Cessna 162 Skycatcher light sport training aircraft on the ramp at Van Nuys Airport
Cessna 162 Skycatcher · Van Nuys Airport (KVNY)

Cessna Skycatcher Training In Los Angeles

Cessna built about 275 Skycatchers and then stopped, which makes it one of the rarer light sport aircraft on any training ramp. We have one, we fly it every week, and it is the aircraft the $8,400 Sport Pilot Program is built around. Here is what it does well and where it runs out of room.

Call (818) 290-8249
Sport Pilot Program $8,400Garmin G300 glass panel5.0★ · 100+ Google reviews

Book It Or Gift It

Fly It Yourself, Or Give The Flight To Someone Else

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.

A student's hands on the control stick and a kneeboard in a training aircraft, the instrument panel lit in front of them Most Given The Hollywood sign on its ridge seen past the wing of a light aircraft, with the San Fernando Valley beyond Two Seats A Cirrus SR22 Turbo parked on the ramp with both gullwing doors raised, showing the leather interior and glass cockpit The Nice One The flight school's Piper Seminole twin-engine training aircraft parked inside the hangar at Van Nuys Twin Engine

Discovery Flight For One

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 It Or Gift It
Same Price Either Way

Discovery Flight For Two

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 It Or Gift It
Same Price Either Way

Luxury Discovery Flight

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

Bring A PassengerInstructor + 2 is our maximum+$100

$499Book It Or Gift It
Same Price Either Way

Multi-Engine Seminole

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 It Or Gift It
Same Price Either Way

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.

The Downtown Los Angeles skyline under an overcast sky, seen from a small airplane on a flight with LA Flight School, from the Google review by Marc Bolanos SAFETY FIRST
Marc BolanosJAN 2026 Google
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
The view from the pilot seat of a small training airplane, with the instrument panel beside the window and Los Angeles below, from the Google review by Diego Gutierrez DISCOVERY FLIGHT
Diego GutierrezOCT 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
The sun setting over the hills past the wing of a small airplane on a sunset flight from Van Nuys, from the Google review by Ethan Pilon SUNSET CIRRUS
Ethan PilonOCT 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
A yellow and white Piper training airplane, registration N6312C, parked on the ramp at Van Nuys Airport under a clear blue sky, from the Google review by Mia Bompat FLYING LESSON
Mia BompatJUN 2026 Google
★★★★★
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...
Sunset over the Santa Monica Mountains and the Malibu coastline, seen from a small airplane above Santa Monica Bay, from the Google review by Sanaz Diba KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
Sanaz DibaAUG 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
Pink and orange sunset clouds over the ridgelines of the Santa Monica Mountains, photographed from a small airplane, from the Google review by Rakkad Alhouqani HONEYMOON SURPRISE
Rakkad AlhouqaniJUL 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
A row of yellow and white LA Flight School training airplanes parked on the ramp at Van Nuys Airport at dusk, from the Google review by Niyousha Aslejafari FULL-MOTION SIM
Niyousha AslejafariNOV 2025 Google
★★★★★
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...
A student and an instructor in headsets in the front seats of a small airplane, flying toward the sunset over the Pacific, from the Google review by Bruce Guido DISCOVERY FOR TWO
Bruce GuidoNOV 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
A smiling LA Flight School student standing in front of a white training airplane outside the hangar at Van Nuys Airport, from the Google review by George Attallah SIMULATORS
George AttallahAPR 2024 Google
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
A student pilot in a headset sitting in a Cirrus with the door raised, parked outside a hangar at Van Nuys Airport, from the Google review by Tania Anders TEEN FIRST LESSON
Tania AndersJUN 2025 Google
★★★★★
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...
A white Cirrus being moved out of its hangar at Van Nuys Airport before a flight, from the Google review by Meghan Klien FIRST-TIME FLYER
Meghan KlienOCT 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
The Downtown Los Angeles skyline under an overcast sky, seen from a small airplane on a flight with LA Flight School, from the Google review by Marc Bolanos SAFETY FIRST
Marc BolanosJAN 2026 Google
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
The view from the pilot seat of a small training airplane, with the instrument panel beside the window and Los Angeles below, from the Google review by Diego Gutierrez DISCOVERY FLIGHT
Diego GutierrezOCT 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
The sun setting over the hills past the wing of a small airplane on a sunset flight from Van Nuys, from the Google review by Ethan Pilon SUNSET CIRRUS
Ethan PilonOCT 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
A yellow and white Piper training airplane, registration N6312C, parked on the ramp at Van Nuys Airport under a clear blue sky, from the Google review by Mia Bompat FLYING LESSON
Mia BompatJUN 2026 Google
★★★★★
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...
Sunset over the Santa Monica Mountains and the Malibu coastline, seen from a small airplane above Santa Monica Bay, from the Google review by Sanaz Diba KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
Sanaz DibaAUG 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
Pink and orange sunset clouds over the ridgelines of the Santa Monica Mountains, photographed from a small airplane, from the Google review by Rakkad Alhouqani HONEYMOON SURPRISE
Rakkad AlhouqaniJUL 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
A row of yellow and white LA Flight School training airplanes parked on the ramp at Van Nuys Airport at dusk, from the Google review by Niyousha Aslejafari FULL-MOTION SIM
Niyousha AslejafariNOV 2025 Google
★★★★★
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...
A student and an instructor in headsets in the front seats of a small airplane, flying toward the sunset over the Pacific, from the Google review by Bruce Guido DISCOVERY FOR TWO
Bruce GuidoNOV 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
A smiling LA Flight School student standing in front of a white training airplane outside the hangar at Van Nuys Airport, from the Google review by George Attallah SIMULATORS
George AttallahAPR 2024 Google
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
A student pilot in a headset sitting in a Cirrus with the door raised, parked outside a hangar at Van Nuys Airport, from the Google review by Tania Anders TEEN FIRST LESSON
Tania AndersJUN 2025 Google
★★★★★
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...
A white Cirrus being moved out of its hangar at Van Nuys Airport before a flight, from the Google review by Meghan Klien FIRST-TIME FLYER
Meghan KlienOCT 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
20hours minimum for a sport pilot certificate, FAR 61.313
$8,400Sport Pilot Program, ground instruction included
5.0★100+ Google reviews
~5gallons an hour — roughly half a four-seat trainer
The Aircraft

A Two-Seat Cessna Designed To Be Cheap To Run, And It Is

The 162 Skycatcher was Cessna answering the light sport rules the FAA created in 2004. Those rules have since been rewritten — the MOSAIC final rule at 90 FR 35034 replaced the light-sport definition in 14 CFR 1.1 with a performance and design test that took effect on 22 October 2025, and removed the definition itself on 24 July 2026. What a sport pilot may fly is now set by 14 CFR 61.316. High wing, two seats, a 100 horsepower Continental O-200D, a 1,320 pound maximum gross weight and a Garmin G300 glass panel as standard. It burns around five gallons an hour. A four-seat trainer burns eight or nine.

Cessna stopped building it in 2013 after roughly 275 airframes, which people sometimes read as a verdict on the airplane. It is not really. The Skycatcher was priced close to a used four-seat single at a moment when nobody wanted to pay new-aircraft money for two seats, and that killed it commercially. As a trainer it does the job it was designed for perfectly well.

What you notice flying it is how light everything is. It is responsive in roll, it needs proper rudder work, and it will not let you get away with a lazy crosswind approach the way a heavier airplane will. That is a training feature, not a fault, though it does not always feel that way in your first five landings.

Flight instructor briefing a student beside a Cessna on the ramp at Van Nuys Airport
Who It Suits

Where The Skycatcher Is The Right Answer, And Where It Is Not

We would rather tell you which students we do not put in it than pretend one aircraft fits everyone.

Cessna high-wing trainer with student and instructor at Van Nuys Airport

Sport Pilot Students — This Is The Airplane

A sport pilot certificate requires a minimum of 20 hours of flight training under FAR 61.313, roughly half the 40 hours FAR 61.109 sets for a private pilot. You can exercise sport pilot privileges on a valid US driver license instead of an FAA medical certificate, which removes both a cost and, for some people, a genuine source of anxiety about the whole process.

Our Sport Pilot Program is $8,400 with ground instruction and briefings included. The trade is real and we will state it plainly: sport pilot privileges limit you to aircraft that meet the performance limits of 14 CFR 61.316, one passenger under 14 CFR 61.315(c)(4), and 10,000 feet MSL or 2,000 feet AGL, whichever is higher. Night is allowed under 14 CFR 61.329, but only with night training, a logbook endorsement, and either a part 67 medical or BasicMed under 14 CFR 61.113(i) — a driver license on its own keeps you in daylight. If that describes the flying you actually want to do, you have just saved $2,500 against the Standard Private Pilot Program and twenty hours of training.

Private Pilot Students — Partly

Every hour you fly in the Skycatcher counts toward a private pilot certificate exactly as an hour in the Piper Warrior does. There is no discount in the logbook for a lighter airplane. Students often use it for pattern work, airwork and the first solo, then move across to the four-seat Piper for cross-country work and the checkride.

That choice costs you nothing either way. The Standard Private Pilot Program is $10,900 for 40 hours logged and it is priced the same whichever of our single-engine aircraft you fly, so pick the Skycatcher for the way it flies and the glass panel, not to save money. If you want one aircraft the whole way through, take the Piper.

Where It Runs Out

Two seats and a 1,320 pound gross weight means the useful load is genuinely tight. A large instructor and a large student, with full fuel, will be at or over limits on a hot Van Nuys afternoon in August, and the honest answer is you will be flying with partial tanks and a shorter lesson. We will work this out with you at the first briefing rather than at the aircraft.

It is also not the airplane for instrument training, night cross-countries with family aboard, or anything where you want to carry more than one other person. A sport pilot may not fly in instrument conditions at all — 14 CFR 61.315(c)(12) and (c)(13) require three statute miles of visibility and visual reference to the surface — and the Skycatcher is not the machine you would choose for instrument work regardless.

Against The Rest Of The Line

The Skycatcher Next To The Other Single-Engine Trainers

Three aircraft at the entry end of our fleet, and the honest reason to pick each one. All three are flown at the same $179 an hour package rate by enrolled students.

Cessna 162 Skycatcher parked at Van Nuys Airport

Cessna 162 Skycatcher

Pick it for the glass panel, the light handling and the sport pilot route. Cheapest to run of anything we own, and it teaches rudder discipline whether you wanted to learn it or not.

Piper Warrior four-seat trainer at Van Nuys Airport

Piper Warrior

Pick it if you want a private certificate and one aircraft the whole way through. Four seats, more payload, more stable in the flare, and it will carry three adults and bags to Santa Barbara.

Diamond DA20 with bubble canopy at Van Nuys Airport

Diamond DA20

Pick it for the visibility and the control stick. Two seats like the Skycatcher but faster and heavier, with a composite airframe and the best view on the field.

AircraftSeatsEnginePanelFuel burnProgram
Cessna 162 Skycatcher2100 hp Continental O-200DGarmin G300 glassabout 5 gal/hrSport Pilot $8,400
Piper Warrior4160 hp Lycomingtraditional analogueabout 8 gal/hrStandard $10,900 · Comprehensive $15,900
Diamond DA202125 hp Continentaltraditional analogueabout 5 gal/hrStandard $10,900 · Comprehensive $15,900

Enrolled students fly single-engine aircraft at $179 an hour wet — fuel and oil included, and the same number in all three. See the whole fleet on the aircraft you train in page.

The Rest Of The Line

What Else Is On The Ramp At Van Nuys

The Skycatcher is the entry point. These are the aircraft students move across to as the training goes on, and every one of them is ours, inspected every 100 hours under FAR 91.409(b).

Cessna 162 Skycatcher light sport aircraft at Van Nuys Airport
The Skycatcher — Garmin G300 glass in the lightest airplane we own
Diamond DA20 composite trainer with bubble canopy at Van Nuys Airport
The Diamond canopy — the best visibility on the field
Diamond DA20 parked at LA Flight School at Van Nuys Airport
Faster and heavier than the Skycatcher, and a control stick instead of a yoke
Piper Warrior trainers on the flight line at Van Nuys Airport
The Piper Warriors — four seats and the Standard and Comprehensive programs
Cirrus SR22 Turbo with full glass cockpit at Van Nuys Airport
The Cirrus SR22 Turbo — the Premium program at $22,500
Piper Seminole twin-engine trainer at Van Nuys Airport
The Piper Seminole — the $5,100 multi-engine add-on

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.

Redbird MCX

Twenty Hours Is Not Many. The Simulator Makes Them Count.

FAA-approved, fully enclosed, full-motion. On a twenty-hour sport pilot syllabus every aircraft hour matters, and procedures, radio work and emergencies are cheaper and faster to learn on the ground first.

Simulator hours are built into every private pilot program — 2 hours on Standard and Premium, 5 hours on Comprehensive. Standalone sessions are $189.

Your Instructor

Light Aircraft Are Honest Teachers. So Are Our Instructors.

The Skycatcher does not smooth over a sloppy approach, which makes the debrief afterwards the most valuable part of the lesson. Every instructor here holds a commercial or ATP certificate plus a CFI and a current medical, and is legally pilot in command on every flight, so a first lesson is a real lesson from the first minute.

There are eleven of them, so a twenty-hour syllabus does not stretch to six months because one person is on holiday. You are matched to an instructor for continuity and you can change if the fit is wrong, which is a normal request here rather than an awkward one.

They fly here as a career rather than treating the school as a waiting room for an airline class date. That is the single biggest difference between finishing a sport pilot certificate in three months and finishing it in a year.

Flight instructor and young student in the cockpit at Van Nuys Airport
What People Say

5.0 Stars, 100+ Reviews

On Google, the same three things come up again and again from students on every program, including the shortest one.

★

Instructors Who Actually Teach

The most repeated compliment in our reviews is not the aircraft or the price — it is the debrief.

★

Scheduling That Works

Eleven instructors and a fleet we own means lessons happen when we say they will.

★

Prices That Do Not Move

The number you enroll at is the number you finish at. Reviewers mention this constantly.

An Argument About Glass

The G300 Is A Glass Panel, And We Still Teach You To Fly Without Looking At It

The Skycatcher came from the factory with a Garmin G300, which means a student in our lightest airplane is learning on a glass display. That is a genuine advantage if your eventual goal is a modern cockpit, and it removes the transition shock that catches pilots who spend 200 hours on round dials and then step into a Cirrus.

It also creates a trap, and it is the same trap we watch for in the SR22 Turbo. A glass panel is very good at telling you exactly what is happening, and a student who trusts it completely stops looking outside. The first twenty hours of any certificate are about picking a point on the horizon, holding an attitude against it, and feeling airspeed through the controls rather than reading it. So we cover the screen. Regularly, and without much warning.

Learn the attitude first. Use the display to confirm it. That order matters, and it matters more in an airplane this light, because the Skycatcher gives you feedback that a heavier trainer smooths over.

Garmin G300 standardAttitude first, panel secondPremium program is full glass
Glass cockpit panel with a kneeboard during a training flight from Van Nuys Airport
Getting Started

From First Flight To Sport Pilot Checkride

The sport pilot route is the shortest legal path to flying an aircraft by yourself in the United States. Twenty hours minimum, though almost nobody finishes in exactly twenty.

01

Discovery Flight — $229

Sixty minutes, you fly the airplane, and the time is loggable dual instruction that counts toward the certificate. Enroll within 24 hours and the whole $229 comes off the program price. This is a real lesson, not a ride.

02

Student Pilot Certificate And ID

Free, applied for through IACRA. For sport pilot privileges you can use a valid US driver license in place of an FAA medical certificate, which is the single biggest practical difference from the private pilot route.

03

Pre-Solo Training

Takeoffs, landings, slow flight, stalls, emergency procedures and the Van Nuys pattern. Class D under the LAX Class B shelf means you will be talking to a tower from lesson one, which is harder for a month and better forever.

04

Solo, Then Cross-Country

First solo typically lands somewhere between 15 and 25 hours depending on how often you fly. Two lessons a week and the skills compound. One a fortnight and you spend the first twenty minutes of every flight recovering what you already knew.

05

Knowledge Test And Checkride

You will sit the FAA sport pilot knowledge test at an approved testing center, then take the practical test with an independent designated pilot examiner. Both are arranged through us and your instructor will not sign you off until you are ready for either.

The Programs

Sport Pilot, Or The Full Private Certificate

The Skycatcher sits inside the $8,400 Sport Pilot Program and can be flown on the private pilot programs below. Enrolled students fly single-engine aircraft at $179 an hour wet, and it is already inside these prices.

Standard Private Pilot Program

$10,900

Forty hours logged, flown in our Cessna, Piper and Diamond single-engine aircraft.

  • Single-Engine (Cessna · Piper · Diamond) — 38 hrs
  • Redbird full-motion simulator — 2 hrs
  • Dual flight instruction — 30 hrs
  • Ground school — 3 hrs
  • Books & training materials — included
  • 40 hours logged flight time
Most chosen

Comprehensive Private Pilot Program

$15,900

Sixty hours logged and ten hours of ground school. The one most students finish in.

  • Single-Engine (Cessna · Piper · Diamond) — 55 hrs
  • Redbird full-motion simulator — 5 hrs
  • Dual flight instruction — 50 hrs
  • Ground school — 10 hrs
  • Books & training materials — included
  • 60 hours logged flight time

Premium Private Pilot Program

$22,500

The whole certificate flown in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo with its full glass cockpit.

  • Cirrus SR22 Turbo (glass cockpit) — 38 hrs
  • Redbird full-motion simulator — 2 hrs
  • Dual flight instruction — 30 hrs
  • Ground school — 3 hrs
  • Books & training materials — included
  • 40 hours logged flight time

The Sport Pilot Program is $8,400 for the 20-hour minimum under FAR 61.313, with ground instruction and briefings included and a valid US driver license accepted in place of an FAA medical. Financing from $2,500 down with monthly plans. Redbird MCX simulator sessions are $189.

Back to School: $500 off any private pilot program through 30 September 2026. Standard $10,400 · Comprehensive $15,400 · Premium $22,000. Ask when you enroll.
Next Step

Go And Fly It Before You Decide Two Seats Is Enough

Sixty minutes in the Skycatcher over Los Angeles, hands on the controls, logged as real dual instruction. Enroll within 24 hours and the $229 comes off the program. Call (818) 290-8249, 9am to 9pm, seven days. 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys.

Discovery Flight For One
$229
60 minutes · you fly the aircraft · fully loggable · credited on enrollment
FAQ

Cessna Skycatcher Questions

A full sport pilot certificate in it is $8,400, including ground instruction, briefings and materials. If you are training toward a private certificate instead, the Standard Private Pilot Program is $10,900 for 40 hours logged. Enrolled students fly single-engine aircraft at $179 an hour wet.

Yes, particularly for sport pilot training and early private pilot work. It has a Garmin G300 glass panel, burns about five gallons an hour, and its light controls force proper rudder discipline. Its limits are real: two seats, a 1,320 pound maximum gross weight, and a tight useful load on hot days.

Cessna ended production in 2013 after roughly 275 aircraft, mainly because the price sat close to that of a used four-seat single and buyers would not pay new-aircraft money for two seats. It was a commercial failure rather than a flying one, and the airframes still in service train students perfectly well.

Yes. Every hour flown in it counts toward the 40-hour minimum under FAR 61.109 exactly as an hour in any other airplane does. Many students fly early lessons and pattern work in it on the $10,900 Standard program, then move to the four-seat Piper for cross-country training and the checkride.

Sport pilot requires 20 hours minimum under FAR 61.313 and costs $8,400 with us; private pilot requires 40 hours minimum under FAR 61.109 and starts at $10,900. Sport pilot privileges allow a valid US driver license in place of an FAA medical, but limit you to aircraft that meet the performance limits of 14 CFR 61.316, one passenger under 14 CFR 61.315(c)(4), and 10,000 feet MSL or 2,000 feet AGL, whichever is higher. Night flying is permitted under 14 CFR 61.329 with night training, an endorsement and either a part 67 medical or BasicMed under 14 CFR 61.113(i).

Not to exercise sport pilot privileges — a valid US driver license is accepted in place of an FAA medical certificate. If you are training toward a private pilot certificate on the $10,900 Standard program you will need at least a third-class medical from an aviation medical examiner before you solo.

Maximum gross weight is 1,320 pounds, which makes the useful load genuinely tight with two adults aboard. That figure was once the regulatory ceiling for light-sport aircraft; the MOSAIC final rule deleted the light-sport definition from 14 CFR 1.1, so 1,320 pounds is now simply the weight limit of this particular airplane, and sport pilot eligibility turns on the stall-speed criterion in 14 CFR 61.316 instead. On a hot Van Nuys afternoon you will often fly with partial fuel and a shorter lesson. Your instructor works the weight and balance out with you at the first briefing.

Yes, after a checkout with one of our instructors in that make and model, which is about an hour of ground plus one to two hours of flight. You will need a flight review within the last 24 calendar months under FAR 61.56, and enrolled students and graduates fly at $179 an hour wet.

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

One email. Opt out any time.

Loved On Google

Over 100 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.

5.0Google100+ Reviews 355Flyable DaysA Year At Van Nuys 9–9Open Daily9 AM To 9 PM, 7 Days
The Downtown Los Angeles skyline under an overcast sky, seen from a small airplane on a flight with LA Flight School, from the Google review by Marc Bolanos SAFETY FIRST
Marc BolanosJAN 2026 Google
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
The view from the pilot seat of a small training airplane, with the instrument panel beside the window and Los Angeles below, from the Google review by Diego Gutierrez DISCOVERY FLIGHT
Diego GutierrezOCT 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
The sun setting over the hills past the wing of a small airplane on a sunset flight from Van Nuys, from the Google review by Ethan Pilon SUNSET CIRRUS
Ethan PilonOCT 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
A yellow and white Piper training airplane, registration N6312C, parked on the ramp at Van Nuys Airport under a clear blue sky, from the Google review by Mia Bompat FLYING LESSON
Mia BompatJUN 2026 Google
★★★★★
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...
Sunset over the Santa Monica Mountains and the Malibu coastline, seen from a small airplane above Santa Monica Bay, from the Google review by Sanaz Diba KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
Sanaz DibaAUG 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
Pink and orange sunset clouds over the ridgelines of the Santa Monica Mountains, photographed from a small airplane, from the Google review by Rakkad Alhouqani HONEYMOON SURPRISE
Rakkad AlhouqaniJUL 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
A row of yellow and white LA Flight School training airplanes parked on the ramp at Van Nuys Airport at dusk, from the Google review by Niyousha Aslejafari FULL-MOTION SIM
Niyousha AslejafariNOV 2025 Google
★★★★★
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...
A student and an instructor in headsets in the front seats of a small airplane, flying toward the sunset over the Pacific, from the Google review by Bruce Guido DISCOVERY FOR TWO
Bruce GuidoNOV 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
A smiling LA Flight School student standing in front of a white training airplane outside the hangar at Van Nuys Airport, from the Google review by George Attallah SIMULATORS
George AttallahAPR 2024 Google
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
A student pilot in a headset sitting in a Cirrus with the door raised, parked outside a hangar at Van Nuys Airport, from the Google review by Tania Anders TEEN FIRST LESSON
Tania AndersJUN 2025 Google
★★★★★
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...
A white Cirrus being moved out of its hangar at Van Nuys Airport before a flight, from the Google review by Meghan Klien FIRST-TIME FLYER
Meghan KlienOCT 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
The Downtown Los Angeles skyline under an overcast sky, seen from a small airplane on a flight with LA Flight School, from the Google review by Marc Bolanos SAFETY FIRST
Marc BolanosJAN 2026 Google
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
The view from the pilot seat of a small training airplane, with the instrument panel beside the window and Los Angeles below, from the Google review by Diego Gutierrez DISCOVERY FLIGHT
Diego GutierrezOCT 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
The sun setting over the hills past the wing of a small airplane on a sunset flight from Van Nuys, from the Google review by Ethan Pilon SUNSET CIRRUS
Ethan PilonOCT 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
A yellow and white Piper training airplane, registration N6312C, parked on the ramp at Van Nuys Airport under a clear blue sky, from the Google review by Mia Bompat FLYING LESSON
Mia BompatJUN 2026 Google
★★★★★
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...
Sunset over the Santa Monica Mountains and the Malibu coastline, seen from a small airplane above Santa Monica Bay, from the Google review by Sanaz Diba KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
Sanaz DibaAUG 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
Pink and orange sunset clouds over the ridgelines of the Santa Monica Mountains, photographed from a small airplane, from the Google review by Rakkad Alhouqani HONEYMOON SURPRISE
Rakkad AlhouqaniJUL 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
A row of yellow and white LA Flight School training airplanes parked on the ramp at Van Nuys Airport at dusk, from the Google review by Niyousha Aslejafari FULL-MOTION SIM
Niyousha AslejafariNOV 2025 Google
★★★★★
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...
A student and an instructor in headsets in the front seats of a small airplane, flying toward the sunset over the Pacific, from the Google review by Bruce Guido DISCOVERY FOR TWO
Bruce GuidoNOV 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
A smiling LA Flight School student standing in front of a white training airplane outside the hangar at Van Nuys Airport, from the Google review by George Attallah SIMULATORS
George AttallahAPR 2024 Google
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
A student pilot in a headset sitting in a Cirrus with the door raised, parked outside a hangar at Van Nuys Airport, from the Google review by Tania Anders TEEN FIRST LESSON
Tania AndersJUN 2025 Google
★★★★★
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...
A white Cirrus being moved out of its hangar at Van Nuys Airport before a flight, from the Google review by Meghan Klien FIRST-TIME FLYER
Meghan KlienOCT 2024 Google
★★★★★
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...
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Reviews shown verbatim, exactly as each reviewer published them.