet.
43
Money you pay backLenders that cover $11,975All 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 scholarshipsCompare lenders

What to ask when you call

Not on their website

  1. Do you train under Part 61 or Part 141?

    It changes the minimum hours, and for some students, financing.

Also ask

  1. Your published rates are dry. Roughly what does fuel add per hour on the trainer?

    The published rates don't include it.

  2. What gets billed on top of the hourly rates, and roughly how much per hour does it add?

    Ask for the all-in hourly number, not the base rate.

  3. Do you offer block rates or prepay discounts, and what is the refund policy if I stop partway?

    Block discounts are rarely published, and the refund terms matter more than the discount.

  4. What do you charge for the written test, the checkride, and the examiner's fee?

    The examiner's fee alone runs $800 to $1,200 in most of the country.

  5. How many trainers and how many full-time instructors do you have right now?

    Availability sets your pace, and pace drives your total more than the hourly rate.

In the app

Track it against SWAZ's rates.

SWAZ Aviation's rate card is in the PilotBound app. Choose SWAZ when you set up and the app prices your training at its rates, then tracks every flight you log against the projection.

Download on the App Store

Questions

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at SWAZ Aviation?

SWAZ Aviation publishes $85 per hour for the Piper PA-28-161 Warrior and $60 per hour for instruction on it, checked November 13, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $11,975, in a range of $10,300 to $13,700. 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 SWAZ Aviation.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at SWAZ Aviation?

Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at SWAZ Aviation 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 SWAZ Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?

SWAZ Aviation's website doesn't say whether it trains under Part 61 or Part 141. Ask before you enroll: Part 141 follows an FAA-approved syllabus and is generally what VA benefits require, while Part 61 is more flexible on scheduling.

Do SWAZ Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?

SWAZ Aviation publishes $85 per hour for the Piper PA-28-161 Warrior, a dry rate, so fuel is billed separately on top. Fuel typically adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour on top of a dry rate. Rates checked November 13, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at SWAZ Aviation?

SWAZ Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction is $60 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on SWAZ Aviation's own published rates.

Sources

Estimates use SWAZ Aviation's published Piper PA-28-161 Warrior and instructor rates (checked November 13, 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 SWAZ Aviation. 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. Methodology · Disclaimer & removal policy.

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

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