PilotBound estimate · Morgantown, WV · Checked September 16, 2026
What flight training at RSA Flight Training costs
Website flyrsa.com
Section 1Cost estimate
Your plan
Estimate cost to reach
Flying
Base rate; fuel surcharge billed separately.
PilotBound estimate · Private
Examiner dataCost of your Private at RSA Flight Training
range $14.2K – $18.8K · about 6 months at 2×/week
Priced on RSA Flight Training's published rates: Cessna 172N at $140/hr + $70/hr instruction, checked September 16, 2026.
Against a minimums quote
+$6,300 on RSA Flight Training'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 RSA Flight Training's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not RSA Flight Training'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 RSA Flight Training publishes
checked September 16, 2026Airframes built 1977 to 1980. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read September 16, 2026.
RSA bills a separate fuel surcharge on top of the $140/hr base rate (amount not published); renters also pay landing and airport fees. The estimate uses the published base rate only.
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. RSA Flight Training 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 $16,515.
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. Top awards reach $22,200.No West Virginia-only awards in the directory yet.
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- Money you pay backLenders that cover $16,515All 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 $16,515 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 RSA Flight Training'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 RSA Flight Training?
- RSA Flight Training publishes $140 per hour for the Cessna 172N and $70 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 16, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $16,515, in a range of $14,200 to $18,800. 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 RSA Flight Training.
- How long does it take to get a private pilot license at RSA Flight Training?
- Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at RSA Flight Training 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 RSA Flight Training a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
- RSA Flight Training 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 RSA Flight Training's aircraft rates include fuel?
- RSA Flight Training publishes $140 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 16, 2026.
- What ratings can you train for at RSA Flight Training?
- RSA Flight Training trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot. Instruction is $70 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on RSA Flight Training's own published rates.
Section 7Sources
Estimates use RSA Flight Training's published Cessna 172N and instructor rates (checked September 16, 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 RSA Flight Training. 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 RSA Flight Training? Every figure here is yours, shown with its source and date.
One other school flies from Morgantown Municipal Airport Walter L. (Bill) Hart Field.
It publishes at least one rate, so there is something to compare before you call. MGW is the identifier to give when you ask.
- LuvsFlying Flight TrainingPublishes a $70/hr instructor rate, no aircraft rateMorgantown
Other West Virginia flight schools
- Aero-Smith Flight Center · Martinsburg
- Albatross Air · Beaver
- Eagles' Wings Flight Training · Clintonville
- Just Plane Adventures · Medley
- LuvsFlying Flight Training · Morgantown
- Mountain Aero Club · Millwood
- R1 Simulation and Training · Logan
- River Town Aviation · Williamstown
- Sky Ridge Aviation · Millwood
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