PilotBound

What flight training costs at Washington flight schools

Across the 21 Washington schools here with published rates, trainer rentals run $114 to $225 per hour and instruction $45 to $115, and PilotBound's private pilot estimate lands between $13,985 and $25,245, with a median of $18,025.

39 schools listed · Updated October 16, 2026

Estimate cost toflying
Showing 1–12 of 39 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 Washington$12K$28.8K

  • Deer Park Air Center

    Part not stated
    Lowest in WA

    Deer Park, WA·deerparkaircenter.com

    $125/hr aircraft (wet)·$45/hr instructor

    Checked October 12, 2026·Source

    Rental rates are wet. Instruction is one rate for both ground and flight. Two older pages are still reachable on the site with January 2023 figures, a Warrior at $140 or $150 and instruction at $55 or $60; the aircraft rental page is the current card and is the one used here. All Sports Aviation, also listed, shares this field.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $13,985

    range $12K to $15.9K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planDeer Park Air Center cost breakdown →

  • Cascade Air

    Part not stated

    Kelso, WA·cascadeair-nw.com

    $115/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$58/hr instructor

    Checked September 16, 2026·Source

    The fleet page does not say whether fuel is included. A blog post on Cascade Air's own site describes the same rates as wet but prices the Cessna 150s $5/hr lower than the fleet page does.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $14,019

    range $12.1K to $16K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planCascade Air cost breakdown →

  • SpanaFlight

    Part not stated

    Puyallup, WA·spanaflight.com

    $115/hr aircraft (wet)·$65/hr instructor

    Checked October 16, 2026·Source

    This estimate uses SpanaFlight's published wet rates, which include fuel and insurance. Its home page states the instruction rate twice, as $58/hr in one place and $65/hr in another; this estimate uses the $65 that appears in the rate table.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $14,425

    range $12.4K to $16.4K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planSpanaFlight cost breakdown →

  • Columbia Pacific Aviation

    Part not stated

    Moses Lake, WA·columbiapacificaviation.com

    $120/hr aircraft (wet)·$60/hr instructor

    Checked September 16, 2026·Source

    This estimate uses Columbia Pacific's published wet rates, which are dated September 25, 2023. Fuel is included, and the school adds a surcharge of $6.69/hr on the Cessna 152 and $9.73/hr on the 172 "until fuel price drops back to normal amounts". The surcharge is not included in this estimate.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $14,495

    range $12.5K to $16.5K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planColumbia Pacific cost breakdown →

  • FLYIT Academy

    Part not stated

    Camas, WA·flyitacademy.com

    $120/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$60/hr instructor

    Checked September 16, 2026·Source

    FLYIT publishes per-aircraft rates but no hourly instruction rate. The $60/hr used here is derived from its own private pilot cost breakdown, where 30 hours of flight instruction is $1,800 and 25 hours of ground instruction is $1,500. The site does not say whether fuel is included.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $14,495

    range $12.5K to $16.5K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planFLYIT cost breakdown →

  • Aero Maintenance Flight Center

    Part 61 & 141
    Largest fleet

    Vancouver, WA·aeromt.com

    $120/hr aircraft (wet)·$60/hr instructor

    Checked October 8, 2026·Source

    This estimate uses Aero Maintenance's published per-tail wet rates. The IFR-equipped 172s moved to $175/hr, while the two with the 180 horsepower conversion and one other stayed at $165. Its welcome page summarises the fleet as $105 to $165/hr, but no aircraft on the fleet page is priced below $120 and four are above $165. Ground instruction is $65/hr, $5 more than instruction in the aircraft.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $14,495

    range $12.5K to $16.5K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planAero Maintenance cost breakdown →

  • Pavco Flight Center

    Part 61 & 141

    Gig Harbor, WA·flypavco.com

    $114/hr aircraft (wet)·$69/hr instructor

    Checked September 16, 2026·Source

    This estimate uses Pavco's standard published wet rates. Block rates run about $5/hr less.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $14,585

    range $12.5K to $16.6K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planPavco cost breakdown →

  • 47 North Aviation

    Part not stated

    Wenatchee, WA·47northaviation.com

    $140/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$65/hr instructor

    Checked October 16, 2026·Source

    47 North Aviation 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.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $16,225

    range $14K to $18.5K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my plan47 North cost breakdown →

  • Sundance Aviation

    Part not stated

    Richland, WA·sundanceaviation.com

    $160/hr aircraft (fuel basis not stated)·$45/hr instructor

    Checked September 16, 2026·Source

    This estimate uses Sundance's published retail rates. Club members pay $30/hr less on the aircraft, for a $95 joining fee plus $30/month. The training page prices instruction at $45/hr while a 2022 service brochure still on the site says $55/hr. The site does not say whether fuel is included.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $16,505

    range $14.2K to $18.8K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planSundance cost breakdown →

  • Arlington Flight Services

    Part not stated

    Arlington, WA·arlingtonflightservices.org

    $152/hr aircraft (dry, fuel billed separately)·$70/hr instructor

    Checked October 8, 2026·Source

    Arlington's rates are dry, so fuel is billed on top and is not included in this estimate. The word "dry" appears on the three VFR aircraft's own pages; the two IFR-equipped tails are priced on the home page without restating it.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $17,379

    range $14.9K to $19.8K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planArlington cost breakdown →

  • Command Aviation

    Part not stated

    Bellingham, WA·commandaviation.net

    $165/hr aircraft (wet)·$65/hr instructor

    Checked October 8, 2026·Source

    This estimate uses Command Aviation's published wet rates. A $1,500 block payment buys 10% off aircraft and instruction, and block payments by credit card carry a 3% fee. Aircraft rental is taxable and instruction is not, so a solo hour costs more than a dual one implies. Headset rental $10, full-service fuel fee $10.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $18,025

    range $15.5K to $20.5K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planCommand cost breakdown →

  • Avian Flight Center

    Part 61 & 141

    Bremerton, WA·avianflight.com

    $168/hr aircraft (wet)·$77/hr instructor

    Checked September 16, 2026·Source

    This estimate uses Avian's published open wet rates. Avian Flying Adventures members pay about $20 to $29/hr less on most aircraft and $7/hr less for instruction, for a $500 buy-in plus $75/month.

    PilotBound estimate, Private

    $18,937

    range $16.3K to $21.6K

    ~72 hrs on their published rates, plus one-time fees.

    Add to my planAvian cost breakdown →

Flight school costs in Washington, in numbers

Computed from the 21 Washington schools that publish both an aircraft and an instructor rate, on the same method every card above uses. The 18 listings without a full rate card are left out of every figure.

Median PilotBound Private estimate across the 21 schools with published rates
$18,025
Published trainer rental, per hour
$114 to $225
Published instruction, per hour
$45 to $115
Schools publishing a full rate card (aircraft and instructor)
21 of 39

Lowest published trainer rates in Washington

Part 141 flight schools in Washington

Flight schools by city in Washington

Airports with more than one Washington flight school

Discovery flights in Washington

14 Washington schools publish a discovery flight price, median $180. See each price with its source

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 Washington flight schools

How much does flight school cost in Washington?

Across the 21 Washington flight schools here that publish full rates, trainer rentals run $114 to $225 per hour and instruction $45 to $115 per hour, checked as recently as October 16, 2026. On each school's own published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate between $13,985 and $25,245, with a median of $18,025. These are PilotBound estimates built on published rates, not quotes from the schools.

What is the cheapest flight school in Washington?

Pavco Flight Center in Gig Harbor publishes the lowest trainer rental of the 21 Washington schools listed here, $114 per hour for its Cessna 152, a wet rate, so fuel is included in the hourly figure, checked September 16, 2026. The lowest hourly rate is not automatically the lowest total: instructor rates, fuel basis, and the hours you actually fly decide that, which is what the per-school estimates on this page hold constant.

How current are these Washington flight school rates?

Every rate here is the school's own published figure, linked to its source and dated; the newest check in Washington is October 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 18 more schools in Washington are listed without an estimate because they do not publish a full rate card. A school can correct or remove its listing anytime.