How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Peak Aviation?

Peak Aviation publishes $219 per hour for the Cessna 172SP and $69 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 16, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $22,145, in a range of $19,000 to $25,200. 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 Peak Aviation.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Peak Aviation?

Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Peak 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 Peak Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?

Peak Aviation 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 Peak Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?

Peak Aviation publishes $219 per hour for the Cessna 172SP, a rate that does not say whether fuel is included. Ask before you budget: if the rate turns out to be dry, fuel adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour on top. PilotBound's estimate uses the rate exactly as published. Rates checked August 16, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Peak Aviation?

Peak Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor. Instruction is $69 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Peak Aviation's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Colorado Springs, CO · Checked August 16, 2026

What flight training at Peak Aviation costs

Website cospilot.com

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Peak Aviation

$22,145

range $19K – $25.2K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Peak Aviation's published rates: Cessna 172SP at $219/hr + $69/hr instruction, checked August 16, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$13,343

at the hours students actually take$22,145

+$8,802 on Peak Aviation's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$19K – $25.2K

Aircraft rental$15,768

Instruction$4,002

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$19,770

72 hrs in Cessna 172SP @ $219/hr + 58 dual @ $69/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 Peak Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Peak Aviation'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 Peak Aviation publishes

checked August 16, 2026

Cessna 172SP (N567JW)$219/hr fuel basis not stated

Cessna 172XP (N2949V)$227/hr fuel basis not stated

Cessna 172XP (N1168V)$227/hr fuel basis not stated

Cessna 172SP G1000 (N487ER)Glass panel, for advanced/TAA hours.$232/hr fuel basis not stated

Instruction$69/hr

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.

Not published: the examiner's checkride fee, whether rates include fuel. Listed as missing rather than guessed.

See the published rates→

Step 2

Turn this into a plan.

Your $22,145 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

What to ask when you call

The marked ones are what Peak Aviation's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

Do the published aircraft rates include fuel, or is fuel billed separately?Missing from their site
The site does not say, and it is the difference between two rates that look identical and are not.
Does the instructor rate change for the Instrument, Commercial, or CFI, or is it flat across everything?
Plenty of schools charge more for advanced instruction. A flat rate quoted for the Private can climb later.
Do you train under Part 61 or Part 141?Missing from their site
It changes the minimum hours, and for some students it changes financing eligibility.
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.
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.
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 Peak Aviation's published Cessna 172SP 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 Peak 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. Disclaimer & removal policy.

Common questions about Peak Aviation

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Peak Aviation?: Peak Aviation publishes $219 per hour for the Cessna 172SP and $69 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 16, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $22,145, in a range of $19,000 to $25,200. 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 Peak Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Peak Aviation?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Peak 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 Peak Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Peak Aviation 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 Peak Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?: Peak Aviation publishes $219 per hour for the Cessna 172SP, a rate that does not say whether fuel is included. Ask before you budget: if the rate turns out to be dry, fuel adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour on top. PilotBound's estimate uses the rate exactly as published. Rates checked August 16, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Peak Aviation?: Peak Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor. Instruction is $69 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Peak Aviation's own published rates.

Other Colorado flight schools

Arapahoe Flight Club · Colorado Springs
Aspen Flight Academy · Aspen
Colorado Flight Center · Grand Junction
Colorado Sport Pilot · Loveland
Cortez Flying Service · Cortez
Independence Aviation · Centennial & Broomfield
Leading Edge Flight Training · Loveland
Springs Aviation · Colorado Springs
The Flight School at Colorado Springs · Colorado Springs

All Colorado flight schools

Plan the money before you commit

A program price only makes sense next to what each rating costs on its own, what free money exists, and what borrowing actually looks like.

What each rating costs

Honest per-rating ranges, with the fees most quotes leave out.

Free money first

Verified flight training scholarships. Every scholarship dollar is a dollar you never finance.

If you borrow

Compare lenders and see the real monthly payment before you sign.