PilotBound

Published rates, sourced · Updated September 8, 2026

What flight training costs at Ohio flight schools

Every listing shows the school's own published rates with the source and date, next to an honest PilotBound estimate for your Private pilot certificate. Add any school to your plan to map your whole route on their real rates.

Across the 13 Ohio schools here with published rates, trainer rentals run $109 to $195 per hour and instruction $40 to $105, and PilotBound's private pilot estimate lands between $12,833 and $20,335, with a median of $15,973.

Search, filter by city, and sort by cost. Each card marks where it falls among the state's schools on cost. Estimates are ours, not quotes, and we are not affiliated with these schools. See a wrong number? Every card has a correct-this-listing link.

Estimate cost toflying
Showing 1–12 of 30 schools

Totals to reach your Private goal at this pace. 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. How we estimate.

Private estimate range across Ohio

lowest $11Khighest $23.2K

  • Stewart's Aircraft Service

    Part not stated
    Lowest in OH

    Waynesville, OH·stewartsaircraft.net

    Published rates

    $109/hr aircraft (wet)+$45/hr instructor

    Checked September 5, 2026·Source

    Every rate on the fleet page is per hour with fuel and oil included. Instruction is $45/hr in the school's own aircraft and $55/hr in yours. Half the fleet is tailwheel, including the Stearman, and there is a glider; those are for endorsements and rides, not the default trainer. The field is a turf strip.

    PilotBound estimate · Private

    $12,833

    range $11K – $14.6K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planStewart's cost breakdown →

  • Hogan Flying Service

    Part 61

    Hamilton, OH·hoganflyingservice.com

    Published rates

    $130/hr aircraft (wet)+$55/hr instructor

    Checked September 5, 2026·Source

    Every airplane on the fleet page carries an hourly wet rate. Instruction is $55/hr for primary training and $60/hr for advanced. The Cub and the PA-11 are tailwheel airplanes for endorsements, not primary trainers.

    PilotBound estimate · Private

    $14,925

    range $12.8K – $17K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planHogan cost breakdown →

  • Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute

    Part not stated

    Middletown, OH·mrfti.com

    Published rates

    $146/hr aircraft (wet)+$46/hr instructor

    Checked September 8, 2026·Source

    A fuel surcharge that varies with fuel prices is added ON TOP of every figure here, stated on both the rates page and the club page, so treat these as a floor. Three tiers exist for the same aircraft. These are the STANDARD pay-as-you-go rates. A $1,500 deposit buys the Block rate, $144 for the 172 and $163 for the RG, with instruction at $45 and $55, and locks those rates for six months or until the funds run out. Club membership is cheaper again on the aircraft, $127 for the 172 and $146 for the RG, but costs $150 to join plus $40 a month and carries a one-hour-a-month minimum rental. Instruction is charged at one rate for flight and ground alike.

    PilotBound estimate · Private

    $15,555

    range $13.4K – $17.7K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planMRFTI cost breakdown →

  • Whitewater Aviation

    Part not stated

    Harrison, OH·whitewateraviation.com

    Published rates

    $150/hr aircraft (wet)+$46/hr instructor

    Checked September 8, 2026·Source

    Rates are wet and the school says so plainly: "includes fuel; no fuel surcharges or hidden fees". Ten hours paid in advance by cash or check drops the 172 to $142.50/hr, and that block is not available on the Comanche. The Comanche is also priced two ways, $186 by card and $177 by cash. Instruction is $46/hr for basic and ground and $48/hr for advanced, complex, instrument, commercial and multi work. The $110/hr on the site is the MAINTENANCE shop's labour rate and has nothing to do with training.

    PilotBound estimate · Private

    $15,843

    range $13.6K – $18.1K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planWhitewater cost breakdown →

  • Queen City Flying Service

    Part 61

    Cincinnati, OH·queencity.aero

    Published rates

    $134/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$66/hr instructor

    Checked September 8, 2026·Source

    Instruction is a single $66/hr for any certification, which is unusual: most schools that publish at all charge more past the Private. The $75/hr figure is for instructing an owner in their own aircraft, not a second tier of training here. Renter's insurance is provided. The site does not say whether the aircraft rates include fuel.

    PilotBound estimate · Private

    $15,851

    range $13.6K – $18.1K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planQueen City cost breakdown →

  • GPE Flight Training Center

    Part not stated

    Wilmington, OH·gpeflightschool.org

    Published rates

    $155/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$40/hr instructor

    Checked September 8, 2026·Source

    Instruction is tiered: $40/hr toward the Private and $50/hr for the Commercial and Instrument, both in GPE's aircraft. The full-motion simulator is $115/hr and that price already includes the simulator instructor, so it is not comparable with the aircraft rates. GPE also advertises a 1969 Cessna 150 at $70/hr, and that one figure IS stated wet, but it appears on the rental page rather than the training rate card and requires a checkout, so it is not carried here as a trainer. Ask whether you can train in it.

    PilotBound estimate · Private

    $15,855

    range $13.6K – $18.1K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planGPE cost breakdown →

  • Blue Sky Flight Training

    Part not stated

    Hamilton, OH·blueskyflighttraining.com

    Published rates

    $151/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$47/hr instructor

    Checked September 8, 2026·Source

    Both aircraft are the same price, and the page for one of them says "(No additional fees)", though the site never states whether fuel is included. Instruction is tiered by what you are training for: $47/hr while you are a student pilot working toward the Private, $53/hr for every other rating and endorsement. Only ONE of the two aircraft is IFR equipped; the other is VFR only, with an IFR certification and GPS upgrade described as coming, so confirm before planning instrument training around the cheaper-looking fleet. Multi-engine, complex, high-performance, high-altitude and tailwheel training are all offered IN YOUR OWN AIRCRAFT, so none of them are priced here.

    PilotBound estimate · Private

    $15,973

    range $13.7K – $18.2K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planBlue Sky cost breakdown →

  • Avit Flight Academy

    Part not stated
    Largest fleet

    Wadsworth, OH·flyavit.com

    Published rates

    $145/hr aircraft (wet)+$55/hr instructor

    Checked August 7, 2026·Source

    Rates are wet and the sheet warns they "may be subject to a fuel surcharge depending on market conditions". Two aircraft are the exception and are published DRY: the Cessna 182Q at $206 and the Arrow IV at $161, the latter with an estimated 11 gallons an hour quoted in gallons rather than dollars, so no fuel figure is added to it here. The fleet is spread across six Ohio fields and the sheet says which aircraft sits where, so confirm your aircraft is at your airport. Instruction runs $55/hr basic, $65/hr advanced and $80/hr multi-engine; ground and simulator instruction is $55 at every tier except advanced, where it is $65. The two simulators are $60 and $70 an hour and both sell unlimited packages, $285 to $840 depending on length.

    PilotBound estimate · Private

    $16,005

    range $13.8K – $18.2K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planAvit cost breakdown →

  • Golden Eagle Aviation

    Part not stated

    Sidney, OH·we2fly.weebly.com

    Published rates

    $150/hr aircraft (wet)+$55/hr instructor

    Checked September 5, 2026·Source

    Both airplanes are published with fuel included and marked plus tax, so sales tax lands on top of the figures here. Instruction is one rate. The site names no airport; the school's directory listing and street address put it at Sidney Municipal.

    PilotBound estimate · Private

    $16,365

    range $14.1K – $18.7K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planGolden Eagle cost breakdown →

  • Sporty's Academy

    Part not stated

    Batavia, OH·sportysacademy.com

    Published rates

    $165/hr aircraft (wet)+$54/hr instructor

    Checked September 5, 2026·Source

    Rates include fuel but Sporty's may add a fuel surcharge based on fuel prices at the time of flight. Instruction is tiered by phase: primary, advanced, and master/multi instructor rates.

    PilotBound estimate · Private

    $17,387

    range $15K – $19.8K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planSporty's cost breakdown →

  • Sundowner Aviation

    Part 61

    Carroll, OH·sundowneraviation.com

    Published rates

    $160/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$65/hr instructor

    Checked September 8, 2026·Source

    Sundowner Aviation does not say whether its published rates include fuel. This estimate uses the rate exactly as published, so ask before you budget: a dry rate adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour once fuel is on top.

    PilotBound estimate · Private

    $17,665

    range $15.2K – $20.1K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planSundowner cost breakdown →

  • Midwest Corporate Air

    Part not stated

    Bellefontaine, OH·midwestcorporateair.com

    Published rates

    $195/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)+$60/hr instructor

    Checked September 5, 2026·Source

    Rates come from a pricing block that the site places on its privacy-policy page, effective May 1, 2025: DA20 $195, DA40 $225, Cirrus SR20 G2 $225, G6 $335, G7 $350, SR22 G6 $475, Decathlon $400 plus tax, AATD $150 plus tax. Instruction is $60/hr flight and ground, $75/hr with a Cirrus transition instructor and $100/hr with a CSIP. Nothing says wet or dry. The same block also shows an older $155 DA20 rate marked current, which the dated line replaces.

    PilotBound estimate · Private

    $19,895

    range $17.1K – $22.7K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planMidwest Corporate Air cost breakdown →

Flight school costs in Ohio, in numbers

Computed from the 13 Ohio schools that publish both an aircraft and an instructor rate, on the same method every card above uses. The 17 listings without a full rate card are left out of every figure.

$15,973
Median PilotBound Private estimate across the 13 schools with published rates
$109 to $195
Published trainer rental, per hour
$40 to $105
Published instruction, per hour
13 of 30
Schools publishing a full rate card (aircraft and instructor)

Lowest published trainer rates in Ohio

Part 141 flight schools in Ohio

Flight schools by city in Ohio

Airports with more than one Ohio flight school

Discovery flights in Ohio

6 Ohio schools publish a discovery flight price, median $125. See each price with its source

How these estimates work

We apply one consistent method to every school: PilotBound's own completion-hours model, examiner-completion data where it exists (like the Private and Commercial) and FAA minimums where no credible public data exists (like the Instrument and CFI), times that school's published aircraft and instructor rates (linked on every card, with the date we verified them), plus the one-time fees most quotes leave out. Holding the hours model identical across schools means the only thing that changes card to card is the school's actual rates.

So the number is PilotBound's estimate, not the school's quote, and it will differ from a school's own cost figures, which are often based on FAA-minimum hours. The schools do not set or endorse it.

Want a number tied to your own pace and aircraft choice? Run the estimator or read the full methodology.

These estimates are ours, not the schools' quotes, and we are not affiliated with the schools. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime. Disclaimer & removal policy.

Common questions about Ohio flight schools

How much does flight school cost in Ohio?
Across the 13 Ohio flight schools here that publish full rates, trainer rentals run $109 to $195 per hour and instruction $40 to $105 per hour, checked as recently as September 8, 2026. On each school's own published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate between $12,833 and $20,335, with a median of $15,973. These are PilotBound estimates built on published rates, not quotes from the schools.
What is the cheapest flight school in Ohio?
Stewart's Aircraft Service in Waynesville publishes the lowest trainer rental of the 13 Ohio schools listed here, $109 per hour for its Cessna 150, a wet rate, so fuel is included in the hourly figure, checked September 5, 2026. The lowest hourly rate is not automatically the lowest total: instructor rates, fuel basis, and the hours you actually fly decide that, which is what the per-school estimates on this page hold constant.
How current are these Ohio flight school rates?
Every rate here is the school's own published figure, linked to its source and dated; the newest check in Ohio is September 8, 2026, and each card and school page shows the exact date its rates were read. The directory is re-checked on a monthly cycle, and 17 more schools in Ohio are listed without an estimate because they do not publish a full rate card. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime.