ZTA 2, all in
$120,000
What it costs to become a pilot, and what that means monthly.
What it costs, line by line.
The total is published and every line item is below. The number most people actually decide on is the monthly, so start there.
The total is published and every line item is below. What you pay turns on which of the two shapes fits you, so start there.
ZTA 1, all in
$101,500
Lenders
4, one income-based
Credit check to estimate
None
Run your number.
No credit check, no application, nothing submitted. You tell it roughly where your credit sits and it does the arithmetic.
Estimated payment once you finish
—
on a fixed loan, before any lender has seen an application
That payment against a pilot's payYear-one pay, before tax
Flight instructor$40,000 a year
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Regional first officer$89,021 a year
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Major airline first officer$109,209 a year
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Instructor pay is the low end of the $40,000 to $75,000 a career instructor typically earns. Airline figures are year-one first officer rates at SkyWest and Delta, at 80 hours a month. Pay rises with each year of seniority; the loan payment does not.
Estimates only. Real terms come from the lender after a full application, and an advisor will compare all four against your actual numbers first. The Good tier uses 9.38% APR, the most common fixed rate Sallie Mae reports for its Airline Career Loan. Its published fixed range is 2.08% to 17.79% APR as of September 15, 2026; the other tiers are examples inside that range. Edly’s pilot loan asks as little as $20 a month in training, then a set percentage of gross earned income for up to 144 monthly payments. It adds a 4.75% origination fee to the loan and quotes representative APRs of 11% to 27% on a $130,000 loan.
Have an advisor check these→Paying with the GI Bill?
Chapters 30, 31, 33 and 1606 are accepted at the Addison campus, from the instrument rating on. See what yours covers against the full program, and what it leaves.
How much does it cost to become a commercial pilot?
At Thrust Flight, becoming a commercial pilot from zero experience costs $101,500 all in (Zero Time to Airline 1). Adding both flight instructor ratings, which is how most graduates get paid to build airline hours, brings it to $120,000 (Zero Time to Airline 2). Both figures include flight time, instruction, ground school and first-attempt checkride fees. Most students finance it, which is why the monthly payment above is the number people decide on.
The two ways to do it
One program, one price
Zero Time to Airline is a fixed, all-inclusive package. $120,000 takes you from no flight experience to commercial pilot with instrument and multi-engine ratings plus both instructor certificates, in 11 to 14 months. $101,500 stops at commercial, in 8 to 10 months. Provided you finish each course inside the flight hours included, there are no further Thrust fees.
This is the right shape if you are changing careers, if you need it to be quick, and if you can train full time.
One certificate at a time
Every certificate and rating is also available on its own, one-on-one, usually under Part 61. Each course carries its own price, shown below, and there is a twelve-month limit to complete it.
This is the right shape if you are not sure yet, if you cannot train full time, or if committing six figures up front is the thing stopping you. Hours flown this way still count if you enter the full program later.
| Course, taken on its own | Course fee | Minimum instruction hrs | FAA minimum flight hrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport Pilot, no FAA medical required | Quoted by admissions | 15 | 20 |
| Private Pilot | $24,000 | 30 | 40 |
| Instrument Rating | $22,800 | 15 | 15 |
| Commercial Pilot | $27,500 | 20 | 20 |
| Multi-Engine | $10,800 | 3 | 3 |
| CFI Airplane | $14,500 | 3 | 3 |
| CFI Instrument | $4,000 | 3 | 3 |
| CFI Multi-Engine | Quoted by admissions | 3 | 3 |
These are FAA minimums, published so you can see what the regulation actually requires. Almost nobody finishes at the minimum. Treat them as a floor. Figures assume prior aeronautical experience requirements have already been met.
Be careful with any school that quotes you the FAA minimum. Multiplying a rate by a regulatory floor produces a number that is always too low, and it is the oldest trick in flight training. Ask what students at that school actually finish in, then compare that.
Flight school loans: the four lenders, and why it matters which one
Thrust has lending relationships with Sallie Mae, Climb Credit, Stratus Financial and Edly. If you are applying for a Sallie Mae flight school loan, follow our Sallie Mae application instructions so the loan is set up for Thrust. The four are not interchangeable. They price differently by credit band and treat in-school payments differently, and the gap between the best and worst offer for one applicant can be thousands of dollars.
Edly is the one that works differently: repayment is income-based, so in-school payments stay low and what you pay afterwards scales with what you actually earn. A financial aid advisor will work through your real figures, meaning tuition, fees and living costs for the length of your training, then tell you which lender to approach. That conversation costs nothing and does not commit you.
VA educational assistance
Thrust is approved for VA educational assistance only at its Addison campus, and not every program, course or aircraft is eligible. A claimant cannot receive benefits under more than one GI Bill chapter at a time.
Thrust is approved for VA benefits, but only at the Addison campus, and not all programs, courses or aircraft are eligible. A claimant cannot receive benefits under more than one chapter at a time. What each GI Bill chapter pays.
What the number does not cover
The Thrust program price does not cover housing, food, transportation, an iPad, a ForeFlight subscription, the FAA medical exam, TSA fees, insurance, remedial training or re-testing. A $5,000 contingency allowance helps if money runs short.
Housing, food, transport to and from campus, personal living expenses, an iPad capable of running current iOS, a ForeFlight subscription, the FAA medical exam, TSA authorization fees, non-owned aircraft insurance, remedial training, instruction or aircraft rental beyond the per-course maximum, re-testing after a failed knowledge or practical exam, and late-cancel or no-show fees.
Two things end programs more often than a lack of skill: money running out midway, and a checkride backlog stretching a fourteen-month program into twenty-four. The $5,000 contingency allowance and a proper lender comparison cover the first. Thrust holding its own examining authority covers the second.
What people actually ask.
How much does it cost to become an airline pilot?
At Thrust, $120,000 as a total recommended educational plan for Zero Time to Airline 2, which is zero flight hours through commercial pilot and flight instructor. That figure is published and all-inclusive for training: it covers instruction, aircraft, ground school, books, headset, flight bag and first-attempt exam and checkride fees.
Can I finance flight school?
Yes. Thrust works directly with Sallie Mae, Climb Credit, Stratus Financial and Edly. Which one is cheapest depends on your credit band and on whether a fixed payment or an income-based one suits you, so an advisor will compare them for you before you apply to anything.
Does the calculator check my credit?
No. You tell it roughly where your credit sits and it does the arithmetic. Nothing is submitted, nothing is pulled, and no lender sees anything. A real application later is a hard inquiry; this is not one.
What is the difference between a fixed loan and an income-based one?
A fixed loan asks for the same payment in month three, when you are training full time and earning nothing, as it does in year three when you are on a payroll. An income-based product such as Edly keeps in-school payments low and scales repayment to what you actually earn afterwards. Which one costs less overall depends on your credit band and on what you go on to earn.
Can I use VA benefits or a 529 plan?
Yes, at the Addison campus. Chapters 30, 31, 33 and 1606 can be used from the instrument rating onward, because VA flight training needs a private pilot certificate first. What each chapter pays is laid out against the full program cost.
Is it cheaper to take one certificate at a time?
Usually not, in total. Taking certificates one at a time tends to mean training less often, and training less often means more hours to reach the same standard. What it does buy you is the option to stop after any one course, without committing six figures before you know whether you like it.
What happens to the money if I do not finish?
A student who leaves partway through is refunded against the training they have not taken, and every certificate already earned stays theirs permanently. The $5,000 contingency allowance is returned unspent, to you or to your lender. The administrative, facilities and services fee becomes non-refundable on the fourth calendar day after the program start date.
Find out what you qualify for.
An advisor compares all four lenders against your actual numbers. No application, nothing submitted.
Talk to an advisor→Worth a look.