PilotBound
PilotBound

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

What flight training at Riverside Flight Academy costs

Website riversideflightacademy.com

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

The primary trainer; fleet ranges $150-160.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Riverside Flight Academy

$18,575

range $16K – $21.2K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Riverside Flight Academy's published rates: Cessna 172 at $160/hr + $60/hr instruction, checked August 16, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$9,655
at the hours students actually take$18,575

+$8,920 on Riverside Flight Academy's own rates. Quotes usually price the 35-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$16K – $21.2K
Aircraft rental$12,480
Instruction$3,720
One-time costs$2,375
Aircraft + instruction$16,200
78 hrs in Cessna 172 @ $160/hr + 62 dual @ $60/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 Riverside Flight Academy's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Riverside Flight Academy'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 Riverside Flight Academy publishes

checked August 16, 2026
Cessna 172 (GPS, dual G5)The primary trainer; fleet ranges $150-160.$160/hr wet
Piper Arrow PA-28R (retractable)Complex/retractable, for the commercial TAA time.$185/hr wet
Tecnam P2006T (twin, G950)Twin, for the multi-engine ratings.$375/hr wet
Instructionstandard $60/hr · instrument instruction $70/hr · commercial instruction $70/hr · CFI candidates $70/hr · multi-engine instruction $80/hr$60 – $80/hr

Rates are wet, but a fuel surcharge is added to all flights. The C172 fleet ranges $150-160/hr (most at $160). Instruction is $60/hr primary, $70/hr advanced, $80/hr multi.

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

See the published rates→

Step 2

Turn this into a plan.

Your $18,575 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.

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What to ask when you call

What turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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 Riverside Flight Academy's published Cessna 172 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 Riverside Flight Academy. 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 Riverside Flight Academy

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Riverside Flight Academy?
Riverside Flight Academy publishes $160 per hour for the Cessna 172 and $60 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 16, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $18,575, in a range of $16,000 to $21,200. 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 Riverside Flight Academy.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Riverside Flight Academy?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Riverside Flight Academy 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 Riverside Flight Academy a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Riverside Flight Academy 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 Riverside Flight Academy's aircraft rates include fuel?
Riverside Flight Academy publishes $160 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 August 16, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Riverside Flight Academy?
Riverside Flight Academy trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL) and Flight Instructor. Instruction runs $60 to $80 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 Riverside Flight Academy's own published rates.

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