How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Modern Aero?

Modern Aero publishes $350 per hour for the Cirrus SR20 G6 and $160 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 20, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $36,855, in a range of $31,700 to $42,000. 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 Modern Aero.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Modern Aero?

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

Modern Aero 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 Modern Aero's aircraft rates include fuel?

Modern Aero publishes $350 per hour for the Cirrus SR20 G6, a dry rate, so fuel is billed separately on top. Fuel typically adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour, so compare a dry rate against a wet one carefully. PilotBound's estimate uses the published dry rate exactly as listed and does not add a guessed fuel figure. Rates checked August 20, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Modern Aero?

Modern Aero trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction is $160 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Modern Aero's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · St. Augustine, FL · Checked August 20, 2026

What flight training at Modern Aero costs

Website modern.aero

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

The primary trainer. Glass + parachute.

Shown at Modern Aero's published dry rate. Fuel is billed separately and is not included in this estimate.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Modern Aero

$36,855

range $31.7K – $42K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Modern Aero's published rates: Cirrus SR20 G6 at $350/hr dry + $160/hr instruction, checked August 20, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$21,495

at the hours students actually take$36,855

+$15,360 on Modern Aero's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$31.7K – $42K

Aircraft rental$25,200

Instruction$9,280

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$34,480

72 hrs in Cirrus SR20 G6 @ $350/hr + 58 dual @ $160/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 Modern Aero's published rates (dry; fuel billed separately). About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Modern Aero'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 Modern Aero publishes

checked August 20, 2026

Cirrus SR20 G6The primary trainer. Glass + parachute.$350/hr dry

Cirrus SR20 G7Latest glass.$415/hr dry

Cirrus SR22TTurbo, high-performance.$545/hr dry

Instruction$160/hr

This estimate uses Modern Aero's standard non-member rates. They are DRY: the school bills consumables separately at current market rates, so fuel and oil are on top of every figure here. Its membership sheet, dated January 1, 2025, prices those consumables at $110/hr on the SR20 and $130/hr on the SR22 and says they move with the price of fuel. Members and block buyers pay less on both aircraft and instruction, and Platinum Pilot membership is a $350 registration fee plus $195 a month on a one-year minimum. Card payments add 3.9%.

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

See the published rates→Source 2→

Step 2

Turn this into a plan.

Your $36,855 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

What turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

Your published rates are dry. Roughly what does fuel add per hour on the trainer?
The published figures leave fuel out, so they understate the real hourly cost until you add it.
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 Modern Aero's published Cirrus SR20 G6 and instructor rates (checked August 20, 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 Modern Aero. 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 Modern Aero

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Modern Aero?: Modern Aero publishes $350 per hour for the Cirrus SR20 G6 and $160 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 20, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $36,855, in a range of $31,700 to $42,000. 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 Modern Aero.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Modern Aero?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Modern Aero 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 Modern Aero a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Modern Aero 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 Modern Aero's aircraft rates include fuel?: Modern Aero publishes $350 per hour for the Cirrus SR20 G6, a dry rate, so fuel is billed separately on top. Fuel typically adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour, so compare a dry rate against a wet one carefully. PilotBound's estimate uses the published dry rate exactly as listed and does not add a guessed fuel figure. Rates checked August 20, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Modern Aero?: Modern Aero trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction is $160 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Modern Aero's own published rates.

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