PilotBound estimate · Cody, WY
What flight training at Choice Aviation costs
Your plan
Estimate cost to reach
Flying
A two-seater, so not the right default for the Commercial. Choice prices it the same as the 172.
PilotBound estimate · Private
Examiner dataCost of your Private at Choice Aviation
range $16.7K – $22.2K · about 6 months at 2×/week
Priced on Choice Aviation's published rates: Cessna 152 at $185/hr + $65/hr instruction, checked August 6, 2026.
Against a minimums quote
+$7,500 on Choice 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 Choice Aviation's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not Choice 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 Choice Aviation publishes
checked August 6, 2026Rates are not stated as wet or dry, so confirm before budgeting. Instruction is tiered: $65/hr for the Private, Instrument and Commercial, and $80/hr for the CFI, CFII and MEI. Ground instruction is charged at the same two rates. A flight simulator is $75/hr, and a Redbird session is quoted at $150/hr with the instructor included. Multi-engine training in the Cessna 310 is quoted at $545/hr WITH the instructor included, and the site also shows $465/hr and an effective $415/hr elsewhere for the same aeroplane, so ask which applies before planning a multi budget.
Not published: the examiner's checkride fee, whether rates include fuel. Listed as missing rather than guessed.
Step 2
Turn this into a plan.
Your $19,465 is the starting line. Turn it into a route to your checkride, every step in order with this cost built in.
Add to my planEstimates use Choice Aviation's published Cessna 152 and instructor rates (checked August 6, 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 Choice 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 Choice Aviation
- How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at Choice Aviation?
- Choice Aviation publishes $185 per hour for the Cessna 152 and $65 per hour for instruction on it, checked August 6, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $19,465, in a range of $16,700 to $22,200. 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 Choice Aviation.
- How long does it take to get a private pilot license at Choice Aviation?
- Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at Choice 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 Choice Aviation a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?
- Choice Aviation 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 Choice Aviation's aircraft rates include fuel?
- Choice Aviation publishes $185 per hour for the Cessna 152, a rate that does not say whether fuel is included. Ask before you budget: if the rate turns out to be dry, fuel adds roughly $30 to $60 per hour on top. PilotBound's estimate uses the rate exactly as published. Rates checked August 6, 2026.
- What ratings can you train for at Choice Aviation?
- Choice Aviation trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine (AMEL), Flight Instructor, Instrument Instructor and Multi-Engine Instructor. Instruction runs $65 to $80 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 Choice Aviation's own published rates.
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