PilotBound

PilotBound estimate · Las Vegas, NV · Checked September 10, 2026

What flight training at West Air Flight Training costs

Website westairflighttraining.com

Section 1Cost estimate

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at West Air Flight Training

$17,665

range $15.2K – $20.1K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on West Air's published rates: Cessna 172M at $160/hr + $65/hr instruction, checked September 10, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$10,855
at the hours students actually take$17,665

+$6,810 on West Air's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$15.2K – $20.1K
Aircraft rental$11,520
Instruction$3,770
One-time costs$2,375
Aircraft + instruction$15,290
72 hrs in Cessna 172M @ $160/hr + 58 dual @ $65/hr

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
Hours at a steady pace72 hrs

Examiner records (DPE dataset).

The hourly flying is priced on West Air Flight Training's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not West Air Flight Training'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 →

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Section 2The rate card

What West Air publishes

checked September 10, 2026
Cessna 172M (N9572H, Garmin 430)1975$160/hr wet
Cessna 172N (N751BK, Garmin 430)1978$160/hr wet
Cessna 172I (N8374L, Garmin 530)1968$160/hr wet
Cessna 172N (N737GK, G5 + JPI)1977$170/hr wet
Cessna 172R (N9560W, Avidyne IFR)1998$180/hr wet
Instructionstandard $65/hr · instrument instruction $75/hr · commercial instruction $75/hr$65 – $75/hr

Airframes built 1968 to 1998. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read September 16, 2026.

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.

The examiner's checkride fee is not on this card: the examiner sets it, not the school. The estimate above includes PilotBound's own figure for it. West Air does not state whether it trains under Part 61 or Part 141, so the estimate above is built on Part 61 hours.

See the published rates →

Section 3Paying for it

Two ways to cover $17,665.

Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left. Neither figure assumes anything about you: one is what our scholarship directory holds, the other is what the lenders publish.

Money you keepScholarships you could apply for46 open to anyone. Top awards reach $22,200.No Nevada-only awards in the directory yet.
46
Money you pay backLenders that cover $17,665All 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
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Section 4Add to my plan

Turn this into a plan.

Your $17,665 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.

Add to my plan

Section 5What to ask

What to ask when you call

The marked one is what West Air's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

Section 6Questions

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at West Air Flight Training?
West Air Flight Training publishes $160 per hour for the Cessna 172M and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 10, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $17,665, in a range of $15,200 to $20,100. 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 West Air Flight Training.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at West Air Flight Training?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at West Air Flight Training 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 West Air Flight Training a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
West Air Flight Training 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 West Air Flight Training's aircraft rates include fuel?
West Air Flight Training publishes $160 per hour for the Cessna 172M, 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 September 10, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at West Air Flight Training?
West Air Flight Training trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction runs $65 to $75 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 West Air Flight Training's own published rates.

Section 7Sources

Estimates use West Air Flight Training's published Cessna 172M and instructor rates (checked September 10, 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 West Air Flight Training. 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.

Are you West Air? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.

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