How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Capital City Aviation?

Capital City Aviation publishes $175 per hour for the Cessna 172N Skyhawk and $75 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 7, 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 Capital City Aviation.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Capital City Aviation?

Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Capital City 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 Capital City Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?

Capital City Aviation trains under Part 61, the flexible path. There is no FAA-approved syllabus to follow, so lessons can be scheduled around your life and adapted to your pace. The tradeoff is a slightly higher paper minimum for the private certificate (40 hours versus 35) and, for most students, no VA benefit eligibility.

Do Capital City Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?

Capital City Aviation publishes $175 per hour for the Cessna 172N Skyhawk, 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 7, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Capital City Aviation?

Capital City Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction is $75 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Capital City Aviation's own published rates.

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PilotBound estimate · Columbus, OH · Checked August 7, 2026

What flight training at Capital City Aviation costs

Website capitalcityaviation.com

Your plan

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Flying

Which airplane?

Five of them, 160 HP. The primary trainer.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Capital City Aviation

$19,325

range $16.6K – $22K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Capital City's published rates: Cessna 172N Skyhawk at $175/hr + $75/hr instruction, checked August 7, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$11,775

at the hours students actually take$19,325

+$7,550 on Capital City's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$16.6K – $22K

Aircraft rental$12,600

Instruction$4,350

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$16,950

72 hrs in Cessna 172N Skyhawk @ $175/hr + 58 dual @ $75/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 Capital City Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Capital City 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 Capital City publishes

checked August 7, 2026

Cessna 172N SkyhawkFive of them, 160 HP. The primary trainer.$175/hr wet

Piper Pilot 100iTwo, 180 HP with Garmin G3X Touch.$209/hr wet

Cirrus SR20 G7Three, 215 HP. Technically advanced, and the aeroplane that covers the Commercial's TAA hours. Requires a CSIP or Training Center Instructor checkout and the SR20 transition course.$395/hr wet

Cirrus SR22Two, 310 HP. Requires a Private with an Instrument, 300 hours total and 25 in type, so it is not a training aeroplane for anyone starting out.$475/hr wet

Instruction$75/hr

Rates include fuel, stated outright, and every aeroplane in the fleet is IFR certified. This is a members' club, not a walk-in school: joining costs a one-time $250 and then $45 a month, neither of which is in the hourly rates. You get three introductory flights before you have to join. Instruction is $75/hr in everything except the Cirrus line, where a Training Center Instructor is $95/hr and a Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot is $115/hr, flight and ground alike, with day rates for transition courses. Two simulators are priced separately, a Cirrus dual-cockpit AATD at $110/hr and a Gleim BATD at $60/hr which is dual only.

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

See the published rates→Source 2→Source 3→

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Your $19,325 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

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 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 Capital City Aviation's published Cessna 172N Skyhawk and instructor rates (checked August 7, 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 Capital City 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 Capital City Aviation

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Capital City Aviation?: Capital City Aviation publishes $175 per hour for the Cessna 172N Skyhawk and $75 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 7, 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 Capital City Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Capital City Aviation?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Capital City 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 Capital City Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Capital City Aviation trains under Part 61, the flexible path. There is no FAA-approved syllabus to follow, so lessons can be scheduled around your life and adapted to your pace. The tradeoff is a slightly higher paper minimum for the private certificate (40 hours versus 35) and, for most students, no VA benefit eligibility.
Do Capital City Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?: Capital City Aviation publishes $175 per hour for the Cessna 172N Skyhawk, 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 7, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Capital City Aviation?: Capital City Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction is $75 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Capital City Aviation's own published rates.

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