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 · Woodland Hills
Discovery Flights For Woodland Hills
A discovery flight is not a tour: you sit in the left seat, take the controls once we are clear of the field, and fly over your own street in Woodland Hills.
2,000+Discovery flights flown safely
5.0★Our Google rating, 100+ reviews
17 minFrom Woodland Hills to the flight line
9AM–9PMSeven days a week at KVNY
Discovery Flight · Woodland Hills, Los Angeles County
Your First Hour At The Controls
Most people who book a discovery flight from Woodland Hills have driven past Van Nuys Airport a hundred times on the way to somewhere else. It is nine miles from Topanga Canyon Blvd. You get here in about seventeen minutes, spend an hour flying an airplane over your own neighborhood, and are back in time for lunch at The Village.
The instructor handles the takeoff and the landing. Everything in between is yours. Once we are clear of the field you get the controls, and you fly the airplane west along the 101 corridor with Warner Center off the nose. People are always surprised by how ordinary it feels. We have flown more than 2,000 of these safely, and nobody has to be brave to do one.
It also counts. The hour goes into a logbook as real dual instruction toward a pilot certificate, not as a sightseeing ride. And if you decide within 24 hours that you want to keep going, we credit 100% of what you paid for the flight against your training. Plenty of our Woodland Hills students started exactly this way, on a whim, on a Saturday.
How It Works
What Happens On The Day — Start To Certificate
Plan on about two hours at the airport for a 60-minute flight.
1
Arrive And Sign In
Come to 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A. Parking is free and right outside. There is nothing to bring but ID and a pair of sunglasses, and nothing at all to prepare beforehand.
2
Briefing
Twenty minutes at the table. Your instructor explains what the controls do, what the flight will look like, and where you would like to go. Woodland Hills, Topanga, the coast: you choose the route.
3
Preflight Walkaround
You walk around the airplane with the instructor, checking fuel, oil, control surfaces and tires. It is the same check every pilot does before every flight, and you do it with them rather than watching.
4
The Flight
The takeoff is the instructor's. Somewhere over the Sepulveda Basin the airplane becomes yours: turns, climbs, descents, following the 101 west toward home. Sixty, ninety or 120 minutes, whichever you booked.
5
Afterwards
You get your logbook entry signed and a straight answer about what training would look like for you. No pressure either way. If you want to carry on, the flight's full cost comes off your first program.
Transparent Pricing
Discovery Flight Pricing For Woodland Hills 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 Woodland Hills student going on to the $10,900 private pilot program, that makes the first flight effectively free.
Getting Here From Woodland Hills
17 Minutes And 9 Miles From Woodland Hills
The 101 east from Topanga Canyon Blvd to the Balboa Blvd exit is the whole drive: nine miles, about seventeen minutes. Turn north on Balboa and the airport entrances are on your left after Vanowen. From the hillside neighborhoods south of Ventura Blvd, Ventura east then Balboa north is a pleasant alternative with no freeway at all.
Book a morning slot if you can, especially in summer. Woodland Hills is the hottest corner of the Valley and the air is smoothest early, which means better photographs, a calmer stomach and a better flight. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, open 9 AM to 9 PM seven days a week, and parking on site is free.
Book A Discovery Flight
Book Your Discovery Flight From Woodland Hills
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
Choose The Airplane You Fly
Most discovery flights go in the Cessna 162 Skycatcher, the Diamond DA20 or the Piper Warrior. Discovery Flight For One is $229 for 60 minutes, $299 for 90 and $399 for 120. Discovery Flight For Two is $299, $399 and $499, so someone can ride along and see everything you see.
If you want something special, the Luxury Cirrus For Two is $499 for 60 minutes, $699 for 90 and $949 for 120, flown in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo with its glass cockpit. The Multi-Engine Discovery Flight in the Piper Seminole is $499, $699 and $899. There is also a $189 hour in the Redbird MCX full-motion simulator if the weather is against us.
What You'll See From The Air
What You Will See Over Woodland Hills
A 60-minute flight west out of Van Nuys puts all of this under the wing.
🏢
The Warner Center Towers
The Valley's only skyline, standing up out of flat suburbs along Topanga Canyon and Owensmouth. You will spot it before you are halfway there.
🏞️
Lake Balboa And The Sepulveda Basin
The first thing you see after takeoff, a green bowl with a lake in it right off the end of the runway. This is usually where the controls become yours.
🏫
Pierce College
The open farm fields on the campus at Victory and De Soto break the street grid completely. Livestock, crops and a lot of green in the middle of the west Valley.
🌊
The Malibu Coastline
Twelve minutes from Woodland Hills at 3,500 feet. Cross the ridge above Topanga State Park and the Pacific fills the whole windscreen.
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 Woodland Hills
Discovery Flight FAQ
Yes. The instructor does the takeoff and the landing and you fly the rest. You will handle the climb, the turns and the cruise out over Woodland Hills yourself. The instructor has a full set of controls and is on them the entire time, so there is nothing you can get wrong.
Nine miles and about seventeen minutes. Take the 101 east and exit at Balboa Blvd, then head north to 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A. Parking is free and right by the door. Allow about two hours at the airport for a 60-minute flight.
Discovery Flight For One is $229 for 60 minutes, $299 for 90 and $399 for 120. For Two is $299, $399 and $499. The Luxury Cirrus For Two starts at $499, and an hour in the Redbird MCX simulator is $189.
It is one of the better ones. It works for a birthday, a graduation from Taft or El Camino Real, a retirement, or someone in Warner Center who has talked about flying for twenty years. Call (818) 290-8249 and we will arrange it around their schedule rather than yours.
It does. The hour is logged as dual instruction and counts toward the 40-hour minimum for a private pilot certificate. If you enroll in a program within 24 hours, 100% of what you paid for the discovery flight is credited toward it.
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, 17 Minutes From Woodland Hills
Woodland Hills is nine miles and one freeway exit from the left seat of an airplane. Call (818) 290-8249 or come to 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, where we fly seven days a week from 9 AM to 9 PM.
Or Send Us A Message And We'll Come Back To You The Same Day →