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

Purdue Aviation publishes $134 per hour for the Cessna 152 and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 13, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $15,793, in a range of $13,600 to $18,000. 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 Purdue Aviation.

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

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

Purdue Aviation trains under both Part 61 and Part 141, so you can pick the structured FAA-approved course or the flexible path. Part 141 is the one that matters for VA benefits and for the lower paper minimum on the private certificate; Part 61 is the one that bends around a full-time job.

Do Purdue Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?

Purdue Aviation publishes $134 per hour for the Cessna 152, 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 August 13, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Purdue Aviation?

Purdue Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL) 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 Purdue Aviation's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · West Lafayette, IN · Checked August 13, 2026

What flight training at Purdue Aviation costs

Website purdueaviationllc.com

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

Two-seat trainer.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Purdue Aviation

$15,793

range $13.6K – $18K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Purdue Aviation's published rates: Cessna 152 at $134/hr + $65/hr instruction, checked August 13, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$9,815

at the hours students actually take$15,793

+$5,978 on Purdue Aviation's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$13.6K – $18K

Aircraft rental$9,648

Instruction$3,770

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$13,418

72 hrs in Cessna 152 @ $134/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 Purdue Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Purdue 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 Purdue Aviation publishes

checked August 13, 2026

Cessna 152Two-seat trainer.$134/hr fuel basis not stated

Cessna 172 (6 tails)$165/hr fuel basis not stated

Piper Warrior III G430 (4 tails)$165/hr fuel basis not stated

Cessna 172SP (2001)$170/hr fuel basis not stated

Cessna 172S G1000 (6 tails)Technically advanced; a separate checkout from the 172P and 172SP.$210/hr fuel basis not stated

Piper SeminoleMulti-engine trainer, not available for solo checkout.$340/hr fuel basis not stated

Instruction$65/hr

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.

Not published: the examiner's checkride fee, whether rates include fuel. Listed as missing rather than guessed.

See the published rates→

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Your $15,793 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 Purdue Aviation'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 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 Purdue Aviation's published Cessna 152 and instructor rates (checked August 13, 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 Purdue 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 Purdue Aviation

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Purdue Aviation?: Purdue Aviation publishes $134 per hour for the Cessna 152 and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 13, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $15,793, in a range of $13,600 to $18,000. 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 Purdue Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Purdue Aviation?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Purdue 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 Purdue Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Purdue Aviation trains under both Part 61 and Part 141, so you can pick the structured FAA-approved course or the flexible path. Part 141 is the one that matters for VA benefits and for the lower paper minimum on the private certificate; Part 61 is the one that bends around a full-time job.
Do Purdue Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?: Purdue Aviation publishes $134 per hour for the Cessna 152, 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 August 13, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Purdue Aviation?: Purdue Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL) 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 Purdue Aviation's own published rates.

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