Airplanes & Attitude
Part 61 flight training from Private Pilot through Instrument Instructor at McKinney National Airport.
Rates checkedChecked October 16, 2026 by Samip Shah, CFI, CFII, AGI
At a glance
- 7 aircraft across 3 types.
- A private pilot certificate here, flying 2x a week, is estimated at $17,525.
Basics
| Training rules | Part 61 |
|---|---|
| Certificates | Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor, Instrument Instructor |
| Website | airplanesandattitude.com |
| Phone | (469) 359-7938 |
Aircraft and rates
7 aircraft · 3 types
- At this school
- 4
- Built
- 1976 to 1978
- Rate
- $195 to $205/hr
| Tail | FAA model | Built | Rate (wet) |
|---|---|---|---|
| N73910Cessna 172NGlass: Aspen 1000 Pro Max PFD, Avidyne 540 GPS. | Cessna 172N | 1976 | $195/hr |
| N734PUCessna 172NGlass: Aspen 1000 Pro Max PFD, Avidyne 540 GPS. | Cessna 172N | 1977 | $195/hr |
| N739TSCessna 172NGlass: Aspen 1000 Pro Max PFD, Avidyne 550 GPS. | Cessna 172N | 1978 | $205/hr |
| N734BUCessna 172NGlass: dual Garmin GI-275, Garmin GTN 650Xi GPS. | Cessna 172N | 1977 | $205/hr |
Model and year from the FAA aircraft registry, November 13, 2026.
Instruction and rate notes
Checked October 16, 2026The examiner's checkride fee is paid separately.
Airport
McKinney National KTKI
Home field · 1 runway · 7,002 ft · asphalt
Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP imagery via the USGS National Map
Weather
In an average year, January to June has 147 flyable days out of 181. That is the six months your estimate covers, marked under the chart.
What counts as a flyable day
Clouds no lower than 3,000 feet and visibility of 5 miles or more (VFR weather) for at least half the hours between 9 am and 5 pm. Hourly observations from the airport's own weather station, 2016 to 2025. Source: Iowa Environmental Mesonet ASOS archive, Iowa State University.
What it costs
Certificate
Flying
Hours
Two-seat, traditional gauges.
Where this comes from
Examiner records (DPE dataset).PilotBound estimate
$17,525
Usually $15,100 to $20,000 · about 6 months
- Airplane72 hrs in Cessna 150H × $150/hr$10,800
- Instructor58 hrs dual × $75/hr$4,350
One-time feesWritten test, checkride, medical, headset and more$2,375
- Knowledge (written) test$175
- Checkride / DPE fee$800
- Medical certificate$150
- Headset$700
- Ground school / test prep$300
- Books, charts & supplies$250
The hourly flying is priced on Airplanes & Attitude's published rates. The one-time fees are typical national figures, not Airplanes & Attitude's prices, and several are set by third parties.
Discovery flight
$250
Checked October 16, 2026
45 minutes with an instructor.
Paying for it
Two ways to cover $17,525.
Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left.
- Money you keepScholarships you could apply for43 open to anyone. Top awards reach $22,200.No Texas-only awards in the directory yet.
- 43
- Money you pay backLenders that cover $17,525All six lenders in our comparison lend this much. That is whether a loan this size is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
- 6 of 6
What to ask when you call
Do you offer block rates or prepay discounts, and what is the refund policy if I stop partway?
Block discounts are rarely published, and the refund terms matter more than the discount.
What do you charge for the written test, the checkride, and the examiner's fee?
The examiner's fee alone runs $800 to $1,200 in most of the country.
How many trainers and how many full-time instructors do you have right now?
Availability sets your pace, and pace drives your total more than the hourly rate.
In the app
Track it against Airplanes & Attitude's rates.
Airplanes & Attitude's rate card is in the PilotBound app. Choose Airplanes & Attitude when you set up and the app prices your training at its rates, then tracks every flight you log against the projection.
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Questions
How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Airplanes & Attitude?
Airplanes & Attitude publishes $150 per hour for the Cessna 150H and $75 per hour for instruction on it, checked October 16, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $17,525, in a range of $15,100 to $20,000. 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 Airplanes & Attitude.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Airplanes & Attitude?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Airplanes & Attitude 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 Airplanes & Attitude a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Airplanes & Attitude 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 Airplanes & Attitude's aircraft rates include fuel?
Airplanes & Attitude publishes $150 per hour for the Cessna 150H, 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 October 16, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Airplanes & Attitude?
Airplanes & Attitude 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 Airplanes & Attitude's own published rates.
Sources
Estimates use Airplanes & Attitude's published Cessna 150H and instructor rates (checked October 16, 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 Airplanes & Attitude. 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. Methodology · Disclaimer & removal policy.
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