How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Dependable Aviation?

Dependable Aviation publishes $215 per hour for the Cessna 172 Skyhawk and $80 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 12, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $22,495, in a range of $19,300 to $25,600. 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 Dependable Aviation.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Dependable Aviation?

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

Dependable Aviation 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 Dependable Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?

Dependable Aviation publishes $215 per hour for the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, 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 Dependable Aviation?

Dependable Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction is $80 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Dependable Aviation's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Dallas (Douglasville), GA · Checked August 12, 2026

What flight training at Dependable Aviation costs

Website flydependable.com

Your plan

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Flying

Which airplane?

Refurbished interior, glass cockpit.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Dependable Aviation

$22,495

range $19.3K – $25.6K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Dependable's published rates: Cessna 172 Skyhawk at $215/hr + $80/hr instruction, checked August 12, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$13,535

at the hours students actually take$22,495

+$8,960 on Dependable's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$19.3K – $25.6K

Aircraft rental$15,480

Instruction$4,640

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$20,120

72 hrs in Cessna 172 Skyhawk @ $215/hr + 58 dual @ $80/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 Dependable Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Dependable 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 Dependable publishes

checked August 12, 2026

Cessna 172 Skyhawk (N300KZ "Hannah")Refurbished interior, glass cockpit.$215/hr wet

Piper Cherokee 180 (N7635W "Maddie")TAA glass cockpit.$215/hr wet

Piper Cherokee 140/160 (N9678W "Laney")160 HP Lycoming O-320, new paint and interior.$215/hr wet

Instruction$80/hr

Dependable prices its whole fleet at one rate: $215/hr wet, fuel included, for the Cessna 172 or either Piper Cherokee. Instruction is a flat $80/hr. The school also publishes whole-program estimates ($17,000 to $20,000 for the Private, $14,000 to $16,000 for the Instrument) which this hourly estimate does not use.

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 $22,495 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 Dependable'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.
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 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 Dependable Aviation's published Cessna 172 Skyhawk 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 Dependable 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 Dependable Aviation

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Dependable Aviation?: Dependable Aviation publishes $215 per hour for the Cessna 172 Skyhawk and $80 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 12, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $22,495, in a range of $19,300 to $25,600. 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 Dependable Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Dependable Aviation?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Dependable 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 Dependable Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Dependable Aviation 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 Dependable Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?: Dependable Aviation publishes $215 per hour for the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, 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 Dependable Aviation?: Dependable Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction is $80 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Dependable Aviation's own published rates.

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