How much does flight school cost in Nevada?

Across the 11 Nevada flight schools here that publish full rates, trainer rentals run $155 to $235 per hour and instruction $50 to $110 per hour, checked as recently as August 12, 2026. On each school's own published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate between $16,725 and $25,675, with a median of $18,603. These are PilotBound estimates built on published rates, not quotes from the schools.

What is the cheapest flight school in Nevada?

AtheneAir Aviation Services in Boulder City publishes the lowest trainer rental of the 11 Nevada schools listed here, $155 per hour for its Evektor SportStar Max, a wet rate, so fuel is included in the hourly figure, checked August 12, 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 Nevada flight school rates?

Every rate here is the school's own published figure, linked to its source and dated; the newest check in Nevada is August 12, 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directory is re-checked on a monthly cycle, and 5 more schools in Nevada are listed without an estimate because they do not publish a full rate card.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 12, 2026

What flight training costs at Nevada 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 11 Nevada schools here with published rates, trainer rentals run $155 to $235 per hour and instruction $50 to $110, and PilotBound's private pilot estimate lands between $16,725 and $25,675, with a median of $18,603.

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 16 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 Nevada

lowest $14.4Khighest $29.3K

AtheneAir Aviation Services
Part 61
Lowest in NV
Boulder City, NV·atheneair.com
Published rates
$155/hr aircraft (wet)+$55/hr instructor
Checked August 12, 2026·Source
Published rates are wet, with the $155/hr basic rate stated as of January 1, 2026. Instruction is $55/hr, rising to $65/hr for the instrument rating and above. Most tails also carry a cheaper 20-hour block rate ($140 to $170); this estimate uses the standard rates rather than assuming a block purchase. AtheneAir says complex, high-performance and multi-engine training are not yet available, so no complex rate is carried and the commercial's ten complex-or-TAA hours are estimated at a regional average rather than an AtheneAir figure. Its commercial training uses the glass-panel TAA aircraft above instead.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$16,725
range $14.4K – $19.1K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan AtheneAir cost breakdown →
El Aero Services
Part not stated
Elko, NV·elaero.com
Published rates
$165/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$50/hr instructor
Checked August 12, 2026·Source
El Aero publishes one trainer, a Cessna 172, and does not say whether the rate includes fuel. Instruction is $50/hr for flight or ground. A GLEIM certified IFR simulator is $60/hr solo and $110/hr with an instructor, and is not part of this estimate. Do not confuse the training rates with the commercial rates on the fixed-wing page: the $220/hr Cessna 172 and $410/hr Cessna 210 there are for chartered survey, mapping and photography work under Part 91 and 119(e), not for flight training. The site's copyright reads 2021, so confirm the figures before relying on them.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$17,155
range $14.8K – $19.6K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan El Aero cost breakdown →
West Air Flight Training
Part not stated
Las Vegas, NV·westairflighttraining.com
Published rates
$160/hr aircraft (wet)+$65/hr instructor
Checked August 12, 2026·Source
Published rates are wet. West Air prices its Cessna T182RG, the one retractable, at $310/hr WITH a CFI included, and publishes no airplane-only figure for it, so no complex rate is carried here and the commercial's ten complex hours are estimated at a regional average rather than a West Air figure. The $170 and $180 airplanes are published at $160/hr for students. 3% cash and 5% military discounts offered; no airport tax.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$17,665
range $15.2K – $20.1K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan West Air cost breakdown →
Vegas Aviation
Part 61
North Las Vegas, NV·vegasaviation.com
Published rates
$175/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$60/hr instructor
Checked August 12, 2026·Source
Vegas Aviation publishes these as "starting at" rates and does not state whether fuel is included. Instruction is a flat $60/hr, billed on top of the aircraft rate, and the same figure covers ground, flight, single-engine and multi-engine. An AATD simulator is published at $75/hr and is not part of this estimate. The school publishes no complex single, so the commercial's ten complex-or-TAA hours are estimated at a regional average rather than a Vegas Aviation figure; its own commercial cost table does not itemize those hours either.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$18,455
range $15.9K – $21K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan Vegas Aviation cost breakdown →
ChrisAir Aviation
Part not stated
North Las Vegas, NV·chrisairaviation.co
Published rates
$160/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$80/hr instructor
Checked August 12, 2026·Source
ChrisAir does not say whether its rates include fuel. Instruction is $80/hr in the two trainers and $100/hr in the tailwheel, aerobatic and helicopter fleet, which the school prices per aircraft. The Extra 300L, Decathlon and Husky are marked dual only and cannot be rented solo. A Bell 47G helicopter is published at $600/hr with $100/hr instruction; it is a different aircraft category and is not part of this estimate. The school also runs a $450 instrument ground school. Its own FAQ states the arithmetic used here: a $200 Cherokee plus an $80 instructor is about $280 for a lesson hour.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$18,535
range $15.9K – $21.1K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan ChrisAir cost breakdown →
Biggest Little Flight School
Part not stated
Reno, NV·biggestlittleflightschool.com
Published rates
$169/hr aircraft (wet)+$70/hr instructor
Checked August 12, 2026·Source
Published rates are wet. Instruction is posted per instructor: $70/hr primary and $80/hr advanced, the same two figures for every instructor on staff, with the chief pilot at a flat $80/hr. The site does not define where primary ends and advanced begins, so this estimate applies the advanced rate to everything past the Private. The advanced/complex line uses the Piper Arrow, the one retractable; the school also badges one $175 Cessna 172 as TAA-qualified, which can serve the commercial's ten complex-or-TAA hours for less. A PFC12 AATD simulator is published at $85/hr and is not part of this estimate. Multi-engine training is referred to Sierra Flight Training, a separate business at the same airport, so no multi-engine estimate is offered here even though the two Twin Comanches carry published rates.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$18,603
range $16K – $21.2K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan Biggest Little cost breakdown →
Cactus Aviation
Part not stated
Henderson, NV·cactusaviation.com
Published rates
$185/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$65/hr instructor
Checked August 12, 2026·Source
The fleet page does not say whether these rates include fuel. Instruction is $65/hr for private training and ground instruction, rising to $70/hr for the instrument rating and above. Cactus publishes two different figures for its G1000 Skyhawk, $220/hr on the fleet page and $225/hr in its programs PDF, and this estimate carries the fleet page's $220. A Redbird LD AATD simulator is $75/hr; where the PDF quotes $145 or $150 an hour for simulator work, that figure includes an instructor and is not a simulator rate. The programs PDF is dated only by its file version and warns that prices move with fuel, oil and maintenance costs.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$19,465
range $16.7K – $22.2K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan Cactus cost breakdown →
Pilot Training Las Vegas
Part 61
Las Vegas, NV·pilottraininglv.com
Published rates
$185/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$70/hr instructor
Checked August 12, 2026·Source
The site never says whether these rates include fuel. Instruction is $70/hr in Pilot Training's own aircraft, which is what this estimate uses. Two higher tiers are published and not used: $85/hr for instruction in an aircraft Pilot Training does not own, which does not apply to its rental fleet, and $85/hr for ground or flight with the chief CFI. The Piper Apache twin is listed at "TBD/hr", so no multi-engine training is priced here. Regular ground-school attendees are not billed for pre-flight and post-flight briefings. Pilot Training also sells a 14-day accelerated private course at $17,600 ($9,800 instruction plus $7,800 for 40 hours in a Cherokee) with a $1,500 deposit, which this hourly estimate does not model.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$19,755
range $17K – $22.5K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan Pilot Training LV cost breakdown →
Great Basin Aviation
Part not stated
Reno, NV·greatbasinaviation.com
Published rates
$185/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$80/hr instructor
Checked August 8, 2026·Source
Rate schedule effective Jan 1, 2026; advanced flight instruction billed at $90/hr, ground $45-$50/hr. Fuel basis not stated on the schedule.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$20,335
range $17.5K – $23.2K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan Great Basin Aviation cost breakdown →
Sport Aviation Center
Part not stated
Carson City, NV·sportaviationcenter.com
Published rates
$190/hr aircraft (wet)+$85/hr instructor
Checked August 12, 2026·Source
Published rates are wet, stated as including aircraft, headsets and fuel. Instruction is $85/hr, and the school's dual rate of $275/hr is that plus the $190 airplane. Ground time is billed at the same $85/hr and counts from when you arrive to when you leave; group ground is $50/hr per person. A flight simulator is $20/hr solo, or $105/hr with an instructor. A separate $190/hr instruction rate applies only in an owner's own aircraft and is not used here. Sport Aviation Center also trains weight-shift control trikes, which are a different aircraft category and are not priced in this estimate. It operates from Carson City and also flies from Reno.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$20,985
range $18K – $23.9K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan Sport Aviation Center cost breakdown →
All In Aviation
Part not stated
Largest fleet2 locations
Henderson and Las Vegas, NV·allinaviation.com
Published rates
$235/hr aircraft (wet)+$110/hr instructor
Checked August 12, 2026·Source
These are All In Aviation's 2026 price-sheet rates for non-members. Member pricing exists and is not published. A $5 per flight hour insurance fee is added to non-member invoices, credit card charges carry a 3% processing fee, and Nevada sales tax applies to solo rentals. Instruction is a flat $110/hr with a two-hour minimum per reservation; duty days of 6 to 10 hours bill at a $900 day rate instead, and instructor travel costs are invoiced separately. Rentals bill a minimum of 2 flight hours per 24-hour period. An ALSIM ALSR2X simulator is published at $195/hr and is not part of this estimate. Every airplane here is glass-panel and technically advanced, so the commercial's ten complex-or-TAA hours can be flown in any of them; the estimate uses a regional average for that line rather than singling out one tail, because All In publishes no retractable.
PilotBound estimate · Private
$25,675
range $22.1K – $29.3K
~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.
Add to my plan All In Aviation cost breakdown →
Below: schools without a full published rate card. They cannot be priced, so they sit at the end of a cost sort.
Aviation of Mesquite
Part not stated
Mesquite, NV·67L
Published rates
aircraft rate not published+instructor rate not published
No PilotBound estimate
Aviation of Mesquite 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 →

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 Nevada flight schools

How much does flight school cost in Nevada?: Across the 11 Nevada flight schools here that publish full rates, trainer rentals run $155 to $235 per hour and instruction $50 to $110 per hour, checked as recently as August 12, 2026. On each school's own published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate between $16,725 and $25,675, with a median of $18,603. These are PilotBound estimates built on published rates, not quotes from the schools.
What is the cheapest flight school in Nevada?: AtheneAir Aviation Services in Boulder City publishes the lowest trainer rental of the 11 Nevada schools listed here, $155 per hour for its Evektor SportStar Max, a wet rate, so fuel is included in the hourly figure, checked August 12, 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 Nevada flight school rates?: Every rate here is the school's own published figure, linked to its source and dated; the newest check in Nevada is August 12, 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 5 more schools in Nevada are listed without an estimate because they do not publish a full rate card. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime.