PilotBound
PilotBound

PilotBound estimate · Auburn, CA

What flight training at Sunshine Flyers costs

Your plan

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Flying

Two-seat, the cheapest way to start.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Sunshine Flyers

$20,055

range $17.2K – $22.9K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Sunshine Flyers's published rates: Cessna 152 at $165/hr + $100/hr instruction, checked August 6, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$12,175
at the hours students actually take$20,055

+$8,000 on Sunshine Flyers's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$17.2K – $22.9K
Aircraft rental$11,880
Instruction$5,800
One-time costs$2,375
Aircraft + instruction$17,680
72 hrs in Cessna 152 @ $165/hr + 58 dual @ $100/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 pace72 hrs

Examiner records (DPE dataset).

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

checked August 6, 2026
Evektor Sportstar (N412EV)Light-sport.$145/hr wet
Cessna 152 (N24261)Two-seat, the cheapest way to start.$165/hr wet
Citabria 7KCAB (N57473)Tailwheel; needs an endorsement.$200/hr wet
Cessna 172 (N3948Q)$205/hr wet
Cessna 172 (N1141M)$205/hr wet
Cessna 172 (N9860G)$205/hr wet
Piper Arrow II (N1406T)Retractable, so this is the complex trainer for the Commercial.$235/hr wet
Instruction$100/hr

Rates are wet. Sunshine also reimburses fuel bought away from base against a receipt, which this estimate does not model.

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

See the published rates→Source 2→

Step 2

Turn this into a plan.

Your $20,055 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.

Add to my plan

Estimates use Sunshine Flyers's published Cessna 152 and instructor rates (checked August 6, 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 Sunshine Flyers. 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 Sunshine Flyers

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Sunshine Flyers?
Sunshine Flyers publishes $165 per hour for the Cessna 152 and $100 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 6, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $20,055, in a range of $17,200 to $22,900. 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 Sunshine Flyers.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Sunshine Flyers?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Sunshine Flyers 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 Sunshine Flyers a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Sunshine Flyers 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 Sunshine Flyers's aircraft rates include fuel?
Sunshine Flyers publishes $165 per hour for the Cessna 152, 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 6, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Sunshine Flyers?
Sunshine Flyers trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction is $100 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Sunshine Flyers's own published rates.

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