PilotBound

What flight training costs at Illinois flight schools

Across the 16 Illinois schools here with published rates, trainer rentals run $130 to $430 per hour and instruction $50 to $125, and PilotBound's private pilot estimate lands between $15,505 and $40,585, with a median of $17,775.

46 schools listed · Updated October 16, 2026

Estimate cost toflying
Showing 1–12 of 46 schools

Totals to reach your Private goal at this pace. 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. How we estimate.

Private estimate range across Illinois$13.3K$46.3K

  • Citywings Flight School

    Part not stated
    Lowest in IL

    Schaumburg, IL·citywings.net

    $130/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$65/hr instructor

    Checked October 16, 2026·Source

    Citywings sells lessons as credits, and the hourly rates here apply only on its Basic 10 Pack or Pack of 20; buying credits individually costs $140 per credit. Instructor overage is billed in six-minute intervals. The site prices a basic airplane and a deluxe airplane without saying which of its two light-sport types, a REMOS GX and a Flight Design CTLS, is which, and a premium rate is listed as coming soon. It does not say whether fuel is included.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $15,505

    range $13.3K to $17.7K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planCitywings cost breakdown →

  • Sauk Valley Aviation

    Part not stated

    Rock Falls, IL·saukvalleyaviation.com

    $150/hr aircraft (wet)·$50/hr instructor

    Checked September 10, 2026·Source

    Sauk Valley publishes one rental rate, wet, without naming the airplane it belongs to, and describes it only as VFR/IFR capable and fully insured. Instruction is $50/hr. The site never lists which certificates it trains, so only the Private is recorded here. A separate maintenance shop rate of $85/hr is not a training cost.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $16,075

    range $13.8K to $18.3K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planSauk Valley cost breakdown →

  • Jacksonville Municipal Airport Flight Training

    Part not stated

    Jacksonville, IL·flyijx.com

    $145/hr aircraft (wet)·$65/hr instructor

    Checked October 16, 2026·Source

    The flight school is the municipal airport's own, so its rates sit on the airport website beside the fuel prices. Both airplanes are published as wet rates, marked subject to change. Instruction is $65/hr, rising to $70/hr for instrument dual, with ground instruction at $50/hr and instrument ground at $55/hr. Renters need a checkout and their own renter's insurance.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $16,585

    range $14.3K to $18.9K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planJacksonville Municipal cost breakdown →

  • Chicago Executive Flight School

    Part not stated

    Wheeling, IL·chicagoexecutiveflightschool.com

    $130/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$85/hr instructor

    Checked October 8, 2026·Source

    The published rates are before a fuel surcharge that Chicago Executive states as $10/hr on the Cessna 150 and $20/hr on the Cessna 172, so budget those on top. Prepaid block plans of $2,500 and $5,000 lower the rates further ($118.50 and $107.00 on the 150, $178.00 and $161.00 on the 172); the retail rate is modeled. Instruction is $75/hr with a standard instructor and $150/hr with a senior instructor. A Frasca simulator is $90/hr and is not modeled. The fleet page also lists a Beechcraft Sundowner that the pricing page does not price. The Tecnam P92 Echo is priced flat at $192/hr with no fuel surcharge and no block discount, so it is the only aircraft here whose advertised figure is the figure.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $16,665

    range $14.3K to $19K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planChicago Executive cost breakdown →

  • JWA Flight School

    Part 61

    Bolingbrook, IL·flyjwa.com

    $145/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$70/hr instructor

    Checked October 16, 2026·Source

    Instruction is $70/hr on every airplane, including the twin. A Redbird LD AATD is $65/hr with the same $70/hr instruction and is not modeled. JWA lists a Beech Duchess at $385/hr but does not advertise a multi-engine course, so no multi estimate is shown. The site does not say whether fuel is included.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $16,875

    range $14.5K to $19.2K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planJWA cost breakdown →

  • Aeronautics Academy

    Part not stated

    Chicago, IL·aeronauticsacademy.com

    $159/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$65/hr instructor

    Checked October 16, 2026·Source

    Aeronautics Academy publishes no rate card. Both figures come from its per-course cost breakdowns, which bill one flat "Aircraft" line at $159/hr regardless of type and instruction, pre/post-flight briefing and ground school all at $65/hr. The site names Piper and Cessna airplanes plus Robinson helicopters without saying which airplane the $159 buys, and never says whether fuel is included.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $17,593

    range $15.1K to $20.1K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planAeronautics Academy cost breakdown →

  • JA Flight Training

    Part not stated
    Largest fleet

    Sugar Grove, IL·jaflight.com

    $155/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$70/hr instructor

    Checked October 1, 2026·Source

    The fleet page prices each type. The instructor figure comes from the accelerated CFI course page, which bills any additional aircraft, instructor or simulator time at $205, $70 and $40 an hour; the $40 matches the fleet page, and the $205 is the 172S price before the fleet page moved to $215. The site does not say whether fuel is included. The Cessna 150s are two-seat, so the instrument and commercial phases here price on a 172. The Caravan simulator is $100 an hour.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $17,595

    range $15.1K to $20.1K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planJA Flight cost breakdown →

  • Boraam Aviation

    Part not stated

    Prospect Heights, IL·boraamaviation.com

    $140/hr aircraft (wet)·$90/hr instructor

    Checked October 16, 2026·Source

    Every airplane is published twice, at a standard rate and about $10/hr less on a 10-hour block; the standard rate is used here. Instruction is $90/hr for the Private and $100/hr for the Instrument and Commercial. A separate $120/hr applies in a student-provided airplane and a $100/hr checkout fee applies to the Saratoga, neither of which is used here. Boraam prices the Saratoga for Instrument and Commercial students only.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $17,675

    range $15.2K to $20.1K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planBoraam cost breakdown →

  • Sport Pilot Chicago

    Part not stated

    Sheridan, IL·sportpilotchicago.com

    $175/hr aircraft (wet)·$50/hr instructor

    Checked October 8, 2026·Source

    The rate is wet, in the school's own words, and drops to $165/hr if ten hours are prepaid for $1,650. The entire fleet is two Evektor SportStar light-sport airplanes: Sport Pilot Chicago says its instructors can also take students through the Private, Instrument, Multi-Engine and Commercial, but it publishes no other airplane, so confirm what you would actually fly for those. The site footer is dated 2017.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $17,875

    range $15.4K to $20.4K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planSport Pilot Chicago cost breakdown →

  • Sparta Aero Services

    Part not stated

    Sparta, IL·ksarairport.com

    $175/hr aircraft (wet)·$60/hr instructor

    Checked October 16, 2026·Source

    Sparta Aero's rate sheet is stamped "Prices effective May 01, 2023", so confirm before budgeting. Both airplanes are published wet at the same rate. Instruction is $60/hr for the Private, Recreational and Sport and for flight reviews, and $70/hr for the Instrument, Commercial, tailwheel and basic aerobatics. The rates are published on the airport's own site rather than a school site.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $18,455

    range $15.9K to $21K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planSparta Aero cost breakdown →

  • Holiday Airways

    Part not stated

    Schaumburg, IL·flyholidayairways.com

    $175/hr aircraft (wet)·$65/hr instructor

    Checked October 16, 2026·Source

    Rates are wet and billed on Hobbs time, effective March 9, 2025. Instruction is tiered: $65/hr for the Private, $70/hr for the Instrument and Commercial, $75/hr for tailwheel, aerobatic, multi-engine or a customer-owned airplane, and $45/hr for ground. A Piper Aztec is listed as coming soon with no rate, so no multi-engine estimate is shown.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $18,745

    range $16.1K to $21.4K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planHoliday Airways cost breakdown →

  • Freedom Flying Company

    Part not stated

    Sugar Grove, IL·flyffc.com

    $150/hr aircraft (wet)·$100/hr instructor

    Checked October 1, 2026·Source

    Rates are the pay-as-you-go tier. Block purchases discount both figures: $2,500 takes the aircraft to $142.50 and instruction to $95, $5,000 to $135 and $90, $7,500 to $127.50 and $85, and $10,000 to $120 and $80. The two larger blocks are on the pricing sheet the school sent PilotBound on October 1, 2026, linked below. The fleet is the Remos GX, a two-seat light-sport airplane, named on the school's about page rather than the rates page. Based at Aurora Municipal.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $18,975

    range $16.3K to $21.6K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planFreedom Flying cost breakdown →

Flight school costs in Illinois, in numbers

Computed from the 16 Illinois schools that publish both an aircraft and an instructor rate, on the same method every card above uses. The 30 listings without a full rate card are left out of every figure.

Median PilotBound Private estimate across the 16 schools with published rates
$17,775
Published trainer rental, per hour
$130 to $430
Published instruction, per hour
$50 to $125
Schools publishing a full rate card (aircraft and instructor)
16 of 46

Lowest published trainer rates in Illinois

Part 141 flight schools in Illinois

Flight schools by city in Illinois

Airports with more than one Illinois flight school

Discovery flights in Illinois

16 Illinois schools publish a discovery flight price, median $199. See each price with its source

How these estimates work

We apply one consistent method to every school: PilotBound's own completion-hours model, examiner-completion data where it exists (like the Private and Commercial) and FAA minimums where no credible public data exists (like the Instrument and CFI), times that school's published aircraft and instructor rates (linked on every card, with the date we verified them), plus the one-time fees most quotes leave out. Holding the hours model identical across schools means the only thing that changes card to card is the school's actual rates.

So the number is PilotBound's estimate, not the school's quote, and it will differ from a school's own cost figures, which are often based on FAA-minimum hours. The schools do not set or endorse it.

Want a number tied to your own pace and aircraft choice? Run the estimator or read the full methodology.

These estimates are ours, not the schools' quotes, and we are not affiliated with the schools. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime. Disclaimer & removal policy.

Common questions about Illinois flight schools

How much does flight school cost in Illinois?

Across the 16 Illinois flight schools here that publish full rates, trainer rentals run $130 to $430 per hour and instruction $50 to $125 per hour, checked as recently as October 16, 2026. On each school's own published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate between $15,505 and $40,585, with a median of $17,775. These are PilotBound estimates built on published rates, not quotes from the schools.

What is the cheapest flight school in Illinois?

Chicago Executive Flight School in Wheeling publishes the lowest trainer rental of the 16 Illinois schools listed here, $130 per hour for its Cessna 150, a rate that does not say whether fuel is included, checked October 8, 2026. The lowest hourly rate is not automatically the lowest total: instructor rates, fuel basis, and the hours you actually fly decide that, which is what the per-school estimates on this page hold constant.

How current are these Illinois flight school rates?

Every rate here is the school's own published figure, linked to its source and dated; the newest check in Illinois is October 16, 2026, and each card and school page shows the exact date its rates were read. The directory is re-checked on a monthly cycle, and 30 more schools in Illinois are listed without an estimate because they do not publish a full rate card. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime.