SAFETY FIRST
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
One Quick Check
You’re Almost In The Air
Confirm one thing and the calendar opens.
Discovery Flight For One60 MIN
$229
Close to the limit, or not sure? Call us on (818) 290-8249 before you book and we’ll talk you through the options.
Back to School · Ends Sept 30
$500 off every Private Pilot Program and $5,000 off the Airline Pilot Course — applied automatically at checkout.
See Back to School Prices →
Van Nuys Airport · KVNY · Open 9am–9pm, Seven Days
Discovery Flight Over Los Angeles
A discovery flight is an introductory flying lesson where you sit in the left seat and fly the airplane yourself, with an FAA-certified instructor beside you. Sixty minutes, $229, no experience and no license needed.
Courses & Pricing
Every Course We Teach
★★★★★
5.0 Rating
85 Google Reviews
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.
From$229
Book A Discovery Flight
01
Discovery Flight
The first hour at the controls; credits toward training if you enroll within 24 hours of landing.
From$229
02
Teen Flight Training Ages 10–15
Starting before it is legal to solo.
$4,200
03
Multi-Engine Rating
For existing pilots adding a twin.
$5,100
04
Solo Certificate
Enough training to take an aircraft around the pattern alone.
$5,500
05
Sport Pilot
A real certificate, fewer hours, narrower privileges.
$8,400
06
Private Pilot Most Enrolled
The one most people mean by “learn to fly.”
$10,900
07
Instrument Rating
Turns a fair-weather pilot into a useful one.
$11,700
08
Comprehensive Private Pilot
Private with flight time, ground instruction and materials bundled.
$15,900
09
Premium Private Pilot
The most flight time before your checkride - 80 logged hours.
$22,500
10
Airline Pilot Program
Zero experience to airline-hireable qualifications.
$89,000
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
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 Warrior Or ArcherHeadsets For Both
Flight Length
$299Book It Or Gift It
Same Price Either Way
Luxury Cirrus For Two
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
$399Book 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.
SAFETY FIRST
DISCOVERY FLIGHT
★★★★★
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...
SUNSET CIRRUS
★★★★★
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...
FLYING LESSON
★★★★★
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...
KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
★★★★★
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...
HONEYMOON SURPRISE
★★★★★
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...
FULL-MOTION SIM
★★★★★
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...
DISCOVERY FOR TWO
★★★★★
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...
SIMULATORS
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
TEEN FIRST LESSON
★★★★★
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...
FIRST-TIME FLYER
★★★★★
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...
SAFETY FIRST
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
DISCOVERY FLIGHT
★★★★★
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...
SUNSET CIRRUS
★★★★★
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...
FLYING LESSON
★★★★★
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...
KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
★★★★★
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...
HONEYMOON SURPRISE
★★★★★
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...
FULL-MOTION SIM
★★★★★
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...
DISCOVERY FOR TWO
★★★★★
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...
SIMULATORS
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
TEEN FIRST LESSON
★★★★★
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...
FIRST-TIME FLYER
★★★★★
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...
100%credited if you enroll within 24 hours
5.0★85 reviews on Google
2,000+discovery flights flown safely
15+ yearsexperience per FAA-certified instructor
✦ Purchase & Schedule · Van Nuys Airport
Choose Your First Flight. You Take The Controls.
Four hands-on Discovery Flights, one promise: you fly the airplane — with an FAA-certified instructor beside you and Los Angeles below you. Pick a length; the price is all-in.
Diamond DA20 · Cessna 162 · Piper Warrior
The Classic
⏱ 60–120 MIN
Discovery Flight For One
★ 5.0 · 85 Google reviews
Your first step into the world of flight — and it's all yours. Briefing, takeoff, then: "Your controls."
- ✓Hands-on stick time
- ✓Pre-flight briefing & walk-around
- ✓Soar over the LA skyline
- ✓1-on-1 FAA-certified instructor
- ✓Logs toward your license
Flight Length
$229all-in · one flyer · no hidden fees
Book For One →
★ Most Booked
Piper Warrior · four seats
Piper Warrior · four seats
★ Most Popular
⏱ 60–120 MIN
Discovery Flight For Two
★ 5.0 · 85 Google reviews
One of you flies hands-on while the other soaks in the views — you both land with the same story.
- ✓Hands-on flying for one — views for both
- ✓Hollywood Sign & downtown flyover
- ✓Headsets for both of you
- ✓FAA-certified instructor
- ✓The most-gifted flight we fly
Flight Length
$299all-in · two seats
Book For Two →
✦ Luxury
Cirrus SR22 Turbo · glass cockpit
Cirrus SR22 Turbo · glass cockpit
✦ The Showstopper
⏱ 60–120 MIN
Luxury Discovery Flight — Turbo Cirrus
★ 5.0 · 85 Google reviews
The flight people plan anniversaries around — Turbo Cirrus SR22, glass cockpit, and a lot more coastline.
- ✓Hands-on control of a Cirrus SR22T
- ✓Glass panel & air conditioning
- ✓The one to pick for the coast
- ✓FAA-certified instructor
- ✓Anniversaries, birthdays & bucket lists
Flight Length
Add a passenger · instructor + 2 is our maximum +$100
$399all-in
Book The Cirrus →
Piper Seminole · twin-engine
The Pro Move
⏱ 60–120 MIN
Multi-Engine Discovery Flight
★ 5.0 · 85 Google reviews
Two engines, real procedures, and a genuine taste of the professional path — in our twin Piper Seminole.
- ✓Hands-on multi-engine flying
- ✓Real multi-engine fundamentals
- ✓LA from a view most never see
- ✓FAA-certified instructor
- ✓For the career-curious & seasoned
Flight Length
$499all-in · two seats
Book Multi-Engine →
Prefer To Start On The Ground?
Redbird Full-Motion Simulator Discovery Flight
An hour in our FAA-approved Redbird MCX with an instructor beside you. You fly it yourself, indoors on the field — pause, reset and try the tricky part again. Never weather-cancelled, and no weight limit.
🎟 Every price includes the aircraft, the fuel and your FAA-certified instructor — and 100% of it is credited toward your training if you enroll within 24 hours of your flight. All flights depart Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A. Open 9am–9pm, seven days, on (818) 290-8249. Full booking terms are on our discovery flight terms page.
One quick check
You’re Almost In The Air
Confirm one thing and the calendar opens.
Discovery Flight For One60 MIN
$229Close to the limit, or not sure? Call us on (818) 290-8249 before you book and we’ll talk you through the options.
Loved On Google
Eighty-Five 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.
SAFETY FIRST
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
DISCOVERY FLIGHT
★★★★★
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...
SUNSET CIRRUS
★★★★★
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...
FLYING LESSON
★★★★★
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...
KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
★★★★★
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...
HONEYMOON SURPRISE
★★★★★
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...
FULL-MOTION SIM
★★★★★
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...
DISCOVERY FOR TWO
★★★★★
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...
SIMULATORS
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
TEEN FIRST LESSON
★★★★★
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...
FIRST-TIME FLYER
★★★★★
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...
SAFETY FIRST
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
DISCOVERY FLIGHT
★★★★★
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...
SUNSET CIRRUS
★★★★★
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...
FLYING LESSON
★★★★★
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...
KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
★★★★★
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...
HONEYMOON SURPRISE
★★★★★
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...
FULL-MOTION SIM
★★★★★
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...
DISCOVERY FOR TWO
★★★★★
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...
SIMULATORS
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
TEEN FIRST LESSON
★★★★★
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...
FIRST-TIME FLYER
★★★★★
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...
See Discovery Flight Details — $229
Reviews shown verbatim, exactly as each reviewer published them.
Book Your Discovery Flight
One Hour, And You Will Know
Pick a length, pick an airplane, and we will put you in the left seat over Los Angeles with an FAA-certified instructor beside you. If you would rather come and look at the aircraft first, a free in-person consultation costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Discovery Flight For One
$229
60 minutes · you fly it · fully loggable · 100% credited if you enroll within 24 hours
Book A Discovery Flight
Or Call (818) 290-8249
Definition
What A Discovery Flight Actually Is
A discovery flight — you will also see it called an introductory flight, an intro flight or an introductory flying lesson, and they all mean the same thing — is a single, one-off flight lesson designed for somebody who has never flown a small airplane before. You are not a passenger. You sit in the left seat, which is the pilot's seat, with a full set of controls in front of you. An FAA-certified instructor sits in the right seat with an identical set of controls, and can take over at any instant.
The point of it is to answer a question that no amount of reading will answer: do you actually like this? Plenty of people spend years assuming they would love to fly and discover in twenty minutes that what they really wanted was the view. Others walk out to the airplane politely curious and come back having decided on a career. Either result is worth $229, and both are more useful than another evening of watching cockpit videos.
It is called a discovery flight because discovery runs both ways. You find out whether the airplane, the noise, the movement and the workload suit you. Your instructor finds out how you learn, whether you are heavy or light on the controls, and what you will need more time on. If you decide to continue, that hour is not a demo you paid for and threw away — it is lesson one, already in your logbook.
Nothing about it requires preparation. You need no experience, no license, no medical certificate and no knowledge of aviation whatsoever. You do not need to have decided anything. You turn up, you fly, and then you go home and think about it for as long as you like. For the formal first-lesson version of the same hour see our introductory flight lessons at Van Nuys, and for drive times and the local answer see the nearest discovery flight to you in Los Angeles.
The Short Answer
How Much Does A Discovery Flight Cost?
A discovery flight over Los Angeles costs $229 for sixty minutes. That is the price for one person and it is the whole price: the airplane, the fuel, your FAA-certified instructor, the briefing before you walk out and the debrief when you get back. There is nothing added at the desk afterwards. If you want to bring somebody with you it is $299. In the luxury Cirrus SR22 Turbo it is $399, and in the twin-engine Piper Seminole it is $499. If you would rather stay on the ground for a first try, an hour in our Redbird MCX full-motion simulator is $189.
Longer flights cost more because they use more airplane and more of an instructor's day. For one person, ninety minutes is $299 and two hours is $399. For two people, ninety minutes is $399 and two hours is $499. In the Cirrus it is $549 and $699. Every one of those figures is fixed and published, and all of them are listed further down this page. Nobody here quotes by the hour and then hands you a different number at the end.
Nothing is added afterwards either. There is no fuel surcharge, no landing fee, no booking fee and no card fee, and the headsets, the briefing, the debrief and your first logbook entry are all part of the price. The only thing you pay for separately is food, on the flights that involve any.
Here is the part most people do not expect. If you enroll in flight training within twenty-four hours of landing, one hundred percent of what you paid for the discovery flight comes off the price of your training program. Private pilot training starts at $10,900, so the $229 stops being a cost and becomes your first payment. That offer is explained to you before you fly rather than produced afterwards as a sales close, and nobody will lean on you while you are still taking your headset off.
Loggable Time
Does A Discovery Flight Count Toward A Pilot Licence?
Yes. The hour is dual instruction received, it is written into a logbook in your name and signed by your instructor, and it counts toward the 40 hours of flight time 14 CFR 61.109(a) sets as the minimum for a private pilot certificate.
What Actually Gets Written In The Logbook
Most people assume a discovery flight is a demonstration ride that evaporates when you get out. It is not. The flight is instruction, your instructor is the pilot in command, and the record of it is a legal document you keep.
Your instructor fills in one line and signs it. That line is the difference between an hour you paid for and an hour that counts.
- The date of the flight
- Aircraft make and model, and its tail number
- Route flown — KVNY to KVNY for a local flight
- Total flight time in tenths of an hour, read off the Hobbs meter
- Single-engine land time, and dual instruction received
- Your instructor's signature and certificate number
What The 40 Hours Are Made Of
14 CFR 61.109(a) sets 40 hours of flight time as the minimum for a private pilot certificate in a single-engine airplane. Of those 40, at least 20 hours must be flight training received from an authorised instructor and at least 10 hours must be solo flight time. Your discovery flight goes into the dual column, which is the column you start filling first.
The remaining hours have shapes attached to them: cross-country flight, night flying, instrument reference time and a set number of takeoffs and landings at a towered airport. Van Nuys is towered, so you begin accumulating that last requirement on your first flight without doing anything special.
Forty Is A Floor, Not An Average
Almost nobody finishes at 40. The national average sits between 60 and 75 hours, and the single biggest driver of where you land inside that band is frequency. Two lessons a week keeps the skill; one lesson a fortnight means you spend the first twenty minutes of each flight recovering what you already paid to learn.
We would rather say that plainly than quote you 40 hours and let you find out in month five. If you want the arithmetic behind your own number, our guide to how many hours it takes to become a pilot works through what pushes it up and what pulls it down.
The Entry Travels With You
A logbook is yours, not ours. If you fly with us once and then move to Denver, that hour still counts and any instructor in the country will accept it. Nothing about it expires, and there is no window in which you have to continue for it to remain valid.
That is the honest argument for booking a discovery flight before you have decided anything. The worst case is that you spend $229 and learn you do not want to fly. The next-worst case is that you spend $229 and it turns out to be the first hour of a certificate.
Lengths
How Long Is A Discovery Flight, And Which Length Should You Book?
Sixty minutes is the usual answer and the right one for most people. The longer options exist because Los Angeles is bigger than an hour.
Sixty Minutes
Roughly forty minutes in the air once you allow for taxiing and the run-up, plus about half an hour on the ground either side. Enough to fly the San Fernando Valley, do real turns and climbs, and know how you feel about it. This is what most people book.
- For One$229
- For Two$299
- Luxury Cirrus$399
- Multi-Engine$499
Ninety Minutes
The length to pick if you want to get somewhere rather than stay over the Valley. Ninety minutes buys the Santa Monica Mountains and a look at the coast with time to linger, instead of turning back the moment the water appears.
- For One$299
- For Two$399
- Luxury Cirrus$549
- Multi-Engine$699
Two Hours
A proper trip. Two hours lets you run the shoreline, or go over the mountains and come back a different way, at a civilized pace with time to hand the controls back and just look out of the window for a while.
- For One$399
- For Two$499
- Luxury Cirrus$699
- Multi-Engine$899
One Hour In The Simulator
The Redbird MCX is a full-motion simulator that sits indoors on the field. It is the right first step for anyone worried about motion, weather or committing to an airplane, and it can be paused mid-maneuver so you can ask a question properly.
- Redbird MCX$189
- Duration1 hour
- WeatherNever a factor
On The Day
What Happens On The Day Of Your Discovery Flight
Allow about two hours from arriving to leaving for a sixty-minute flight. Nothing about it is rushed.
1
You Arrive And Meet Your Instructor
Come to 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, about fifteen minutes before your slot. There is free parking immediately outside the door. Bring photo identification. Your instructor introduces themselves, asks what you are hoping to get out of the hour, and answers whatever you want to ask before anything else happens.
2
The Briefing
You sit down at a table with a model or a diagram and go through what the controls do and what the airplane will feel like when you move them. This takes fifteen or twenty minutes. It is the part that makes the flying make sense, and it is where most people stop being nervous, because the airplane stops being mysterious.
3
The Walk-Around
You go out to the airplane together and inspect it. Your instructor shows you what they are checking and why — fuel, oil, control surfaces, tires, the things that matter. You are not watching a performance; you are learning the routine that every pilot does before every flight for the rest of their flying life.
4
Start-Up, Taxi And Takeoff
You get in the left seat, put on a headset and hear the tower for the first time. Your instructor handles the takeoff and talks you through it, because a first takeoff at a busy Class D airport is a lot to hand somebody. Van Nuys has two runways and a full-time tower, so there is genuine radio traffic to listen to.
5
You Fly The Airplane
Once the airport is behind you, your instructor gives you the controls, and from that point you are the person flying. Straight and level, turns left and right, climbs, descents, holding a heading while the ground moves underneath you. Your instructor stays on the radio and keeps an eye out, and takes over instantly if anything needs it.
6
Landing, Logbook And No Sales Pitch
Your instructor flies the landing. Back inside you get a debrief on what you did well and what you would work on next, and the flight is written into a logbook in your name and signed. Then we tell you about the 24-hour credit, answer questions, and let you go home. You are welcome to book a free in-person consultation another day if you want to talk it through properly.
The Honest Version
Do You Actually Fly The Plane? Yes — With Two Exceptions
This is the question we get asked most, usually by somebody who has been on a helicopter tour and suspects the controls were decorative. They are not. Small training airplanes have two complete sets of controls, and the set in front of you works exactly as well as the set in front of your instructor. From shortly after departure until we turn back toward the field, you are the person flying.
The two exceptions are the takeoff and the landing, and they stay with your instructor. That is not caution for its own sake — those are the two phases with the least margin, at a towered airport with jets in the pattern, and asking somebody to do one on their first hour would be unfair rather than generous. Your instructor narrates both, hands on the controls, so you can see what is happening.
Everything in between is genuinely yours. You will hold an altitude and lose it and get it back. You will roll into a turn and discover that the airplane needs a little more from you than you expected. You will be surprised how physical it is, and how quickly a heading wanders if you stop paying attention to it. That is the actual experience of flying, and it is why an hour of it tells you more than a year of thinking about it.
If you would rather have a lighter first hour, say so. Some people want to fly the whole time, some want twenty minutes of controls and forty minutes of looking at Los Angeles, and some want to hand it back after ten minutes and try again next month. All three are fine. Tell your instructor at the briefing and they will build the hour around it.
Before You Book
The Things First-Timers Worry About
Being Nervous Is Normal, And It Is Not A Reason To Wait
A good share of the people who walk in here are quietly apprehensive, and almost none of them say so at the desk. It is worth saying so. Tell your instructor at the briefing that you are nervous and the whole hour changes shape: they will fly more of it, explain more of it, stay lower and smoother, and check in with you rather than waiting for you to volunteer that you have had enough.
Small airplanes are noisier and more physical than an airliner, and the first few minutes feel like a lot. Most people settle within ten. Mornings are usually smoother than afternoons in the San Fernando Valley, because the ground heats up through the day and the air gets bumpier with it, so book an early slot if turbulence is what worries you.
You Do Not Need A Medical Certificate
No medical certificate, no license and no paperwork of any kind is required to take a discovery flight. Your instructor is a certificated pilot acting as pilot in command; you are receiving instruction. A third-class FAA medical certificate is only required later, before you fly solo, and it is a straightforward examination that most people pass without difficulty.
Glasses and contact lenses are fine. If you have a specific medical condition and want to know whether it would eventually stop you getting a certificate, call us on (818) 290-8249 before you book and we will tell you honestly rather than sell you an hour first.
Bringing Someone, And Buying One As A Gift
Discovery Flight For Two at $299 exists for exactly this: one of you flies from the left seat, the other sits in the back with a headset and hears everything. You cannot swap seats in the air, because weight and balance is worked out on the ground before you go, so decide who is flying before you book. In the Cirrus SR22 Turbo, the same arrangement is $399 and covers considerably more of Southern California in the same hour.
A large share of what we fly is bought by somebody else. Gift certificates are available for every discovery flight at the same prices, and the recipient books their own date rather than being handed one that may not suit them. If you are buying for somebody who has talked about flying for years without doing anything about it, this is the version of the gift that actually gets used.
- Discovery Flight For One — $229 for 60 minutes
- Discovery Flight For Two — $299 for 60 minutes
- Luxury Cirrus For Two — $399 for 60 minutes
- Multi-Engine Discovery Flight — $499 for 60 minutes
- Redbird MCX simulator — $189 for 1 hour
What To Wear And What To Bring
Photo identification, sunglasses and closed shoes. Headsets are provided. Wear something you can add a layer to, because the cockpit is warm on the ground at Van Nuys and cooler at altitude. Skip anything loose enough to get in the way of the controls. Eat something beforehand — flying on an empty stomach is a common and avoidable cause of feeling unwell.
Bring a phone or a camera if you want photographs. You will have both hands occupied for a good part of the flight, so the pictures usually happen while your instructor has the controls back, which is another small argument for ninety minutes over sixty.
The Airport
Why Does It Matter That Van Nuys Is A Class D Field?
Class D means Van Nuys has a control tower, and that changes your first hour more than the aircraft does. From the moment the engine starts you are listening to a controller, and by the time you line up you have heard a dozen other aircraft do what you are about to do. At an uncontrolled strip you would be announcing yourself into the void instead.
There are two parallel runways here and a genuine mix of traffic — business jets, helicopters, flight schools, air ambulances. Van Nuys is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the world. That sounds intimidating and is actually the opposite: the pattern is disciplined because it has to be, and you learn radio work as a normal part of flying rather than as a frightening extra you bolt on later.
Above us sits the Los Angeles Class B shelf. Class B airspace around a major airport is shaped like an upside-down wedding cake, and the layers that overhang the San Fernando Valley have floors you must stay beneath unless you have a clearance. On a discovery flight your instructor handles that, but you will see it happen: the altimeter stops climbing at a specific number for a specific reason.
That is a piece of altitude discipline every pilot trained here absorbs early, and it is why students who learn at Van Nuys tend to be comfortable in busy airspace. If you want the rules themselves, we have written them up in Class D airspace explained and in the wider airspace classes guide.
Not For Everyone
Who Should Not Book A Discovery Flight?
Three groups of people, and we would rather say so before you pay than afterwards. A discovery flight is a flying lesson, and it is a poor fit for anyone who wants something other than that.
If You Have A Diagnosed Fear Of Flying, This Is Step Two, Not Step One
Aerophobia is a real clinical condition, not nerves, and a light aircraft is not exposure therapy. If the thought of the cabin door closing produces a panic response, the right first call is a qualified therapist, and we will tell you that on the phone rather than take the booking.
What we can do comes after that. The Redbird MCX simulator sits on the ground, it can be stopped at any point, and nothing about it is irreversible — which makes it a far better first hour for an anxious flyer than an aircraft. Our fear of flying pillar sets out what a flight school can honestly offer, and the simulator route explains how that first session usually goes.
If What You Want Is The View, Book It Knowing That
Some people do not want to fly an aircraft; they want to look at Los Angeles from one, which is a perfectly good thing to want. You can still book a discovery flight and simply tell your instructor at the briefing that you would like to fly ten minutes and sightsee the rest. Nobody will push you.
If you are certain you never want the controls, an airplane tour over Los Angeles is a better purchase and we will say so. A discovery flight prices in an instructor's full attention for the hour, and there is no sense paying for attention you do not intend to use.
If You Get Motion Sick Easily, Take Precautions Rather Than Skipping It
Motion sickness in a light aircraft is common on a first flight and it is mostly manageable. Eat something beforehand, because an empty stomach makes it worse rather than better. Take the earliest slot of the day, when the air over the Valley has not yet started to heat and churn. Keep your eyes outside on the horizon rather than down in the cockpit.
Tell your instructor before you walk out, not after you feel unwell. They will fly a smoother profile, avoid steep turns and stay lower. If it happens anyway, we come back and land, and nobody makes anything of it.
From The Air
What Los Angeles Looks Like From 2,500 Feet
Where you go depends on the day, the weather and what air traffic control is willing to give us — but these are the things people remember.
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The Sepulveda Basin
It sits directly off the end of the field, and it is the first thing that makes sense from the air: a deliberate green hole in the middle of the Valley, built to flood so that everything downstream does not. From the ground it is a park. From above it is obviously a piece of engineering.
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The Santa Monica Mountains
The ridge between the Valley and the ocean is startlingly thin once you can see both sides of it at once. People who have driven Mulholland their whole lives tend to go quiet at this point, because the map in their head rearranges itself.
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The Malibu Coastline
Fifteen minutes from the runway the Pacific fills the windshield. On the ninety-minute and two-hour flights there is time to follow the shoreline instead of turning around as soon as you reach it, which is most of the argument for booking the longer slot.
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Downtown And The Basin
On a clear day the towers stand up out of the haze with the San Gabriels behind them, and the sheer scale of the built-up area between you and them is the thing nobody is ready for. Los Angeles does not read as a city from the ground. It does from the air.
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The Studios And The Hollywood Hills
Depending on routing you may get a look at the hillside sprawl on the south side of the Valley, the reservoirs tucked into the canyons, and the studio backlots that turn out to be far bigger and far more industrial than television suggests.
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Van Nuys Airport Itself
One of the busiest general aviation airports in the world, and worth a look on the way back in: two parallel runways, rows of business jets, helicopter operators, and the traffic pattern you have just been part of.
Weather And Booking
Will The Weather Cancel It, And How Far Ahead Should You Book?
Rarely, and if it does we move the booking and nothing is charged. Van Nuys gets 355 flyable days a year, measured from twelve months of NOAA ASOS observations at the field against a 3,000-foot ceiling and 5 statute miles of visibility — the standard most schools apply to early dual instruction. The method and the raw tables are published in our flyable days study.
The pattern worth knowing is daily rather than seasonal. In June only 40% of 7am observations at Van Nuys met training minima, rising to 93% by 11am and 97% or better from 1pm — the marine layer burns off through the morning. In August at 7am Van Nuys ran 84% against Santa Monica's 48%, which is what being fifteen miles inland does for you. Book an afternoon slot in late spring and early summer, and a morning slot the rest of the year if turbulence is what you mind.
On timing: the calendar on this page shows real openings rather than a request form, so what you can see is what is genuinely available. If the day or the aircraft you want is not showing, call (818) 290-8249 and ask — weekends and the last slot before sunset go first, and a specific aircraft is easier to hold with a phone call than a click. We are open 9am to 9pm, seven days.
Cancellations run both ways. Give us notice and we move you at no charge; if we stand down for weather we move you at no charge. The notice periods, the rescheduling rules and the gift certificate terms are all set out on our discovery flight terms page, in full, before you pay anything.
Getting Here
Finding Us At 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A
We are on the western boundary of Van Nuys Airport, at 7900 Balboa Boulevard, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406. From the 101 come off at Balboa and head north for about five miles through Victory, Vanowen and Sherman Way; the airport perimeter appears on your right at around Saticoy. From the 405 or the 118, Roscoe and Sherman Way both bring you across to Balboa without much drama outside the peaks.
There is a free parking lot immediately outside our door. The building is a shared aviation complex with a number of unrelated companies working out of it, so look for the suite number rather than the street number when you pull in — 108A. If you cannot find us, call and somebody will walk out and wave.
We are open 9am to 9pm, seven days a week, on (818) 290-8249. Booking online is the fastest way to secure a specific slot, but if you want a particular airplane, a particular time of day, or a quiet word about whether this is a good idea for a nervous parent or a fifteen-year-old, call first. A free in-person consultation is also available if you would rather come and look at the airplanes before you commit to flying one.
FAQ
Discovery Flight Questions, Answered
A discovery flight is a single introductory flying lesson for someone who has never flown a small airplane. You sit in the pilot's seat with a full set of controls and fly the airplane yourself, with an FAA-certified instructor in the right seat who has an identical set and can take over instantly. It is also called an introductory flight or an introductory flying lesson. No experience, license or medical certificate is needed.
$229 for sixty minutes for one person, which includes the airplane, the fuel and your instructor with nothing added afterwards. For two people it is $299, the luxury Cirrus SR22 Turbo is $399 and the twin-engine Seminole is $499. Ninety minutes for one is $299 and two hours is $399. An hour in the Redbird MCX full-motion simulator is $189. Every price is published on this page.
No. The $229 covers the aircraft, the fuel, the instructor, the headsets, the pre-flight briefing, the post-flight debrief and your first logbook entry. There is no fuel surcharge, no landing fee, no booking fee and no card fee. The only thing you ever pay for separately is food, on the flights that include a stop.
Because a tour sells you one seat on a shared aircraft and a discovery flight books an entire airplane and a certificated instructor to you for the whole hour. At $229 you are the person flying, the time is logged as dual instruction toward a certificate, and nobody else is in the aircraft unless you brought them.
Sixty minutes is the standard length and what most people book. Allow about two hours at the airport in total, because the briefing, the walk-around inspection and the debrief afterwards all sit outside the flight time. Ninety-minute and two-hour flights are available if you want to reach the coast or follow the shoreline rather than staying over the San Fernando Valley.
Yes. There are two complete sets of controls and yours works. Your instructor flies the takeoff and the landing and narrates both, and everything in between is yours: turns, climbs, descents, and holding an altitude and a heading. If you would rather fly less and look out of the window more, say so at the briefing and your instructor will build the hour around that instead.
No. Neither is required for a discovery flight, because your instructor is the pilot in command and you are receiving instruction. A third-class FAA medical certificate is only needed later, before your first solo flight. Glasses and contact lenses are not a problem. If you have a specific condition you are worried about, call (818) 290-8249 before booking and we will give you a straight answer.
Yes. Discovery Flight For Two is $299 for sixty minutes: one of you flies from the left seat and the other sits in the back with a headset and hears everything. You cannot swap seats in the air, because weight and balance is worked out on the ground before you go, so decide who flies before you book. The Luxury Cirrus For Two is $399 and the twin-engine Seminole is $499.
Yes. Your instructor logs the flight in a logbook with your name on it and signs it with their certificate number, and it counts toward the 40 hours of flight time 14 CFR 61.109(a) sets as the minimum for a private pilot certificate. At least 20 of those 40 hours must be dual instruction and at least 10 must be solo. It counts whether you start training the following week or years later.
One hundred percent of what you paid for the discovery flight is credited against your training program if you enroll within twenty-four hours of the flight. Private pilot training starts at $10,900, the sport pilot license is $8,400 and the solo certificate is $5,500, so at $229 the introduction effectively becomes your first payment. Financing is available through Stratus Financial and through in-house payment plans.
The calendar on this page shows real availability rather than a request form, so whatever you can see is genuinely bookable. Weekend slots and the last flight before sunset go first. If the day, the time or the aircraft you want is not showing, call (818) 290-8249 between 9am and 9pm, seven days, and we will tell you what we can do.
Tell your instructor at the briefing rather than in the air. They will fly more of the flight, keep it lower and smoother, and check in with you regularly. Morning slots are usually calmer than afternoons because the air over the Valley gets bumpier as the ground heats up. Eat beforehand. If you want to come back early, we come back early, and nobody makes anything of it.
We do not fly a discovery flight in conditions that ruin the point of it — you would spend the hour in cloud and see nothing. If the weather will not cooperate we move your booking and nothing is charged. Van Nuys averages 355 flyable days a year against a 3,000-foot ceiling and 5 miles of visibility, and the Redbird MCX simulator at $189 is available indoors regardless.
First flights are usually in the Cessna 162 Skycatcher, the Diamond DA20 or the Piper Warrior — light, slow and forgiving enough that nothing gets ahead of you. The Cirrus SR22 Turbo is a fast glass-cockpit single with a whole-airframe parachute, and the Piper Seminole is our twin. Ask for a specific aircraft when you book and we will hold it if it is available.
Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), from 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406, with free parking outside the door. Van Nuys is a Class D field with two parallel runways and a full-time control tower, under the Los Angeles Class B shelf, which means real radio work and a proper traffic pattern on your first flight. We are open 9am to 9pm, seven days, on (818) 290-8249.
Talk To Us
Questions Before You Book?
Call and you get somebody who flies out of Van Nuys, not a call center. If your question is easier to write down than to ask on the phone, send it over and we will come back to you.
Call (818) 290-8249- Open9am–9pm, seven days a week
- Phone(818) 290-8249
- Address7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406
- AirportVan Nuys Airport (KVNY)
Open 9am to 9pm, seven days a week, on (818) 290-8249. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406, with free parking outside the door.
More On Discovery Flights And What Comes Next
Book A Discovery Flight
Discovery Flight For One — $229Discovery Flight For Two — $299Luxury Cirrus For Two — $399Multi-Engine Discovery Flight — $499Redbird MCX Simulator — $189All Discovery Flights Over Los AngelesLonger Flights
For One — 90 Minutes, $299For One — 120 Minutes, $399For Two — 90 Minutes, $399For Two — 120 Minutes, $499Luxury Cirrus — 90 Minutes, $549Luxury Cirrus — 120 Minutes, $699Multi-Engine — 90 Minutes, $699Discovery Flight Gift CertificatesRead Before You Book
Discovery Flight: What It Is, What Happens, What It CostsIntroductory Flight Lessons At Van NuysDiscovery Flight Near Me In Los AngelesYour First Flight Lesson, Hour By HourFear Of Flying: What A Flight School Can Offer355 Flyable Days A Year At Van Nuys: The StudyPrivate Pilot Training At Van Nuys — From $10,900Discovery Flight Terms And Conditions
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Latest From The Field
Notes from the flight line at Van Nuys — weather, regulation changes, checkride questions and the cost of training, written up as they come.
