PilotBound estimate · Richmond, VA · Checked September 12, 2026
What flight training at RVA Flyers costs
Website rvaflyers.com
Phone 1.804.773.8584
Section 1Cost estimate
Your plan
Estimate cost to reach
Flying
Two-seat trainer; G430, NGT 9000.
PilotBound estimate · Private
Examiner dataCost of your Private at RVA Flyers
range $15.4K – $20.4K · about 6 months at 2×/week
Priced on RVA Flyers's published rates: Diamond DA20 at $139/hr + $95/hr instruction, checked September 12, 2026.
Against a minimums quote
+$6,918 on RVA Flyers's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.
Where it goes
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
Examiner records (DPE dataset).
The hourly flying is priced on RVA Flyers's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not RVA Flyers'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 →
Put this calculator on your siteSection 2The rate card
What RVA Flyers publishes
checked September 12, 2026RVA Flyers does not say whether its published rates include fuel. This estimate uses the rate exactly as published, so ask before you budget: a dry rate adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour once fuel is on top.
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. RVA Flyers's site does not state whether its rates include fuel. RVA Flyers 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 $17,893.
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 Virginia. Top awards reach $22,200.
- Chad Weaver Aviation Scholarship$1,000 · Check dates
- 47
- Money you pay backLenders that cover $17,893All 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
Section 4Add to my plan
Turn this into a plan.
Your $17,893 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.
Add to my planSection 5What to ask
What to ask when you call
The marked ones are what RVA Flyers'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.
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 train under Part 61 or Part 141?Missing from their site
It changes the minimum hours, and for some students it changes financing eligibility.
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.
Section 6Questions
- How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at RVA Flyers?
- RVA Flyers publishes $139 per hour for the Diamond DA20 and $95 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 12, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $17,893, in a range of $15,400 to $20,400. 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 RVA Flyers.
- How long does it take to get a private pilot license at RVA Flyers?
- Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at RVA Flyers 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 RVA Flyers a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
- RVA Flyers 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 RVA Flyers's aircraft rates include fuel?
- RVA Flyers publishes $139 per hour for the Diamond DA20, 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 September 12, 2026.
- What ratings can you train for at RVA Flyers?
- RVA Flyers trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot and Multi-Engine (AMEL). Instruction is $95 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on RVA Flyers's own published rates.
Section 7Sources
Estimates use RVA Flyers's published Diamond DA20 and instructor rates (checked September 12, 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 RVA Flyers. 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 RVA Flyers? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.
One other school flies from Richmond International Airport.
It does not publish a rate either, so that one is a phone call too. RIC is the identifier to give when you ask.
- Richmond Executive AviationPublishes no ratesRichmond
Other Virginia flight schools
- 3 Amigo's Flight Club · Lynchburg
- Aero Elite Flight Training · Leesburg, Winchester, Manassas & Norfolk
- Aviation Adventures · Manassas
- Bay Aviation · Topping
- Blue Ridge Aviation · Weyers Cave
- Charlottesville Flight Center · Charlottesville
- Commonwealth Aviation · Manassas & Norfolk
- Curtis Eads Flight School · Suffolk & Newport News
- Dominion Aviation Services · Richmond
Plan the money before you commit
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