PilotBound estimate · Augusta, ME · Checked September 10, 2026
What flight training at Maine Instrument Flight costs
Website mif.aero
Phone 207 622-1211
Section 1Cost estimate
Your plan
Estimate cost to reach
Flying
PilotBound estimate · Private
Examiner dataCost of your Private at Maine Instrument Flight
range $17.2K – $22.9K · about 6 months at 2×/week
Priced on MIF's published rates: Beechcraft Sport at $185/hr + $75/hr instruction, checked September 10, 2026.
Against a minimums quote
+$7,870 on MIF's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.
Where it goes
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
Examiner records (DPE dataset).
The hourly flying is priced on Maine Instrument 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 Instrument 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 →
Put this calculator on your siteSection 2The rate card
What MIF publishes
checked September 10, 2026Maine Instrument Flight 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.
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. MIF's site does not state whether its rates include fuel. MIF trains under both parts, and the estimate above is built on Part 61 hours.
Section 3Discovery flight
Section 4Paying for it
Two ways to cover $20,045.
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, plus 1 in Maine. Top awards reach $22,200.
- Aero Club of New England Flight Training Scholarships$1,000 – $10,000 · Check dates
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- Money you pay backLenders that cover $20,045Five of the six lenders in our comparison lend this much. That is whether a loan this size is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
- 5 of 6
Section 5Add to my plan
Turn this into a plan.
Your $20,045 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.
Add to my planSection 6What to ask
What to ask when you call
The marked one is what MIF'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.
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.
Section 7Questions
- How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Maine Instrument Flight?
- Maine Instrument Flight publishes $185 per hour for the Beechcraft Sport and $75 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 10, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $20,045, in a range of $17,200 to $22,900. 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 Instrument Flight.
- How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Maine Instrument Flight?
- Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Maine Instrument 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 Instrument Flight a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
- Maine Instrument Flight 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 Maine Instrument Flight's aircraft rates include fuel?
- Maine Instrument Flight publishes $185 per hour for the Beechcraft Sport, 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 Maine Instrument Flight?
- Maine Instrument Flight trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction is $75 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Maine Instrument Flight's own published rates.
Section 8Sources
Estimates use Maine Instrument Flight's published Beechcraft Sport 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 Maine Instrument 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.
Are you MIF? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.
Other Maine flight schools
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