Most people consider becoming a pilot to be expensive but might not actually know the specific costs involved with getting their license or how to save money in the process. For most hobby pilots, and all professional pilots, the first step is to get your private pilot’s license, commonly referred to as a “PPL”. So, how much does a private pilot’s license (PPL) cost?
On average a private pilot’s license (PPL) costs about $10,000:
- Airplane rental: $5,000-7,000
- Instructor: $1,000-2,500
- Medical: $75-200
- Ground School: $250-500
- Exams: $800-1,000
This post will outline the major components that cost money in your flight training, as well as ways to reduce these overall costs. At the end we’ll cover some of the other follow-on licenses you might want to get after becoming a pilot to increase your skills and also graduate into professional flying opportunities and employment.
Also, for those of you starting your journey as a pilot, I put together a mini-library of 23 different resources and answers that I wish I could have consumed before I started flying or early in my training. You can grab that (for free) here:
If you prefer this post in video format, here’s a summary from our Airplane Academy YouTube Channel:
What Type of Pilot’s License to Get
First off, this post is covering specifically the costs of obtaining a private pilot’s license, which is the starting point if you want to eventually graduate into other ratings such as your instrument, commercial, and others.
Note: Technically it’s a certificate and not a license, but it is most commonly referred to as a license which is why we are using that terminology in this post.
A sport pilot’s license is different rating than a private pilot license and comes with certain limitations, such as airplane size and horsepower, bad weather (instrument or IFR) conditions, and night flying. In general, sport (LSA, or light sport aircraft) airplanes are smaller and carry less but are less expensive and aren’t designed for instrument flight conditions.
There are benefits to the sport pilot’s license such as if you can’t pass an FAA medical exam for a private pilot’s license, or if you are only planning on flying by yourself and maybe one other person and don’t intend to get your instrument rating. It also takes less required hours to be eligible for your practical test to become a pilot. We’ll cover that type of license in another post.
If you have any interest in becoming a professional pilot or getting your instrument rating, you’ll need to start with a private pilot’s license (PPL) instead of a sport pilot’s license, and that’s what we’ll dive into for the remainder of this post.
You’ll also want to decide if you want to train at a Part 61 or Part 141 Flight School. They both have their pros and cons. One isn’t necessarily more expensive than the other but they do have implications for subsequent training and licenses you wish to get. For more on this topic, see our full article on Part 61 vs. 141 Flight Schools – Requirements and Differences.
How much does flight school cost?
Getting your private pilot’s license (PPL) really comes down to paying for time in the airplane, time with your instructor(s), the actual exams, and gear. There are ways to save on each of those main expenses but we’ll get into that later in the post. Here are the approximate expenses you can expect to incur when getting your private pilot’s license:
Airplane Costs
Flying the actual airplane is going to make up the bulk of your PPL cost, as you’d expect. This is usually $5,000-7,000 (50-70%) of the cost of the license all by itself.
This cost is going to vary quite a bit depending on what type of airplane you are learning in, as well as if it’s in a rural or urban setting.
For example, renting a Cessna 172 (the most common and most proven training airplane ever produced) in an urban market such as Dallas, Texas is going to usually be anywhere from $110-175 per hour. In a rural market this might go down to as low as $60-80 per hour but it all depends on how new and updated the airplane is.
You technically need to have at least 40 flight hours before you can qualify to take your check ride and become a private pilot, however the industry average is closer to 60-70 hours.
Keep in mind some of these hours will be solo and you won’t have to pay for an instructor during those flights.
If you are training at a flight school (versus a solo flight instructor) they will usually have a published curriculum where they can estimate the hours and expenses with a fairly high degree of confidence based on the averages of their other students.
On the other hand if it’s a more rural setting and you have a solo flight instructor training you in their airplane it will likely be less scripted and more open to variation in the number of hours you’ll need to complete your training.
In my personal experience I highly recommend a part 141 school in an urban setting to complete your training.
This isn’t always achievable or affordable for every pilot but I have found the structure of the curriculum and business of the airspace to make you a much better pilot in the long run.
Popular schools like American Flyers have been around a long time for a reason (I got both my private and instrument ratings from them). See my article on American Flyers: My Review After Training 100+ Hours There.
Wet vs. Dry Airplane Rental Rates
You’ll quickly learn that there are two kinds of published hourly rates when it comes to renting airplanes – “wet” and “dry” rates.
A “wet” rate means it includes the cost of fuel in the rental rate. A “dry” rate does not include fuel expenses in the rental rate.
For example, if see a published rate of a Cessna 172 for $65 per hour, don’t get too excited until you understand if that’s wet or dry. If it’s a dry rate you’ll need to cover the costs of refueling at the end on top of the rate you already paid for the airplane.
If you burn 10 gallons per hour at $4 per gallon, that really means you need to add $40 per hour to the cost of the dry rate to get your equivalent “wet” rate.
If it’s listed as a “wet” rate that means that the fuel is already included in the hourly price. Both rate structures are common so you’ll just need to understand your particular rental situation so you are aware of the all-in expense.
Instructor Costs
Instructor time will make up about $1,000-2,500 (10-25%) of the PPL cost as they will be taking you through the entire training process usually one-on-one.
For every flight you have (which usually lasts 1-3 hours depending on the particular mission that day), count on one hour of briefing before the flight and 30 minutes to a full hour of debriefing after the flight.
Instructors usually range from about $35-75 an hour, but it is not uncommon for flight schools (or solo instructors for that matter) to blend in the hourly rate of the airplane with the cost of the instructor.
Some won’t actually charge you for the brief and debrief but just charge you hours the engine was running, so be sure to ask the flight school or instructor how you will be charged.
When evaluating different flight school or instructor ratings, be sure to understand if the instructor fees are already included in the price of the aircraft rental (they will often combine them).
Of your required 40 hours of flight time to get your license, at least 20 of those must be with an instructor.
However, you’ll typically have more instructional hours than this even if you take your check ride at 40 hours, and the industry average is closer to 60-70 total hours, with a lot of that being instructional time. This is why there is a wide range of instructor costs – it depends on how efficient you are and how much of your total flight time is spent solo versus with an instructor.
Medical Certificate
In order to fly solo and obtain your private license, you will need at least a 3rd Class Medical Certificate. You’ll learn during your training what a 3rd Class Medical Certificate is, why you need one, and how this differs from a 2nd or 1st Class Medical.
On average it costs about $75-200 to get your 3rd Class Medical Certificate.
Here’s our article on how long your medical will last: How Long Does a Private Pilot’s License Last? (How to Maintain It). As part of your medical, you’ll also need to pass an eye inspection which varies based the level of medical you are getting. For more, see our post on vision requirements for private and commercial pilot’s licenses.
Written and Practical Tests
There are three components to getting your private pilot’s license: a written exam, an oral exam, and a practical (flight) exam. These exams will make up about $800-1,000 (8-10%) of the costs of the PPL, plus the cost of ground school (covered below).
Written Test
A written exam can be taken on your own time and you just need an endorsement from an instructor indicating that you have received the necessary ground school to be prepared for the written exam, and then there are numerous testing centers across the country where you can then go take your test. The private pilot written exam is $160 as of this writing.
Ground School
You can really take the written test at any point during your training so long as you have an endorsement from an instructor saying you are ready for it. Usually this endorsement comes through some form of ground school, whether you take that online, in-person as part of a cohort of students, or one-on-one with your instructor throughout training.
Costs vary for these types of ground schools (see later in the article) but online and group group school range from about $150-500.
Personally I always took ground school and my written test at the beginning of my training before starting each rating so that I already had the book knowledge roughly memorized and I could just focus on flying from there on. For further discussion on this topic see my article on Should I Complete The Written Exam Before Flight Training?
Oral and Practical Exams (Check Ride)
The oral and practical exams are conducted at the same time by an FAA examiner, which will be the final test of your training before you become a private pilot.
Their fees will vary but for the private check ride it usually averages $400-500. Don’t forget you’ll need to rent the airplane for a couple of hours to complete your check ride as well ($250-400).
The oral is simply a verbal test that can last up to a couple of hours, followed by the actual flight test that is usually a couple of hours as well.
While examiners have some freedom to choose what they ask in the exam, it must adhere to the Airmen Certification Standards (ACS), and you can download these for free online.
In other words, you can see the test before you take it and know what can possibly be asked!
Granted, there is a lot of information to know so it’s easier said than done but theoretically there’s no reason you should be unprepared as you already know what they will be required to ask you.
Gear
Gear is a more flexible expense in your training. Personally I would count on about $1,000 of gear upfront which mainly includes an ANR headset (active noise reduction) such as the Lightspeed Zulu’s ($800 ish) or Bose A20’s ($1,000 ish) and then some other misc gear like a flight bag (you can use a backpack if you want), E6-B flight computer (you’ll need this for flight planning and written test), an LED flashlight with red or green light functionality (so your night vision can stay intact in the cockpit), and a knee board / pad for writing during flight.
That being said, you can always borrow or rent your gear (notably the headset) during your training and not have to make as heavy of an upfront investment. You can also buy used gear online and save significantly.
My Favorite Piece of Gear
My favorite piece of gear (aside from my iPad) is actually an app. I cannot recommend enough buying Foreflight if you have an iOS device such as an iPad or even iPhone.
The annual subscription is about $300 but I would easily pay several times that for how much information it gives you and how useful it is both in pre-flight planning as well as the flight itself.
Some old school flight schools won’t let you use it during training because they don’t want you to build reliance on an app. Others will definitely let you use all of the resources available to you (like Foreflight) as long as you know other methods of extracting the same information for pre-flight planning and in-flight tasks.
How to Reduce the Cost of a Private Pilot’s License
We’ve established that your PPL costs approximately $10,000, but as mentioned at the beginning of the post there are many things you can do to reduce this cost.
Fly Regularly So You Don’t Repeat Lessons
This is probably one of the most important things you can do to make the cost of your private pilot’s license more reasonable.
If you only fly every week or two there is going to be a lot of knowledge lost in between lessons. The more often you fly, the more you will be immersed in the both the book knowledge needed to become a pilot and also the muscle memory of actually flying the airplane and improving as an airman.
If you think you can only fly once or twice per month, I would encourage you to wait until a season where you can be at the airport at least 1-2 times per week. When I got my instrument rating I was flying 3 times per week and it made ALL the difference in terms of knowledge retention and momentum in my training.
Buy Block or Bulk Hours for a Discount
A large number of pilots (I have heard up to 30-50% from some flight schools) never actually finish their private pilot’s license.
This is so disappointing and also is a sign that the students who drop out are making training more expensive than it needs to be (which is coincidentally why some people quit).
Buying bulk hours ahead of time with your flight school can sometimes significantly reduce the cost of training if you pay for it upfront. This will also keep you committed to the process and ensure that you finish.
Plus, flight schools are incentivized to have high student retention as well, and so they might be more willing to give you a bulk/block rate if you ask for it.
Choose a Smaller or Less Advanced Training Airplane
The most common and proven training aircraft ever built is the Cessna 172. It is capable for its size, it’s very forgiving, and it’s relatively economical.
However, brand new 172’s are several hundred thousand dollars and so if your flight school is flying brand new airplanes it is going to be reflected in the price you pay for training.
If your flight school has a Cessna 152, Diamond DA20, or perhaps a sport aircraft option such as a Piper Sport, the training rates can be significantly less expensive.
You can also choose to learn on traditional “steam gauges” which do not incorporate the latest avionics which are all glass screen based. Personally I learned on the traditional avionics suite (steam gauges) and found the transition to glass avionics very natural.
I have heard nightmare stories from people learning on glass and then trying to learn steam gauges later. Glass cockpits are more expensive to train in but if you are going the airlines route, you’ll probably be flying these kinds of avionics the rest of your life so you might as well start them from day one.
For more reading on this, see our article on Glass vs. Steam Gauges: 7 Factors Compared.
Take a Ground School Intensive Weekend or Online Course
A large part of the private pilot’s license is simply learning all of the required book knowledge. It can be pretty daunting at first.
To help kick-start this process, many flight schools (such as American Flyers) will have an in-person ground school that lasts 3 days and covers substantially all of the material that you’ll need to know as a private pilot. At the end of it they’ll usually give you your endorsement to take your written exam as well which is an added bonus.
These in-person ground schools are usually 3 days of 8 hours each for around $300-500, which on an hourly basis is a fantastic deal.
It will give you some momentum in your training and help you’re your actual flight lessons more efficient with all of the ground knowledge you’ve attained.
Alternatively, there are really solid digital versions of these schools that actually do a really nice job as well.
I highly recommend the King School’s curriculum. John and Martha have been instructors for seemingly forever and while their style can be a little quirky, the material is sound and they have successfully passed a lot of pilots through their training programs.
I personally used their materials for the commercial ground school and I got a “A” on the written test because of it. This is great material that can save you money elsewhere in your training. They sell different packages for different licenses but it usually starts at around $150.
Self Study Using the ACS and YouTube
You will save yourself money if you study the ACS (airmen’s certification standards) online and supplement this with reading and or YouTube content to help memorize the required information. You will save yourself several do-over lessons if you know your stuff from the start. Self-study is free and can save you time where you’re paying someone else to teach you.
Speaking of YouTube, have you seen and subscribed to the Airplane Academy YouTube Channel? We’re posting all kinds of flying adventures, aviation tips, tricks, and FAQs, and more. Check it out and hit subscribe so you never miss a video!
Go Rural
Training in a rural area has its pros and cons. The pro is that it is less congested and so you’ll probably feel less intimidated by learning to fly. The other obvious pro is that it will be less expensive.
The con is that you won’t have as much experience flying in congested airspace and that can be intimidating to new pilots. If you train rurally just be sure to incorporate some flights into controlled airspace so that you aren’t scared of Air Traffic Control.
Borrow Your Gear Before You Buy It
Your headset alone will run you around $1,000, so this is an obvious place to save if you decide to borrow a headset before you actually buy one. All flight schools will have a headset you can borrow throughout your training, sometimes for a small fee but usually at no charge. Ultimately you’ll want to invest in your own but if you’re really penny pinching this is an option.
I will say from personal experience though that having your own headset where you are used to how it feels and sounds is a huge bonus in the cockpit. On the occasions where I have forgotten my headset and jumped into a new airplane, the simple difference of noise level and tone with a different headset is an unnecessary distraction. Borrow your gear before you buy it.
What Other Pilot’s Licenses Cost
Getting your private pilot’s license can be either the beginning or the end of your journey in terms of certifications. There are so many things you can do with just your private pilot’s license that you may never need or want to expand into other ratings. Here are a few other data points though for when you do decide to continue your training:
Instrument Rating Cost
This is technically a “rating” and not a license but nonetheless it allows you to fly without being able to see outside the airplane (such as flying through clouds or periods of low visibility). This is a really hard but rewarding rating and makes you a much better pilot because you learn to fly solely relying on your instrument panel and not seeing outside the airplane.
The instrument rating averages about 40 additional flight training hours (and more than that on the ground) and costs around $10,000. It’s similar in intensity to your private pilot’s license.
Commercial Pilot’s License (CPL) Cost
If you want to get paid to fly, you’ll need your commercial license. This is probably one of the easier licenses you can get, as it is basically just your private pilot’s license training but going deeper on certain knowledge areas and more strict tolerances on your flight maneuvers during your check ride.
Commercial pilot’s licenses usually cost between $2,000-$5,000 depending on how many of the prerequisites you have accomplished prior to the start of your commercial training.
For more reading, see our post on how long it takes to get a commercial pilot’s license.
Pro tip: If you are planning on getting your commercial rating while you are working on your private pilot’s license, be sure that your instructor and or flight school know this. There are certain missions you’ll fly as part of your private training that if done correctly can also count towards the requirements of your commercial rating (such as certain cross-country flight distances).
Note that the single engine and multi-engine commercial licenses are separate licenses. If you have a single engine commercial license but only a private multi-engine license, you can only be paid to fly single engine aircraft.
Depending on what order you get your follow-on licenses and ratings after the private, a common question we answer is Do I need an instrument rating to get a commercial pilots license? The short answer is that you don’t legally need it, but there are many limitations to your commercial license if you do not possess an instrument rating.
For your airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate, you will need an instrument rating. You can read more in our article on private, commercial, and ATP certificates compared.
Multi-Engine Rating Cost
If you want to fly airplanes with more than one engine, you’ll need another rating for that, called your Multi-Engine Rating. This is a really simple rating as the bulk of your training is just learning what to do if one of the engines quits.
A multi-engine add-on can usually be accomplished for $2,000-3,000 depending on what kind of airplane you fly and how quickly you pick up on the techniques.
Multi-engine airplanes cost a lot more to rent than single engine airplanes so while it doesn’t take many flight hours to complete this rating, the cost per flight hour is higher than the other ratings.
Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) Cost
If you want to become a flight instructor yourself and teach other students, that’s a separate license. The CFI (certified flight instructor) is broken into a few different ratings, such as the CFI, CFII (instrument instructor), and MEI (multi-engine instructor). Note that you’ll also need your commercial rating in order to become a CFI.
The initial CFI is generally the most intensive because it is the entry point to becoming an instructor. In my opinion and experience, the most efficient way to become a CFI is in a 30-day academy style program where it’s total immersion for a month’s time. This rating isn’t just about knowing the material, it’s about being able to teach it.
Academies usually start at around $5,000-7,000 for the basic CFI and a couple thousand dollars to add on the CFII and MEI.
The good thing about this rating is that once you become a CFI you can start earning some of that expense back by teaching and getting paid. For more reading, see our post on how much money flight instructors make.
Glider Pilot License
If you already have your private pilot’s license, adding a glider pilot’s license costs as low as $3,000. This add-on license does not require a written exam and the minimum flight requirements are half that of an initial glider pilot’s license. For more reading on this topic, see our in-depth article on how much gliding costs.
Related Questions:
How long does it take to get a private pilot’s license (PPL)?
Getting your private pilot’s license is all about getting the required hours (40 hours for private) and demonstrating the knowledge and skill to be signed off by your instructor for the check ride. While the base requirement is 40 flight hours that is comprised of certain missions and skills being accomplished, the national average for flight hours at the check ride is closer to 60-70.
How long that will take you to accomplish all depends on how often you can fly. A realistic time to complete this is about six months if you are flying consistently (10 hours of actual flight time per month, which is at least 1 flight lesson every week averaging about 2.5 hours per flight). The more often you fly, the more efficient your training will be because you will not lose knowledge or muscle memory between flights.
For additional reading, see our article on How Long Does It Take To Get a Private Pilot’s License?
What can and can’t you do with a private pilot’s license?
With just your private pilot’s license you can fly in good weather (VFR, or visual flight rules) below 18,000 feet. For the most part you can’t get paid to fly with just a private pilot’s license, although there are a few exceptions such as banner and glider towing, unless you have your commercial license.
To fly in bad weather where you can’t see outside the airplane, or to fly above 18,000 feet, you will need your instrument rating (see our posts on How Much Does an Instrument Rating Cost and How Long Does It Take to Get an Instrument Rating). To fly airplanes with more than one engine you’ll need a multi-engine rating.
Another common question is can you get paid to fly with a private pilot’s license (PPL). For more reading, check out our post.
Can I fly a jet with just a private pilot’s license?
Technically, no, and for a few reasons.
Civil jets have more than one engine almost always (with the exception of the Cirrus Vision Jet, for example), which means you would need a multi-engine rating, and they always fly high for fuel efficiency reasons which means you’d need an instrument rating to go above 18,000 feet.
Lastly, for airplanes heavier than 12,500 pounds, or for airplanes with a jet engine (technically “turbojet powerplant” per the FAA), you’ll need to possess what’s called a type rating which is basically an intensive training program and check ride in that particular airplane.
For example you could be type rated in a Lear Jet 45, but not be type rated in a Gulfstream 400. For further reading check out our post Can you fly a jet with a private pilot’s license?
Is becoming a pilot worth the cost?
Flight training can be expensive, and if you’re looking to go to the airlines it’s good to have a rough idea of how long it will take to recuperate the costs. ATP put out a good article on airline pilot compensation that suggests that the salary range for regional airlines is $50-130k, and the range for major airlines is $90-400k, depending on your experience level, seniority, the airline itself, and airplane being flown.
Pilot compensation has been improving over the recent years, and it should continue to rise. Many pilots are reaching the mandatory retirement age which is increasing demand for new pilots, which is helping to increase new pilot wages. Some estimates show that there are over 250,000 new pilots needed over the next decade.
All of that to say, while it is expensive to become a pilot, it can still be a lucrative career and more than cover your training costs over the long term.
In terms of paying for a pilot’s license as a hobby, I can say from experience it’s been one of the most rewarding pursuits of my life and has always been worth it. You can see more of my flying adventures and lessons I’ve learned in aviation on my YouTube channel.
What is the maximum age to become a pilot?
The minimum age to receive your pilot’s license in the United States is 17, and there is no maximum age for being a private pilot.
However, airline pilots in the United States currently have a forced retirement age of 65. Airline recruiters generally prefer you be 35 years or younger when applying for an entry level position, however there is no law that regulates the maximum age to begin your aviation career (just a forced retirement from the airlines).
With the need for pilots increasing more and more, it is becoming more common for middle-aged pilots to enter the airlines for the first time. So if you are determined to become a professional pilot, definitely do not let your age try to talk you out of it.
For more reading on this topic, see our post on the maximum age to become a pilot.
Is becoming a pilot hard?
In my experience, becoming a pilot takes a lot of commitment, hard work, and focus, but it is not intellectually insurmountable. While some topics might be a little more confusing than others, most often what is challenging for new pilots is the quantity of material to learn. But as with most things, it all gets easier with time and practice.
Another way to assess the difficulty is to think through the time commitment for each license. As mentioned above, the PPL takes a minimum of 40 flight hours to complete (usually more), which means it usually requires months of consistent effort to achieve depending on how often you can train. Follow-on licenses and ratings take additional time to achieve.
So, it is usually not the subject material that is daunting for new pilots but rather the amount of material to learn and the time commitment required.
For more information on this topic, here is my video on the three hardest and easiest parts about becoming a pilot:
In case you missed it above, you can grab my Ultimate Starter Guide to Your Aviation Journey below. It’s packed with 23 different resources I wish I could’ve consumed before or early into my flight training. It’s totally free and jam-packed with actionable, practical content for you as a new aviator or someone exploring their license.
Conclusion: It’s worth it!
The PPL cost can seem daunting, as $10,000 or so is not a small amount of money. But nothing will compare to the joy and perspective you get from flying above the clouds, in my opinion.
If you stay diligent to train and fly often, and supplement this frequent flying with your own paid and free (ACS, YouTube, etc.) study materials, you can try to reduce the cost and duration of training and make it a more affordable hobby to pursue.
Becoming a pilot and owning an airplane have been incredibly rewarding to me and I’d pay several times what I spent on training to be able to get to where I am today.
Happy training, and blue skies!
