PilotBound estimate · Jacksonville & Fernandina Beach, FL · Checked August 12, 2026
What flight training at A-Cent Aviation costs
Website a-centaviation.com
Your plan
Estimate cost to reach
Flying
Two-seat, the cost-conscious line. $5/hr off with a block.
PilotBound estimate · Private
Examiner dataCost of your Private at A-Cent Aviation
range $13K – $17.3K · about 6 months at 2×/week
Priced on A-Cent's published rates: Cessna 150L at $125/hr + $65/hr instruction, checked August 12, 2026.
Against a minimums quote
+$5,690 on A-Cent'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 A-Cent Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not A-Cent 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 A-Cent publishes
checked August 12, 2026All aircraft prices include oil and fuel. A-Cent runs two bases, Herlong in Jacksonville and Fernandina Beach, and two sites. These rates come from the rental page on the Fernandina Beach site, which heads its fleet "Aircraft BASED AT HERLONG", so confirm which base an airplane flies from before planning around it. The instructor rate is on the Jacksonville site. A $5/hr block option is offered on every aircraft. The $75/hr rate is for instruction in your own aircraft and is not used here. An Elite PI-135 BATD is $49/hr plus $65/hr if an instructor is required.
Not published: the examiner's checkride fee. Listed as missing rather than guessed.
Step 2
Turn this into a plan.
Your $15,145 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.
Add to my planWhat to ask when you call
What turns an hourly rate into a real bill.
What gets billed on top of the hourly rates, and roughly how much per hour does it add?
The site notes extras beyond the hourly figures. Ask for the all-in number per hour, not the base rate.
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 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 A-Cent Aviation's published Cessna 150L and instructor rates (checked August 12, 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 A-Cent 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 A-Cent Aviation
- How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at A-Cent Aviation?
- A-Cent Aviation publishes $125 per hour for the Cessna 150L and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 12, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $15,145, in a range of $13,000 to $17,300. 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 A-Cent Aviation.
- How long does it take to get a private pilot license at A-Cent Aviation?
- Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at A-Cent 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 A-Cent Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
- A-Cent Aviation trains under both Part 61 and Part 141, so you can pick the structured FAA-approved course or the flexible path. Part 141 is the one that matters for VA benefits and for the lower paper minimum on the private certificate; Part 61 is the one that bends around a full-time job.
- Do A-Cent Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?
- A-Cent Aviation publishes $125 per hour for the Cessna 150L, 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 12, 2026.
- What ratings can you train for at A-Cent Aviation?
- A-Cent Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction is $65 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on A-Cent Aviation's own published rates.
Other Florida flight schools
- AMS Flight School · Milton
- Central Florida Flight Training · Zephyrhills
- CFTAR (Center for Flight Training and Rental) · Naples
- CrossAirOcean · Zephyrhills
- Dare to Dream Aviation · Pompano Beach
- Deland Aviation · DeLand
- Destin Flight Works · Destin
- Distinguished Flyers · Starke
- Dynasty Aviation · Pembroke Pines
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.