Flight-school estimates: how they work, and how to correct or remove a listing
The short version is on every card and in the site footer. This is the full version: what the numbers are, where the rates come from, and the simple path to fix or remove a listing.
Last updated August 12, 2026
What these numbers are
Every cost figure in the flight-school directory is a PilotBound estimate: our own calculation, not the school's price and not a quote. We compute it with one consistent, disclosed model, the same for every school, so the only thing that changes card to card is the school's published rates.
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.
Because the math is shown and the assumptions are disclosed, the figure is an opinion about likely cost, not a statement of what the school charges. Your real cost will differ based on your pace, aircraft choice, and progress.
Where the rates come from
The aircraft and instructor rates we build each estimate on are the school's own published rates, taken from the school's website. Every listing links to that source and shows the date we last verified it.
We do not invent rates. If a school does not publish a number, we leave it out and say so rather than guess.
An absence is a claim too, so we do not make it from one page. Rates hide in PDFs, on per-aircraft pages reachable only through a fleet grid, and inside course cost breakdowns rather than on rate cards. Before we record that a school does not publish a figure, we sweep the school's own site, its sitemap along with its rate, pricing, fleet and aircraft pages, and a person opens every candidate that comes back. A school that publishes part of a rate card is listed with the part it publishes, the missing figure named as missing, and no estimate shown.
One-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear) are typical national estimates, not the school's prices, and several of them are set by third parties, not the school.
Not affiliated with the schools
PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any school listed in this directory. School names are used only to identify the school. We do not use school logos or brand styling on these neutral listings.
A listing is not a recommendation or a ranking of quality. It is a sourced cost reference plus our estimate.
Corrections and removals
Accuracy is the whole point, so we make it easy to fix. Every school's page has a "Correct or remove this listing" link that opens an email to us, pre-filled. Send a correction and we review it against the school's own site before it goes live.
If you represent a school and would rather not be listed at all, use the "Request removal" option on the school's page (it emails us) or write to us directly, and we will take the listing down promptly. No explanation required.
When we read your site
We read published rates from a school's own website, at a deliberate crawl: one page at a time, about a second between requests, slower when the site asks for slower, and never more than about thirty pages. We read robots.txt and stay out of what it excludes, and we back off when a server tells us to slow down.
If you would rather we did not read your site at all, email us and we will stop, and take the listing down with it. No explanation required.
Contact
For a correction, a removal, or any question about a listing, email samip.shah@pilotbound.app. You can also use the correction or removal options on any school's page.