PPL Cost In Connecticut
 

Hello Im going to be starting my flight training at a local airport within a few weeks and ground school monday in New Haven CT. I got the following estimate from them and if anyone has any advice on flight schools in my area i would appreciate any input.

Flight Time ( PA28-161 ): $103.52/hr
Instructor: $45.00/hr
Pre/Post Instructor Time: $45.00/hr
Ground School: $275.00
Books/Materials: $268.00
Class III Med Exam: $85.00
FAA Written: $90.00
FAA Practical(Flight test): $218.00 (2hr. est)
FAA Practical (Examiner Fee): $200.00

Total At FAA Minimum: $6636.00
Total At National Average (65 Hrs.): $9205.00

Any advice or inputs on anything above, i would appreciate
Thanks in advance

good god......thats expensive, but I dont know your area very well.

That's about what I paid here in Va. I got my PPL at 40.3 hours and it was about 8K to the school. I didin't do a ground school, I did the CBT cessna program. I probably could have went somewhere else and saved a grand or so but the school I went to had nice new loaded planes so I was OK with spending a bit more.

Now I'm going to get my ME and then do my instrument training in the twin to build up those hours.

I would tell you what I was told though. If you plan to do this for a living one day get the 1st class medical now so you know you can. It would suck to spend all that money and then find you can't get one.

Alright thanks..... so i should get the 1st class instead of the class III?

$45 hr for the instructor sounds pretty high to me. The guy at my local field does it for $20.

they pay the instructor 20 and the school gets the other 25. and yes you should get a class 1 medical if you plan on going airlines in you are only going to fly for fun go class 3.

There might be cheaper places to get it, but maybe not in your area. Texas and Florida always seems to have some of the cheapest rates. If that's not an option, be sure to shop around different airports, schools, and instructors. I paid around $1500 for my private, but that was a long time ago. Of course, I only made $2.80/hr working to pay for it.

Don't be fooled into a school's pitch for the newest airplanes, etc. Who cares? If it's safe and it's an airplane, fly it. A Cessna 150 will get you your private as easy an any other plane (assuming you can fit in one, they are small). Save your money for flight time. You can check out and fly anything you want later.

Good luck.

i went to a school in CT and it cost me $8500 to get my private.I kept good records of my costs and that number includes charts, check ride, headset, books, medical and other misc costs. I did mostly self study but booked time with a CFI on topics i needed help with. I also flew an average of 4 times per week. If you have any questions let me know.

For what its worth, I am in Dayton, OH and am working on my PPL in the same aircraft. Anyway, it runs me $87/hr wet, and $35/hr for the instructor. Instrument goes all the way up to $37/hr for instructor. Started in a Cessna 172SP that was $115/hr, but didn't care for it at all. The 150's around here are a tad cheaper, but I'm too damn tall for them ... and I dont care for the Cessnas.