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.
Free Tool · Real Package Prices, Not Estimates
Flight School Cost Calculator
We do not quote you a spread and leave you to guess where you will land in it. Answer two questions and the tool returns the actual package we would enroll you on, its set price, what is inside it and how long it takes.
Set prices, not estimatesNothing submitted anywhereFinancing from $2,500 down
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.
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...
$10,900Standard Private Pilot Program, one fixed price
$179per hour package rate for enrolled students, wet, single-engine
$2,500financing from, down, with monthly plans
5.0★100+ Google reviews
The Tool
Find Your Package
Two questions, three if you are going for a private certificate. Nothing is submitted anywhere — this runs entirely in your browser and returns a real package at its real, set price.
1. Which certificate are you going for?
2. How often can you realistically fly?
3. Private pilot only — which flight deck?
Your package
—
—
—Realistic timeline
—What you finish with
$2,500Financing from, down
| What the package includes | Amount |
|---|
Under The Bonnet
Every Package The Tool Can Return
These are the actual prices we enroll students at, not modeled figures. Timelines assume flying twice a week; the tool adjusts them for the pace you told it.
| Program | Set price | What you finish with | Timeline at twice a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport Pilot Program | $8,400 | sport certificate | 2–4 months |
| Standard Private Pilot Program | $10,900 | 40 hrs logged | 6–9 months |
| Comprehensive Private Pilot Program | $15,900 | 60 hrs logged | 7–10 months |
| Premium Private Pilot Program, Cirrus SR22 Turbo | $22,500 | 40 hrs logged | 6–9 months |
| Instrument Rating | $11,700 | instrument rating | 4–6 months |
| Multi-Engine add-on, Piper Seminole | $5,100 | multi-engine rating | 1–2 months |
| Zero to Airline Program | $89,000 | private through CFI | 18–24 months |
Why It Is A Package And Not A Meter
Three Things A Set Price Does That An Hourly Meter Cannot
01
You Can Actually Plan
A package price is a number you can take to a partner, a lender or a household budget and defend. It does not move when fuel moves, it does not move when you have a slow month, and it does not need a footnote about what happens if you take longer than average.
02
Ground Instruction Stops Being A Meter
Ground school is inside every package — 3 hours on Standard and Premium, 10 on Comprehensive — along with your books and training materials. Nobody has to decide whether a long debrief is worth paying for, which is exactly the decision that makes people worse pilots.
03
The Simulator Becomes Free To Use
Redbird hours are written into the package, 2 on Standard and Premium and 5 on Comprehensive. When simulator time is already bought, instructors use it for the things it is genuinely better at: procedures, radio work, instrument scan and emergencies.
The Fleet
The Aircraft Behind The Number
A package price only means something if you know what it buys. Every aircraft in this gallery is ours, inspected on our schedule and flown by our instructors every day.
Single-engine training on the Standard and Comprehensive programs is flown in the Cessna, Piper and Diamond aircraft. The Premium program is flown in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo with its full glass cockpit.
Redbird MCX
A Full-Motion Simulator, And It Is Not A Toy
Every package the calculator returns has Redbird hours written into it. FAA-approved, fully enclosed, and it moves. Procedures, instrument scan, radio work and emergencies all transfer straight to the aircraft — and it is never canceled for weather.
Simulator hours are built into every private pilot program — 2 hours on Standard and Premium, 5 hours on Comprehensive. A standalone Redbird session is $189.
Your Instructor
Career Instructors, Not Hour-Builders Passing Through
The number the calculator gives you buys instruction as much as it buys aircraft time, so it is worth knowing who is in the right seat. Every instructor here holds a commercial or ATP certificate plus a CFI and a current medical, and the instructor is legally pilot in command on every flight you fly with them.
There are eleven of them. That matters more than it sounds: a school with two instructors cannot give you two slots a week in February, which is precisely how a 40-hour certificate quietly becomes a 70-hour one.
Our instructors fly here as a career rather than treating the school as a waiting room for an airline class date. You are matched to one at enrollment, and if the fit is wrong you can change instructor without any awkwardness and without restarting anything.
What People Say
5.0 Stars, 100+ Reviews
On Google, the same three things come up again and again.
★
Instructors Who Actually Teach
The most repeated compliment in our reviews is not the aircraft or the price — it is the debrief.
★
Scheduling That Works
Eleven instructors and a fleet we own means lessons happen when we say they will.
★
Prices That Don't Move
The number you enroll at is the number you finish at. Reviewers mention this constantly.
The Three Private Pilot Packages
What The Calculator Is Choosing Between
All three produce the same FAA private pilot certificate with the same privileges. What differs is how many hours are written into the package and which flight deck you learn in.
Standard Private Pilot Program
$10,900
The FAA minimum is 40 hours. If you can fly twice a week or more, this is the package that fits and the one most of our students take.
- Single-Engine (Cessna · Piper · Diamond) — 38 hrs
- Redbird full-motion simulator — 2 hrs
- Dual flight instruction — 30 hrs
- Ground school — 3 hrs
- Books & training materials — included
- 40 hours logged flight time
Most chosen
Comprehensive Private Pilot Program
$15,900
Sixty logged hours and ten hours of ground school. If you fly once a week or less, or you simply want the margin, this is the safer number.
- Single-Engine (Cessna · Piper · Diamond) — 55 hrs
- Redbird full-motion simulator — 5 hrs
- Dual flight instruction — 50 hrs
- Ground school — 10 hrs
- Books & training materials — included
- 60 hours logged flight time
Premium Private Pilot Program
$22,500
The same 40-hour structure as Standard, flown in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo with its full glass cockpit and airframe parachute.
- Cirrus SR22 Turbo (glass cockpit) — 38 hrs
- Redbird full-motion simulator — 2 hrs
- Dual flight instruction — 30 hrs
- Ground school — 3 hrs
- Books & training materials — included
- 40 hours logged flight time
Every program is one fixed price with the aircraft, the instructor, ground school, simulator time and your books and materials inside it. Enrolled students fly at the $179 an hour package rate, wet, single-engine. Financing is available from $2,500 down with monthly plans, through Stratus Financial or an in-house plan.
Back to School: $500 off any private pilot program through 30 September 2026. Standard $10,400 · Comprehensive $15,400 · Premium $22,000. Ask when you enroll.
Before You Enroll
The Cheapest Useful Hour Is Still The First One
Whatever package the tool returned, an hour in the aircraft tells you more about whether to spend it than any calculator can.
Free Consultation
$0
Sit down with an instructor, look at your calendar, and leave with a written plan and a package recommendation. No obligation and no sales pitch.
Start here
Discovery Flight For One
$229 / 60 min
You fly the aircraft, the time is loggable dual instruction, and the full price is credited against any program if you enroll within 24 hours. 90 min $299, 120 min $399.
Standard Private Pilot Program
$10,900
One fixed price, 40 hours logged, ground school, Redbird simulator time and materials included. Financing from $2,500 down with monthly plans.
Next Step
An Hour In The Aircraft Answers This Better Than A Calculator
You can plan the budget for months. Sixty minutes at the controls over Los Angeles will tell you in the first ten whether this is something you want to spend the money on. Call (818) 290-8249, 9am to 9pm, seven days, or enroll online.
Standard Private Pilot Program
$10,900
One fixed price · 40 hours logged · ground school, simulator and materials included · financing from $2,500 down
FAQ
Questions About The Packages
At LA Flight School you buy a package at a set price rather than an estimate. The Standard Private Pilot Program is $10,900, the Comprehensive is $15,900 and the Premium, flown in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo, is $22,500. Sport Pilot is $8,400 and the Instrument Rating is $11,700.
The prices it returns are exact, because they are the prices we enroll students at. The only modeled figure is the timeline, which is built from FAA minimums and how often you told the tool you can fly. Book the free consultation and we will write the same number down for you on paper.
The aircraft, the instructor, ground school, Redbird simulator time and your books and training materials, all inside one price. The Standard program covers 38 hours single-engine, 2 simulator hours, 30 hours of dual instruction and 3 hours of ground school for 40 hours logged in total.
Enrolled students fly at the $179 an hour package rate, wet and single-engine, which means fuel is included and there is no separate surcharge. That rate exists inside a package rather than as a standalone charge, and it does not move part way through your training.
If you can fly twice a week or more, take the Standard program at $10,900 with its 40 logged hours. If you can only fly weekly or fortnightly, the Comprehensive at $15,900 gives you 60 logged hours and 10 hours of ground school for one fixed price. Premium at $22,500 is the same structure as Standard in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo.
Yes. Financing starts from $2,500 down with monthly plans, through Stratus Financial or through our own in-house payment plans. Most students who finance put the deposit down and spread the balance across the length of the program.
No. The price you enroll at is the price you finish at for the duration of that program. There is no ground-instruction surcharge, no fuel surcharge and no mid-training rate rise, which is the single most common complaint students bring us from other schools.
Yes, against any training program, if you enroll within 24 hours of flying. The $229 comes straight off the package price, which makes trying it effectively free for anyone who continues. A 90-minute flight is $299 and 120 minutes is $399.
No Cost, No Obligation
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
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
★★★★★
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.
Aviation News
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.
Van Nuys Airport · KVNY
(818) 290-8249
7900 Balboa Blvd. Suite 108A
Van Nuys, CA 91406 Get directions →
Open the full contact page
Open 7 days · 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Los Angeles Flight School7900 Balboa Blvd. Suite 108A
Van Nuys, CA 91406 Get directions →
★★★★★
5.0 · 100+ Google reviews