How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at AV8 Flight School?

AV8 Flight School publishes $215 per hour for the Piper Archer and $90 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 14, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $23,075, in a range of $19,800 to $26,300. 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 AV8 Flight School.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at AV8 Flight School?

Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at AV8 Flight School 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 AV8 Flight School a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?

AV8 Flight School 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 AV8 Flight School's aircraft rates include fuel?

AV8 Flight School publishes $215 per hour for the Piper Archer, 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 AV8 Flight School?

AV8 Flight School trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Multi-Engine (AMEL). Instruction is $90 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on AV8 Flight School's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Eden Prairie, MN · Checked August 14, 2026

What flight training at AV8 Flight School costs

Website av8flight.com

Your plan

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Flying

Which airplane?

Wet. 180 HP, four seats.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at AV8 Flight School

$23,075

range $19.8K – $26.3K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on AV8's published rates: Piper Archer at $215/hr + $90/hr instruction, checked August 14, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$13,855

at the hours students actually take$23,075

+$9,220 on AV8's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$19.8K – $26.3K

Aircraft rental$15,480

Instruction$5,220

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$20,700

72 hrs in Piper Archer @ $215/hr + 58 dual @ $90/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 AV8 Flight School's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not AV8 Flight School'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 AV8 publishes

checked August 14, 2026

Piper Archer (G1000)Wet. 180 HP, four seats.$215/hr wet

CitabriaWet. Tailwheel endorsement aircraft.$228/hr wet

Diamond DA-42 (N16FA, N638AK)Wet. Twin, G1000 with KAP 140 autopilot.$431/hr wet

Diamond DA-42 (N230PA)Wet. Twin, G1000 with GFC 700 autopilot.$451/hr wet

Instruction$90/hr

Rates are wet and include fuel. They exclude instruction, taxes and MAC fees, which the Metropolitan Airports Commission charges at Flying Cloud and which AV8 does not quantify. AV8 states that it charges no membership fee of any kind. Simulators are $60/hr for the FMX and $49/hr for the crosswind trainer. Instruction in a customer's own aeroplane is $100/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 $23,075 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

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 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 AV8 Flight School's published Piper Archer 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 AV8 Flight School. 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 AV8 Flight School

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at AV8 Flight School?: AV8 Flight School publishes $215 per hour for the Piper Archer and $90 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 14, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $23,075, in a range of $19,800 to $26,300. 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 AV8 Flight School.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at AV8 Flight School?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at AV8 Flight School 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 AV8 Flight School a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: AV8 Flight School 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 AV8 Flight School's aircraft rates include fuel?: AV8 Flight School publishes $215 per hour for the Piper Archer, 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 AV8 Flight School?: AV8 Flight School trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Multi-Engine (AMEL). Instruction is $90 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on AV8 Flight School's own published rates.

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