PilotBound

What flight training costs at South Dakota flight schools

Legacy Aviation in Tea is the one South Dakota school here with a full published rate card: $193 per hour for its Piper Warrior plus $68 per hour instruction, a PilotBound private pilot estimate of about $21,610.

13 schools listed · Updated September 16, 2026

Estimate cost toflying
Showing 1–12 of 13 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 South Dakota$18.6K$24.6K

  • Legacy Aviation

    Part 141

    Tea, SD·legacyaviationsd.com

    $193/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$68/hr instructor

    Checked September 16, 2026·Source

    This estimate uses the hourly rates in Legacy's published pricing sheet, which Legacy notes are averages subject to change.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $21,610

    range $18.6K to $24.6K

    ~78 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planLegacy cost breakdown →
  • Below: schools without a full published rate card. They cannot be priced, so they sit at the end of a cost sort.

  • Aberdeen Flying Service

    Part not stated

    Aberdeen, SD·ABR·aberdeenflyingservice.com

    No PilotBound estimate

    Aberdeen Flying does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask Aberdeen Flying

  • ATY Aviation

    Part not stated

    Watertown, SD·ATY·atyaviation.com

    $150/hr aircraft·instructor rate not published

    Checked September 20, 2026·Source·7 aircraft published

    ATY prices every airplane wet. The Arrow, the Seminole and the tailwheel 152 are offered for instruction only rather than solo rental. The one instruction figure it publishes sits on the simulator, which is $80 an hour with an instructor at $70, and nothing on the site says whether that instructor rate applies in the airplanes.

    No PilotBound estimate

    ATY Aviation does not publish an instructor rate

    What to ask ATY Aviation

  • Black Hills Aero

    Part not stated

    Spearfish, SD·SPF·blackhillsaero.com

    No PilotBound estimate

    Black Hills Aero does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask Black Hills Aero

  • Dakota Aviation

    Part not stated

    Canton, SD·7G9·dakotaaviation.com

    No PilotBound estimate

    Dakota Aviation does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask Dakota Aviation

  • Dakota Flight Center

    Part not stated

    Mitchell, SD·MHE·dakotaflight.com

    $160/hr aircraft·instructor rate not published

    Checked September 13, 2026·Source·5 aircraft published

    The per-aircraft pages give a rental figure each, and each one says the rate includes fuel. A helicopter is published at $350/hr for rent by rated pilots, with training in it not currently offered. Dakota Flight also publishes a Private Pilot budget of $10,000 to $12,000, which is a planning figure rather than a rate.

    No PilotBound estimate

    Dakota Flight does not publish an instructor rate

    What to ask Dakota Flight

  • Eagle Aviation

    Part not stated

    Spearfish, SD·SPF

    No PilotBound estimate

    Eagle Aviation does not publish an aircraft rate, an instructor rate and a website

    What to ask Eagle Aviation

  • Hangar 9

    Part not stated

    Aberdeen, SD·ABR·flyhangar9.com

    $150/hr aircraft·instructor rate not published

    Checked September 13, 2026·Source·4 aircraft published

    Every rate is published as a "Wet Rate" against its tail number. A Piper Seneca (N8081Q) is listed for training only and carries no price, reading "Call for a quote", so multi-engine training here cannot be costed.

    No PilotBound estimate

    Hangar 9 does not publish an instructor rate

    What to ask Hangar 9

  • Mustang Aviation

    Part not stated

    Pierre, SD·PIR·mustangaviation.aero

    No PilotBound estimate

    Mustang Aviation does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask Mustang Aviation

  • Plane Training

    Part not stated

    Rapid City, SD·RAP·planeflighttraining.com

    Checked September 20, 2026·Source

    Plane Training publishes one price on its fleet page: $215 an hour wet for the Bellanca Decathlon, flown with an instructor, and that airplane is based at its Phoenix satellite rather than at Rapid City. Both South Dakota airplanes, a Piper Archer III and a Piper Archer/Warrior, say block rates are available without giving a figure.

    No PilotBound estimate

    Plane Training does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask Plane Training

  • Riggin Flight Service

    Part not stated

    Madison, SD·MDS·rigginflightservice.com

    No PilotBound estimate

    Riggin does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask Riggin

  • Roger Wilco Aviation Services

    Part not stated

    Yankton, SD·YKN·rogerwilcoaviation.com

    No PilotBound estimate

    Roger Wilco does not publish an aircraft rate and an instructor rate

    What to ask Roger Wilco

Flight school costs in South Dakota, in numbers

Computed from the 1 South Dakota school that publishes both an aircraft and an instructor rate, on the same method every card above uses. The 12 listings without a full rate card are left out of every figure.

PilotBound Private estimate at the one school with published rates
$21,610
Published trainer rental, per hour
$192.77/hr
Published instruction, per hour
$67.73 to $78.15
Schools publishing a full rate card (aircraft and instructor)
1 of 13

Lowest published trainer rates in South Dakota

Part 141 flight schools in South Dakota

Airports with more than one South Dakota flight school

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 South Dakota flight schools

How much does flight school cost in South Dakota?

Legacy Aviation in Tea is the one South Dakota school here with a full published rate card: $193 per hour for its Piper Warrior and $68 per hour for instruction, checked September 16, 2026. On those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $21,610. That is a PilotBound estimate, not a quote from the school.

How current are these South Dakota flight school rates?

Every rate here is the school's own published figure, linked to its source and dated; the newest check in South Dakota is September 16, 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 12 more schools in South Dakota are listed without an estimate because they do not publish a full rate card. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime.