PilotBound
PilotBound

PilotBound estimate · Gig Harbor, WA · Checked August 16, 2026

What flight training at Pavco Flight Center costs

Website flypavco.com

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Two-seat; lowest-cost start. Block rate $109/hr.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at Pavco Flight Center

$14,585

range $12.5K – $16.6K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on Pavco's published rates: Cessna 152 at $114/hr + $69/hr instruction, checked August 16, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$9,143
at the hours students actually take$14,585

+$5,442 on Pavco's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$12.5K – $16.6K
Aircraft rental$8,208
Instruction$4,002
One-time costs$2,375
Aircraft + instruction$12,210
72 hrs in Cessna 152 @ $114/hr + 58 dual @ $69/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 Pavco Flight Center's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Pavco Flight Center'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 Pavco publishes

checked August 16, 2026
Cessna 152 (5 tails)Two-seat; lowest-cost start. Block rate $109/hr.$114/hr wet
Cessna 172 Skyhawk (6 tails)Block rate $155/hr.$160/hr wet
Cessna 172RG Cutlass (N9812B)Retractable/complex. Block rate $155/hr.$160/hr wet
Piper PA-23 Aztec (3 tails)Multi-engine trainer. Block rate $372/hr.$377/hr wet
Instruction$69/hr

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

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

See the published rates→Source 2→

Paying for it

Two ways to cover $14,585.

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Next leg

Turn this into a plan.

Your $14,585 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

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 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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 Pavco Flight Center's published Cessna 152 and instructor rates (checked August 16, 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 Pavco Flight Center. 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 Pavco Flight Center

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Pavco Flight Center?
Pavco Flight Center publishes $114 per hour for the Cessna 152 and $69 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 16, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $14,585, in a range of $12,500 to $16,600. 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 Pavco Flight Center.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Pavco Flight Center?
Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Pavco Flight Center 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 Pavco Flight Center a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
Pavco Flight Center trains under both Part 61 and Part 141, so you can pick the structured FAA-approved course or the flexible path. Part 141 is the one that matters for VA benefits and for the lower paper minimum on the private certificate; Part 61 is the one that bends around a full-time job.
Do Pavco Flight Center's aircraft rates include fuel?
Pavco Flight Center publishes $114 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 16, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at Pavco Flight Center?
Pavco Flight Center trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL) and Flight Instructor. Instruction is $69 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on Pavco Flight Center's own published rates.

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