What flight training costs at Missouri flight schools
Every listing shows the school's own published rates with the source and date, next to an honest PilotBound estimate for your Private pilot certificate. Add any school to your plan to map your whole route on their real rates.
Search, filter by city, and sort by cost. Each card marks where it falls among the state's schools on cost. Estimates are ours, not quotes, and we are not affiliated with these schools. See a wrong number? Every card has a correct-this-listing link.
Totals to reach your Private goal at this pace. 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. How we estimate.
Private estimate range across Missouri
R&R Aviation
Part not statedLowest in MOFarmington, MO·randraviation.com
PilotBound estimate · Private
$13.8K–$18.3K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees. An estimate, not a quote.
Add to my planSee the full breakdown →PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by R&R Aviation. School names are used only to identify the school.
Columbia Jet Center
Part not statedColumbia, MO·columbiajet.aero
Published rates
$150/hr aircraft (wet)+$60/hr instructor
Verified July 27, 2026·Source
Columbia Jet Center does not state whether its rates include fuel. The estimate uses the published rate as-is.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$14.3K–$19K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees. An estimate, not a quote.
Add to my planSee the full breakdown →PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Columbia Jet Center. School names are used only to identify the school.
Summit Flight Academy
Part 61Lee's Summit, MO·summitflightacademy.com
Published rates
$160/hr aircraft (wet)+$60/hr instructor
Verified July 22, 2026·Source
Summit publishes rate ranges rather than per-aircraft rates: aircraft $140 to $160/hr and instructors $50 to $60/hr, with block discounts for 10 or more hours. This estimate uses the top of each published range.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$14.9K–$19.8K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees. An estimate, not a quote.
Add to my planSee the full breakdown →PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Summit Flight Academy. School names are used only to identify the school.
St. Charles Flying Service
Part 61 & 141Largest fleetSt. Charles, MO·stcharlesflyingservice.com
Published rates
$168/hr aircraft (wet)+$75/hr instructor
Verified July 22, 2026·Source
Dual instruction at $75/hr includes ground school and pre- and post-flight briefings. Buying 10 flight hours at a time earns a free 11th hour.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$16.1K–$21.4K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees. An estimate, not a quote.
Add to my planSee the full breakdown →PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by St. Charles Flying Service. School names are used only to identify the school.
How these estimates work
We apply one consistent method to every school: PilotBound's own completion-hours model, examiner-completion data where it exists (like the Private and Commercial) and FAA minimums where no credible public data exists (like the Instrument and CFI), times that school's published aircraft and instructor rates (linked on every card, with the date we verified them), plus the one-time fees most quotes leave out. Holding the hours model identical across schools means the only thing that changes card to card is the school's actual rates.
So the number is PilotBound's estimate, not the school's quote, and it will differ from a school's own cost figures, which are often based on FAA-minimum hours. The schools do not set or endorse it. The result is a range, not a promise.
Want a number tied to your own pace and aircraft choice? Run the estimator or read the full methodology.
These estimates are ours, not the schools' quotes, and we are not affiliated with the schools. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime. Disclaimer & removal policy.