How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Tropicbird Flight Service?

Tropicbird Flight Service publishes $235 per hour for the Diamond DA-20 C1 Eclipse and $105 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 8, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $25,385, 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 Tropicbird Flight Service.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Tropicbird Flight Service?

Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Tropicbird Flight Service 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 Tropicbird Flight Service a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?

Tropicbird Flight Service 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 Tropicbird Flight Service's aircraft rates include fuel?

Tropicbird Flight Service publishes $235 per hour for the Diamond DA-20 C1 Eclipse, a rate that does not say whether fuel is included. Ask before you budget: if the rate turns out to be dry, fuel adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour on top. PilotBound's estimate uses the rate exactly as published. Rates checked September 8, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Tropicbird Flight Service?

Tropicbird Flight Service trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor. Instruction runs $105 to $135 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 Tropicbird Flight Service's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Kailua-Kona, HI · Checked September 8, 2026

What flight training at Tropicbird Flight Service costs

Website tropicbirdflightservice.com

Phone (808) 895-4753

Section 1Cost estimate

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

Two-seat.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Tropicbird Flight Service

$25,385

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

Priced on Tropicbird's published rates: Diamond DA-20 C1 Eclipse at $235/hr + $105/hr instruction, checked September 8, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$15,135

at the hours students actually take$25,385

+$10,250 on Tropicbird's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$21.8K – $28.9K

Aircraft rental$16,920

Instruction$6,090

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$23,010

72 hrs in Diamond DA-20 C1 Eclipse @ $235/hr + 58 dual @ $105/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 Tropicbird Flight Service's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Tropicbird Flight Service'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 Tropicbird publishes

checked September 8, 2026

Cessna 172M 180HP$245/hr fuel basis not stated

Diamond DA-20 C1 EclipseTwo-seat.$235/hr fuel basis not stated

Cessna 182S 230HPHigh performance.$365/hr fuel basis not stated

Instructionstandard $105/hr · instrument instruction $120/hr · commercial instruction $120/hr · CFI candidates $135/hr$105 – $135/hr

This estimate uses Tropicbird's standard published rates. It does not include the fuel surcharge that may apply per their website; a 5% discount on 10-hour block deposits is not modeled.

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. Tropicbird's site does not state whether its rates include fuel. Tropicbird 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 $25,385.

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, plus 1 in Hawaii. Top awards reach $22,200. Aviation Pathways GrantUp to $10,000 · Check dates: 47
Money you pay backLenders that cover $25,385Five 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 $25,385 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 ones are what Tropicbird's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

Do the published aircraft rates include fuel, or is fuel billed separately?Missing from their site
The site does not say, and it is the difference between two rates that look identical and are not.
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.

Section 6Questions

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Tropicbird Flight Service?: Tropicbird Flight Service publishes $235 per hour for the Diamond DA-20 C1 Eclipse and $105 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 8, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $25,385, 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 Tropicbird Flight Service.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Tropicbird Flight Service?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Tropicbird Flight Service 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 Tropicbird Flight Service a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Tropicbird Flight Service 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 Tropicbird Flight Service's aircraft rates include fuel?: Tropicbird Flight Service publishes $235 per hour for the Diamond DA-20 C1 Eclipse, a rate that does not say whether fuel is included. Ask before you budget: if the rate turns out to be dry, fuel adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour on top. PilotBound's estimate uses the rate exactly as published. Rates checked September 8, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Tropicbird Flight Service?: Tropicbird Flight Service trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor. Instruction runs $105 to $135 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 Tropicbird Flight Service's own published rates.

Section 7Sources

Estimates use Tropicbird Flight Service's published Diamond DA-20 C1 Eclipse and instructor rates (checked September 8, 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 Tropicbird Flight Service. 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 Tropicbird? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.

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What flight training at Tropicbird Flight Service costs

Section 1 · Cost estimate

Section 2 · The rate card