How much does flight school cost in Colorado?

Across the 11 Colorado flight schools here that publish full rates, trainer rentals run $130 to $420 per hour and instruction $50 to $125 per hour, checked as recently as August 16, 2026. On each school's own published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate between $14,635 and $38,705, with a median of $18,815. These are PilotBound estimates built on published rates, not quotes from the schools.

What is the cheapest flight school in Colorado?

Cortez Flying Service in Cortez publishes the lowest trainer rental of the 11 Colorado schools listed here, $130 per hour for its Cessna 172, a wet rate, so fuel is included in the hourly figure, checked August 16, 2026. The lowest hourly rate is not automatically the lowest total: instructor rates, fuel basis, and the hours you actually fly decide that, which is what the per-school estimates on this page hold constant.

How current are these Colorado flight school rates?

Every rate here is the school's own published figure, linked to its source and dated; the newest check in Colorado is August 16, 2026, and each card and school page shows the exact date its rates were read. The directory is re-checked on a monthly cycle. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

Published rates, sourced · Updated August 16, 2026

What flight training costs at Colorado flight schools

Every listing shows the school's own published rates with the source and date, next to an honest PilotBound estimate for your Private pilot certificate. Add any school to your plan to map your whole route on their real rates.

Across the 11 Colorado schools here with published rates, trainer rentals run $130 to $420 per hour and instruction $50 to $125, and PilotBound's private pilot estimate lands between $14,635 and $38,705, with a median of $18,815.

Search, filter by city, and sort by cost. Each card marks where it falls among the state's schools on cost. Estimates are ours, not quotes, and we are not affiliated with these schools. See a wrong number? Every card has a correct-this-listing link.

Estimate cost toflying

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Showing 11 of 11 schools

Totals to reach your Private goal at this pace. 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. How we estimate.

Private estimate range across Colorado

lowest $12.6Khighest $44.1K

Cortez Flying Service
Part 61
Lowest in CO
Cortez, CO·cortezflyingservice.com
Published rates
$130/hr aircraft (wet)+$50/hr instructor
Checked August 16, 2026·Source
Cortez publishes a solo airplane rate ($130/hr) and a dual rate ($180/hr); it does not list a standalone instructor rate, so the $50/hr instruction here is the difference between the two (a dual hour works out to Cortez's published $180).
PilotBound estimate · Private
$14,635
range $12.6K – $16.7K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
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The Flight School at Colorado Springs
Part 61
Colorado Springs, CO·coloradospringsflightschool.com
Published rates
$165/hr aircraft (wet)+$50/hr instructor
Checked August 16, 2026·Source
PilotBound estimate · Private
$17,155
range $14.8K – $19.6K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
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Colorado Flight Center
Part 61
Grand Junction, CO·coloradoflightcenter.com
Published rates
$150/hr aircraft (dry, fuel billed separately)+$70/hr instructor
Checked August 16, 2026·Source
This estimate uses Colorado Flight Center's published dry rates plus their estimated fuel. Their insurance requires a CFC instructor on every rental flight.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$17,235
range $14.8K – $19.6K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
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Vector Air
Part not stated
Erie, CO·vectorair.net
Published rates
$155/hr aircraft (wet)+$65/hr instructor
Checked August 16, 2026·Source
PilotBound estimate · Private
$17,305
range $14.9K – $19.7K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
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Leading Edge Flight Training
Part not stated
Loveland, CO·leflighttraining.com
Published rates
$170/hr aircraft (wet)+$70/hr instructor
Checked August 16, 2026·Source
Leading Edge also sells a flat-rate Private Pilot package (about $14,580 before tax) covering 52 aircraft hours, 40 hours of flight instruction, and 42 hours of ground, built on their standard $170/hr aircraft and $70/hr instruction rates. Hours beyond the package bill at those same rates.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$18,675
range $16.1K – $21.3K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
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Colorado Sport Pilot
Part not stated
Loveland, CO·coloradosportpilot.org
Published rates
$180/hr aircraft (wet)+$60/hr instructor
Checked August 16, 2026·Source
PilotBound estimate · Private
$18,815
range $16.2K – $21.4K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
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Springs Aviation
Part 61
Colorado Springs, CO·springsaviation.com
Published rates
$183/hr aircraft (wet)+$60/hr instructor
Checked August 8, 2026·Source
PilotBound estimate · Private
$19,031
range $16.4K – $21.7K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
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Arapahoe Flight Club
Part 141
Colorado Springs, CO·arapahoefc.com
Published rates
$165/hr aircraft (wet)+$65/hr instructor
Checked August 16, 2026·Source
PilotBound estimate · Private
$19,275
range $16.6K – $22K
~78 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
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Peak Aviation
Part not stated
Colorado Springs, CO·cospilot.com
Published rates
$219/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$69/hr instructor
Checked August 16, 2026·Source
Peak Aviation does not say whether its published rates include fuel. This estimate uses the rate exactly as published, so ask before you budget: a dry rate adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour once fuel is on top.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$22,145
range $19K – $25.2K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
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Aspen Flight Academy
Part not stated
Aspen, CO·aspenflightacademy.org
Published rates
$385/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$75/hr instructor
Checked August 16, 2026·Source
Aspen Flight Academy is a nonprofit. The $385/hr is the standard adult rate; scholarship students and essential workers pay $330/hr.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$34,445
range $29.6K – $39.3K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
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Independence Aviation
Part not stated
Largest fleet2 locations
Centennial & Broomfield, CO·flywithia.com
Published rates
$420/hr aircraft (wet)+$105/hr instructor
Checked July 22, 2026·Source
This estimate uses Independence's 2026 all-Cirrus member wet rates (base plus consumables). SR22T rates include TKS and oxygen. Taxes and a 3% card fee are added on top and are not modeled; the SF50 Vision Jet is not included.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$38,705
range $33.3K – $44.1K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan See the full breakdown →

How these estimates work

We apply one consistent method to every school: PilotBound's own completion-hours model, examiner-completion data where it exists (like the Private and Commercial) and FAA minimums where no credible public data exists (like the Instrument and CFI), times that school's published aircraft and instructor rates (linked on every card, with the date we verified them), plus the one-time fees most quotes leave out. Holding the hours model identical across schools means the only thing that changes card to card is the school's actual rates.

So the number is PilotBound's estimate, not the school's quote, and it will differ from a school's own cost figures, which are often based on FAA-minimum hours. The schools do not set or endorse it.

Want a number tied to your own pace and aircraft choice? Run the estimator or read the full methodology.

These estimates are ours, not the schools' quotes, and we are not affiliated with the schools. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime. Disclaimer & removal policy.

Common questions about Colorado flight schools

How much does flight school cost in Colorado?: Across the 11 Colorado flight schools here that publish full rates, trainer rentals run $130 to $420 per hour and instruction $50 to $125 per hour, checked as recently as August 16, 2026. On each school's own published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate between $14,635 and $38,705, with a median of $18,815. These are PilotBound estimates built on published rates, not quotes from the schools.
What is the cheapest flight school in Colorado?: Cortez Flying Service in Cortez publishes the lowest trainer rental of the 11 Colorado schools listed here, $130 per hour for its Cessna 172, a wet rate, so fuel is included in the hourly figure, checked August 16, 2026. The lowest hourly rate is not automatically the lowest total: instructor rates, fuel basis, and the hours you actually fly decide that, which is what the per-school estimates on this page hold constant.
How current are these Colorado flight school rates?: Every rate here is the school's own published figure, linked to its source and dated; the newest check in Colorado is August 16, 2026, and each card and school page shows the exact date its rates were read. The directory is re-checked on a monthly cycle. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime.