How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Aeronautics Academy?

Aeronautics Academy publishes $159 per hour for the Single-engine trainer and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 10, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $17,593, in a range of $15,100 to $20,100. 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 Aeronautics Academy.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Aeronautics Academy?

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

Aeronautics 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 Aeronautics Academy's aircraft rates include fuel?

Aeronautics Academy publishes $159 per hour for the Single-engine trainer, 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 10, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Aeronautics Academy?

Aeronautics Academy trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor. Instruction is $65 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Aeronautics Academy's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Chicago, IL · Checked September 10, 2026

What flight training at Aeronautics Academy costs

Website aeronauticsacademy.com

Phone (773) 869-6300

Section 1Cost estimate

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Aeronautics Academy

$17,593

range $15.1K – $20.1K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Aeronautics Academy's published rates: Single-engine trainer at $159/hr + $65/hr instruction, checked September 10, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$10,815

at the hours students actually take$17,593

+$6,778 on Aeronautics Academy's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$15.1K – $20.1K

Aircraft rental$11,448

Instruction$3,770

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$15,218

72 hrs in Single-engine trainer @ $159/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 Aeronautics Academy's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Aeronautics 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 Aeronautics Academy publishes

checked September 10, 2026

Single-engine trainer$159/hr fuel basis not stated

Instruction$65/hr

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.

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. Aeronautics Academy's site does not state whether its rates include fuel. Aeronautics Academy 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 3Discovery flight

$297

Checked September 14, 2026

Book on their site Call (773) 869-6300

Discovery flight prices in Illinois

Section 4Paying for it

Two ways to cover $17,593.

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 Illinois-only awards in the directory yet.: 46
Money you pay backLenders that cover $17,593All 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

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Section 5Add to my plan

Turn this into a plan.

Your $17,593 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 6What to ask

What to ask when you call

The marked ones are what Aeronautics Academy'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.
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.

Section 7Questions

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Aeronautics Academy?: Aeronautics Academy publishes $159 per hour for the Single-engine trainer and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 10, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $17,593, in a range of $15,100 to $20,100. 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 Aeronautics Academy.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Aeronautics Academy?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Aeronautics 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 Aeronautics Academy a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Aeronautics 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 Aeronautics Academy's aircraft rates include fuel?: Aeronautics Academy publishes $159 per hour for the Single-engine trainer, 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 10, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Aeronautics Academy?: Aeronautics Academy trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor. Instruction is $65 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Aeronautics Academy's own published rates.

Section 8Sources

Estimates use Aeronautics Academy's published Single-engine trainer and instructor rates (checked September 10, 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 Aeronautics 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 Aeronautics Academy? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.

Send your fuel basis Send your training part

One other school flies from Chicago Midway International Airport.

It does not publish a rate either, so that one is a phone call too. MDW is the identifier to give when you ask.

Aviation ProfessionalsPublishes no rates
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What flight training at Aeronautics Academy costs

Section 1 · Cost estimate

Section 2 · The rate card