How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Princeton Flying School?

Princeton Flying School publishes $190 per hour for the Cessna 172 VFR and $73 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 5, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $20,289, in a range of $17,400 to $23,100. 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 Princeton Flying School.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Princeton Flying School?

Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Princeton Flying School 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 Princeton Flying School a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?

Princeton Flying School 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 Princeton Flying School's aircraft rates include fuel?

Princeton Flying School publishes $190 per hour for the Cessna 172 VFR, 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 5, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Princeton Flying School?

Princeton Flying School trains Private Pilot and Instrument Rating. Instruction is $73 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Princeton Flying School's own published rates.

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PilotBound estimate · Princeton, NJ · Checked September 5, 2026

What flight training at Princeton Flying School costs

Website princetonairport.com

Section 1Cost estimate

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

Wet. VFR only, so it does not price the instrument leg. $194 plus tax to rent solo.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Princeton Flying School

$20,289

range $17.4K – $23.1K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Princeton Flying School's published rates: Cessna 172 VFR at $190/hr + $73/hr instruction, checked September 5, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$12,311

at the hours students actually take$20,289

+$7,978 on Princeton Flying School's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$17.4K – $23.1K

Aircraft rental$13,680

Instruction$4,234

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$17,914

72 hrs in Cessna 172 VFR @ $190/hr + 58 dual @ $73/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 Princeton Flying School's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Princeton Flying School'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 Princeton Flying School publishes

checked September 5, 2026

Cessna 172 VFRWet. VFR only, so it does not price the instrument leg. $194 plus tax to rent solo.$190/hr wet

Cessna 172 IFRWet. $204 plus tax to rent solo.$200/hr wet

Cessna 172 glassWet. $262 plus tax to rent solo.$258/hr wet

SimulatorNot an aircraft.$83/hr wet

Instruction$73/hr

Rates are the DUAL column, the aircraft's own cost per hour, billed for engine running time plus time with the instructor. The solo and rental column runs a few dollars higher and adds sales tax, $206.86 all in for the VFR 172. Prices include all fuel, liability insurance and full hull insurance. Instruction in your own aircraft is $83/hr, the simulator is $83/hr, headsets $10, and card payments carry a 3 percent surcharge against a 5 percent bonus for prepaying by cash or cheque. Price sheet dated January 15, 2026. Based at Princeton Airport (39N), training since 1975.

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. Princeton Flying School 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 →Source 2 →

Section 3Paying for it

Two ways to cover $20,289.

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 New Jersey-only awards in the directory yet.: 46
Money you pay backLenders that cover $20,289Five of the six lenders in our comparison lend this much. That is whether a loan this size is on offer, not whether you would be approved.: 5 of 6

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Section 4Add to my plan

Turn this into a plan.

Your $20,289 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 Princeton Flying School's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

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.
Does the instructor rate change for the Instrument, Commercial, or CFI, or is it flat across everything?
Plenty of schools charge more for advanced instruction. A flat rate quoted for the Private can climb later.
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.

Section 6Questions

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Princeton Flying School?: Princeton Flying School publishes $190 per hour for the Cessna 172 VFR and $73 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 5, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $20,289, in a range of $17,400 to $23,100. 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 Princeton Flying School.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Princeton Flying School?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Princeton Flying School 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 Princeton Flying School a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Princeton Flying School 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 Princeton Flying School's aircraft rates include fuel?: Princeton Flying School publishes $190 per hour for the Cessna 172 VFR, 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 5, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Princeton Flying School?: Princeton Flying School trains Private Pilot and Instrument Rating. Instruction is $73 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Princeton Flying School's own published rates.

Section 7Sources

Estimates use Princeton Flying School's published Cessna 172 VFR and instructor rates (checked September 5, 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 Princeton Flying School. 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 Princeton Flying School? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.

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What flight training at Princeton Flying School costs

Section 1 · Cost estimate

Section 2 · The rate card