How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Sharpes Aero?

Sharpes Aero publishes $200 per hour for the Single-engine trainer and $60 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 12, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $20,255, 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 Sharpes Aero.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Sharpes Aero?

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

Sharpes Aero 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 Sharpes Aero's aircraft rates include fuel?

Sharpes Aero publishes $200 per hour for the Single-engine trainer, 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 August 12, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Sharpes Aero?

Sharpes Aero trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction is $60 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Sharpes Aero's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Albuquerque, NM · Checked August 12, 2026

What flight training at Sharpes Aero costs

Website sharpesaero.com

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

Single-engine trainer ("The Pumpkin"), $200/hr

The school's only airplane. Rate includes fuel and New Mexico state tax.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Sharpes Aero

$20,255

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

Priced on Sharpes's published rates: Single-engine trainer at $200/hr + $60/hr instruction, checked August 12, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$12,295

at the hours students actually take$20,255

+$7,960 on Sharpes's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$17.4K – $23.1K

Aircraft rental$14,400

Instruction$3,480

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$17,880

72 hrs in Single-engine trainer @ $200/hr + 58 dual @ $60/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 Sharpes Aero's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Sharpes Aero'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 Sharpes publishes

checked August 12, 2026

Single-engine trainer ("The Pumpkin")The school's only airplane. Rate includes fuel and New Mexico state tax.$200/hr wet

Instruction$60/hr

Sharpes publishes one rate schedule covering its single airplane: rental includes fuel AND New Mexico state tax (the school puts that at about 8%), and flight and ground instruction are the same $60/hr. The airplane is referred to only as "The Pumpkin" and its make and model are not published anywhere on the site. The site also gives two different discovery-flight prices, $140 on the rate schedule and $180 on the discovery-flight page, so confirm which applies. A K-12 educator discount is offered. Headsets rent for $5/hr.

Not published: the examiner's checkride fee. Listed as missing rather than guessed.

See the published rates→Source 2→

Step 2

Turn this into a plan.

Your $20,255 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.

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What to ask when you call

The marked one is what Sharpes'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.

Estimates use Sharpes Aero's published Single-engine trainer 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 Sharpes Aero. 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 Sharpes Aero

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Sharpes Aero?: Sharpes Aero publishes $200 per hour for the Single-engine trainer and $60 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 12, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $20,255, 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 Sharpes Aero.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Sharpes Aero?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Sharpes Aero 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 Sharpes Aero a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Sharpes Aero 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 Sharpes Aero's aircraft rates include fuel?: Sharpes Aero publishes $200 per hour for the Single-engine trainer, 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 August 12, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Sharpes Aero?: Sharpes Aero trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction is $60 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Sharpes Aero's own published rates.

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