PilotBound

What flight training costs at Arkansas flight schools

Across the 5 Arkansas schools here with published rates, trainer rentals run $95 to $200 per hour and instruction $50 to $80, and PilotBound's private pilot estimate lands between $12,985 and $19,675, with a median of $16,445.

26 schools listed · Updated October 20, 2026

Estimate cost toflying
Showing 1–12 of 26 schools

Totals to reach your Private goal at this pace. 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. How we estimate.

Private estimate range across Arkansas$11.2K$22.4K

  • North Little Rock Air

    Part 61
    Lowest in AR

    North Little Rock, AR·nlr-air.com

    $95/hr aircraft (wet)·$65/hr instructor

    Checked October 8, 2026·Source

    NLR Air publishes solo and dual rates; the instructor rate shown is the published dual-minus-solo difference. The Citabria and Seneca are dual only at rates that include the instructor.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $12,985

    range $11.2K to $14.8K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planNLR Air cost breakdown →

  • Superior Aviation

    Part 61

    Conway, AR·superioraviationar.com

    $120/hr aircraft (wet)·$55/hr instructor

    Checked October 16, 2026·Source

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $14,205

    range $12.2K to $16.2K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planSuperior Aviation cost breakdown →

  • Legends Air Center

    Part not stated
    Largest fleet

    Bentonville, AR·legendsaircenter.com

    $135/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$75/hr instructor

    Checked October 12, 2026·Source

    The fleet is priced per tail and the site does not say whether fuel is included. Instruction is priced PER COURSE rather than flat: $75/hr for the Private and the Commercial, $80/hr for the Instrument and the CFI or CFII, and $100/hr for high-performance and tailwheel endorsements, which is the dearest tier. Ground school is sold separately at $45 a class or $320 for an eight-week course. A Redbird simulator is $60/hr and is not modeled.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $16,445

    range $14.1K to $18.7K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planLegends Air Center cost breakdown →

  • First Team Pilot Training

    Part not stated

    West Memphis, AR·firstteampilottraining.com

    $182/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$60/hr instructor

    Checked October 12, 2026·Source

    First Team quotes its rates inside per-course cost breakdowns rather than as a rate card, and the aircraft rate changes with the course: $182/hr on the Private and the CFI, $170/hr on the Instrument, and $185/hr for the technically advanced aircraft on the Commercial. Its fleet page names nine aircraft, four Cherokee 140s, a 160, three 180s and a Citabria, and prices none of them, so the tails cannot be matched to the rates. Instruction is a flat $60/hr for flight and ground across every course. Nothing says whether fuel is included. Each course also carries a $325 pilot kit and orientation charge.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $18,959

    range $16.3K to $21.6K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planFirst Team cost breakdown →

  • On Final Aviation

    Part not stated

    Jonesboro, AR·onfinalaviation.com

    $200/hr aircraft (wet)·$50/hr instructor

    Checked October 20, 2026·Source

    Rates are wet, and On Final charges no membership and no monthly dues. Three of the four airplanes share one rate; the Cherokee 181 is dearer and sits at Paragould rather than Jonesboro. One of the three cheaper airplanes is VFR only.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $19,675

    range $16.9K to $22.4K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planOn Final cost breakdown →
  • Below: schools without a full published rate card. They cannot be priced, so they sit at the end of a cost sort.

  • AIRO Northwest Arkansas

    Part not stated

    Springdale, AR·iflyairo.com

    No PilotBound estimate

    AIRO does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask AIRO

  • Arkansas Air Expeditions and Instruction

    Part not stated

    Morrilton, AR·BDQ·flyarkair.com

    No PilotBound estimate

    Arkansas Air Expeditions does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask Arkansas Air Expeditions

  • Central Arkansas Flying Club

    Part not stated

    Bryant, AR·SUZ·centralarkansasflyingclub.com

    $95/hr aircraft (dry, fuel billed separately)·instructor rate not published

    Checked October 4, 2026·Source·5 aircraft published

    Every rate is a member rate, dry, with sales tax included: the member refuels the aircraft after each flight. Joining is $300 and dues are $60 a month. Instructors are affiliated with the club and paid directly by the student; the club says they generally charge $40 to $50 an hour.

    No PilotBound estimate

    Central Arkansas Flying Club does not publish an instructor rate

    What to ask Central Arkansas Flying Club

  • Central Flying Academy

    Part not stated

    Little Rock, AR·LIT·centralflyingacademy.aero

    No PilotBound estimate

    Central Flying Academy does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask Central Flying Academy

  • Central Flying Service

    Part not stated

    Little Rock, AR·LIT·central.aero

    No PilotBound estimate

    Central Flying Service does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask Central Flying Service

  • Fly Arkansas

    Part not stated

    Harrison, AR·HRO·flyarkansas.com

    No PilotBound estimate

    Fly Arkansas does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask Fly Arkansas

  • Fly Around Arkansas

    Part not stated

    Midway, AR·flyaroundarkansas.net

    No PilotBound estimate

    Fly Around Arkansas does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask Fly Around Arkansas

Flight school costs in Arkansas, in numbers

Computed from the 5 Arkansas schools that publish both an aircraft and an instructor rate, on the same method every card above uses. The 21 listings without a full rate card are left out of every figure.

Median PilotBound Private estimate across the 5 schools with published rates
$16,445
Published trainer rental, per hour
$95 to $200
Published instruction, per hour
$50 to $80
Schools publishing a full rate card (aircraft and instructor)
5 of 26

Lowest published trainer rates in Arkansas

Airports with more than one Arkansas flight school

Discovery flights in Arkansas

2 Arkansas schools publish a discovery flight price, median $163. See each price with its source

How these estimates work

We apply one consistent method to every school: PilotBound's own completion-hours model, examiner-completion data where it exists (like the Private and Commercial) and FAA minimums where no credible public data exists (like the Instrument and CFI), times that school's published aircraft and instructor rates (linked on every card, with the date we verified them), plus the one-time fees most quotes leave out. Holding the hours model identical across schools means the only thing that changes card to card is the school's actual rates.

So the number is PilotBound's estimate, not the school's quote, and it will differ from a school's own cost figures, which are often based on FAA-minimum hours. The schools do not set or endorse it.

Want a number tied to your own pace and aircraft choice? Run the estimator or read the full methodology.

These estimates are ours, not the schools' quotes, and we are not affiliated with the schools. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime. Disclaimer & removal policy.

Common questions about Arkansas flight schools

How much does flight school cost in Arkansas?

Across the 5 Arkansas flight schools here that publish full rates, trainer rentals run $95 to $200 per hour and instruction $50 to $80 per hour, checked as recently as October 20, 2026. On each school's own published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate between $12,985 and $19,675, with a median of $16,445. These are PilotBound estimates built on published rates, not quotes from the schools.

What is the cheapest flight school in Arkansas?

North Little Rock Air in North Little Rock publishes the lowest trainer rental of the 5 Arkansas schools listed here, $95 per hour for its Piper Cherokee 140, a wet rate, so fuel is included in the hourly figure, checked October 8, 2026. The lowest hourly rate is not automatically the lowest total: instructor rates, fuel basis, and the hours you actually fly decide that, which is what the per-school estimates on this page hold constant.

How current are these Arkansas flight school rates?

Every rate here is the school's own published figure, linked to its source and dated; the newest check in Arkansas is October 20, 2026, and each card and school page shows the exact date its rates were read. The directory is re-checked on a monthly cycle, and 21 more schools in Arkansas are listed without an estimate because they do not publish a full rate card. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime.