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

Pacific States Aviation publishes $145 per hour for the Cessna 150J and $105 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 16, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $20,195, in a range of $17,400 to $23,000. That covers roughly 78 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 Pacific States Aviation.

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

Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Pacific States Aviation to reach the private pilot checkride, at roughly 78 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 Pacific States Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?

Pacific States Aviation trains under Part 141, an FAA-approved syllabus with a structured course of study. Part 141 can finish the private certificate in fewer required hours on paper (35 versus 40), though in practice most students at either kind of school fly past the minimum. Part 141 also matters if you plan to use VA benefits, which generally require an approved 141 course.

Do Pacific States Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?

Pacific States Aviation publishes $145 per hour for the Cessna 150J, 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 August 16, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Pacific States Aviation?

Pacific States Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL), Flight Instructor, Instrument Instructor and Multi-Engine Instructor. Instruction is $105 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Pacific States Aviation's own published rates.

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PilotBound estimate · Concord, CA · Checked August 16, 2026

What flight training at Pacific States Aviation costs

Website psaflight.com

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Which airplane?

Two-seat, the lowest-cost line.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Pacific States Aviation

$20,195

range $17.4K – $23K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Pacific States Aviation's published rates: Cessna 150J at $145/hr + $105/hr instruction, checked August 16, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$10,390

at the hours students actually take$20,195

+$9,805 on Pacific States Aviation's own rates. Quotes usually price the 35-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$17.4K – $23K

Aircraft rental$11,310

Instruction$6,510

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$17,820

78 hrs in Cessna 150J @ $145/hr + 62 dual @ $105/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 pace78 hrs

Examiner records (DPE dataset). Note: Part 141 typically runs higher, not lower.

The hourly flying is priced on Pacific States Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Pacific States 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 →

What Pacific States Aviation publishes

checked August 16, 2026

Cessna 172R (Garmin 175)The primary trainer.$199/hr wet

Cessna 172S G1000 (180hp)Glass-panel 172, for TAA hours.$229/hr wet

Cessna 150JTwo-seat, the lowest-cost line.$145/hr wet

Piper Seminole PA44-180 (twin)Twin, for the multi-engine ratings.$415/hr wet

Piper Seneca PA34-200 (twin)Twin, for the multi-engine ratings.$415/hr wet

RedBird AATD (sim)Part 61/141-approved sim.$75/hr wet

Instruction$105/hr

Rates are wet (per Hobbs), from the downloadable rate sheet revised Sept 25, 2025. Membership is mandatory ($75 one-time, $135 every 3 months). Instruction is a flat $105/hr; outside instruction is $135/hr. PSA's fleet page separately announces higher single-engine rates effective September 1, 2026 ($215 for the 172s, $245 for the G1000 172s, $155 for the 150) and now prices the Tecnam P2006T at $550/hr. Neither is on the rate sheet, and neither is used here.

Not published: the examiner's checkride fee. Listed as missing rather than guessed.

See the published rates→Source 2→Source 3→

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What to ask when you call

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.
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.

Estimates use Pacific States Aviation's published Cessna 150J and instructor rates (checked August 16, 2026), shown in USD for planning only. Real cost varies by student, weather, and pace. An honest range, not a quote.

PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Pacific States 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.

Common questions about Pacific States Aviation

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Pacific States Aviation?: Pacific States Aviation publishes $145 per hour for the Cessna 150J and $105 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 16, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $20,195, in a range of $17,400 to $23,000. That covers roughly 78 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 Pacific States Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Pacific States Aviation?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Pacific States Aviation to reach the private pilot checkride, at roughly 78 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 Pacific States Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Pacific States Aviation trains under Part 141, an FAA-approved syllabus with a structured course of study. Part 141 can finish the private certificate in fewer required hours on paper (35 versus 40), though in practice most students at either kind of school fly past the minimum. Part 141 also matters if you plan to use VA benefits, which generally require an approved 141 course.
Do Pacific States Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?: Pacific States Aviation publishes $145 per hour for the Cessna 150J, 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 August 16, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Pacific States Aviation?: Pacific States Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL), Flight Instructor, Instrument Instructor and Multi-Engine Instructor. Instruction is $105 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Pacific States Aviation's own published rates.

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