How much does flight school cost in Montana?

Across the 5 Montana flight schools here that publish full rates, trainer rentals run $119 to $184 per hour and instruction $60 to $100 per hour, checked as recently as August 16, 2026. On each school's own published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate between $15,293 and $20,553, with a median of $18,025. These are PilotBound estimates built on published rates, not quotes from the schools.

What is the cheapest flight school in Montana?

Fly With Virga in Livingston publishes the lowest trainer rental of the 5 Montana schools listed here, $119 per hour for its Champ, a dry rate, so fuel is billed separately on top, checked August 14, 2026. The lowest hourly rate is not automatically the lowest total: instructor rates, fuel basis, and the hours you actually fly decide that, which is what the per-school estimates on this page hold constant.

How current are these Montana flight school rates?

Every rate here is the school's own published figure, linked to its source and dated; the newest check in Montana is August 16, 2026, and each card and school page shows the exact date its rates were read. The directory is re-checked on a monthly cycle, and 12 more schools in Montana are listed without an estimate because they do not publish a full rate card. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

Published rates, sourced · Updated August 16, 2026

What flight training costs at Montana 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.

Across the 5 Montana schools here with published rates, trainer rentals run $119 to $184 per hour and instruction $60 to $100, and PilotBound's private pilot estimate lands between $15,293 and $20,553, with a median of $18,025.

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.

Estimate cost toflying

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Showing 1–12 of 17 schools

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 Montana

lowest $13.2Khighest $23.4K

Fly With Virga
Part not stated
Lowest in MT
Livingston, MT·flywithvirga.com
Published rates
$119/hr aircraft (dry, fuel billed separately)+$75/hr instructor
Checked August 14, 2026·Source
The aeroplane is billed DRY on TACH time: the renter buys fuel afterwards for what was burned, and the school's own example is that a local flight logging 1.0 hour pays 0.8 tach. It estimates 6 to 7 gallons per hour, so add current avgas to the figure here. Instruction is billed on BLOCK time, engine start to shutdown, which is a different clock from the aeroplane's. Cross-country reservations averaging 4 hours a day drop to $99/hr, and $98/hr if you fly to First Flight Airport. Ground instruction is $65/hr. A footnote on the same page works its rounding example from $109/hr rather than the $119/hr headline, so confirm which is current.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$15,293
range $13.2K – $17.4K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan Fly With Virga cost breakdown →
Blue Goose Aviation
Part not stated
Polson, MT·bluegooseaviation.com
Published rates
$160/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$60/hr instructor
Checked August 14, 2026·Source
Blue Goose publishes its three aeroplanes at two different price sets on two pages, about $20 apart, with no date on either. The higher figures from the aircraft-for-rent page are used here. Instruction in a student's own aeroplane is $70/hr, which is not the rate used. Two simulators are $50/hr each plus the instructor. The Cessna 182G is insured for dual only.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$17,375
range $14.9K – $19.8K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan Blue Goose cost breakdown →
Northstar Jet Flight School
Part 61
Missoula, MT·neptuneaviation.com/flightschool/
Published rates
$165/hr aircraft (wet)+$65/hr instructor
Checked August 16, 2026·Source
The school publishes one blanket $165/hr wet aircraft rate (fuel included); individual aircraft/tails are not itemized. Instruction $65/hr.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$18,025
range $15.5K – $20.5K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan Northstar Jet cost breakdown →
Cloud Catcher Aviation
Part not stated
Great Falls, MT·cloudcatcherav.com
Published rates
$175/hr aircraft (wet)+$85/hr instructor
Checked August 14, 2026·Source
Both aeroplanes carry a block rate $5/hr lower when ten hours are bought up front; the standard rates are used here. The instructor rate is published on the ground-training page and the site gives no separate figure for flight instruction. A discovery flight is $175. Cloud Catcher will also instruct in a student's own aeroplane.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$19,905
range $17.1K – $22.7K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan Cloud Catcher cost breakdown →
Ridgeline Aviation
Part not stated
Largest fleet2 locations
Bozeman & Billings, MT·flyridgelinemt.com
Published rates
$184/hr aircraft (wet)+$85/hr instructor
Checked August 8, 2026·Source
Instructor rates vary by base: primary instruction is $85/hr at Bozeman and $72/hr at Billings (advanced $100/$85). This estimate uses the Bozeman rates.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$20,553
range $17.7K – $23.4K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan Ridgeline cost breakdown →
Below: schools without a full published rate card. They cannot be priced, so they sit at the end of a cost sort.
A-Tec Aircraft Maintenance Center
Part not stated
Hamilton, MT·HRF
Published rates
aircraft rate not published+instructor rate not published
No PilotBound estimate
A-Tec does not publish a website, an aircraft rate and an instructor rate
Nothing to total without it.
See what to ask them What they do publish →
Backcountry Flying Experience
Part not stated
Bigfork, MT·S27·backcountryflyingexperience.com
Published rates
aircraft rate not published+instructor rate not published
No PilotBound estimate
Backcountry Flying does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate
Nothing to total without it.
See what to ask them What they do publish →
Bitterroot Aviation
Part not stated
Stevensville, MT·32S·bitterrootaviation.com
Published rates
aircraft rate not published+instructor rate not published
No PilotBound estimate
Bitterroot does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate
Nothing to total without it.
See what to ask them What they do publish →
Bridger Aviation Services
Part not stated
Three Forks, MT·9S5
Published rates
aircraft rate not published+instructor rate not published
No PilotBound estimate
Bridger Aviation does not publish a website, an aircraft rate and an instructor rate
Nothing to total without it.
See what to ask them What they do publish →
Dillon Flying Service
Part not stated
Dillon, MT·DLN·dillonflyingservice.com
Published rates
aircraft rate not published+instructor rate not published
No PilotBound estimate
Dillon Flying does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate
Nothing to total without it.
See what to ask them What they do publish →
Dramstad Flying Service
Part not stated
Helena, MT·HLN
Published rates
aircraft rate not published+instructor rate not published
No PilotBound estimate
Dramstad does not publish a website, an aircraft rate and an instructor rate
Nothing to total without it.
See what to ask them What they do publish →
Hendrickson Aviation
Part not stated
Helena, MT·HLN·hendricksonaviation.com
Published rates
$175/hr aircraft+$75/hr instructor
Checked August 20, 2026·Source
Published as 'Rate for this award winning Citabria $175.00 per hour' and 'Rate for this Instructor $75.00 per hour both on the ground and in the air'. Renters insurance is preferred. The site never says whether fuel is included.
No PilotBound estimate
Hendrickson does not publish a list of ratings taught
Nothing to total without it.
See what to ask them What they do publish →

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.

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.

Common questions about Montana flight schools

How much does flight school cost in Montana?: Across the 5 Montana flight schools here that publish full rates, trainer rentals run $119 to $184 per hour and instruction $60 to $100 per hour, checked as recently as August 16, 2026. On each school's own published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate between $15,293 and $20,553, with a median of $18,025. These are PilotBound estimates built on published rates, not quotes from the schools.
What is the cheapest flight school in Montana?: Fly With Virga in Livingston publishes the lowest trainer rental of the 5 Montana schools listed here, $119 per hour for its Champ, a dry rate, so fuel is billed separately on top, checked August 14, 2026. The lowest hourly rate is not automatically the lowest total: instructor rates, fuel basis, and the hours you actually fly decide that, which is what the per-school estimates on this page hold constant.
How current are these Montana flight school rates?: Every rate here is the school's own published figure, linked to its source and dated; the newest check in Montana is August 16, 2026, and each card and school page shows the exact date its rates were read. The directory is re-checked on a monthly cycle, and 12 more schools in Montana are listed without an estimate because they do not publish a full rate card. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime.