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

Columbia Pacific Aviation publishes $120 per hour for the Cessna 152 and $60 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 17, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $14,495, in a range of $12,500 to $16,500. 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 Columbia Pacific Aviation.

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

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

Columbia Pacific 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 Columbia Pacific Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?

Columbia Pacific Aviation publishes $120 per hour for the Cessna 152, 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 August 17, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at Columbia Pacific Aviation?

Columbia Pacific Aviation trains Private Pilot and Instrument Rating. Instruction runs $60 to $70 per hour depending on the rating and the aircraft, since advanced and type-specific instruction is priced above the standard rate. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Columbia Pacific Aviation's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Moses Lake, WA · Checked August 17, 2026

What flight training at Columbia Pacific Aviation costs

Website columbiapacificaviation.com

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

Two-seat. Fuel surcharge $6.69/hr on top.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Columbia Pacific Aviation

$14,495

range $12.5K – $16.5K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Columbia Pacific's published rates: Cessna 152 at $120/hr + $60/hr instruction, checked August 17, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$9,095

at the hours students actually take$14,495

+$5,400 on Columbia Pacific's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$12.5K – $16.5K

Aircraft rental$8,640

Instruction$3,480

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$12,120

72 hrs in Cessna 152 @ $120/hr + 58 dual @ $60/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 Columbia Pacific Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Columbia Pacific 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 Columbia Pacific publishes

checked August 17, 2026

Cessna 152Two-seat. Fuel surcharge $6.69/hr on top.$120/hr wet

Cessna 172Garmin 355 WAAS GPS/Comm, Garmin 255 Nav/Comm, G5 ADI and HSI coupled to an S-Tec autopilot. Fuel surcharge $9.73/hr on top.$155/hr wet

Instructionstandard $60/hr · instrument instruction $70/hr$60 – $70/hr

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.

Not published: the examiner's checkride fee. Listed as missing rather than guessed.

See the published rates→Source 2→

Step 2

Turn this into a plan.

Your $14,495 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.

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What to ask when you call

The marked one is what Columbia Pacific'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.
Which instructor rate applies to each rating I plan to do, and does the higher tier start on day one of that rating?
This school prices some instruction above its primary rate. Knowing when the step-up starts keeps the later ratings from surprising you.
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.

Estimates use Columbia Pacific Aviation's published Cessna 152 and instructor rates (checked August 17, 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 Columbia Pacific 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 Columbia Pacific Aviation

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Columbia Pacific Aviation?: Columbia Pacific Aviation publishes $120 per hour for the Cessna 152 and $60 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 17, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $14,495, in a range of $12,500 to $16,500. 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 Columbia Pacific Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Columbia Pacific Aviation?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Columbia Pacific 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 Columbia Pacific Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: Columbia Pacific 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 Columbia Pacific Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?: Columbia Pacific Aviation publishes $120 per hour for the Cessna 152, 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 August 17, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Columbia Pacific Aviation?: Columbia Pacific Aviation trains Private Pilot and Instrument Rating. Instruction runs $60 to $70 per hour depending on the rating and the aircraft, since advanced and type-specific instruction is priced above the standard rate. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Columbia Pacific Aviation's own published rates.

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