<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3UM2hD_1GtJ0UWX00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3UM2hD_1GtJ0UWX00" width="1200" height="800" ><figcaption>Aanya Tomar</figcaption></figure>Learning to fly now costs aspiring pilots on the Peninsula tens of thousands of dollars, as rising fuel, engine parts, and instructor costs push up the price of a private pilot’s license.At San Carlos Flight Center, renting a Cessna 172 costs $220 an hour for nonmembers, fuel included. Instructors charge about $130 to $145 an hour, according to the club’s aircraft and instructor listings. Dan Dyer, who founded the center in 2012 and now serves as its chief pilot, said a license on the Peninsula can cost anywhere from $25,000 to $60,000.“It’s mostly the cost of the instructor and the airplane, both of which are really expensive,” Dyer said.According to the Federal Aviation Administration, students need just 40 hours of flight time for a private pilot certificate, but Dyer said his students finish anywhere between 60 and 140.“Most people in the Bay Area are going to hover in sort of that 100-hour range, but that is 100 hours of the propeller spinning in the plane with a certified flight instructor next to you,” said Christopher Haire, a private pilot who trained at the center. “Some very, very expensive hours.”Nationally, a typical student spends about $19,700, according to a 2026 estimate from AeroCorner. Based on San Carlos Flight Center’s published rates, that same training would cost about $26,800.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=25QGNU_1GtJ0UWX00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=25QGNU_1GtJ0UWX00" width="1020" height="548" ></figure>Those costs fall directly on students, and for younger aspiring pilots, they can be hard to cover. Haire, who began training as an adult, said young people tend to have the time to fly but not the funds.“When you’re younger, you sort of have all the time to do it, but it’s very difficult for you to make $500 in a weekend, then to afford two to three hours of flight school,” Haire said.Nikita Kakhnovich, a sophomore and president of Carlmont’s Space Club, is taking ground school and studying for his written exam while he waits for scholarship opportunities, so he won’t have to pay for flight training entirely out of pocket.“I definitely think cost holds students back from pursuing aviation. It’s actually one of the biggest things preventing me from committing to a flight school,” Kakhnovich said. “There are very few affordable ways for students to get started.”Behind those prices, Dyer said, are rising costs for the planes themselves. Because a student’s hourly rental rate includes fuel, any rise in fuel prices shows up on the bill.“COVID-19 shut down parts production in general aviation, and we’re still seeing price spikes in parts and maintenance equipment,” Dyer said. “Fuel costs have risen significantly, and aircraft insurance costs go up every year.”Even so, Dyer expects demand for flight training on the Peninsula to hold steady for at least the next eight to 10 years.For Haire, the cost has paid off in more than just a license.“So much self-confidence comes from competence in hard tasks,” Haire said.</div></body>

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Learning to fly now costs aspiring pilots on the Peninsula tens of thousands of dollars, as rising fuel, engine parts, and instructor costs push up the price of a private pilot’s license. At San Carlos Flight Center, renting a Cessna 172 costs $220 an hour for nonmembers, fuel included....

Flight training costs take off on the Peninsula

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Learning to fly now costs aspiring pilots on the Peninsula tens of thousands of dollars, as rising fuel, engine parts, and instructor costs push up the pri

Flight training costs take off on the Peninsula

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