Cessna, Piper and Diamond singles, the Cirrus SR22 Turbo with its full glass cockpit, and the Piper Seminole twin. Every one of them is ours, inspected on our schedule and flown by our instructors every day. Enrolled students fly them at $179 an hour wet inside a fixed-price program — no dues, no share to buy, nothing to sell when you stop.
Book It Or Gift It
Every discovery flight below can be booked for yourself in the next few minutes, or bought as a gift certificate that is emailed within minutes and never expires. Same flight, same price, either way.
Most Given
One person, one instructor, and no audience. Hands on the controls from the left seat, briefed before you go and debriefed after you land.
Hands-On Stick TimePre-Flight BriefingLoggable Flight Time
Flight Length
$229Book Or Gift
Same Price
Two Seats
The same flight with a passenger in the back seat, briefed and on the intercom. Couples book it; so do parents who would rather watch than hear about it.
One Passenger SeatPiper Warrior Or ArcherHeadsets For Both
Flight Length
$299Book Or Gift
Same Price
The Nice One
The nicest airplane we put a first-time flyer in. Glass cockpit, air conditioning, leather seats, and a parachute built into the airframe rather than strapped to the person.
Turbocharged Cirrus SR22Air ConditioningWhole-Airframe Parachute
Flight Length
$499Book Or Gift
Same Price
Twin Engine
Two engines, and the airplane instrument-rated pilots move into when they start thinking about a career. Flown from the left seat with a multi-engine instructor.
Piper Seminole TwinMulti-Engine DepartureCareer-Track Instructor
Flight Length
$499Book Or Gift
Same Price
Gift It issues a real gift certificate, emailed within minutes, which never expires and credits in full toward training. Flights are limited to 180 lb per person, 370 lb combined. Questions: (818) 290-8249, 9 AM–9 PM, seven days.
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...
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...
People search for aviation clubs near me because they want two things: airplanes they can actually get to, and other people to fly with. A club sells you that through an initiation fee, monthly dues whether you fly or not, and a share in two or three aircraft. We sell the same two things through enrollment. You join a program, and the whole flight line opens up — five types of aircraft, eleven instructors, a full-motion simulator, and a building that is busy from 9am to 9pm, seven days a week.
The community part is the bit people underestimate. Our briefing rooms have students at every stage in them: somebody on their third lesson sitting next to somebody prepping a commercial checkride, and instructors wandering through between flights. You learn a surprising amount of aviation in that room. Nobody pays dues for it and nobody is voted in.
There is a practical difference too. A club owns two or three aircraft, so when one goes in for its annual, availability collapses for a month. We keep the whole fleet on the line and maintain it under FAR 91.409(b), which requires a full inspection every 100 hours for any aircraft used in instruction for hire, on top of the annual. That is a stricter cycle than a privately held club aircraft will typically see, and it is the reason the schedule holds.
Enrolled students fly single-engine aircraft at $179 an hour wet inside a fixed-price program. Which airframe you spend your hours in is a training decision, not a pricing one.
Two seats, high wing, a Garmin G300 glass panel and about five gallons an hour. It is the aircraft the Sport Pilot program is built around, and it teaches rudder discipline whether you wanted to learn it or not.
Four seats, low wing, traditional six-pack panel and a stable flare. This is the aircraft most private pilot students spend most of their hours in, and it will carry three adults and bags to Santa Barbara without complaining.
Composite airframe, control stick instead of a yoke, and the best visibility on the field. Very light on the controls, which makes it an honest teacher and a genuine pleasure over the coast. Students who fly it get attached to it.
Retractable gear, constant-speed propeller, 200 horsepower. This is the complex airplane FAR 61.129 requires 10 hours in before a commercial checkride, and where the complex endorsement is taught.
Turbocharged, 310 horsepower, full Perspective glass, side-yoke, and a CAPS whole-airframe parachute overhead. A superb airplane for going somewhere, and the aircraft the Premium program is flown in from the first lesson to the checkride.
Two engines, counter-rotating propellers so neither one is the critical engine, and retractable gear. Every multi-engine add-on we run is flown in it, and most pilots need only 10 to 15 hours to finish the rating.
| Aircraft | Seats | Panel | Where it sits in the programs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna 162 Skycatcher | 2 | Garmin G300 glass | Sport Pilot $8,400, early private lessons |
| Piper Warrior | 4 | traditional six-pack | Standard $10,900 and Comprehensive $15,900 |
| Diamond DA20 | 2 | traditional analogue | Standard $10,900 and Comprehensive $15,900 |
| Piper Arrow | 4 | traditional analogue | Complex endorsement and commercial hours |
| Cirrus SR22 Turbo | 4 | Cirrus Perspective glass | Premium Private Pilot Program $22,500 |
| Piper Seminole | 4 | traditional analogue | Multi-engine add-on $5,100 |
Single-engine flying inside a program is $179 an hour wet — fuel and oil included, and the same number whether you are flying the Piper, the Cessna or the Diamond. The Redbird MCX full-motion simulator is $189 a session and is never canceled for weather.
An aircraft used for instruction for hire must be inspected every 100 hours under FAR 91.409(b), on top of its annual inspection. Our trainers go through that several times a year. A privately owned airplane flying eighty hours annually gets looked at once. That difference is invisible on a web page and extremely visible in a maintenance log, and it is the single most useful question to ask any flight school you are considering.
We own the fleet outright. Nothing on this ramp is a leaseback from an owner who would rather it were not flown today, and nothing is brokered in from somewhere else when a lesson is booked. That is why the schedule holds: when we tell you a Tuesday evening slot exists in three weeks, the airplane for it already belongs to us.
It also means we can be precise about the fleet mix, because there is no leaseback pool to be vague about. Our single-engine trainers are Cessna, Piper and Diamond aircraft, the Cirrus SR22 Turbo carries the Premium program, and the Piper Seminole covers multi-engine. That is the whole list, and it is the list your instructor is current in.
Not a broker rental, not a tired trainer with 12,000 hours on the airframe. Every aircraft here is ours, inspected on our schedule, and flown by our instructors every day.
Single-engine training on the Standard and Comprehensive programs is flown in the Cessna, Piper and Diamond aircraft. The Premium program is flown in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo with its full glass cockpit.
FAA-approved, fully enclosed, and it moves. The seventh aircraft on this page is the one that never gets weathered out — procedures, instrument scan, radio work and emergencies all transfer straight to the airplane.
Simulator hours are built into every private pilot program — 2 hours on Standard and Premium, 5 hours on Comprehensive. Individual sessions are $189.
A fleet is only as good as the person in the right seat. Every instructor here holds a commercial or ATP certificate plus a CFI and a current medical, and the instructor is legally pilot in command on every flight you fly with them. That is not a formality — it is why a first lesson can be a real lesson rather than a ride.
There are eleven of them, which is the reason the schedule works. You are not waiting on one person to come back from a trip, and you are not losing a fortnight because your instructor took a week off. You are matched to one instructor for continuity, and if the fit is wrong you say so and we change it. Nobody takes it personally.
They fly here as a career rather than treating the school as a waiting room for an airline seat, which shows up in the thing our reviews mention most: the debrief afterwards.
On Google, the same three things come up again and again about the fleet and the people flying it.
The most repeated compliment in our reviews is not the aircraft or the price — it is the debrief.
Eleven instructors and a fleet we own means lessons happen when we say they will.
The number you enroll at is the number you finish at. Reviewers mention this constantly.
Enrolled students fly single-engine aircraft at $179 an hour wet. The programs below bundle the aircraft, the instructor, the simulator, the ground school and the books into one number that does not move.
Forty hours logged, flown in our Cessna, Piper and Diamond single-engine aircraft.
Sixty hours logged and ten hours of ground school. The one most students finish in.
The whole certificate flown in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo with its full glass cockpit.
Financing available from $2,500 down with monthly plans. Other programs: Sport Pilot $8,400 · Instrument Rating $11,700 · Multi-engine add-on $5,100 · Solo Certificate $5,500 · Teens aged 10 to 15 $4,200 · zero-to-airline $89,000. Redbird MCX simulator sessions are $189.
The free in-person consultation costs nothing and takes about thirty minutes: walk the flight line, sit in the aircraft, and get an honest read on which program fits the flying you actually want to do. Or skip it and book an hour in the left seat. Call (818) 290-8249, 9am to 9pm, seven days. 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys.
Cessna, Piper and Diamond single-engine aircraft for the Standard $10,900 and Comprehensive $15,900 private pilot programs, the Cirrus SR22 Turbo with full glass for the Premium $22,500 program, the Piper Arrow for complex and commercial work, and the Piper Seminole for the $5,100 multi-engine add-on. Every one of them is owned by us.
There are aviation clubs across the LA basin, and they work well if you fly eight or more hours every month. We are not a club: there is no initiation fee, no monthly dues and no share to buy. Enrollment in a program is what gives you access to the fleet, eleven instructors and the simulator at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys.
$179 an hour wet in a single-engine aircraft, with fuel and oil included, and that is the same number in the Cessna, the Piper and the Diamond. Redbird MCX full-motion simulator sessions are $189. Both are already built into the fixed program prices, so the figure you enroll at is the figure you finish at.
No, and there is nothing to buy into. You enroll in a program, complete a checkout with one of our instructors in the specific make and model, and hold a flight review within the last 24 calendar months under FAR 61.56. There are no dues and nothing to sell when you stop flying.
Most students fly the Piper or the Diamond on the Standard $10,900 or Comprehensive $15,900 program, because a traditional six-pack panel builds a scan faster in the first 30 hours. Choose the Premium $22,500 program in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo if you already know you want to end up in a glass cockpit.
We own every aircraft on the ramp and maintain them ourselves. Each one is inspected every 100 hours under FAR 91.409(b) because it is used for instruction for hire, on top of the annual inspection, which is a stricter cycle than a privately owned airplane flying eighty hours a year will ever see.
Yes, within a program. The Cirrus SR22 Turbo is the aircraft the Premium Private Pilot Program is flown in from lesson one, and the Piper Seminole is flown on the $5,100 multi-engine add-on once you hold at least a private certificate. Both need a type-specific checkout with one of our instructors first.
Most enrolled students book two lessons a week and hold the same slots throughout their program. With eleven instructors and a fleet we own outright, we do not lose a month when one airplane goes in for its 100-hour inspection. Call (818) 290-8249, 9am to 9pm seven days, and we will show you the live schedule.
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.
Loved On Google
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
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...
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...
Reviews shown verbatim, exactly as each reviewer published them.
Aviation News
Notes from the flight line at Van Nuys — weather, regulation changes, checkride questions and the cost of training, written up as they come.
Open 7 days · 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Los Angeles Flight School
