Palomar Aviation
Flight training from Private Pilot through Instrument Rating at McClellan-Palomar Airport.
Rates checkedChecked November 13, 2026 by Samip Shah, CFI, CFII, AGI
At a glance
- 4 aircraft types.
- A private pilot certificate here, flying 2x a week, is estimated at $31,225.
Basics
| Certificates | Private Pilot, Instrument Rating |
|---|---|
| Website | palomaraviation.com |
Aircraft and rates
4 types
Cirrus SR20 G6
Three in the fleet. The school calls it a Technically Advanced Aircraft.
- Rate (dry)
- $300/hr
Model and year from the FAA aircraft registry, November 13, 2026.
Instruction and rate notes
Checked November 13, 2026The aircraft rates are billed with a separate consumables charge each hour: $100 on the SR20s and $160 on the SR22Ts. Instructors are $125 an hour, or $500 a half day and $1,000 a full day. A Cirrus simulator is $150 an hour.
The examiner's checkride fee is paid separately. The estimate uses Part 61 hours. Palomar Aviation doesn't say whether it trains under Part 61 or 141.
Airport
McClellan-Palomar KCRQ
Home field · 1 runway · 4,897 ft · asphalt
Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP imagery via the USGS National Map
Weather
In an average year, January to June has 147 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
Three in the fleet. The school calls it a Technically Advanced Aircraft.
Shown at Palomar Aviation's published dry rate. Fuel is billed separately and is not included in this estimate.
Where this comes from
Examiner records (DPE dataset).PilotBound estimate
$31,225
Usually $26,900 to $35,600 · about 6 months
- Airplane72 hrs in Cirrus SR20 G6 × $300/hr$21,600
- Instructor58 hrs dual × $125/hr$7,250
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 Palomar Aviation's published rates (dry; fuel billed separately). The one-time fees are typical national figures, not Palomar Aviation's prices, and several are set by third parties.
Discovery flight
$395
Checked November 13, 2026
Two hours in the SR20 G6: one hour of flight and an hour of instructor time on the ground, plus tax.
Paying for it
Two ways to cover $31,225.
Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left.
- Money you keepScholarships you could apply for43 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
- 44
- Money you pay backLenders that cover $31,225Four of the six lenders in our comparison lend this much. That is whether a loan this size is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
- 4 of 6
What to ask when you call
Not on their website
Do you train under Part 61 or Part 141?
It changes the minimum hours, and for some students, financing.
Also ask
Your published rates are dry. Roughly what does fuel add per hour on the trainer?
The published rates don't include it.
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.
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.
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.
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 Palomar Aviation's rates.
Palomar Aviation's rate card is in the PilotBound app. Choose Palomar Aviation 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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Questions
How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Palomar Aviation?
Palomar Aviation publishes $300 per hour for the Cirrus SR20 G6 and $125 per hour for instruction on it, checked November 13, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $31,225, in a range of $26,900 to $35,600. 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 Palomar Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Palomar Aviation?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Palomar 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 Palomar Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Palomar 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 Palomar Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?
Palomar Aviation publishes $300 per hour for the Cirrus SR20 G6, 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 Palomar Aviation?
Palomar Aviation trains Private Pilot and Instrument Rating. Instruction is $125 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Palomar Aviation's own published rates.
Sources
Estimates use Palomar Aviation's published Cirrus SR20 G6 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 Palomar 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 Palomar Aviation? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.
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