PilotBound estimate · Colorado Springs, CO · Checked September 8, 2026
What flight training at Springs Aviation costs
Website springsaviation.com
Phone 1-719-602-5405
Section 1Cost estimate
Your plan
Estimate cost to reach
Flying
PilotBound estimate · Private
Examiner dataCost of your Private at Springs Aviation
range $16.4K – $21.7K · about 6 months at 2×/week
Priced on Springs Aviation's published rates: Cessna 172P at $183/hr + $60/hr instruction, checked September 8, 2026.
Against a minimums quote
+$7,416 on Springs Aviation's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.
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
Examiner records (DPE dataset).
The hourly flying is priced on Springs Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Springs 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 →
Put this calculator on your siteSection 2The rate card
What Springs Aviation publishes
checked September 8, 2026Airframes built 1970 to 1998. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read October 4, 2026.
The examiner's checkride fee is not on this card: the examiner sets it, not the school. The estimate above includes PilotBound's own figure for it.
Section 3Discovery flight
$203
Checked September 14, 2026
50 to 60 minutes. The advanced discovery flight is $270.
Section 4Paying for it
Two ways to cover $19,031.
Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left. Neither figure assumes anything about you: one is what our scholarship directory holds, the other is what the lenders publish.
- Money you keepScholarships you could apply for51 open to anyone, plus 1 in Colorado. Top awards reach $22,200.
- Walt and Terry Barbo PPL Scholarship$2,500 · Opens Jan 1, 2027
- 52
- Money you pay backLenders that cover $19,031All six lenders in our comparison lend this much. That is whether a loan this size is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
- 6 of 6
Section 5Add to my plan
Turn this into a plan.
Your $19,031 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.
Add to my planSection 6In the app
Track it against Springs Aviation's rates.
Springs Aviation's rate card is in the PilotBound app. Choose Springs Aviation when you set up and the app prices your training at its rates, then tracks every flight you log against the projection.
Scan to download on your iPhone
Section 7What to ask
What to ask when you call
What turns an hourly rate into a real bill.
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.
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.
Section 8Questions
- How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Springs Aviation?
- Springs Aviation publishes $183 per hour for the Cessna 172P and $60 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 8, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $19,031, in a range of $16,400 to $21,700. 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 Springs Aviation.
- How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Springs Aviation?
- Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Springs 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 Springs Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
- Springs Aviation trains under Part 61, the flexible path. There is no FAA-approved syllabus to follow, so lessons can be scheduled around your life and adapted to your pace. The tradeoff is a slightly higher paper minimum for the private certificate (40 hours versus 35) and, for most students, no VA benefit eligibility.
- Do Springs Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?
- Springs Aviation publishes $183 per hour for the Cessna 172P, 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 September 8, 2026.
- What ratings can you train for at Springs Aviation?
- Springs Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor. Instruction runs $60 to $65 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 Springs Aviation's own published rates.
Section 9Sources
Estimates use Springs Aviation's published Cessna 172P and instructor rates (checked September 8, 2026), shown in USD for planning only. Real cost varies by student, weather, and pace. A range, not a quote.
PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Springs 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.
Are you Springs Aviation? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.
One other school flies from Meadow Lake Airport.
It publishes a full rate card, so you can compare before you call. FLY is the identifier to give when you ask.
- The Flight School at Colorado SpringsFull rate card, Cessna 172 at $165/hr and $50/hr instructionColorado Springs
Other Colorado flight schools
- Alliance Flight Training · Watkins
- Alpine Flight Training · Gypsum
- Arapahoe Flight Club · Colorado Springs
- Aspen Flight Academy · Aspen
- Aspen Flying Club · Englewood
- Centennial Flyers · Englewood
- Colorado Flight Center · Grand Junction
- Colorado Sport Pilot · Loveland
- Colorado's BEST Flight School · Englewood
All Colorado flight schoolsAll Colorado Springs 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.