Multi-Engine Discovery Flight — Booking Confirmed
Three steps, and a slightly longer briefing than usual
You have booked a twin, which means a bit more ground time before the wheels leave the runway.
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Your confirmation arrives in writing
An email with your date and time. Keep hold of it.
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We call the day before — and we will ask about your flying background
Weather, timing, and one extra question: have you flown before, and how much? A student with fifty hours and someone who has never touched a control column both enjoy this flight, but the instructor plans it differently for each, so it helps to know in advance.
We will confirm your arrival time on the same call.
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You arrive at Suite 108A and go through the aircraft on the ground first
The Seminole gets a longer pre-flight briefing than a single. There is simply more to explain — two throttles, two propeller controls, two mixtures, retractable gear, and a set of engine instruments in pairs.
Where to find us
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 with a number of unrelated aviation businesses in it. The street number alone lands you in the car park; the suite number lands you at the right door.
Head for Suite 108A — come inside rather than trying to find the aeroplane yourself.
Parking is out front. If you cannot find the entrance, call (818) 290-8249 and someone will come out.
7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406 — use the Directions button for turn-by-turn.
The usual list, plus one thing if you already fly
Nothing technical — the aircraft and the headsets are ours.
Photo ID
Driver licence or passport.
Closed-toe shoes
The Seminole is a low-wing aircraft and you step up onto the wing to board. Proper shoes, no exceptions.
Layers
You will be outside for a longer walkaround than usual — there is twice as much aeroplane to check.
Sunglasses
Non-mirrored if you have them.
Your logbook, if you have one
If you already fly, bring it. Your instructor can talk to you about where a multi-engine rating would sit in your training rather than talking in general terms.
No experience is needed for this flight. Complete beginners fly the Seminole and enjoy it — the instructor simply pitches the briefing differently. Weight limits apply to this aircraft as they do to any other, and we will confirm those with you on the day-before call.
What is different about flying a twin
If you have flown a single before, almost every step below will feel familiar and slightly bigger. If you have not, you are simply starting at the deep end and that is fine.
A longer briefing, because there is more to brief
Two engines means two throttles, two propeller levers and two mixture controls in one quadrant, plus engine instruments in pairs. Your instructor will explain what each one does before you go anywhere near it, and what you will be handling versus what they will.
The walkaround takes twice as long — deliberately
Two engines, two propellers, two nacelles, and landing gear that retracts. You will check it all with your instructor. This is the part where people start to realise how much aeroplane they have booked.
Counter-rotating propellers, and why that matters
Look at the two propellers on a Seminole and they turn in opposite directions. Most twins have both turning the same way, which makes one engine more critical than the other if it quits. Counter-rotating props take that asymmetry out. It is one of the reasons the Seminole is such a common multi-engine trainer, and your instructor will show you the difference on the ground.
Starting, taxiing and taking off with two of everything
Engines are started one at a time. The aircraft feels heavier taxiing than a trainer does, because it is. On the takeoff roll you have both hands busy and a lot more thrust in front of you, and the gear comes up once you are climbing away.
You fly it
Away from the pattern the instructor gives you the controls. Turns, climbs, levelling off, feeling how much more inertia there is in a heavier aircraft — it does not dart about like a two-seat trainer. Most people describe it as feeling substantial.
Approach, landing, and a logbook entry
Gear down, back into a busy Van Nuys, and on the ground. Then a debrief with your instructor and a logbook entry for the flight.
If a multi-engine rating is somewhere in your plans, this is the moment to ask what the route to it looks like from where you are now.
Weather, and one aircraft to schedule around
Low cloud, strong wind or poor visibility and the flight does not go — the same standard we apply to every aircraft on the field.
As with any twin, there is one Seminole and a queue of people who want it, including students working through a multi-engine rating. If we have to move you, we are matching an aircraft and an instructor at the same time, so being flexible on the replacement date genuinely helps.
We call you the day before with a straight answer, and again on the morning if it is borderline. Reach us any time on (818) 290-8249, 9 AM to 9 PM.
Ask about the aircraft, or about the rating
Whether you are here for the experience or sizing up a multi-engine rating, it is worth a two-minute conversation before the day.
Call the school
(818) 290-8249Best if you want to talk through where a multi-engine rating fits for you.
Call nowAnswered 9 AM – 9 PM, 7 days
Send a text
(818) 290-8249Good for the practical stuff — timing, parking, what to wear.
Text usUsually the quickest during the day
Email us
alex@laflightschool.comBest for a longer question, or if you want to send over your hours.
Open emailSame-day reply, most days
A twin is a serious aeroplane, and this is a serious question
If the Seminole flight has you thinking about a multi-engine rating or a commercial path, sit down with us for half an hour at Suite 108A. We will map out what it takes from your actual hours — free, in person, and with nothing to sign.
No obligation. 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406 · 9 AM – 9 PM, 7 days.