SAFETY FIRST
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
Accelerated multi-engine training
Accelerated Multi-Engine Training At Van Nuys
An accelerated multi-engine rating means flying consecutive days until the rating is finished, usually inside two weeks. It works better on this rating than on any other, because the syllabus is short and the reflexes it builds are the most perishable thing in flying. The price is $5,100 and it does not change with the calendar.
$5,100, fixedConsecutive-day blocksUsually inside two weeks355 flyable days a year
$5,100the complete add-on, whatever pace you fly it at
10–15 hrstypical time to checkride standard
355flyable days a year at Van Nuys, from our own NOAA study
5.0 ★85 Google reviews
The short answer
What does accelerated multi-engine training actually mean?
It means flying most days in a row instead of once a week, so the whole rating happens inside a compressed block rather than spread over two months. There is no separate FAA category for it — the regulation is the same 14 CFR 61.63(c) either way, with no hour minimum and no additional knowledge test. What changes is the calendar, and the calendar changes the total cost of getting to the standard.
The reason it works so well here is specific to this rating. A multi-engine add-on is short, and most of it is a set of motor responses that decay fast: dead foot, dead engine, verify, feather, blue line. Fly on Monday and again on Thursday and you spend the first half hour of Thursday getting back to where Monday finished. Do that eight times and you have paid for four hours of relearning.
Fly Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and the sequence stays loaded. Students who compress this rating typically need fewer hours than students who spread it, and the difference is not small. That is the whole argument for acceleration, and it is an argument about your brain rather than about our schedule.
It also has limits, and we would rather tell you now than after you have booked flights. An accelerated course puts the entire rating at the mercy of one fortnight's weather, one examiner's diary and one person's stamina. Van Nuys gives us 355 flyable days a year measured against a 3,000-foot ceiling and five statute miles, from our own study of twelve months of NOAA observations, which removes most of the weather risk. It does not remove the other two.
The comparison
Accelerated or spread out — which one is actually cheaper?
The price is $5,100 either way. What differs is how many hours you need to reach the standard and what the rest of your life costs while you do it.
| Accelerated block | Once or twice a week | |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar time | Usually inside two weeks | Six to ten weeks is typical |
| Hours to standard | Toward the lower end of ten to fifteen | Toward the upper end, because each gap costs review |
| Course price | $5,100 | $5,100 |
| Time off work | Real, and it is the main cost | None, which is why most local pilots choose it |
| Weather exposure | One fortnight carries the whole rating | Spread across months, so a bad week costs one lesson |
| Examiner scheduling | Must be booked before you start | Easier to move |
| Best suited to | Pilots travelling in, and pilots on a deadline | Pilots who live within reach of Van Nuys |
If you live in Los Angeles, the honest recommendation is usually a hybrid: three or four consecutive mornings for the engine-out block, then normal scheduling for the polish. You get the compression where it matters and you keep your job.
The plan
How a two-week accelerated rating is actually sequenced
Five blocks. They can run back to back if your calendar and the examiner's allow it.
01
Ground, systems and VMC theory
Before you fly. Fuel and crossfeed, electrical, propeller governors, the feathering mechanism, and then the aerodynamics: what moves VMC, why the recovery is to reduce power, and what the single-engine performance numbers mean for a Van Nuys departure. The examiner will spend most of the oral here, so it comes first.
02
Normal twin operations
Two or three hours getting used to the aeroplane. Takeoffs, landings, steep turns, slow flight and stalls, flown to the standard of the certificate you already hold. Nothing asymmetric yet.
03
The engine-out block
The centre of the rating and the part that most rewards consecutive days. Failures on takeoff and in cruise, identify-verify-feather, drag demonstrations, the VMC demonstration above 3,000 feet AGL, and single-engine approaches flown to a full stop.
04
Simulator and instrument work
Redbird MCX sessions for repetition that costs nothing, plus the instrument tasks in the twin if you hold an instrument rating and want to avoid the Airplane Multiengine VFR Only limitation.
05
Mock oral, mock checkride, checkride
A full oral across systems, performance and aerodynamics, then the practical profile flown the way an examiner runs it. If you are not ready, we add hours rather than push you at a date. The $5,100 does not move when we do.
The risk nobody mentions
What goes wrong with accelerated courses
Three things, and only one of them is weather. The examiner is the first. Designated pilot examiners are individuals with diaries, and a checkride booked for the last day of your block is a single point of failure. We book the examiner before the course starts, not after, and we tell you the date at enrolment.
Fatigue is the second, and it is underrated. Multi-engine training is dense and the lessons run long because the brief and the debrief carry as much of the learning as the flying. Four consecutive three-hour blocks is genuinely tiring, and a tired student learns engine-out procedures slowly. We build in a stand-down day rather than pretending nobody needs one.
Arriving rusty is the third and the most expensive. Ten to fifteen hours is enough to learn asymmetric flight. It is not enough to learn asymmetric flight and also repair basic handling that has gone soft. If you have not flown much in six months, put two hours in a single first. It will save you four in the twin.
Weather is the one people worry about and the one that matters least here. Our own study of twelve months of NOAA observations at Van Nuys found 355 flyable days a year against a 3,000-foot ceiling and five statute miles of visibility. That is what makes a compressed course realistic in Los Angeles and unrealistic in a lot of places that advertise one.
Redbird MCX
The part of an accelerated course that is never weather-cancelled
The Redbird MCX is full-motion and FAA-approved, and it runs on days the twin does not.
On a compressed schedule the simulator earns its place twice: it absorbs repetition cheaply, and it keeps a block moving on the rare Van Nuys morning that does not cooperate. A standalone session is $189; multi-engine students use it inside the $5,100 add-on.
What people say
5.0 ★ · 85 Google reviews
Scheduling is the thing reviewers mention most, which is exactly the thing an accelerated course lives or dies on.
★
The debrief, not the flight
The compliment that comes up most often in our reviews is not the aeroplane and it is not the ramp. It is that somebody sat down afterwards and drew the yaw on a whiteboard until it made sense.
★
Lessons that actually happen
Eleven instructors and a fleet we own and maintain. On a rating you are trying to finish inside two weeks, a school that cancels twice is the difference between done and half-done.
★
The number does not move
What you enrol at is what you finish at. On a $5,100 add-on that promise is most of the point, and reviewers keep writing about it because it is not universal.
Programmes and prices
Accelerated multi-engine pricing
One price, whatever pace you fly it at. Financing from $2,500 down through Stratus Financial or our own payment plans.
The rating
Multi-Engine Add-On
$5,100 / complete
The whole rating: Seminole time, dual instruction, ground and systems work, engine-out training and checkride preparation, at a price that is fixed when you enrol.
Multi-Engine Discovery Flight
$499 / 60 min
An hour in the Seminole before you commit $5,100 to it. Book it on the product page — an hour in the left seat settles the question faster than any amount of reading.
Discovery Flight For One
$229 / 60 min
A real lesson in a single. You fly the aeroplane, the time is loggable dual instruction, and the full $229 is credited against any programme if you enrol within 24 hours.
Redbird MCX Session
$189 / session
Full-motion, FAA-approved and never cancelled for weather. Engine failures cost nothing here, which is why the first dozen of yours happen on the ground.
Transparency
What $5,100 includes on an accelerated course
The same as on any other course, because the price is for the rating rather than for the fortnight.
Included: Seminole flight time to checkride standard, dual instruction on every hour of it, one-to-one ground and systems teaching, all engine-out and VMC work, Redbird MCX time used inside the syllabus, the mock oral and mock checkride, and the endorsements 14 CFR 61.63(c)(1) requires.
Not included: the designated pilot examiner, whom you book and pay directly; your medical; your own headset and charts; and, if you are travelling in, your accommodation. We do not arrange lodging and we do not mark it up.
If you are comparing accelerated courses, three questions settle whether two quotes describe the same thing. Is the number a package or an hourly estimate? An estimate with an assumed hour count is a forecast, and multi-engine forecasts run long. Is the instructor inside the number? Aircraft-only pricing always looks lower at the top of the page. What happens if you need more hours than the syllabus assumes? Ask for that answer in writing. Ours is that nothing happens: the number you enrol at is the number you finish at.
We are not going to name another school or publish anyone else's price. We will publish ours, itemise it, and let you do the arithmetic.
Next step
Tell us your fortnight and we will tell you if it is realistic
The consultation is free and it is the right first call for an accelerated course, because the answer depends on your currency, your logbook and the examiner's diary rather than on a web page.
Discovery Flight For One
$229
60 minutes · you fly the aircraft · credited in full on enrolment within 24 hours
The multi-engine cluster
Multi-engine rating training at Van NuysMulti-engine rating costMulti-engine rating requirementsThe multi-engine checkrideThe Piper Seminole as a trainer
FAQ
Accelerated Multi-Engine Training Questions
Usually inside two weeks of consecutive-day flying, with ten to fifteen hours in the Seminole. There is no FAA minimum — 14 CFR 61.63(c) requires proficiency and a practical test, not a training time — so the real limit is how fast you absorb engine-out procedures and when the examiner is free.
$5,100, the same as any other pace, fixed at enrolment. It covers Seminole time, instruction, ground and systems work, simulator time inside the syllabus and checkride preparation. The designated pilot examiner is booked and paid separately by you.
The course price is identical. What compression saves is hours, because engine-out reflexes decay between lessons and every gap costs review time at the start of the next one. Pilots who fly consecutive days usually finish nearer ten hours than fifteen.
A private or commercial pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating, a current medical, and a logbook in order. No separate FAA knowledge test is required to add the multi-engine class rating under 14 CFR 61.63(c)(4). Bring all three documents to the first session.
Legally, no. Practically, yes, and this is the single biggest cause of an accelerated course running long. Ten to fifteen hours is enough to learn asymmetric flight but not enough to also repair rusty basic handling. If you have flown little in six months, put two hours in a single first.
Rarely, here. Our own study of twelve months of NOAA observations at Van Nuys found 355 flyable days a year against a 3,000-foot ceiling and five statute miles. When a morning does not cooperate the block moves into the Redbird MCX, which is never weather-cancelled, and the flying catches up.
Nothing changes. The $5,100 is fixed when you enrol and it covers the rating rather than a fixed number of hours. If you are not ready for the checkride we add hours instead of sending you to an examiner who will fail you.
No. 14 CFR 61.63(c)(4) excuses an additional FAA knowledge test for anyone who already holds an airplane rating at that certificate level. There is a substantial oral on the day of the practical test, weighted heavily toward VMC, the critical engine and single-engine performance.
Yes, and it is usually the sensible order. Adding the multi-engine class to a commercial certificate you already hold falls under 14 CFR 61.63(c) with no hour minimum, whereas earning the commercial certificate itself in a twin brings 14 CFR 61.129(b) and well over thirty hours of multi-engine time into play.
No. We do not book lodging and we do not mark it up, which keeps the $5,100 honest. Van Nuys has plenty of hotels within a few minutes of the airport and we are happy to say which ones students have used.
Before the course starts. A checkride booked after the flying is the most common way an accelerated course turns into a six-week course. We give you the date at enrolment.
7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406, at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY). Open 9am to 9pm, seven days a week, which is why consecutive early-morning blocks are easy to book. Call (818) 290-8249.
No Cost, No Obligation
Get The Full Training Plan And Price Sheet
The three private pilot packages, what each one includes, the financing options and a realistic timeline built around how often you can actually fly. Sent to you in one email. Nobody will pressure you.
- Every package price, itemised
- Financing from $2,500 down
- A timeline based on your schedule
Loved On Google
Seventy Reviews. 5.0 Stars.
Every review below is real and shown verbatim, in the reviewer’s own words — written by the people who learned to fly here, not by us.
SAFETY FIRST
DISCOVERY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I recently had the chance to take my first-ever discovery flight, and it was nothing short of amazing! From the moment I stepped into the cockpit, the...
SUNSET CIRRUS
★★★★★
It was a great flight! I did a sunset flight and Alex let us fly an awesome. Website was easy to book, and the plane itself was really fun to fly...
FLYING LESSON
★★★★★
We had a great flying lesson with Ralph and came away with a much better understanding of both the aircraft and the principles of flight. Ralph is a...
KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I got 2 luxury discovery flights for my kids. I wanted them to have the experience of flying. Our instructor Alex was amazing he made sure they feel...
HONEYMOON SURPRISE
★★★★★
Last minute booking to surprise my wife on our honeymoon. She had no experience with flying and was scared of flying, but Alex was very easygoing and knew...
FULL-MOTION SIM
★★★★★
Amazing flight school in van nuys airport. I have been a student here for the past few months and i could not be happier. I started doing a lot of...
DISCOVERY FOR TWO
★★★★★
I booked a Discovery Flight for Two for my girlfriend's birthday and it was the perfect gift for her. She couldn't have been more excited to get to...
SIMULATORS
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
TEEN FIRST LESSON
★★★★★
We gifted our teenage son his first flying lesson. He was so excited! Alex greeted us and gave a reassuring brief that made us all feel comfortable and at...
FIRST-TIME FLYER
★★★★★
Flying is my husband's hobby and I was incredibly anxious and apprehensive about the discovery flight. However, I felt completely safe and at ease once we...
SAFETY FIRST
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
DISCOVERY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I recently had the chance to take my first-ever discovery flight, and it was nothing short of amazing! From the moment I stepped into the cockpit, the...
SUNSET CIRRUS
★★★★★
It was a great flight! I did a sunset flight and Alex let us fly an awesome. Website was easy to book, and the plane itself was really fun to fly...
FLYING LESSON
★★★★★
We had a great flying lesson with Ralph and came away with a much better understanding of both the aircraft and the principles of flight. Ralph is a...
KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I got 2 luxury discovery flights for my kids. I wanted them to have the experience of flying. Our instructor Alex was amazing he made sure they feel...
HONEYMOON SURPRISE
★★★★★
Last minute booking to surprise my wife on our honeymoon. She had no experience with flying and was scared of flying, but Alex was very easygoing and knew...
FULL-MOTION SIM
★★★★★
Amazing flight school in van nuys airport. I have been a student here for the past few months and i could not be happier. I started doing a lot of...
DISCOVERY FOR TWO
★★★★★
I booked a Discovery Flight for Two for my girlfriend's birthday and it was the perfect gift for her. She couldn't have been more excited to get to...
SIMULATORS
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
TEEN FIRST LESSON
★★★★★
We gifted our teenage son his first flying lesson. He was so excited! Alex greeted us and gave a reassuring brief that made us all feel comfortable and at...
FIRST-TIME FLYER
★★★★★
Flying is my husband's hobby and I was incredibly anxious and apprehensive about the discovery flight. However, I felt completely safe and at ease once we...
See Discovery Flight Details — $229
Reviews shown verbatim, exactly as each reviewer published them.