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

Anderson Aviation publishes $85 per hour for the Redbird FMX simulator and $55 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 18, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $11,685, in a range of $10,000 to $13,300. 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 Anderson Aviation.

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

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

Anderson 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 Anderson Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?

Anderson Aviation publishes $85 per hour for the Redbird FMX simulator, a rate that does not say whether fuel is included. Ask before you budget: if the rate turns out to be dry, fuel adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour on top. PilotBound's estimate uses the rate exactly as published. Rates checked August 18, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Anderson Aviation?

Anderson Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL) and Flight Instructor. Instruction is $55 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Anderson Aviation's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Bulverde, TX · Checked August 18, 2026

What flight training at Anderson Aviation costs

Website andersonaviationtx.com

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Anderson Aviation

$11,685

range $10K – $13.3K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Anderson's published rates: Redbird FMX simulator at $85/hr + $55/hr instruction, checked August 18, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$7,535

at the hours students actually take$11,685

+$4,150 on Anderson's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$10K – $13.3K

Aircraft rental$6,120

Instruction$3,190

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$9,310

72 hrs in Redbird FMX simulator @ $85/hr + 58 dual @ $55/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 Anderson Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Anderson 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 Anderson publishes

checked August 18, 2026

Piper Cherokee 140The cheapest of the fleet and the aeroplane the Private cost sheet prices solo at. Three tails at this rate, plus a Cherokee 160.$162/hr fuel basis not stated

Piper Cherokee 180 / Archer IIFour Cherokee 180s, an Archer II and a fourth Cherokee 140. The rate the Instrument cost sheet works from.$167/hr fuel basis not stated

Piper Cherokee 140 (TAA)The school's technically advanced aeroplane.$190/hr fuel basis not stated

Piper Cherokee Six (260hp)$252/hr fuel basis not stated

Piper Twin Comanche$315/hr fuel basis not stated

Redbird FMX simulator$85/hr fuel basis not stated

Instruction$55/hr

Anderson prices all thirteen of its aeroplanes by tail number but never states an instruction rate directly. The $55/hr used here is what its own published cost sheets imply: dual less solo works out to $55/hr on the Private sheet and again on the Instrument sheet, and its ground school is $55/hr outright. Worth confirming when you call. The fleet page does not say whether rates include fuel.

Not published: the examiner's checkride fee, whether rates include fuel. Listed as missing rather than guessed.

See the published rates→Source 2→Source 3→

Step 2

Turn this into a plan.

Your $11,685 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

What to ask when you call

The marked one is what Anderson's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

Do the published aircraft rates include fuel, or is fuel billed separately?Missing from their site
The site does not say, and it is the difference between two rates that look identical and are not.
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 Anderson Aviation's published Redbird FMX simulator and instructor rates (checked August 18, 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 Anderson 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 Anderson Aviation

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Anderson Aviation?: Anderson Aviation publishes $85 per hour for the Redbird FMX simulator and $55 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 18, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $11,685, in a range of $10,000 to $13,300. 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 Anderson Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Anderson Aviation?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Anderson 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 Anderson Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Anderson 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 Anderson Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?: Anderson Aviation publishes $85 per hour for the Redbird FMX simulator, a rate that does not say whether fuel is included. Ask before you budget: if the rate turns out to be dry, fuel adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour on top. PilotBound's estimate uses the rate exactly as published. Rates checked August 18, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Anderson Aviation?: Anderson Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL) and Flight Instructor. Instruction is $55 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Anderson Aviation's own published rates.

Other Texas flight schools

All Texas flight schools

Plan the money before you commit

A program price only makes sense next to what each rating costs on its own, what free money exists, and what borrowing actually looks like.

What each rating costs

Honest per-rating ranges, with the fees most quotes leave out.

Free money first

Verified flight training scholarships. Every scholarship dollar is a dollar you never finance.

If you borrow

Compare lenders and see the real monthly payment before you sign.