Sky Shark Flight Academy
Part 61 flight training from Private Pilot through Instrument Instructor at Stennis International Airport.
Rates checkedChecked October 12, 2026 by Samip Shah, CFI, CFII, AGI
At a glance
- 2 aircraft types.
- A private pilot certificate here, flying 2x a week, is estimated at $18,895.
Basics
| Training rules | Part 61 |
|---|---|
| Certificates | Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor, Instrument Instructor |
| Website | skysharkfa.com |
| Phone | (228) 261-9421 |
Aircraft and rates
2 types
Piper PA-28-161 Warrior
- Rate (wet)
- $165/hr
Model and year from the FAA aircraft registry, November 9, 2026.
Instruction and rate notes
Checked October 12, 2026Rates are wet and standard. A ten-hour block takes the aircraft to $155/hr, which the school says saves $100 per block. Instruction is $80/hr either way. Solo rental carries sales tax on top, and card payments carry a 3% fee. Flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks are also offered.
The examiner's checkride fee is paid separately.
Airport
Stennis KHSA
Home field · 1 runway · 8,498 ft · asphalt
Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP imagery via the USGS National Map
What it costs
Certificate
Flying
Hours
Where this comes from
Examiner records (DPE dataset).PilotBound estimate
$18,895
Usually $16,200 to $21,500 · about 6 months
- Airplane72 hrs in Piper PA-28-161 Warrior × $165/hr$11,880
- Instructor58 hrs dual × $80/hr$4,640
One-time feesWritten test, checkride, medical, headset and more$2,375
- Knowledge (written) test$175
- Checkride / DPE fee$800
- Medical certificate$150
- Headset$700
- Ground school / test prep$300
- Books, charts & supplies$250
The hourly flying is priced on Sky Shark Flight Academy's published rates. The one-time fees are typical national figures, not Sky Shark Flight Academy's prices, and several are set by third parties.
Discovery flight
$139
Checked October 12, 2026
Paying for it
Two ways to cover $18,895.
Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left.
- Money you keepScholarships you could apply for43 open to anyone. Top awards reach $22,200.No Mississippi-only awards in the directory yet.
- 43
- Money you pay backLenders that cover $18,895All six lenders in our comparison lend this much. That is whether a loan this size is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
- 6 of 6
What to ask when you call
What gets billed on top of the hourly rates, and roughly how much per hour does it add?
Ask for the all-in hourly number, not the base rate.
Do you offer block rates or prepay discounts, and what is the refund policy if I stop partway?
Block discounts are rarely published, and the refund terms matter more than the discount.
What do you charge for the written test, the checkride, and the examiner's fee?
The examiner's fee alone runs $800 to $1,200 in most of the country.
How many trainers and how many full-time instructors do you have right now?
Availability sets your pace, and pace drives your total more than the hourly rate.
In the app
Track it against Sky Shark's rates.
Sky Shark Flight Academy's rate card is in the PilotBound app. Choose Sky Shark when you set up and the app prices your training at its rates, then tracks every flight you log against the projection.
Scan to download on your iPhone
Questions
How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Sky Shark Flight Academy?
Sky Shark Flight Academy publishes $165 per hour for the Piper PA-28-161 Warrior and $80 per hour for instruction on it, checked October 12, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $18,895, in a range of $16,200 to $21,500. 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 Sky Shark Flight Academy.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Sky Shark Flight Academy?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Sky Shark Flight Academy 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 Sky Shark Flight Academy a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Sky Shark Flight Academy 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 Sky Shark Flight Academy's aircraft rates include fuel?
Sky Shark Flight Academy publishes $165 per hour for the Piper PA-28-161 Warrior, 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 October 12, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Sky Shark Flight Academy?
Sky Shark Flight Academy trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction is $80 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Sky Shark Flight Academy's own published rates.
Sources
Estimates use Sky Shark Flight Academy's published Piper PA-28-161 Warrior and instructor rates (checked October 12, 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 Sky Shark Flight Academy. 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. Methodology · Disclaimer & removal policy.
Are you Sky Shark? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.
Plan the money before you commit.
A program price only makes sense next to what each rating costs on its own, what scholarships exist, and what borrowing actually looks like.
What each rating costs
Per-rating ranges, with the fees most quotes leave out.
Scholarships 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.