PilotBound
PilotBound

PilotBound estimate · Bartow, FL · Checked August 12, 2026

What flight training at Orlandi Flight Center costs

Website orlandiflightcenter.com

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Steam panel. IFR, autopilot, ADS-B out.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Orlandi Flight Center

$19,033

range $16.4K – $21.7K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Orlandi's published rates: Cessna 172K at $179/hr + $65/hr instruction, checked August 12, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$11,615
at the hours students actually take$19,033

+$7,418 on Orlandi's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$16.4K – $21.7K
Aircraft rental$12,888
Instruction$3,770
One-time costs$2,375
Aircraft + instruction$16,658
72 hrs in Cessna 172K @ $179/hr + 58 dual @ $65/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 Orlandi Flight Center's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Orlandi Flight Center'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 Orlandi publishes

checked August 12, 2026
Cessna 172K (N7380G, 1970)Steam panel. IFR, autopilot, ADS-B out.$179/hr wet
Cessna 172K (N78066, 1969)Steam panel. IFR, 175W, ADS-B out.$179/hr wet
Cessna 172L (N7833G, 1971)IFR: 430W, G5 AI, G5 HSI, ADS-B out. Dual only.$189/hr wet
Cessna 172L (N7040Q, 1972)IFR: 650Xi, G5 AI, G5 HSI, ADS-B out.$189/hr wet
Cessna 172K glass (N7308G, 1970)Glass panel.$209/hr wet
Piper J3C-85 Cub (N26719, 1940)Tailwheel, dual only.$149/hr wet
Piper J3C-65 Cub (N1500N, 1947)Tailwheel, dual only.$149/hr wet
Cessna 310C (N1766H, 1959)Twin.$399/hr wet
Piper Seneca II (1976)Twin.$399/hr wet
Instruction$65/hr

Aircraft rates are per hour wet. Orlandi runs two bases in two states: Bartow, Florida (KBOW) and a New Jersey location (1N7); this entry prices the Florida base. Instruction is tiered by instructor seniority: $65 line, $75 senior, $85 assistant chief or chief. Pre-flight briefing and post-flight debriefing are included in the instructor rate at no extra charge. Headset rental is $3/hr.

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

See the published rates→Source 2→

Paying for it

Two ways to cover $19,033.

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 $19,033All 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
See what you could win →or compare the six lenders →

Next leg

Turn this into a plan.

Your $19,033 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.

Add to my plan

What to ask when you call

What turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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 Orlandi Flight Center's published Cessna 172K 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 Orlandi Flight Center. 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 Orlandi Flight Center

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Orlandi Flight Center?
Orlandi Flight Center publishes $179 per hour for the Cessna 172K 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 $19,033, 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 Orlandi Flight Center.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Orlandi Flight Center?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Orlandi Flight Center 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 Orlandi Flight Center a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Orlandi Flight Center 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 Orlandi Flight Center's aircraft rates include fuel?
Orlandi Flight Center publishes $179 per hour for the Cessna 172K, 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 Orlandi Flight Center?
Orlandi Flight Center trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction is $65 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Orlandi Flight Center's own published rates.

Other Florida flight schools

All Florida 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.