PilotBound

PilotBound estimate · Middletown, OH · Checked September 8, 2026

What flight training at Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute costs

Website mrfti.com

Phone (513) 217-4636

Section 1Cost estimate

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

The trainer fleet: several 160 HP C172N and C172P, all with a Garmin GNS 430W and ADS-B.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute

$15,555

range $13.4K – $17.7K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on MRFTI's published rates: Cessna 172 Skyhawk at $146/hr + $46/hr instruction, checked September 8, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$9,687
at the hours students actually take$15,555

+$5,868 on MRFTI's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$13.4K – $17.7K
Aircraft rental$10,512
Instruction$2,668
One-time costs$2,375
Aircraft + instruction$13,180
72 hrs in Cessna 172 Skyhawk @ $146/hr + 58 dual @ $46/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 Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute'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 MRFTI publishes

checked September 8, 2026
Cessna 172 SkyhawkThe trainer fleet: several 160 HP C172N and C172P, all with a Garmin GNS 430W and ADS-B.$146/hr wet
Cessna 172RG CutlassRetractable gear, so this is the complex trainer rather than a primary one.$165/hr wet
Instruction$46/hr

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.

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. MRFTI 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 →Source 2 →Source 3 →

Section 3Discovery flight

$124

Checked September 14, 2026

A 30-minute preflight lesson and a 30-minute flight. The Ultimate Discovery Flight Package is $479.

See it on their siteCall (513) 217-4636

Discovery flight prices in Ohio

Section 4Paying for it

Two ways to cover $15,555.

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 2 in Ohio. Top awards reach $22,200.
48
Money you pay backLenders that cover $15,555All six lenders in our comparison lend this much. That is whether a loan this size is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
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Section 5Add to my plan

Turn this into a plan.

Your $15,555 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 6What to ask

What to ask when you call

The marked one is what MRFTI'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. 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.

  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 7Questions

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute?
Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute publishes $146 per hour for the Cessna 172 Skyhawk and $46 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 8, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $15,555, in a range of $13,400 to $17,700. 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 Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute 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 Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute 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 Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute's aircraft rates include fuel?
Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute publishes $146 per hour for the Cessna 172 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 September 8, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute?
Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction is $46 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute's own published rates.

Section 8Sources

Estimates use Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute's published Cessna 172 Skyhawk and instructor rates (checked September 8, 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 Middletown Regional Flight Training Institute. 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 MRFTI? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.

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