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

Giving Wings Aviation publishes $179 per hour for the Cessna 172 and $60 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 14, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $18,743, in a range of $16,100 to $21,400. 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 Giving Wings Aviation.

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

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

Giving Wings Aviation 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 Giving Wings Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?

Giving Wings Aviation publishes $179 per hour for the Cessna 172, 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 August 14, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Giving Wings Aviation?

Giving Wings Aviation trains Private Pilot. Instruction is $60 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Giving Wings Aviation's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Traverse City, MI · Checked August 14, 2026

What flight training at Giving Wings Aviation costs

Website flygwa.com

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Flying

Which airplane?

Wet.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Giving Wings Aviation

$18,743

range $16.1K – $21.4K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Giving Wings's published rates: Cessna 172 at $179/hr + $60/hr instruction, checked August 14, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$11,455

at the hours students actually take$18,743

+$7,288 on Giving Wings's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$16.1K – $21.4K

Aircraft rental$12,888

Instruction$3,480

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$16,368

72 hrs in Cessna 172 @ $179/hr + 58 dual @ $60/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 Giving Wings Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Giving Wings 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 Giving Wings publishes

checked August 14, 2026

Van's RV-12iSWet. Light-sport; the school's sport-pilot trainer.$169/hr wet

Cessna 172Wet.$179/hr wet

Instruction$60/hr

Giving Wings charges $65/hr for instruction given in an aircraft that is not part of its fleet. The $60/hr rate here is the one that applies to its own two aeroplanes. A Gleim BATD simulator is $35/hr.

Not published: the examiner's checkride fee. Listed as missing rather than guessed.

See the published rates→

Step 2

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Your $18,743 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 Giving Wings's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

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 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 Giving Wings Aviation's published Cessna 172 and instructor rates (checked August 14, 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 Giving Wings 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 Giving Wings Aviation

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Giving Wings Aviation?: Giving Wings Aviation publishes $179 per hour for the Cessna 172 and $60 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 14, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $18,743, in a range of $16,100 to $21,400. 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 Giving Wings Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Giving Wings Aviation?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Giving Wings 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 Giving Wings Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Giving Wings Aviation 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 Giving Wings Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?: Giving Wings Aviation publishes $179 per hour for the Cessna 172, 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 August 14, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Giving Wings Aviation?: Giving Wings Aviation trains Private Pilot. Instruction is $60 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Giving Wings Aviation's own published rates.

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