PilotBound

What flight training costs at Indiana flight schools

Across the 12 Indiana schools here with published rates, trainer rentals run $125 to $200 per hour and instruction $43 to $85, and PilotBound's private pilot estimate lands between $13,985 and $21,415, with a median of $17,120.

32 schools listed · Updated October 16, 2026

Estimate cost toflying
Showing 1–12 of 32 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 Indiana$12K$24.4K

  • Wings Aviators

    Part not stated
    Lowest in IN

    Valparaiso, IN·wingsaviators.com

    $125/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$45/hr instructor

    Checked October 4, 2026·Source

    Rates do not include sales tax, and the site does not say whether fuel is included. Flight instruction is $45/hr. Prepaying 20 hours brings the Piper Warrior to $120/hr.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $13,985

    range $12K to $15.9K

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

    Add to my planWings Aviators cost breakdown →

  • New Horizons Aviation

    Part not stated

    Goshen, IN·flynewhorizons.com

    $129/hr aircraft (wet)·$43/hr instructor

    Checked September 12, 2026·Source

    New Horizons' FAQ page quotes an older and cheaper set of figures than its rental and training pages, and the FAQ carries no date. The rates here are from the dedicated pages. Two aircraft, the Cessna 172 N7791 and the Diamond DA-40, are marked rental only and are not available for instruction.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $14,157

    range $12.2K to $16.1K

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

    Add to my planNew Horizons cost breakdown →

  • Hoosier Aviation

    Part not stated
    Largest fleet

    Terre Haute, IN·hoosieraviation.com

    $135/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$50/hr instructor

    Checked October 12, 2026·Source

    Hoosier Aviation does not say whether its published rates include fuel. This estimate uses the rate exactly as published, so ask before you budget: a dry rate adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour once fuel is on top.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $14,995

    range $12.9K to $17.1K

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

    Add to my planHoosier cost breakdown →

  • Purdue Aviation

    Part 61 & 141

    West Lafayette, IN·purdueaviationllc.com

    $134/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$65/hr instructor

    Checked September 12, 2026·Source

    Purdue Aviation's rate page states that a fuel surcharge may apply, so the published figure is not a settled wet rate. The instructor rate covers both flight and ground instruction. The Seminole is used only for multi-engine training and is not available for ordinary checkout and rental.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $15,793

    range $13.6K to $18K

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

    Add to my planPurdue Aviation cost breakdown →

  • Griffith Aviation

    Part 141

    Griffith, IN·griffithaviationinc.com

    $132/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$60/hr instructor

    Checked September 12, 2026·Source

    Griffith publishes every rate twice, with and without a pre-pay discount. The figures here are the standard rates without the discount; pre-paying takes about 10% off both the aircraft and instruction. Griffith is also VA approved and hosts FAA PSI testing.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $16,391

    range $14.1K to $18.7K

    ~78 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planGriffith cost breakdown →

  • Starlin Air

    Part not stated

    Crawfordsville, IN·starlinair.com

    $155/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$50/hr instructor

    Checked October 4, 2026·Source

    The one airplane is $155/hr and instruction is $50/hr. The site does not say whether fuel is included.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $16,435

    range $14.1K to $18.7K

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

    Add to my planStarlin Air cost breakdown →

  • Air Marion

    Part 61 & 141

    Marion, IN·airmarion.com

    $170/hr aircraft (wet)·$55/hr instructor

    Checked September 12, 2026·Source

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $17,805

    range $15.3K to $20.3K

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

    Add to my planAir Marion cost breakdown →

  • Patriot Aviation

    Part not stated

    Huntington, IN·patriot-aviation.com

    $179/hr aircraft (wet)·$55/hr instructor

    Checked October 16, 2026·Source

    Rates are wet. Patriot offers block discounts (10hr $172/hr, 20hr $166/hr, 40hr $159/hr); this estimate uses the standard $179/hr. Instruction is $55/hr primary, $65/hr advanced, $75/hr multi-engine.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $18,453

    range $15.9K to $21K

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

    Add to my planPatriot Aviation cost breakdown →

  • BOLDFlight

    Part 61
    2 locations

    Greenwood & Danville, IN·flyboldflight.com

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

    Checked September 3, 2026·Source

    Rates include fuel and exclude tax, per the school's 2026 rate sheet. BOLDFlight publishes no rates on its site and sent the sheet to PilotBound on September 3, 2026; the source link is that sheet. Instruction is $65/hr, or $70/hr for instrument work. A 5% discount applies to $1,000 or more prepaid. The sheet also prices a five-day multi-engine add-on at Greenwood at $5,495 with additional hours at $450, which is a course rather than an hourly twin rate and is not modeled.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $18,745

    range $16.1K to $21.4K

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

    Add to my planBOLDFlight cost breakdown →

  • Jeff Air Pilot Services

    Part 61 & 141

    Anderson & Shelbyville, IN·flywithjeffair.com

    $182/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$75/hr instructor

    Checked September 12, 2026·Source

    Indiana charges 7% sales tax on aircraft rental, which Jeff Air shows as a separate line on its own course estimates and which is not included in the rates here. A $250 administrative enrolment fee carries a 10% per-hour discount on aircraft rental. Ground instruction is $65 per hour. The fleet page says there is no fuel surcharge but does not state whether the rate is wet or dry.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $19,829

    range $17.1K to $22.6K

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

    Add to my planJeff Air cost breakdown →

  • Sweet Aviation

    Part 141

    Fort Wayne, IN·sweetaviation.com

    $175/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$75/hr instructor

    Checked October 16, 2026·Source

    Non-member rates shown; members pay less. The page does not state whether fuel is included. Instruction is $75/hr in the Diamonds and $85/hr in the Cirrus, Super Decathlon, and DA42.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $20,675

    range $17.8K to $23.6K

    ~78 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planSweet Aviation cost breakdown →

  • Tom Wood Aviation

    Part not stated

    Fishers, IN·tomwoodaviation.com

    $200/hr aircraft (wet)·$80/hr instructor

    Checked October 8, 2026·Source

    Rates shown are non-member rates, published on the rental-rates page and stated to include fuel and oil. Flying-club members ($199 initiation plus $50/month) save $25 to $30 per rental hour and pay $70/hr for instruction. The training page also names a Cirrus SR20 in the fleet that the rental-rates page does not price, so it is not in this estimate.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $21,415

    range $18.4K to $24.4K

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

    Add to my planTom Wood cost breakdown →

Flight school costs in Indiana, in numbers

Computed from the 12 Indiana schools that publish both an aircraft and an instructor rate, on the same method every card above uses. The 20 listings without a full rate card are left out of every figure.

Median PilotBound Private estimate across the 12 schools with published rates
$17,120
Published trainer rental, per hour
$125 to $200
Published instruction, per hour
$43 to $85
Schools publishing a full rate card (aircraft and instructor)
12 of 32

Lowest published trainer rates in Indiana

Part 141 flight schools in Indiana

Flight schools by city in Indiana

Airports with more than one Indiana flight school

Discovery flights in Indiana

9 Indiana schools publish a discovery flight price, median $150. 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 Indiana flight schools

How much does flight school cost in Indiana?

Across the 12 Indiana flight schools here that publish full rates, trainer rentals run $125 to $200 per hour and instruction $43 to $85 per hour, checked as recently as October 16, 2026. On each school's own published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate between $13,985 and $21,415, with a median of $17,120. These are PilotBound estimates built on published rates, not quotes from the schools.

What is the cheapest flight school in Indiana?

Wings Aviators in Valparaiso publishes the lowest trainer rental of the 12 Indiana schools listed here, $125 per hour for its Piper Warrior, a rate that does not say whether fuel is included, checked October 4, 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 Indiana flight school rates?

Every rate here is the school's own published figure, linked to its source and dated; the newest check in Indiana 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 20 more schools in Indiana are listed without an estimate because they do not publish a full rate card. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime.