PilotBound

PilotBound estimate · Wilmington, NC · Checked August 20, 2026

What flight training at Cape Fear Coastal Aviation costs

Website flycfca.com

Section 1Cost estimate

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

G1000 NXi. $225/hr wet when flying with instruction.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Cape Fear Coastal Aviation

$26,535

range $22.8K – $30.2K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Cape Fear's published rates: Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP at $255/hr + $100/hr instruction, checked August 20, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$15,775
at the hours students actually take$26,535

+$10,760 on Cape Fear's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$22.8K – $30.2K
Aircraft rental$18,360
Instruction$5,800
One-time costs$2,375
Aircraft + instruction$24,160
72 hrs in Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP @ $255/hr + 58 dual @ $100/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 Cape Fear Coastal Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Cape Fear Coastal 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 →

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Section 2The rate card

What Cape Fear publishes

checked August 20, 2026
Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP (N142CF, 2020)2020G1000 NXi. $225/hr wet when flying with instruction.$255/hr wet
Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP (N522VS, 2022)2022$225/hr wet when flying with instruction.$255/hr wet
Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP (N52034, 2002)2002$225/hr wet when flying with instruction.$255/hr wet
Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP (N482SP, 1998)1998$225/hr wet when flying with instruction.$255/hr wet
Cessna 172N Skyhawk (N6622D, 1979)1979$225/hr wet when flying with instruction.$255/hr wet
Cirrus SR20 G7 (N96CF, 2025)2025Perspective Touch+ glass, TAA. $290/hr wet when flying with instruction.$310/hr wet
Cirrus SR22 G7 (N60CF)2024High performance. $500/hr wet when flying with instruction.$550/hr wet
Diamond DA42 NG Twin Star (N246CF, 2014)2014Multi-engine trainer, a-la-carte $475/hr + $100/hr instructor; multi packages also published. Instruction in this airplane $100/hr.$475/hr wet
Instruction$100/hr

Airframes built 1979 to 2025. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read September 16, 2026.

Cape Fear publishes a lower wet aircraft rate when flying with an instructor (for example $225/hr instead of $255/hr on its 172s). This estimate uses the standard solo rental rates plus the school's published instructor rate.

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. Cape Fear 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 $26,535.

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, plus 1 in North Carolina. Top awards reach $22,200.
47
Money you pay backLenders that cover $26,535Five 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 $26,535 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 Cape Fear'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 Cape Fear Coastal Aviation?
Cape Fear Coastal Aviation publishes $255 per hour for the Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP and $100 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 20, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $26,535, in a range of $22,800 to $30,200. 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 Cape Fear Coastal Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Cape Fear Coastal Aviation?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Cape Fear Coastal 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 Cape Fear Coastal Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Cape Fear Coastal 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 Cape Fear Coastal Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?
Cape Fear Coastal Aviation publishes $255 per hour for the Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP, 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 20, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Cape Fear Coastal Aviation?
Cape Fear Coastal Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL), Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction is $100 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Cape Fear Coastal Aviation's own published rates.

Section 7Sources

Estimates use Cape Fear Coastal Aviation's published Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP and instructor rates (checked August 20, 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 Cape Fear Coastal 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.

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

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One other school flies from Wilmington International Airport.

It does not publish a rate either, so that one is a phone call too. ILM is the identifier to give when you ask.

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Honest per-rating ranges, with the fees most quotes leave out.

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