PilotBound

PilotBound estimate · Atlanta (Chamblee), GA · Checked September 16, 2026

What flight training at Centennial Aviation Academy costs

Website flywithcaa.com

Phone 678-686-9086

Section 1Cost estimate

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Centennial Aviation Academy

$25,325

range $21.8K – $28.9K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Centennial's published rates: Piper PA-28-151 Warrior at $239/hr + $99/hr instruction, checked September 16, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$15,103
at the hours students actually take$25,325

+$10,222 on Centennial's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$21.8K – $28.9K
Aircraft rental$17,208
Instruction$5,742
One-time costs$2,375
Aircraft + instruction$22,950
72 hrs in Piper PA-28-151 Warrior @ $239/hr + 58 dual @ $99/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 Centennial Aviation Academy's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Centennial Aviation 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 →

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Section 2The rate card

What Centennial publishes

checked September 16, 2026
Piper PA-28-151 Warrior (N6919J)1976$239/hr wet
Piper PA-28-151 Warrior (N296CA)$239/hr wet
Piper PA-28-151 Warrior (N854CA)1973$239/hr wet
Piper PA-28-161 Warrior (N703CA)$239/hr wet
Piper PA-28-181 Archer (N11CA)$239/hr wet
Cessna 172P (N62855)1981$239/hr wet
Piper PA-28R-180 Arrow (N322CA)Retractable/complex.$259/hr wet
Beechcraft BE-76 Duchess (N198CA)1980Multi-engine trainer.$449/hr wet
Instruction$99/hr

Airframes built 1973 to 1981. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read September 16, 2026.

The examiner's checkride fee is not on this card: the examiner sets it, not the school. The estimate above includes PilotBound's own figure for it. Centennial does not state whether it trains under Part 61 or Part 141, so the estimate above is built on Part 61 hours.

See the published rates →

Section 3Paying for it

Two ways to cover $25,325.

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.

Money you keepScholarships you could apply for46 open to anyone. Top awards reach $22,200.No Georgia-only awards in the directory yet.
46
Money you pay backLenders that cover $25,325Five of the six lenders in our comparison lend this much. That is whether a loan this size is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
5 of 6
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Section 4Add to my plan

Turn this into a plan.

Your $25,325 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

Section 5What to ask

What to ask when you call

The marked one is what Centennial's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  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.

Section 6Questions

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Centennial Aviation Academy?
Centennial Aviation Academy publishes $239 per hour for the Piper PA-28-151 Warrior and $99 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 16, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $25,325, in a range of $21,800 to $28,900. 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 Centennial Aviation Academy.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Centennial Aviation Academy?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Centennial Aviation 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 Centennial Aviation Academy a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Centennial Aviation 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 Centennial Aviation Academy's aircraft rates include fuel?
Centennial Aviation Academy publishes $239 per hour for the Piper PA-28-151 Warrior, 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 16, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Centennial Aviation Academy?
Centennial Aviation Academy trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Multi-Engine (AMEL). Instruction is $99 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Centennial Aviation Academy's own published rates.

Section 7Sources

Estimates use Centennial Aviation Academy's published Piper PA-28-151 Warrior and instructor rates (checked September 16, 2026), shown in USD for planning only. Real cost varies by student, weather, and pace. A range, not a quote.

PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Centennial Aviation 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.

Are you Centennial? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.

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5 other schools fly from DeKalb Peachtree Airport.

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