PilotBound estimate · Palo Alto, CA
What flight training at Stanford Flying Club costs
Their published rates: $174/hr aircraft (dry) + $110/hr instructor·verified July 29, 2026 SourceSource 2
Stanford Flying Club publishes DRY rates: the club states fuel and small taxes are not included, so budget fuel on top of every figure here. It is a membership club, and instructors are independent contractors approved to teach at the club at a club-published rate.
Estimate cost to reach
Flying
Two-seat.
Shown at Stanford Flying Club's published dry rate. Fuel is billed separately and is not included in this estimate.
PilotBound estimate · Private
Cost of your Private at Stanford Flying Club
Most likely around $21,275, about 6 months at 2x/week. A range, not a promise.
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
Typical national figures, not the school's prices. The FAA written test and examiner (DPE) fees are set by third parties.
Examiner records (DPE dataset).
Your first certificate. Fly passengers, day or night, in good weather.
The hourly flying is priced on Stanford Flying Club's published rates (dry; fuel billed separately). Each rating also folds in its one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), about $3,550 across the path. Those are typical national estimates, not Stanford Flying Club's prices, and several (the FAA written test and examiner fees) 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 →
Step 2 · Plan
Your $21,275 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.
Add to my planEstimates use Stanford Flying Club's published Cessna 162 Skycatcher and instructor rates (verified July 29, 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 Stanford Flying Club. 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 Stanford Flying Club
- How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Stanford Flying Club?
- Stanford Flying Club publishes $174 per hour for the Cessna 162 Skycatcher and $110 per hour for instruction on it, verified July 29, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $21,275, in a range of $18,300 to $24,300. 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 Stanford Flying Club.
- How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Stanford Flying Club?
- Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Stanford Flying Club 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 Stanford Flying Club a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
- Stanford Flying Club 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 Stanford Flying Club's aircraft rates include fuel?
- Stanford Flying Club publishes $174 per hour for the Cessna 162 Skycatcher, a dry rate, so fuel is billed separately on top. Fuel typically adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour, so compare a dry rate against a wet one carefully. PilotBound's estimate uses the published dry rate exactly as listed and does not add a guessed fuel figure. Rates verified July 29, 2026.
- What ratings can you train for at Stanford Flying Club?
- Stanford Flying Club trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction is $110 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Stanford Flying Club's own published rates.
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