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

Hummingbird Aviation publishes $180 per hour for the Cessna 172 and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 17, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $19,105, in a range of $16,400 to $21,800. 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 Hummingbird Aviation.

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

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

Hummingbird 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 Hummingbird Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?

Hummingbird Aviation publishes $180 per hour for the Cessna 172, 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 17, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Hummingbird Aviation?

Hummingbird Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction is $65 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Hummingbird Aviation's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Philadelphia, PA · Checked August 17, 2026

What flight training at Hummingbird Aviation costs

Website hbaflights.com

Conveniently located near

Linden, NJ
New York City area

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

Wet on Hobbs. Club members $162.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Hummingbird Aviation

$19,105

range $16.4K – $21.8K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Hummingbird's published rates: Cessna 172 at $180/hr + $65/hr instruction, checked August 17, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$11,655

at the hours students actually take$19,105

+$7,450 on Hummingbird's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$16.4K – $21.8K

Aircraft rental$12,960

Instruction$3,770

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$16,730

72 hrs in Cessna 172 @ $180/hr + 58 dual @ $65/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 Hummingbird Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Hummingbird 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 Hummingbird publishes

checked August 17, 2026

Cessna 172 (N733HH)Wet on Hobbs. Club members $162.$180/hr wet

Piper Warrior I (N3028E)Wet on Hobbs. Club members $162.$180/hr wet

Piper Warrior II (N81441)GTN 650. Wet on Hobbs. Club members $162.$180/hr wet

Instruction$65/hr

Hummingbird's rates are wet on Hobbs time. Its flying club takes 10% off rental and instruction, bringing the aeroplanes to $162/hr, for a $275 one-time initiation fee plus a monthly charge and no block-hour requirement. Renters must carry their own renter's insurance.

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

See the published rates→

Step 2

Turn this into a plan.

Your $19,105 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 Hummingbird Aviation's published Cessna 172 and instructor rates (checked August 17, 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 Hummingbird 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 Hummingbird Aviation

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Hummingbird Aviation?: Hummingbird Aviation publishes $180 per hour for the Cessna 172 and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 17, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $19,105, in a range of $16,400 to $21,800. 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 Hummingbird Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Hummingbird Aviation?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Hummingbird 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 Hummingbird Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Hummingbird 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 Hummingbird Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?: Hummingbird Aviation publishes $180 per hour for the Cessna 172, 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 17, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Hummingbird Aviation?: Hummingbird Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction is $65 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Hummingbird Aviation's own published rates.

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