PilotBound

PilotBound estimate · North Charleston, SC · Checked September 9, 2026

What flight training at CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation costs

Website flycraftchs.com

Phone 843.800.6498

Section 1Cost estimate

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Wet. G1000 NXi, GFC700 autopilot, Jet-A diesel. The primary single trainer, and there are five of them.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation

$26,295

range $22.6K – $30K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on CRAFT's published rates: Diamond DA40 NG at $255/hr + $65/hr instruction, checked September 9, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$13,120
at the hours students actually take$26,295

+$13,175 on CRAFT's own rates. Quotes usually price the 35-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$22.6K – $30K
Aircraft rental$19,890
Instruction$4,030
One-time costs$2,375
Aircraft + instruction$23,920
78 hrs in Diamond DA40 NG @ $255/hr + 62 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 pace78 hrs

Examiner records (DPE dataset). Note: Part 141 typically runs higher, not lower.

The hourly flying is priced on CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation'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 CRAFT publishes

checked September 9, 2026
Diamond DA40 NGWet. G1000 NXi, GFC700 autopilot, Jet-A diesel. The primary single trainer, and there are five of them.$255/hr wet
Diamond DA42-VI NGWet. Twin diesel with single-lever digital engine control. The multi-engine trainer.$600/hr wet
Redbird AATD simulatorNot an aircraft. FAA-approved AATD with DA40 and DA42 panels, and an instructor is included in this rate.$100/hr wet
Instructionstandard $65/hr · instrument instruction $75/hr · commercial instruction $75/hr · CFI candidates $75/hr · CFII candidates $75/hr · multi-engine instruction $75/hr$65 – $75/hr

All rates are wet and billed in tenths of an hour. Instruction is $65/hr for a Private student and $75/hr for the instrument, commercial, instructor and multi-engine ratings, and both figures cover ground and flight time including briefings. The Redbird simulator is $100/hr with an instructor already inside that rate. The school also sells fixed-price accelerated courses alongside the hourly rates, and prices extra dual on those at the standard hourly figure.

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.

See the published rates →Source 2 →

Section 3Discovery flight

$325

Checked September 14, 2026

An hour at the controls of a Diamond DA40 NG, about 1 hour 45 minutes in all.

See it on their siteCall 843.800.6498

Discovery flight prices in South Carolina

Section 4Paying for it

Two ways to cover $26,295.

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. Top awards reach $22,200.No South Carolina-only awards in the directory yet.
46
Money you pay backLenders that cover $26,295Five of the 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 $26,295 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

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. Which instructor rate applies to each rating I plan to do, and does the higher tier start on day one of that rating?

    This school prices some instruction above its primary rate. Knowing when the step-up starts keeps the later ratings from surprising you.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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 CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation?
CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation publishes $255 per hour for the Diamond DA40 NG and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 9, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $26,295, in a range of $22,600 to $30,000. That covers roughly 78 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 CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation to reach the private pilot checkride, at roughly 78 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 CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation trains under Part 141, an FAA-approved syllabus with a structured course of study. Part 141 can finish the private certificate in fewer required hours on paper (35 versus 40), though in practice most students at either kind of school fly past the minimum. Part 141 also matters if you plan to use VA benefits, which generally require an approved 141 course.
Do CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation's aircraft rates include fuel?
CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation publishes $255 per hour for the Diamond DA40 NG, 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 9, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation?
CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction runs $65 to $75 per hour depending on the rating and the aircraft, since advanced and type-specific instruction is priced above the standard rate. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation's own published rates.

Section 8Sources

Estimates use CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation's published Diamond DA40 NG and instructor rates (checked September 9, 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 CRAFT Flight Training & Simulation. 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 CRAFT? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.

One other school flies from Charleston International Airport.

It does not publish a rate either, so that one is a phone call too. CHS is the identifier to give when you ask.

  • IFR6Publishes no rates
    North Charleston
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