What flight training at Northgate Aviation costs
Chico, CA · Checked October 16, 2026
Website northgateaviation.com
Cost estimate
Estimate cost to reach
Flying
The primary trainer. Fuel and handling included.
PilotBound estimate · Private
Examiner dataCost of your Private at Northgate Aviation
range $14.9K – $19.7K · about 6 months at 2×/week
Priced on Northgate's published rates: Cessna 172 at $159/hr + $60/hr instruction, checked October 16, 2026.
Against a minimums quote
+$6,648 on Northgate's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.
Where it goes
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
Examiner records (DPE dataset).
The hourly flying is priced on Northgate Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Northgate Aviation'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 siteThe rate card
What Northgate publishes
Checked October 16, 2026All rentals are wet and include fuel and full handling. Advanced instruction (CFI, CFII, Commercial, Instrument) is $75/hr against $60/hr for private instruction. A Piper PA-32 is in the fleet but its rate is published as inquire-only, so it is not modeled.
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. Northgate does not state whether it trains under Part 61 or Part 141, so the estimate above is built on Part 61 hours.
Paying for it
Two ways to cover $17,303.
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 for50 open to anyone, plus 1 in California. Top awards reach $22,200.
- Hiller Aviation Museum Flight Training Scholarship$15,000 · San Francisco Bay Area · Opens Feb 5, 2027
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- Money you pay backLenders that cover $17,303All 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
Add to my plan
Turn this into a plan.
Your $17,303 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.
In the app
Track it against Northgate's rates.
Northgate Aviation's rate card is in the PilotBound app. Choose Northgate when you set up and the app prices your training at its rates, then tracks every flight you log against the projection.
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What to ask
What to ask when you call
The marked one is what Northgate's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.
What gets billed on top of the hourly rates, and roughly how much per hour does it add?
The site notes extras beyond the hourly figures. Ask for the all-in number per hour, not the base rate.
Which instructor rate applies to each rating I plan to do, and does the higher tier start on day one of that rating?
This school prices some instruction above its primary rate. Knowing when the step-up starts keeps the later ratings from surprising you.
Do you train under Part 61 or Part 141?Missing from their site
It changes the minimum hours, and for some students it changes financing eligibility.
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.
Questions
How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Northgate Aviation?
Northgate Aviation publishes $159 per hour for the Cessna 172 and $60 per hour for instruction on it, checked October 16, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $17,303, in a range of $14,900 to $19,700. 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 Northgate Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Northgate Aviation?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Northgate 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 Northgate Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Northgate Aviation does not state on its own website whether it trains under Part 61 or Part 141, so we do not list one. It is worth asking directly 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 Northgate Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?
Northgate Aviation publishes $159 per hour for the Cessna 172, 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 October 16, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Northgate Aviation?
Northgate Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction runs $60 to $75 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 Northgate Aviation's own published rates.
Sources
Estimates use Northgate Aviation's published Cessna 172 and instructor rates (checked October 16, 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 Northgate 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. Disclaimer & removal policy.
Are you Northgate? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.
One other school flies from Chico Regional Airport.
It publishes a full rate card, so you can compare before you call. CIC is the identifier to give when you ask.
- Air CarriageFull rate card, Cessna 172K at $175/hr and $60 to $65/hr instructionChico
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