PilotBound estimate · Newport, VT · Checked September 8, 2026

What flight training at Lakeview Aviation costs

Website lakeviewaviation.com

Section 1Cost estimate

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

VFR only and two-seat, so it is the cheapest start but not the airplane for the Instrument.

Shown at Lakeview Aviation's published dry rate. Fuel is billed separately and is not included in this estimate.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Lakeview Aviation

$11,395

range $9.8K$13K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Lakeview's published rates: Cessna 150 at $85/hr dry + $50/hr instruction, checked September 8, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$7,375
at the hours students actually take$11,395

+$4,020 on Lakeview's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$9.8K$13K
Aircraft rental$6,120
Instruction$2,900
One-time costs$2,375
Aircraft + instruction$9,020
72 hrs in Cessna 150 @ $85/hr + 58 dual @ $50/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 Lakeview Aviation's published rates (dry; fuel billed separately). About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Lakeview 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 →

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Section 2The rate card

What Lakeview publishes

checked September 8, 2026
Cessna 150VFR only and two-seat, so it is the cheapest start but not the airplane for the Instrument.$85/hr dry
Piper Cherokee PA-28-140$105/hr dry
Cessna Cardinal C-177BGarmin 430W, IFR, autopilot.$130/hr dry
Piper Arrow PA-28R-200Retractable, so this is the complex trainer for the Commercial. Garmin 530W, IFR, autopilot.$150/hr dry
Instruction$50/hr

Every aircraft rate here is DRY, stated as such on the rental page, so fuel is billed on top of each figure and none of them are comparable with a wet rate elsewhere without adding it. The estimate uses the published dry rates as-is rather than guessing a fuel figure. The $50/hr instruction rate covers Private, Commercial, Instrument and Flight Instructor students alike.

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. Lakeview does not state whether it trains under Part 61 or Part 141, so the estimate above is built on Part 61 hours.

Section 3Paying for it

Two ways to cover $11,395.

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, plus 1 in Vermont. Top awards reach $22,200.
47
Money you pay backLenders that cover $11,395All 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 4Add to my plan

Turn this into a plan.

Your $11,395 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 5What to ask

What to ask when you call

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

  1. Your published rates are dry. Roughly what does fuel add per hour on the trainer?

    The published figures leave fuel out, so they understate the real hourly cost until you add it.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. Do you train under Part 61 or Part 141?Missing from their site

    It changes the minimum hours, and for some students it changes financing eligibility.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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 6Questions

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Lakeview Aviation?
Lakeview Aviation publishes $85 per hour for the Cessna 150 and $50 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 8, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $11,395, in a range of $9,800 to $13,000. 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 Lakeview Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Lakeview Aviation?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Lakeview 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 Lakeview Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Lakeview Aviation does not state on its own website whether it trains under Part 61 or Part 141, so we do not list one. It is worth asking directly before you enroll: Part 141 follows an FAA-approved syllabus and is generally what VA benefits require, while Part 61 is more flexible on scheduling.
Do Lakeview Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?
Lakeview Aviation publishes $85 per hour for the Cessna 150, a dry rate, so fuel is billed separately on top. Fuel typically adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour, so compare a dry rate against a wet one carefully. PilotBound's estimate uses the published dry rate exactly as listed and does not add a guessed fuel figure. Rates checked September 8, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Lakeview Aviation?
Lakeview Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor. Instruction is $50 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Lakeview Aviation's own published rates.

Section 7Sources

Estimates use Lakeview Aviation's published Cessna 150 and instructor rates (checked September 8, 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 Lakeview 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.

Are you Lakeview? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.

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