How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Piedmont Flight Center?

Piedmont Flight Center publishes $135 per hour for the Cessna 150 and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 31, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $15,865, in a range of $13,600 to $18,100. 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 Piedmont Flight Center.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Piedmont Flight Center?

Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Piedmont Flight Center 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 Piedmont Flight Center a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?

Piedmont Flight Center 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 Piedmont Flight Center's aircraft rates include fuel?

Piedmont Flight Center publishes $135 per hour for the Cessna 150, 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 31, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Piedmont Flight Center?

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

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · California, MD · Checked August 31, 2026

What flight training at Piedmont Flight Center costs

Website fly-piedmont.com

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Flying

Which airplane?

Two-seat trainer.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Piedmont Flight Center

$15,865

range $13.6K – $18.1K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Piedmont's published rates: Cessna 150 at $135/hr + $65/hr instruction, checked August 31, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$9,855

at the hours students actually take$15,865

+$6,010 on Piedmont's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$13.6K – $18.1K

Aircraft rental$9,720

Instruction$3,770

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$13,490

72 hrs in Cessna 150 @ $135/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 Piedmont Flight Center's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Piedmont Flight Center'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 Piedmont publishes

checked August 31, 2026

Cessna 150 (N8355M, N9191U)Two-seat trainer.$135/hr fuel basis not stated

Cessna 172 (N420U, N733SK, N949SP)One rate covers the 172R, 172N and 172S.$170/hr fuel basis not stated

Piper Archer II (N2114K)$180/hr fuel basis not stated

Instruction$65/hr

Piedmont Flight Center 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.

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

See the published rates→

Paying for it

Two ways to cover $15,865.

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.

Scholarships you could apply forTop awards reach $22,200. Every dollar won is a dollar you never finance.: 68
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Your $15,865 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 ones are what Piedmont'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 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.

Estimates use Piedmont Flight Center's published Cessna 150 and instructor rates (checked August 31, 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 Piedmont Flight Center. 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 Piedmont Flight Center

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Piedmont Flight Center?: Piedmont Flight Center publishes $135 per hour for the Cessna 150 and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 31, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $15,865, in a range of $13,600 to $18,100. 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 Piedmont Flight Center.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Piedmont Flight Center?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Piedmont Flight Center 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 Piedmont Flight Center a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Piedmont Flight Center 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 Piedmont Flight Center's aircraft rates include fuel?: Piedmont Flight Center publishes $135 per hour for the Cessna 150, 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 31, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Piedmont Flight Center?: Piedmont Flight Center trains Private Pilot and Instrument Rating. Instruction is $65 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Piedmont Flight Center's own published rates.

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