PilotBound estimate · Williston, ND
What flight training at Overland Aviation costs
Your plan
Estimate cost to reach
Flying
Non-G1000. The guide names this as the aeroplane students train in.
PilotBound estimate · Private
Examiner dataCost of your Private at Overland Aviation
range $16.6K – $22K · about 6 months at 2×/week
Priced on Overland's published rates: Cessna 172 S/SP at $175/hr + $75/hr instruction, checked August 6, 2026.
Against a minimums quote
+$7,500 on Overland'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 Overland Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Overland 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 Overland publishes
checked August 6, 2026Both rates come from Overland's Private Pilot guide, which is a PDF rather than a web page, and it does not say whether fuel is included. Ground instruction is charged at the same $75/hr as flight instruction. The guide also prices an online ground school at $180 and a private pilot kit at $150, and reaches an approximate all-in Private figure of $12,330 on 40 aircraft hours, which is the FAA minimum rather than what most students fly.
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 $19,325 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.
Add to my planEstimates use Overland Aviation's published Cessna 172 S/SP and instructor rates (checked August 6, 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 Overland 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 Overland Aviation
- How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Overland Aviation?
- Overland Aviation publishes $175 per hour for the Cessna 172 S/SP and $75 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 6, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $19,325, in a range of $16,600 to $22,000. 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 Overland Aviation.
- How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Overland Aviation?
- Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Overland 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 Overland Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
- Overland 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 Overland Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?
- Overland Aviation publishes $175 per hour for the Cessna 172 S/SP, 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 6, 2026.
- What ratings can you train for at Overland Aviation?
- Overland Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction is $75 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Overland Aviation's own published rates.
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