How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Bemidji Aviation Services?

Bemidji Aviation Services publishes $116 per hour for the Cessna 172M and $45 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 14, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $13,337, in a range of $11,500 to $15,200. 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 Bemidji Aviation Services.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Bemidji Aviation Services?

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

Bemidji Aviation Services 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 Bemidji Aviation Services's aircraft rates include fuel?

Bemidji Aviation Services publishes $116 per hour for the Cessna 172M, 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 14, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Bemidji Aviation Services?

Bemidji Aviation Services trains Private Pilot. Instruction is $45 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Bemidji Aviation Services's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Bemidji, MN · Checked August 14, 2026

What flight training at Bemidji Aviation Services costs

Website bemidjiaviation.com

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

1973 and 1974 airframes, maintained in house.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Bemidji Aviation Services

$13,337

range $11.5K – $15.2K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Bemidji Aviation's published rates: Cessna 172M at $116/hr + $45/hr instruction, checked August 14, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$8,455

at the hours students actually take$13,337

+$4,882 on Bemidji Aviation's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$11.5K – $15.2K

Aircraft rental$8,352

Instruction$2,610

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$10,962

72 hrs in Cessna 172M @ $116/hr + 58 dual @ $45/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 Bemidji Aviation Services's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Bemidji Aviation Services'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 Bemidji Aviation publishes

checked August 14, 2026

Cessna 172M (standard)1973 and 1974 airframes, maintained in house.$116/hr fuel basis not stated

Cessna 172M (180 HP)$123/hr fuel basis not stated

Instruction$45/hr

Bemidji's Private Pilot cost estimate works from a lower aeroplane rate than its rental page quotes, and neither page carries a date, so confirm which applies. The instructor rate is published only inside that estimate. A 30-minute discovery flight is $85. Bemidji is also a Part 135 operator with hub operations elsewhere, so the flight school is one part of a larger business.

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

See the published rates→Source 2→

Step 2

Turn this into a plan.

Your $13,337 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.

Add to my plan

What to ask when you call

The marked ones are what Bemidji Aviation'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.
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 Bemidji Aviation Services's published Cessna 172M 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 Bemidji Aviation Services. 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 Bemidji Aviation Services

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Bemidji Aviation Services?: Bemidji Aviation Services publishes $116 per hour for the Cessna 172M and $45 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 14, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $13,337, in a range of $11,500 to $15,200. 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 Bemidji Aviation Services.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Bemidji Aviation Services?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Bemidji Aviation Services 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 Bemidji Aviation Services a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Bemidji Aviation Services 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 Bemidji Aviation Services's aircraft rates include fuel?: Bemidji Aviation Services publishes $116 per hour for the Cessna 172M, 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 14, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Bemidji Aviation Services?: Bemidji Aviation Services trains Private Pilot. Instruction is $45 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Bemidji Aviation Services's own published rates.

Other Minnesota flight schools

360 Aviation · Albert Lea
Accelerated Aviation Instruction · Owatonna
Advanced Flight Training & Leasing · South St. Paul
Adventure North Flying Service · Baudette and Aitkin
Air Trek North · South St Paul
Airways Aviation Center · Grand Rapids
Albert Lea Airport · Albert Lea
Alexandria Aviation · Alexandria
Aloft Aviation · Lakeville

All Minnesota flight schools

Plan the money before you commit

A program price only makes sense next to what each rating costs on its own, what free money exists, and what borrowing actually looks like.

What each rating costs

Honest per-rating ranges, with the fees most quotes leave out.

Free money first

Verified flight training scholarships. Every scholarship dollar is a dollar you never finance.

If you borrow

Compare lenders and see the real monthly payment before you sign.