PilotBound
PilotBound

PilotBound estimate · Trenton, ME

What flight training at Maine Coastal Flight costs

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Cessna 172, $160/hr

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Maine Coastal Flight

$17,085

range $14.7K – $19.5K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Maine Coastal's published rates: Cessna 172 at $160/hr + $55/hr instruction, checked August 6, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$10,535
at the hours students actually take$17,085

+$6,500 on Maine Coastal's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$14.7K – $19.5K
Aircraft rental$11,520
Instruction$3,190
One-time costs$2,375
Aircraft + instruction$14,710
72 hrs in Cessna 172 @ $160/hr + 58 dual @ $55/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 Maine Coastal Flight's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Maine Coastal Flight'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 Maine Coastal publishes

checked August 6, 2026
Cessna 172$160/hr fuel basis not stated
Instructionstandard $55/hr · instrument instruction $65/hr$55 – $65/hr

The rates page does not say whether fuel is included, so confirm before budgeting. Instruction is tiered: $55/hr normally, and $65/hr for instrument training or for instructing in a customer's own aircraft. Cirrus standardised instruction is a separate $800/day and is not modeled. Prepaying $1,000 or more earns a 5% bonus, and an introductory lesson starts at $249. The school flies from Bar Harbor Airport, which is in Trenton.

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

See the published rates→

Step 2

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Your $17,085 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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Estimates use Maine Coastal Flight's published Cessna 172 and instructor rates (checked August 6, 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 Maine Coastal Flight. 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 Maine Coastal Flight

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Maine Coastal Flight?
Maine Coastal Flight publishes $160 per hour for the Cessna 172 and $55 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 6, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $17,085, in a range of $14,700 to $19,500. 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 Maine Coastal Flight.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Maine Coastal Flight?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Maine Coastal Flight 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 Maine Coastal Flight a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Maine Coastal Flight 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 Maine Coastal Flight's aircraft rates include fuel?
Maine Coastal Flight publishes $160 per hour for the Cessna 172, 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 6, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Maine Coastal Flight?
Maine Coastal Flight trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction runs $55 to $65 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 Maine Coastal Flight's own published rates.

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