Commercial Pilot License
The certificate that lets you get paid to fly. Advanced maneuvers, complex and high-performance aircraft, and full FAA checkride preparation — trained in one of the world’s busiest general aviation environments.
Program Dashboard
The Numbers Behind The Certificate
Everything about this course is quantified up front — hours, cost, timeline and what the FAA actually requires. No estimates that grow later.
Commercial Pilot Training in Los Angeles
Get Your Commercial Pilot License At Van Nuys Airport
If you're searching for commercial pilot training near you in Los Angeles, this is the course that converts your flying from a hobby into a profession. The FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate is the license that legally allows you to be compensated for flying — and it is the single most important step between your Private Pilot certificate and a career in the cockpit.
Los Angeles Flight School trains commercial candidates at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), one of the busiest general aviation airports in the world. That matters: you'll build commercial-standard precision while working real Class D and Class B airspace, dense traffic patterns, and controller phraseology that most pilots don't see until their first airline interview.
Our curriculum is powered by the Redbird MCX full-motion flight simulator — an FAA-approved AATD with 210° wraparound visuals, a 3-axis motion platform, dual controls and a real Garmin G430 — plus a modern training fleet of 20+ aircraft we own outright: Cessna 162, Piper Warrior, Piper Arrow, Diamond DA20, Cirrus SR22 Turbo and the Piper Seminole twin.
Commercial training here is about standards, not just hours. Chandelles, lazy eights, eights-on-pylons and power-off 180° accuracy landings are flown to the Commercial Airman Certification Standards from day one, with an in-depth ground school and a full mock oral and practical before your checkride is ever scheduled.
Book your free, in-person consultation at our Van Nuys Airport location and we'll map your current logbook against the §61.129 requirements and give you a realistic date for your commercial checkride.
This is the standalone Commercial Pilot License course — not our $84,000 Airline Pilot Program. This $15,900 course covers the Commercial Single-Engine certificate only, for pilots who already hold a Private Pilot certificate. If you're starting from zero flight experience and want every rating through ATP — 1,500 hours, plus CFI, CFII and MEI so you can instruct for pay while you build them — see the Airline Pilot Program ($84,000) instead.
What's Included
Every Line Item, Added Up To $15,900
This is the whole course — aircraft, simulator, instruction, ground school, endorsements and checkride prep. Watch the running total build. Nothing is billed separately after enrollment.
Complete Course Cost
Hours By Activity
Exactly How Your 130 Program Hours Are Spent
Every hour in this course is scheduled, logged and signed off — not estimated.
Bars are scaled against the largest category (50 hours of dual instruction). Simulator time is loggable toward the Commercial certificate under §61.129(i)(1)(i) — up to 50 hours in an FAA-approved AATD.
Before You Start
Here's What You'll Need To Get Started
Four gates, one syllabus, twenty simulator hours and a payment plan — in four tabs instead of four screens of scrolling.
Four Gates Between You And The Certificate
We audit your logbook against all four at your free consultation, before you pay for anything.
Hold A Private Pilot Certificate
Already certificated before commercial training starts. Not yet? Start With Private Pilot
250 Total Flight Hours
Logged time under §61.129, including the solo, cross-country, night and instrument experience the regulation lists.
Pass The FAA Exams
The commercial knowledge test, then the oral and flight checkride with a Designated Pilot Examiner.
Second-Class Medical
Required to exercise commercial privileges. We'll point you to an AME near Van Nuys.
Not Sure Your Logbook Qualifies?
Bring it in. An instructor reads it against §61.129 line by line and tells you exactly which hours are still owed — before you commit to a thing.
Or Call (818) 290-8249 →Flown To Commercial Tolerances, Not Private Ones
Commercial flying is judged on precision — roughly half the margin you were allowed as a private pilot. Six things fill the course:
- Advanced maneuvers — chandelles, lazy eights, steep spirals, eights-on-pylons, power-off 180° landings
- Complex and high-performance aircraft — retractable gear, constant-speed propeller, 200+ hp, endorsements logged
- Instrument and cross-country experience that satisfies the §61.129 requirements
- 30 hours of ground school — aerodynamics, systems, performance, weight and balance, regulations, aeromedical
- Full-motion simulator scenarios — engine failures, systems malfunctions, hard IFR, go-arounds
- Full checkride preparation — mock oral and mock practical with a second instructor, DPE scheduling and IACRA handled
Twenty Hours In A Full-Motion Simulator
An enclosed cockpit on a 3-axis electric motion platform with 210° wraparound visuals, dual controls and a real Garmin G430, configurable for single- and multi-engine operations. Twenty hours of this course happen here, and every hour counts.
You Don't Have To Pay $15,400 Up Front
Our financing partners approve most applicants without a co-signer, and the application uses a soft credit check that will not affect your score.
- Terms up to 15 years, fixed or variable, no prepayment penalty
- Down payment from $2,500
- Soft credit check — no score impact, no co-signer for most applicants
Discovery flight credit: 100% of a discovery flight credits toward your training when you enroll within 24 hours. Discovery flights start at $229.
The whole $15,400 course can be financed, and the price does not change when it is.
See Financing Options →Where It Takes You
What You'll Fly, And What It Pays For
The aircraft, the airspace, the work the certificate opens up, and the rating most graduates add next.
Cirrus SR22 Turbo And The Complex Fleet
The most advanced piston single in the Los Angeles training market: Perspective+ glass, turbonormalized power and a whole-airframe parachute — the closest thing to a jet cockpit you can log commercial time in.
- Glass cockpit avionics and full autopilot integration
- High-performance endorsement training included
- Complex work in the Piper Arrow — retractable gear and constant-speed propeller
- Your 30 single-engine hours in a Cessna, Piper or Diamond at the same rate
Commercial Cross-Countries Over Los Angeles
Your long commercial cross-countries run through some of the most demanding airspace in the United States — the LA Basin, the coastal corridors and the high desert — with Bravo transitions, flight following and real controller workload on every flight.
- Day and night cross-country experience logged to §61.129
- Class B, C and D operations from a Class D home field
- Van Nuys (KVNY) — among the busiest general-aviation airports in the world
The Certificate That Starts Paying
Here is the work our commercial graduates go into while they build toward the 1,500 hours an airline requires.
Flight Instructor
Add a CFI certificate and get paid to build hours fast. We hire our own graduates.
Aerial Photography And Survey
Film, real estate, mapping and pipeline or powerline patrol — plentiful in Southern California.
Banner Towing And Traffic Watch
Seasonal, high-hour, low-barrier flying along the LA coastline and freeways.
Sightseeing And Tour Pilot
Paying passengers over the Hollywood Sign, Malibu and downtown LA under Part 91 and 135.
Part 135 Charter
On-demand charter and air taxi, single- and multi-engine — often the first turbine step.
Cargo And Freight
Part 135 cargo runs, check hauling and light freight. Night flying and hard IFR.
Corporate And Ferry Flying
Business aviation and aircraft ferrying out of Van Nuys, the corporate capital of general aviation.
Regional Airline First Officer
At 1,500 hours — or the reduced ATP minimums — the right seat of a regional jet opens up.
Add The Multi-Engine Rating
Most commercial pilots add a multi-engine rating straight after the checkride, because that is what charter operators and airlines actually want to see. Our accelerated Piper Seminole course runs Monday to the weekend.
- Checkride scheduled before your first lesson
- Pairs with: Multi-Engine Rating · Instrument Rating
- Leads to: The Full Airline Career Program
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Questions
Commercial Pilot License FAQ
The complete course cost is $15,900. That's a fixed, itemized price covering 30 hours of single-engine flight time, 20 hours in the Redbird MCX full-motion simulator, 50 hours of dual instruction across aircraft and simulator, 30 hours of ground school and pre/post-flight briefings, plus your syllabus and materials, complex and high-performance endorsement training, and full checkride preparation. Financing is available up to 15 years from $2,500 down.
No. This $15,900 course is the standalone Commercial Pilot License for pilots who already hold a Private Pilot certificate. The $84,000 Airline Pilot Program is a complete zero-to-airline pathway that includes the Private, Instrument, Commercial, Multi-Engine, CFI/CFII/MEI certificates, time building to 1,500 hours and an ATP — so you finish able to instruct for pay while the logbook fills. If your goal is the airlines and you're starting from scratch, the Airline program is usually the better value; if you already fly and just need the commercial certificate, this is your course.
Typically 2 to 4 months if you already hold your Private Pilot certificate and Instrument Rating and can fly consistently. If you're still building toward the FAA's 250-hour total time requirement, the calendar timeline extends — but the course price does not change. We'll give you a realistic date at your free consultation after reviewing your logbook.
The FAA requires 250 total flight hours under 14 CFR §61.129, or the alternate aeronautical experience requirement available to students who complete an approved Part 141 course. Within that total there are specific requirements for pilot-in-command time, cross-country flying, night operations, instrument training and solo (or performing the duties of PIC) experience. We audit your logbook line by line against the regulation before you start.
You need a valid FAA second-class medical certificate to exercise commercial pilot privileges. You can train with a third-class medical, but you'll want the second-class in hand before your checkride. We can refer you to Aviation Medical Examiners near Van Nuys.
It isn't legally required to hold an Instrument Rating before the Commercial certificate — but without one, your commercial certificate carries a limitation prohibiting carrying passengers for hire on cross-countries over 50 nautical miles or at night. In practice, virtually every commercial job requires it. Most of our students complete the Instrument Rating ($11,700) first.
You can train in our Cessna, Piper or Diamond aircraft at the same rate. Complex and high-performance work is flown in the Piper Arrow and Cirrus SR22 Turbo. A premium upgrade to train primarily in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo — glass cockpit, turbonormalized engine, whole-airframe parachute — is available.
Our Redbird MCX is an FAA-approved Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD). Under §61.129(i)(1)(i), up to 50 hours of AATD time may be credited toward the Commercial Pilot certificate. This course includes 20 hours in the MCX, and enrolled students also get free access to the Redbird TD2 at-home simulator.
Most career-track pilots do. Charter operators and airlines want multi-engine time, and our accelerated Multi-Engine course ($5,100) runs in about a week in the Piper Seminole — simulator Monday–Tuesday, twin time Wednesday–Friday, checkride on the weekend. Starting the Monday after your commercial checkride is a common plan.
The CPL is the first certificate that lets you be compensated for flying. Common first roles include flight instruction (we hire our own graduates), aerial photography and survey, pipeline and traffic patrol, banner towing, sightseeing and tour flying, and Part 135 charter or cargo operations. At 1,500 hours — or the reduced ATP minimums — regional airline first officer positions open up.
Yes. Financing is available with terms up to 15 years, down payments from $2,500, a soft credit check that won't affect your score, and no co-signer required for most applicants. Fixed or variable rates, with no prepayment penalty.
Book a free in-person consultation at our Van Nuys Airport location, or call (818) 290-8249. Bring your logbook — we'll audit it against §61.129, walk you through the aircraft and the Redbird MCX, and build you a realistic schedule and checkride target. No pressure, just answers.
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.
Most Given
Two Seats
The Nice One
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 WarriorHeadsets 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
$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, 360 lb combined. Questions: (818) 290-8249, 9 AM–9 PM, seven days.
Courses & Pricing
The Rest Of What We Teach At Van Nuys
Course prices are packages, not hourly rates - the aircraft, your instructor, ground school and simulator time are all in the figure. Van Nuys Airport, KVNY. Financing Available Through Stratus & In-House Plans.
Start Here
Discovery Flight
The First Hour At The Controls. Credited Toward Your Training If You Enroll Within 24 Hours Of Landing.
All Prices In USD. 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406 · Open 9 AM–9 PM, Seven Days. Free In-Person Tour Of The School
Van Nuys Airport · KVNY
Ready To Get Paid To Fly?
Bring your logbook to a free in-person consultation. We'll check it against the FAA's 250-hour requirement, show you the aircraft and the Redbird MCX, and put a realistic checkride date on the calendar.