PilotBound estimate · Bellingham, WA · Checked September 8, 2026
What flight training at Bellingham Aviation Services costs
Website bli-jet.com
Phone (360) 676-7624
Section 1Cost estimate
Your plan
Estimate cost to reach
Flying
160 HP. Garmin G5 and Garmin 430.
PilotBound estimate · Private
Examiner dataCost of your Private at Bellingham Aviation Services
range $16.4K – $21.7K · about 6 months at 2×/week
Priced on Bellingham Aviation's published rates: Cessna 172N at $175/hr + $70/hr instruction, checked September 8, 2026.
Against a minimums quote
+$7,420 on Bellingham Aviation'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 Bellingham Aviation Services's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Bellingham Aviation Services'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 Bellingham Aviation publishes
checked September 8, 2026Airframes built 1974 to 1978. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read September 16, 2026.
Rates are wet: "Fuel is included in all aircraft rental rates." The school notes a fuel surcharge may apply in periods of unusually high fuel costs. A 10-hour block deposit takes 10% off the AIRCRAFT rate only, and the packet says outright that "block rate purchases do not apply to instructor rates", so instruction stays $70/hr either way. One unusual billing detail worth knowing: instruction and its associated rental are non-taxable, while renting an aircraft WITHOUT an instructor is taxable, so solo hours cost more than the sticker. The One-G Cessna 172 simulator, an AATD good for Part 61 and Part 141 instrument time, is $75/hr. Training materials are $199 to $250 and a headset rents for $10.
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. Bellingham Aviation 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 $19,035.
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 2 in Washington. Top awards reach $22,200.
- Museum of Flight Flight Training ScholarshipsUp to $14,000 · Check dates
- Youth Aviation Scholarship FundAmount varies · Check dates
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- Money you pay backLenders that cover $19,035All 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 $19,035 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 one is what Bellingham Aviation's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.
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 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 Bellingham Aviation Services?
- Bellingham Aviation Services publishes $175 per hour for the Cessna 172N and $70 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 8, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $19,035, in a range of $16,400 to $21,700. 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 Bellingham Aviation Services.
- How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Bellingham Aviation Services?
- Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Bellingham Aviation Services 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 Bellingham Aviation Services a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
- Bellingham Aviation Services 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 Bellingham Aviation Services's aircraft rates include fuel?
- Bellingham Aviation Services publishes $175 per hour for the Cessna 172N, 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 September 8, 2026.
- What ratings can you train for at Bellingham Aviation Services?
- Bellingham Aviation Services trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor. Instruction is $70 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Bellingham Aviation Services's own published rates.
Section 7Sources
Estimates use Bellingham Aviation Services's published Cessna 172N 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 Bellingham Aviation Services. 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 Bellingham Aviation? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.
2 other schools fly from Bellingham International Airport.
1 of them publishes at least one rate. BLI is the identifier to give when you ask.
- Command AviationFull rate card, Piper Warrior II at $165/hr and $65/hr instructionBellingham
- Shepherd Aero Pilot TrainingPublishes no ratesBellingham
Other Washington flight schools
- 47 North Aviation · Wenatchee
- Aero Maintenance Flight Center · Vancouver
- All Sports Aviation · Deer Park
- Alternate Air · Seattle
- Arlington Flight Services · Arlington
- Avian Flight Center · Bremerton
- Bergstrom Aircraft · Pasco
- Cascade Air · Kelso
- Cascade Aviation · Burlington
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.