Discovery Flight Gift Certificates Over Los Angeles
A certificate that puts the person you are buying for in the left seat of a real aircraft over Los Angeles, with a qualified instructor beside them the whole way.
Why this makes a better gift than most
Most experience gifts involve sitting in the back while somebody else does the interesting part. This one does not. On a discovery flight the person holding the certificate sits in the left seat with their hands on the controls, and after the instructor has handled the departure out of Van Nuys they fly the aircraft themselves: turns, climbs, descents, and usually a stretch of straight and level while they work out that the machine really is responding to them.
It also leaves something behind. The time is loggable, which means it counts as the first entry in a pilot logbook if they ever go further, and the whole cost credits toward training if they enroll within 24 hours of landing. A surprising number of the pilots flying out of Van Nuys today started with a certificate someone bought them for a birthday. Even for people who never take another lesson, it is an hour they describe for years.
You do not need to know anything about aviation to buy the right one. The main decisions are whether they fly alone or take a passenger, how long the flight lasts, and whether they go up in a training aircraft or the Cirrus SR22 Turbo. Call (818) 290-8249 between 9 AM and 9 PM and describe the person; we will tell you honestly which option suits them rather than steering you toward the expensive end.
Certificates are issued for a specific flight rather than a cash amount, so there is nothing for the recipient to work out and no shortfall to make up at the desk. They call us with the code, we find a slot that suits their diary and the weather, and everything else is arranged. If you are buying at the last minute, a certificate can be emailed the same day.
The certificates you can buy
Every option below is a complete flight with an instructor, not a voucher toward one.
Standard Private Pilot
The full FAA Private Pilot Certificate. Where most students start.
Learn morePremium Private Pilot
The widest margin of hours for students who want no surprises.
Learn moreInstrument Rating
The rating that makes a license useful in Southern California weather.
Learn moreTry it first — a discovery flight from Van Nuys
You fly the aircraft from the left seat with an instructor beside you. The time is loggable and counts toward a certificate.
Luxury Cirrus For Two
The SR22 Turbo, glass cockpit. 90 min $549, 120 min $699.
Learn moreRedbird Simulator Session
FAA-approved full-motion MCX, on the field at Van Nuys.
Learn moreBuying it, giving it, redeeming it
Buying takes one phone call to (818) 290-8249 or an order placed online. Tell us who it is for and roughly when they might use it, and we will issue the certificate against the flight you have chosen. It arrives by email as a printable document with a code, or we can post it if you would rather hand over something physical. Same-day email is normal during opening hours.
Redeeming is equally simple and it is the recipient who does it. They call the same number, quote the code, and we find a slot. Weekday mornings are quietest and weekend mornings book furthest ahead, so a flight for a Saturday in the summer is worth arranging a couple of weeks out. Nothing is charged again at any point; the certificate covers the flight, the instructor and the aircraft time in full.
On the day they should arrive at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A about thirty minutes before the slot, with photo identification. US passengers over 18 need a federal or state-issued photo ID, and non-US passengers need a valid passport. Parking on the lot is free. There is a short briefing, a walk-around of the aircraft, then the flight itself. Passengers under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and children under 5 cannot fly.
What makes the certificate work as a present
They actually fly it
This is not a sightseeing ride with a pilot pointing out landmarks. After departure the instructor hands over the controls and the recipient flies the airplane, with guidance rather than intervention. That difference is the whole gift, and it is the reason people who expected to be passengers come back down talking about themselves rather than the view.
No date to commit to
You are not booking a slot on their behalf and hoping the diary works. The certificate is redeemed whenever they choose, by a phone call from them to us. That removes the usual problem with experience gifts, which is that the recipient feels obliged to make a fixed date work and quietly resents it.
It can turn into something
The hour is logged in a real logbook and the full cost credits against training if they enroll within a day of flying. If they catch it, they have already started, and the money is not wasted. If they do not, they still had the hour. Very few presents have that kind of second life attached.
Nothing to arrange yourself
You are not organizing transport, catering, other people or a surprise that needs to hold together. One phone call, one email, done. Everything after that happens between us and them, including the weather calls and the rescheduling, which is exactly the sort of admin you do not want attached to a gift.
What they will be flying
Most discovery flights go out in the Cessna 162 Skycatcher, the Diamond DA20 or the Piper Warrior. The Skycatcher is a light two-seater that is honest and easy to fly. The DA20 has a bubble canopy and the best visibility of anything on the line, which makes it the popular choice for anyone bringing a camera. The Warrior is the four-seat aircraft, cruising above 143 mph, and it is the one used when a passenger is coming along in the back. All three are privately owned by the school and maintained on our own schedule.
If you want the flight to feel like an occasion, the Cirrus SR22 Turbo is the aircraft to buy. It cruises near 240 mph, has air conditioning and leather seats, carries a full glass cockpit, and has a whole-airframe parachute system built into the fuselage. Passengers notice the difference within a minute of the engine starting. For pilots in the family the Piper Seminole is the twin, and an hour of asymmetric handling with two engines running is a very specific sort of present.
The occasions people buy these for
Four patterns come up again and again in the bookings we take.
Milestone birthdays
Fortieth, fiftieth and sixtieth birthdays are the most common reason a Cirrus certificate gets bought. The two-hour option at $699 gives enough time to reach the coast, follow it, and come back over the mountains.
Anniversaries and Valentine's
The Luxury Cirrus For Two at $399 exists for exactly this, with one partner flying and the other in the back. Late afternoon slots put you over the Santa Monica Mountains as the light goes gold.
Graduations
Teenagers and new graduates are the group most likely to turn a discovery flight into a license. A solo certificate at $5,500 or the teen package at $4,200 is the serious version of the same gift.
Retirements and Father's Day
People who wanted to learn to fly at twenty and never did are the classic recipients. The two-hour Discovery Flight For One at $399 gives enough time to fly properly rather than just sample it.
Common questions
Within minutes during opening hours. Certificates are issued by email as a printable document, so a purchase made at any point between 9 AM and 9 PM normally arrives the same evening. If you want something physical to hand over, tell us when you order and we will arrange it, though that obviously needs a few days.
Nothing at all. The overwhelming majority of people on a discovery flight have never touched the controls of an aircraft and many have never been in a small one. The instructor handles the departure and the landing, explains everything as it happens, and hands over the controls when the aircraft is safely away from the airfield.
There is no fixed date attached, so nothing is wasted if the weekend you had in mind does not work. The certificate is redeemed by them calling us whenever suits. If they have already booked a slot and need to move it, that is free with at least 48 hours notice; inside 48 hours a $50 rebooking fee applies.
Yes. If you bought a 60-minute flight and they would rather have 90, or they want to move from a trainer to the Cirrus, they can pay the difference between the two prices when they book. Nothing you have already paid is lost, and there is no administration fee for changing.
Yes, and they are worth checking before you buy. Individual weight for a discovery flight must not exceed 180 lb, combined passenger weight is capped at 370 lb, each flight carries a maximum of two passengers, and children under 5 cannot fly. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Yes for email, which we can schedule for the morning you want it to land. For a printed certificate, order with enough lead time and we will get it to you. If you are cutting it fine, buy the emailed version and print it yourself.
No. Gift certificates and discovery flights are non-refundable once purchased, as gift cards generally are. We are also unable to replace certificates that are lost, stolen or damaged, or to cover unauthorised use, so photograph the code when it arrives and keep it somewhere safe. It can be transferred to another person on request.
The flight is rescheduled at no cost and nothing is forfeited. Van Nuys flies most days of the year, but wind, low cloud or a marine layer that has not burned off can push a flight to another date. We may also adjust the route for safety and fly the same duration on a different heading, which is more common than canceling.
Buy a certificate in one phone call
Call (818) 290-8249 between 9 AM and 9 PM any day, tell us who it is for, and we will email the certificate while you are still on the line. Nothing else needs arranging.
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