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.
Hands-On Introductory Flight · Santa Monica
Discovery Flights For Santa Monica, From Van Nuys
An hour with you flying the airplane: off from Van Nuys, over the mountains, then down the shoreline past the Palisades to the pier and back.
2,000+Discovery flights flown safely
5.0★Our Google rating, 100+ reviews
35 minFrom Santa Monica to the flight line
9AM–9PMSeven days a week at KVNY
Discovery Flight · Santa Monica, Los Angeles County
The Best Hour Of Scenery In Los Angeles, Flown By You
This is not a ride. You take the left seat, an instructor takes the right with his own set of controls, and the middle of the hour is yours: the climb, the turns, the heading, the descent. The flight goes into a logbook with your name on it afterwards, and those minutes count toward a certificate should you ever go further. Over 2,000 of these have now been flown here without incident.
The route is why Santa Monica books it. You climb southwest out of Van Nuys, cross the Santa Monica Mountains, and somewhere around Topanga the ground simply stops and becomes water. Turn left and the shoreline unrolls underneath: Will Rogers, the bluffs, Palisades Park, the pier, Ocean Park, then Venice and the marina if there is time. Nobody checks a phone. It is a completely different city from three thousand feet.
Discovery Flight For One runs $229 for sixty minutes, $299 for ninety, $399 for two hours. Two people together is $299, $399 and $499 over those same durations. The Luxury Cirrus For Two, in the SR22 Turbo with its glass panel and leather seats, is $499, $699 and $949. Enroll in training within twenty-four hours of landing and every dollar you paid comes off the price of it.
How It Works
How The Day Actually Runs — Start To Certificate
Set aside about two hours at the field on top of the driving, and most of that is flying.
1
Check In At 7900 Balboa
Find Suite 108A and leave the car in the free lot at the door. Arrive fifteen minutes early with photo ID. Sunglasses are worth bringing; a large lunch beforehand is not. Several unrelated flight schools share this hangar complex, so look for the suite number rather than the street number as you pull in.
2
The Weather And The Route
Your instructor runs through the wind, the visibility and what the coast is doing today, then sketches where you are going. Speak up here. If you want your own street, the pier, the marina, or as far northwest as Point Dume, say so, and within the limits of the airspace and the clock the route is yours.
3
Preflight On The Ramp
The two of you walk the airplane together while the instructor shows you what is being checked and why: fuel drained and held up to the light, oil, control surfaces, tires, pitot tube. A quarter of an hour, and it is the section people recount to friends later, because it is where the idea turns into an object.
4
Over The Hill To The Water
You have your hands on the controls for the takeoff roll with the instructor covering you, and the tower is working a genuinely busy field in your headset the whole time. Climbing out to the southwest the Valley slides away behind the ridge, and then the Pacific arrives all at once across the entire windscreen.
5
Down The Shoreline, Then Home
The coastal leg is yours to fly while the instructor handles radios and the landing back at Van Nuys. Then the logbook. There is no pitch attached to any of this, but if you decide inside a day the whole cost credits against training, which is $229 off a $10,900 private pilot program before you have started.
Transparent Pricing
Discovery Flight Pricing For Santa Monica Students
Every figure below is the real, published price. No "call for a quote," no hidden block-time minimums.
Redbird Simulator
Full-motion simulator with an instructor. Never weather-canceled.
$1891 hour
- ✓Full-motion Redbird, hands on
- ✓No weight limit, no medical
- ✓Pause and repeat as you like
Most Popular
Discovery Flight For One
You in the pilot's seat, instructor beside you, LA underneath.
$22960 min
- ✓You fly the airplane, hands-on
- ✓Loggable time toward your license
- ✓90 min $299 · 120 min $399
- ✓100% credited if you enroll in 24 hrs
Discovery Flight For Two
One flies, one rides along. The most-gifted flight we offer.
$29960 min
- ✓Bring a partner, friend or parent
- ✓90 min $399 · 120 min $499
- ✓Gift certificates available
Luxury Discovery Flight
Premium Cirrus SR22 glass cockpit. The anniversary flight.
$49960 min
- ✓Cirrus SR22 Turbo, glass cockpit
- ✓90 min $699 · 120 min $949
- ✓Add a passenger +$100
Multi-Engine Discovery
Twin-engine Piper Seminole. A real taste of the professional path.
$49960 min
- ✓Twin-engine Piper Seminole
- ✓Real multi-engine fundamentals
- ✓90 min $699 · 120 min $899
Every discovery flight is 100% credited toward your training if you enroll within 24 hours. For a Santa Monica student going on to the $10,900 private pilot program, that makes the first flight effectively free.
Getting Here From Santa Monica
35 Minutes And 18 Miles From Santa Monica
Take the 10 east to the 405 north and climb the Sepulveda Pass past the Getty. Down the other side, exit Roscoe Blvd, west to Balboa, then south; 7900 appears on your right just after Saticoy. Eighteen miles and about thirty-five minutes, or closer to twenty-five on a Saturday morning. Anyone coming to spectate is welcome, there is somewhere to sit, and the parking outside costs nothing.
One local thing worth planning around: the marine layer. Through May and June the coast can stay gray until noon while the Valley has been bright since eight, which is a quiet argument for departing from Van Nuys rather than the beach. It does sometimes mean the shoreline leg has to move later in the day. Phone before you leave home and we will tell you straight what the coast is doing, instead of letting you make the drive for nothing.
Book A Discovery Flight
Book Your Discovery Flight From Santa Monica
Pick your aircraft, pick a date and time, and you are on the schedule. You fly the airplane yourself with an FAA-certified instructor beside you — and every flight is 100% credited toward training if you enroll within 24 hours.
No Weather Cancellations
Redbird Simulator
$189
1 hour
Full-motion simulator with an instructor. No weight limit, no medical needed.
Reserve →
Most Popular
Discovery Flight For One
$229
60 minutes
You in the pilot's seat over Los Angeles, hands on the controls the whole way.
Book Now →
Most Gifted
Discovery Flight For Two
$299
60 minutes
One of you flies hands-on, the other takes in the skyline. Share the story.
Book Now →
The Showstopper
Luxury Discovery Flight
$499
60 minutes
Premium Cirrus SR22 glass cockpit and extended air time over the LA basin.
Book Now →
The Pro Move
Multi-Engine Discovery
$499
60 minutes
Twin-engine Piper Seminole and a genuine look at the professional path.
Book Now →
The Aircraft You'll Fly
Pick What You Fly, And What It Costs
Introductory flights normally go in the Cessna 162 Skycatcher, the Piper Warrior or the Diamond DA20. On this particular route the DA20 is the one to ask for: two seats side by side beneath a single clear canopy, with nothing above or beside you interrupting the coastline. The Warrior has four seats, worth knowing if you would rather someone rode in the back than waited in the lobby.
To make an occasion of it, the Luxury Cirrus For Two puts a pair of you into the SR22 Turbo, glass cockpit and airframe parachute included, from $499. A Multi-Engine Discovery Flight in the Piper Seminole is $499, $699 and $899. An hour in the Redbird MCX full-motion simulator is $189, which is the sane fallback when the weather shuts the coast down or you would rather test the idea on the ground first.
What You'll See From The Air
Things That Only Make Sense From Above The Water
None of these look remotely the way they look from Ocean Avenue.
🏖️
Ocean Park And Main Street
The tight low-rise blocks between Pico and the Venice line with Main Street cutting straight through them. From above it is suddenly obvious how narrow the strip between the freeway and the sand really is.
🛶
The Venice Canals
A neat lattice of water and little footbridges a few blocks in from the beach, invisible from any road and unmistakable from the air. Almost every passenger points and asks what it is.
⛵
Marina Del Rey And The Breakwater
Thousands of masts packed into parallel basins, the rock breakwater curving out into the bay, and the main channel running dead straight from the harbor mouth to open water.
🛍️
Third Street Promenade
Three car-free blocks cut clean through the downtown grid, with Santa Monica Place anchoring the bottom of them. From above the pattern is unmistakable, and much smaller than it feels on a Saturday.
The Route You Fly
Your Discovery Flight Route Over Los Angeles
About an hour from Van Nuys Airport: Universal Studios, the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory and a full circle around Downtown LA, then west just north of SoFi Stadium and LAX to the coast, from Venice Beach up to Malibu. Your instructor takes off and lands. You fly 50–80% of it.
- About 1 Hour From Van Nuys
- You Fly 50–80%
- From $229 All-In
- No Experience Needed
Stop 01 Of 11Van Nuys Airport
Loading The Map
You’re FlyingInstructor: Takeoff & LandingWe Stay North Of LAX & SoFi
The San Fernando Valley Over The Wing 01Instructor Takeoff
Van Nuys Airport
Wheels Up From Van Nuys
Your instructor takes off from one of the busiest general aviation airports in the world and talks you through every step. Once you are clear of the field, the controls are yours.
Universal Studios Hollywood From The Air 02You’re Flying
Universal Studios
The Backlot From Above
The studio lots turn out to be far bigger than they look on TV, with the soundstages lined up like a small town.
The Hollywood Sign On Mount Lee 03You’re Flying
Hollywood Sign
Nine Letters On Mount Lee
The most famous sign in the world, seen from where almost nobody gets to see it: level with the hilltop.
Griffith Observatory From The Air 04You’re Flying
Griffith Observatory
The Domes On The Ridge
The white domes of Griffith Observatory on the slope of Mount Hollywood, with the whole Los Angeles basin laid out beyond them.
Circling The Downtown Towers 05You’re Flying
Downtown LA
A Full Circle Around Downtown
In on the south side, then a full counterclockwise circle around the towers: up the east side, over the top and back around. The San Gabriel Mountains stand behind the skyline.
SoFi Stadium From Just North 06You’re Flying
SoFi Stadium
The Roof You Know From TV
We pass just north of the stadium and never fly over it. Its huge translucent roof, home of the Rams and the Chargers, sits right off your left wing.
LAX From The North Side 07You’re Flying
LAX
Airliners On Final, Off Your Left Wing
Jets lining up for one of the busiest airports on Earth, off your left wing. We stay north of LAX and never fly over it.
Venice Beach Over The Wing 08You’re Flying
Venice Beach
Right Turn Up The Coast
The boardwalk, the skate park and the sand, then a right turn up the coast with all of Santa Monica Bay opening up ahead of you.
Santa Monica Pier From The Air 09You’re Flying
Santa Monica Pier
The Pier And The Ferris Wheel
The pier, the Ferris wheel and the beach, straight out of a thousand films.
The Malibu Coast At Sunset 10You’re Flying
Malibu
The Mountains Meet The Pacific
Up the coast past the Palisades to Malibu, where the Santa Monica Mountains drop straight into the ocean.
Heading Back Across The San Fernando Valley 11You’re Flying
Warner Center
Over The Hills To Warner Center
North over the Santa Monica Mountains to Warner Center in Woodland Hills, then east across the San Fernando Valley with Van Nuys straight ahead.
12Instructor Landing
Back At Van Nuys
Your Instructor Lands, Then A Quick Debrief
Have your own pilot logbook? Bring it and your instructor will be happy to sign it. Enroll within 24 hours of landing and 100% of what you paid is credited toward your training.
Book Your Flight · From $229
Typical route. Weather and air traffic control set the final path on the day.
Hands-On From The Left Seat
You Fly The Airplane. Not A Ride Along.
50–80%Of the flight is flown by you
Your instructor takes off and lands. Almost everything in between is yours: turns, climbs, descents, holding a heading over Los Angeles. How much depends on you and the conditions on the day.
Your instructor flies the takeoff from Van Nuys and talks you through it while you listen to the tower in your headset.
You fly the airplane. Turns, climbs, descents and holding a heading over Los Angeles, for roughly 50–80% of the flight depending on you and the conditions. Your instructor has an identical set of controls and handles the radio.
Your instructor lands and narrates the approach. Have your own logbook? Your instructor will be happy to sign it. Want to fly less and look more? Say so at the briefing.
Tap Takeoff, You Fly or Landing to see who is flying.
- No license, experience or medical certificate needed
- Bring your own logbook and your instructor will be happy to sign it
- 100% credited toward training if you enroll within 24 hours of landing
Questions From Santa Monica
Discovery Flight FAQ
Yes, weather and traffic allowing. It is a ten-minute hop over the Santa Monica Mountains from Van Nuys and then the shoreline belongs to you. Sixty minutes covers the coast from the Palisades down past the pier and back comfortably. Book ninety if you also want to run northwest toward Malibu and Point Dume.
For one person, $229 at sixty minutes, $299 at ninety and $399 at two hours. For two, $299, $399 and $499. The Luxury Cirrus For Two is $499, $699 and $949; the Multi-Engine Discovery Flight in the Seminole is $499, $699 and $899; and an hour in the Redbird MCX simulator is $189.
It is an ordinary part of flying here from roughly May into July. Van Nuys is frequently clear long before the coast is, so the flight normally still goes ahead; we may hold the coastal leg until the layer lifts or turn inland instead. If conditions genuinely will not permit it we move you rather than push, and a slot we cancel is never charged for.
7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406, and the lot at the door is free. Allow roughly thirty-five minutes each way from Santa Monica on the 10 and the 405, plus about two hours on the ground and in the air. Weekend mornings give you the quickest drive and usually the steadiest air of the week.
Really flying it. The instructor takes the takeoff and the landing and keeps the radios throughout; everything in between is yours, including the climbs, the turns, level cruise and the descent. The time is loggable toward a certificate, which is what makes this worth more than a helicopter tour at a similar price.
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 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.
Courses & Pricing
The Rest Of What We Teach
★★★★★
5.0 Rating
100+ 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.
01
Teen Flight Training Ages 10–15
Starting before it is legal to solo.
$4,200
02
Multi-Engine Rating
For existing pilots adding a twin.
$5,100
03
Solo Certificate
Enough training to take an aircraft around the pattern alone.
$5,500
04
Sport Pilot
A real certificate, fewer hours, narrower privileges.
$8,400
05
Private Pilot Most Enrolled
The one most people mean by “learn to fly.”
$10,900
06
Instrument Rating
Turns a fair-weather pilot into a useful one.
$11,700
07
Comprehensive Private Pilot
Private with flight time, ground instruction and materials bundled.
$15,900
08
Premium Private Pilot
The most flight time before your checkride - 80 logged hours.
$22,500
09
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
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.
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...
See Discovery Flight Details — $229
Reviews shown verbatim, exactly as each reviewer published them.
Talk To A Real Instructor
Take The Controls Yourself, 35 Minutes From Santa Monica
You have looked at this coastline your entire life from the wrong side of it, and one phone call is genuinely all that stands between those two views. Call (818) 290-8249 or drop into 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, and we will normally have a slot for you inside the same week, weekends included.
Or Send Us A Message And We'll Come Back To You The Same Day →