Hello everyone,

quick question, is $15,000 a good price for a private pilot license or is it a bit expensive?

 

Depends on how many hours that 15,000 is buying you(for example, 40hours flight time for 15k probably not a good deal). I would shop around a bit more to see if you can find a cheaper school in your area. It also helps to find a CFI that is on the same page with you about trying to keep costs as low as possible. My CFI was very good about trying to keep costs low, but even still it ended up costing more like 12-13k. I believe this is because the 141(not college) school I go to is a bit pricier than I thought (gas here is $2 more than average). People say the average is about 10k.

 

I suggest part 61 aeroclub, way cheaper and at the end you get the exact same faa certificate , and tbh nobody cares if you did part61 or big university training.
it ll cost you around 8k for ppl if you are little bit smart and do things good.

 

Depends. If you're motivated and have great weather, it's probably a lot. If you only fly once a week and get canceled all the time for weather, that might actually be a good deal.

 

Keep in mind, a lot of people base this on what "they paid", sometimes 5 years ago, sometimes 10, 15, and on and on. Inflation and costs of equipment/instruction keep the prices rising, so what was the going rate a few years back may not be relevant. There are also advantages and disadvantages to "mom and pop" part 61 schools. Sometimes a crusty old instructor is a wealth of knowledge, sometimes they are a wealth of outdated information and technique. Sometimes you get used to passing over airworthiness concerns, and so on. If your goal is an airline, usually more stringent, disciplined and standardized schools are better, not necessarily "faster" ones, but ones that require you to be on your game and actually meet all of the standards (and give you the instruction to do so). When you get to the airline, you will be expected to be a "self starter" and understand how to meet the standards. For some, this is a wake-up call that goes over like a lead balloon. For others, it's just more of what they've already experienced and they are good to go. It's hard to make overall statements and rules here, no path is necessarily better than the other.

 

$15,000 seems really expensive. I’m currently training for my private and it’s about half that.
Cessna 150: $84.00 per hour
Fuel: $9.56
Instructor: $50.00
And I’m using Sportys for ground.

 

I don’t understand your cost breakdown. Are you saying you pay $84 an hour for a dry Cessna 150 and then also pay $9.56 per gallon of fuel you use?

If I remember right a Cessna 150 burns about 6 gallons an hour. (9.56 x 6= 57.36). 57.36+84 is $141.36. $140 an hour is typically what a C172 rents for so that isn’t a very good deal for a C150 which should be a decent amount cheaper

 

For the 150 it comes out to $94.00 per hour wet.

 

That would make sense

 

I remember when it was $35. In california