PilotBound

PilotBound estimate · Bellingham, WA · Checked August 17, 2026

What flight training at Command Aviation costs

Website commandaviation.net

Phone 360-733-3174

Section 1Cost estimate

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Block $148.50.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Command Aviation

$18,025

range $15.5K – $20.5K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Command's published rates: Piper Warrior II at $165/hr + $65/hr instruction, checked August 17, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$11,055
at the hours students actually take$18,025

+$6,970 on Command's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$15.5K – $20.5K
Aircraft rental$11,880
Instruction$3,770
One-time costs$2,375
Aircraft + instruction$15,650
72 hrs in Piper Warrior II @ $165/hr + 58 dual @ $65/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 Command Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Command 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 Command publishes

checked August 17, 2026
Piper Warrior II (N2291H)1978Block $148.50.$165/hr wet
Cessna Skyhawk 172N (N75844)1976Block $157.50.$175/hr wet
Piper Archer II (N43091)1983Priced on the rentals page; not listed in the rate-sheet PDFs.$185/hr wet
Instruction$65/hr

Airframes built 1976 to 1983. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read September 16, 2026.

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.

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

See the published rates →Source 2 →

Section 3Paying for it

Two ways to cover $18,025.

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.
48
Money you pay backLenders that cover $18,025All 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
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Section 4Add to my plan

Turn this into a plan.

Your $18,025 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 Command's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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 Command Aviation?
Command Aviation publishes $165 per hour for the Piper Warrior II and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 17, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $18,025, in a range of $15,500 to $20,500. 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 Command Aviation.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Command Aviation?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Command 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 Command Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Command 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 Command Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?
Command Aviation publishes $165 per hour for the Piper Warrior II, 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 Command Aviation?
Command Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction is $65 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Command Aviation's own published rates.

Section 7Sources

Estimates use Command Aviation's published Piper Warrior II and instructor rates (checked August 17, 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 Command 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 Command? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.

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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.

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