How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at The Flying School?

The Flying School publishes $172 per hour for the Cessna 172SP and $55 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 5, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $17,949, in a range of $15,400 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 The Flying School.

How long does it take to get a private pilot license at The Flying School?

Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at The Flying School 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 The Flying School a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?

The Flying School 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 The Flying School's aircraft rates include fuel?

The Flying School publishes $172 per hour for the Cessna 172SP, 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 5, 2026.

What ratings can you train for at The Flying School?

The Flying School trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor, Instrument Instructor, Multi-Engine (AMEL) and Multi-Engine Instructor. Instruction is $55 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on The Flying School's own published rates.

PilotBoundEvery hour. Every dollar.

PilotBound estimate · Cheyenne, WY · Checked September 5, 2026

What flight training at The Flying School costs

Website theflyingschool.com

Your plan

Estimate cost to reach

Flying

Which airplane?

2002, Garmin 530 WAAS, ADS-B in and out. Wet.

PilotBound estimate · Private

Examiner data

Cost of your Private at The Flying School

$17,949

range $15.4K – $20.5K · about 6 months at 2×/week

Priced on The Flying School's published rates: Cessna 172SP at $172/hr + $55/hr instruction, checked September 5, 2026.

Against a minimums quote

at the FAA legal minimums$11,015

at the hours students actually take$17,949

+$6,934 on The Flying School's own rates. Quotes usually price the 40-hour minimum; almost nobody finishes there.

Where it goes

$15.4K – $20.5K

Aircraft rental$12,384

Instruction$3,190

One-time costs$2,375

Aircraft + instruction$15,574

72 hrs in Cessna 172SP @ $172/hr + 58 dual @ $55/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 The Flying School's published rates. About $2,375 of this is one-time fees (written test, examiner/DPE checkride, medical, gear), typical national estimates, not The Flying School'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 The Flying School publishes

checked September 5, 2026

Cessna 172SP (N5158J)2002, Garmin 530 WAAS, ADS-B in and out. Wet.$172/hr wet

Cessna 172N (N739BZ)Garmin 430 WAAS. Wet.$172/hr wet

Beechcraft Baron BE95-A55 (N99BG)1963 twin, Garmin 530 and 430. Wet. The multi-engine trainer.$350/hr wet

Instruction$55/hr

Aircraft rates are the Cheyenne fleet page's wet hourly rates. The instructor rate comes from the school's Private Pilot quote PDF, which also carries an older $180 airplane figure that the fleet page has since replaced. The Baron is priced wet with no separate multi-engine instructor rate published. A Loveland, Colorado base has its own fleet and is not priced here.

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 $17,949.

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.

Scholarships you could apply forTop awards reach $22,200. Every dollar won is a dollar you never finance.: 68
Lenders that cover $17,949All 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

See what you could win →or compare the six lenders →

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Your $17,949 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.

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 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 The Flying School's published Cessna 172SP and instructor rates (checked September 5, 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 The Flying School. 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 The Flying School

How much does it cost to get a private pilot license at The Flying School?: The Flying School publishes $172 per hour for the Cessna 172SP and $55 per hour for instruction on it, checked September 5, 2026. Applied to those published rates, PilotBound estimates a private pilot certificate at about $17,949, in a range of $15,400 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 The Flying School.
How long does it take to get a private pilot license at The Flying School?: Flying twice a week, PilotBound estimates about 6 months at The Flying School 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 The Flying School a Part 61 or Part 141 flight school?: The Flying School 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 The Flying School's aircraft rates include fuel?: The Flying School publishes $172 per hour for the Cessna 172SP, 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 5, 2026.
What ratings can you train for at The Flying School?: The Flying School trains Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor, Instrument Instructor, Multi-Engine (AMEL) and Multi-Engine Instructor. Instruction is $55 per hour across the ratings it teaches. PilotBound's estimator on this page prices any of these paths on The Flying School's own published rates.

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