Discovery Flight For One — Booking Confirmed
Three things, and then you fly
You have booked; nothing else is needed from you today. Here is the rest of it.
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Your confirmation arrives in writing
A confirmation email lands in the inbox you booked with — keep it, it has your date and time on it. If it has not shown up within a few minutes, check the spam folder before you worry, then text us and we will resend it.
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We call you the day before
Someone from the school phones you the day before your flight to confirm the weather and confirm your timing. It is a two-minute call and it is the one that makes the day run smoothly.
Please arrive 15 minutes before your booked time. That is enough to sign in, meet your instructor and get started on time, so the hour you have paid for is spent flying rather than at the desk. If you are running late, call us — more than 30 minutes late has to be treated as a no-show and the flight is charged in full, because the aircraft and the instructor are held for your slot either way.
If you miss the call, ring us back on (818) 290-8249 — we are here until 9 PM.
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You arrive at Suite 108A and meet your instructor
Come to the door in the photo below. Your instructor will already have the aircraft booked and the paperwork ready, so you can walk in, say hello, and get straight to the interesting part.
Here’s the address
LA Flight School7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A
Van Nuys, CA 91406 Suite 108A
Getting to the right door
7900 Balboa Blvd is a shared multi-tenant hangar complex on the field at Van Nuys Airport, with a number of unrelated aviation businesses inside it. The street number alone will get you into the right car park but not to the right door — the suite number is what matters.
Head for Suite 108A. That is us, and only us.
Parking is out front. If you are circling the complex and cannot spot the entrance, call (818) 290-8249 and someone will walk out and meet you at the car.
7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406 — use the Directions button for turn-by-turn.
Bring five things. That is the whole list.
No headset, no charts, no logbook. All of that is waiting for you.
Photo ID
If you are 18 or over and taking part in the US, bring a valid federal or state photo ID — a driver licence is ideal. Anyone taking part from outside the US needs a valid passport. Bring it even if you think nobody will ask.
Closed-toe shoes
You will be walking on the ramp and stepping onto the wing. Trainers are perfect; sandals and heels are not.
Layers
Mornings on the field can be cool and the cockpit warms up fast in the sun. A layer you can take off beats guessing.
Sunglasses
Non-mirrored if you have a choice. You are looking out of a small windscreen at a lot of sky.
Your phone or camera
People always want the photos afterwards. Your instructor will tell you when it is a good moment to take them.
One thing to sort out before the day. This flight carries a weight limit of 180 lbs. It is a safety limit rather than a preference — the aircraft has to be loaded inside its weight and balance envelope, and fuel is planned around it. If you are over the limit at check-in we cannot fly, and the booking is charged in full and forfeited, the same as a cancellation inside 24 hours. That is not a conversation anyone wants at the desk, so if you are anywhere near that figure please call us on (818) 290-8249 first and we will sort it out in advance.
Who can fly. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, and we are not able to carry children under 5.
What the hour actually looks like
Start to finish, so none of it is a surprise.
You and your instructor talk it through first
Before anyone goes near the aeroplane you will sit down for a short briefing — what the controls do, what you are going to fly, and what you will be doing yourself versus what the instructor handles. Ask everything. There is no such thing as a silly question at this stage.
The walkaround — and you do it too
Together you walk around the aircraft and check it: fuel, oil, tyres, the control surfaces moving the right way. It is the part most people do not expect, and it is the part that makes it feel real. You are being shown how, not watched.
Taxi, run-up, and takeoff on a live frequency
You will hear Van Nuys tower in your headset the whole way — clearances, other traffic, the lot. Van Nuys is a busy field and the radio is part of the experience. Your instructor handles the talking; you get to listen in and start to decode it.
You take the controls
Once you are clear of the pattern the instructor gives you the aircraft. Climbs, turns, levelling off. Their hands come off the controls and yours stay on. People are always surprised how light it feels — small aircraft respond to fingertips, not muscle.
The bit nobody expects to enjoy as much as they do
At some point you will stop concentrating for a second and just look. The San Fernando Valley laid out underneath you, the field you took off from now a small thing behind the wing. That is the moment people book their next lesson from.
Back on the ground, and a logbook entry
You land, taxi in, shut down, and debrief for a few minutes — what you did, what you would do next. Then you get a logbook entry for the flight, signed by your instructor.
Ask your instructor what that entry means for you if you decide to carry on training — they will explain it properly rather than us guessing here.
If the weather is not right, nobody flies
Small aircraft are more fussy about weather than airliners are, and that is a good thing. Low cloud, strong wind or poor visibility and we will not go — not because of a rule someone is enforcing, but because you would not enjoy it and your instructor would spend the hour managing it.
You will not be left guessing. We watch it, and we call you the day before with a straight answer. If it is marginal we will tell you that too, and we will often make the final call on the morning.
If we cancel for weather, maintenance, airspace or any other safety reason, it costs you nothing and it is not lost — we simply move you to another day at no cost. Call or text (818) 290-8249 any time between 9 AM and 9 PM if you need to talk it through.
If you need to move it, that is easy too. Rescheduling is free with 48 hours notice or more. Inside 48 hours there is a $50 rebooking fee, and a cancellation inside 48 hours or a no-show is charged in full. All sales are non-refundable — but the booking is transferable to someone else free of charge with 48 hours written notice, so it never has to go to waste.
Anything at all — just ask us first
Nervous, curious, or need to change something? All three are normal and all three are easy to sort out.
Call the school
(818) 290-8249Best for anything urgent, or if you want to change your date.
Call nowAnswered 9 AM – 9 PM, 7 days
Send a text
(818) 290-8249The easiest way to ask a small question. Instructors are often on the ramp and reply between flights.
Text usUsually the quickest during the day
Email us
alex@laflightschool.comBest for longer questions, or anything you would rather have in writing.
Open emailSame-day reply, most days
The small print, if you want it: Discovery Flight Terms & Conditions · Return & Refund Policy · Terms of Service · Privacy Policy
Somebody should have been in the seat next to you
Almost everyone says it afterwards. If you would rather share the next one, the Discovery Flight For Two puts two of you in the aircraft and lets you swap who is flying.
No rush, and nothing expires today. 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406 · 9 AM – 9 PM, 7 days.