PilotBound estimate · Henderson, NV · Checked August 12, 2026
What flight training at Cactus Aviation costs
Website cactusaviation.com
Your plan
Estimate cost to reach
Flying
PilotBound estimate · Private
Examiner dataCost of your Private at Cactus Aviation
range $16.7K – $22.2K · about 6 months at 2×/week
Priced on Cactus's published rates: Cessna 172S 180hp at $185/hr + $65/hr instruction, checked August 12, 2026.
Against a minimums quote
+$7,610 on Cactus's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.
Where it goes
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
Examiner records (DPE dataset).
The hourly flying is priced on Cactus Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Cactus Aviation'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 Cactus publishes
checked August 12, 2026The 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.
Not published: the examiner's checkride fee, whether rates include fuel. Listed as missing rather than guessed.
Step 2
Turn this into a plan.
Your $19,465 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.
Add to my planWhat to ask when you call
The marked ones are what Cactus'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.
Which instructor rate applies to each rating I plan to do, and does the higher tier start on day one of that rating?
This school prices some instruction above its primary rate. Knowing when the step-up starts keeps the later ratings from surprising you.
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 Cactus Aviation's published Cessna 172S 180hp and instructor rates (checked August 12, 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 Cactus Aviation. 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 Cactus Aviation
- How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Cactus Aviation?
- Cactus Aviation publishes $185 per hour for the Cessna 172S 180hp and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 12, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $19,465, in a range of $16,700 to $22,200. 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 Cactus Aviation.
- How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Cactus Aviation?
- Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Cactus Aviation 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 Cactus Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
- Cactus Aviation 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 Cactus Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?
- Cactus Aviation publishes $185 per hour for the Cessna 172S 180hp, 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 12, 2026.
- What ratings can you train for at Cactus Aviation?
- Cactus Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction runs $65 to $70 per hour depending on the rating and the aircraft, since advanced and type-specific instruction is priced above the standard rate. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Cactus Aviation's own published rates.
Other Nevada flight schools
- All In Aviation · Henderson and Las Vegas
- AtheneAir Aviation Services · Boulder City
- Aviation of Mesquite · Mesquite
- Biggest Little Flight School · Reno
- Chennault Flying Service · North Las Vegas
- ChrisAir Aviation · North Las Vegas
- Desert Dogs Aviation · North Las Vegas
- Desert Flying Club · Boulder City
- El Aero Services · Elko
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