How much does it cost to learn to fly?

Federal minimums under FAA regulations for a Private Pilot Certificate are 40 hours total flight time and 20 hours dual instruction flight time. National averages for Private Pilot Certificates are in the 60-70-hour range and probably closer to 30 hours of instruction. Sport Pilot Certificates require 20 hours of total flight time and 10 hours dual instruction flight time under Federal regulations. Nationally, the actual time is closer to 30-35 hours and 15 hours dual instruction.

We can provide some very rough estimates of costs, but every single student pilot is different and will take a different amount of time and money to get through flight training.

The first factor is the student training in a LSA aircraft or larger aircraft like a Cessna 172? That decision alone can be a $5,000 difference in cost for a Private Pilot Certificate.

The second factor is whether or not the student is using the Wings Above Yavapai membership and/or credits for money on account. If the student isn’t using these programs, they should as either of these programs will save significant money over the number of hours required to learn to fly.

A rough estimate on costs for a Private Pilot Certificate for a LSA aircraft is approximately $10,000. For a larger aircraft such as a 172 or one of the G1000 172s, that cost will start at around $15,000.

For a Sport Pilot Certificate, costs starts around $5,000.