PilotBound estimate · Fitchburg, MA · Checked September 16, 2026
What flight training at FCA Flight Center costs
Website fcaflightcenter.com
Phone 978-345-0373
Section 1Cost estimate
Your plan
Estimate cost to reach
Flying
Two-seat trainer.
PilotBound estimate · Private
Examiner dataCost of your Private at FCA Flight Center
range $13.5K – $17.9K · about 6 months at 2×/week
Priced on FCA's published rates: Cessna 150 at $130/hr + $69/hr instruction, checked September 16, 2026.
Against a minimums quote
+$5,954 on FCA'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 FCA 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 FCA 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 →
Put this calculator on your siteSection 2The rate card
What FCA publishes
checked September 16, 2026Airframes built 1974 to 2004. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read September 16, 2026.
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.
Section 3Discovery flight
$299
Checked September 16, 2026
Over an hour at the controls of a Cessna 172 or Piper Warrior. The premium first lesson is $399.
Section 4Paying for it
Two ways to cover $15,737.
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 2 in Massachusetts. Top awards reach $22,200.
- MBAA Scholarship$2,000 – $5,000 · Check dates
- Aero Club of New England Flight Training Scholarships$1,000 – $10,000 · Check dates
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- Money you pay backLenders that cover $15,737All six lenders in our comparison lend this much. That is whether a loan this size is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
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Section 5Add to my plan
Turn this into a plan.
Your $15,737 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
What turns an hourly rate into a real bill.
Which instructor rate applies to each rating I plan to do, and does the higher tier start on day one of that rating?
This school prices some instruction above its primary rate. Knowing when the step-up starts keeps the later ratings from surprising you.
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 FCA Flight Center?
- FCA Flight Center publishes $130 per hour for the Cessna 150 and $69 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 16, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $15,737, in a range of $13,500 to $17,900. 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 FCA Flight Center.
- How long does it take to get a private pilot license at FCA Flight Center?
- Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at FCA 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 FCA Flight Center a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
- FCA Flight Center trains under Part 61, the flexible path. There is no FAA-approved syllabus to follow, so lessons can be scheduled around your life and adapted to your pace. The tradeoff is a slightly higher paper minimum for the private certificate (40 hours versus 35) and, for most students, no VA benefit eligibility.
- Do FCA Flight Center's aircraft rates include fuel?
- FCA Flight Center publishes $130 per hour for the Cessna 150, a wet rate, so fuel is included in the hourly figure. A wet rate is the easier one to compare, because the number you see is the number you fly on. Rates checked September 16, 2026.
- What ratings can you train for at FCA Flight Center?
- FCA Flight Center trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor. Instruction runs $69 to $79 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 FCA Flight Center's own published rates.
Section 8Sources
Estimates use FCA Flight Center's published Cessna 150 and instructor rates (checked September 16, 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 FCA 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.
Are you FCA? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.
Other Massachusetts flight schools
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- Beverly Flight Center · Beverly
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- Eagle East Aviation · North Andover
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