How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Dragon Flight Training Academy?

Dragon Flight Training Academy publishes $150 per hour for the Liberty XL2 and $85 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 1, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $18,105, in a range of $15,600 to $20,600. 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 Dragon Flight Training Academy.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Dragon Flight Training Academy?

Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Dragon Flight Training Academy 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 Dragon Flight Training Academy a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?

Dragon Flight Training Academy 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 Dragon Flight Training Academy's aircraft rates include fuel?

Dragon Flight Training Academy publishes $150 per hour for the Liberty XL2, 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 1, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Dragon Flight Training Academy?

Dragon Flight Training Academy trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL) and Flight Instructor. Instruction runs $85 to $95 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 Dragon Flight Training Academy's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Pembroke Pines, FL · Checked September 1, 2026

What flight training at Dragon Flight Training Academy costs

Website dragon.flights

Your plan

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Flying

Which airplane?

Wet, IFR certified. The school's own courses through CFI fly it.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Dragon Flight Training Academy

$18,105

range $15.6K – $20.6K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Dragon's published rates: Liberty XL2 at $150/hr + $85/hr instruction, checked September 1, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$11,095

at the hours students actually take$18,105

+$7,010 on Dragon's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$15.6K – $20.6K

Aircraft rental$10,800

Instruction$4,930

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$15,730

72 hrs in Liberty XL2 @ $150/hr + 58 dual @ $85/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 Dragon Flight Training Academy's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Dragon Flight Training Academy'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 Dragon publishes

checked September 1, 2026

Liberty XL2 (N566XL, N527XL, N570XL)Wet, IFR certified. The school's own courses through CFI fly it.$150/hr wet

Piper Twin Comanche PA-30BWet. $445/hr dual with an MEI.$350/hr wet

Instructionstandard $85/hr · multi-engine instruction $95/hr$85 – $95/hr

Rates are wet. Shared time-building flies at $75/hr per pilot (two pilots share the airplane) and is not a solo rental rate. The Twin Comanche is $350/hr solo and $445/hr with a multi-engine instructor, with shared-twin block rates down to $165/hr per pilot. Florida sales tax applies to invoiced items and is not in these figures.

Not published: the examiner's checkride fee. Listed as missing rather than guessed.

See the published rates→

Paying for it

Two ways to cover $18,105.

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.

Scholarships you could apply forTop awards reach $22,200. Every dollar won is a dollar you never finance.: 68
Lenders that cover $18,105All 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

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Next leg

Turn this into a plan.

Your $18,105 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.

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What to ask when you call

The marked one is what Dragon's site never answers. The rest are 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.
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 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 Dragon Flight Training Academy's published Liberty XL2 and instructor rates (checked September 1, 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 Dragon Flight Training Academy. 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 Dragon Flight Training Academy

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Dragon Flight Training Academy?: Dragon Flight Training Academy publishes $150 per hour for the Liberty XL2 and $85 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 1, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $18,105, in a range of $15,600 to $20,600. 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 Dragon Flight Training Academy.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Dragon Flight Training Academy?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Dragon Flight Training Academy 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 Dragon Flight Training Academy a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Dragon Flight Training Academy 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 Dragon Flight Training Academy's aircraft rates include fuel?: Dragon Flight Training Academy publishes $150 per hour for the Liberty XL2, 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 1, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Dragon Flight Training Academy?: Dragon Flight Training Academy trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL) and Flight Instructor. Instruction runs $85 to $95 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 Dragon Flight Training Academy's own published rates.

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