Thirty-three miles east along the 118 and straight down Balboa, to the nearest ramp with a glass-cockpit Cirrus, a twin and a full-motion simulator on it.
Moorpark sits in a bowl of citrus and avocado with Big Mountain on one side, the Tierra Rejada greenbelt on the other and Grimes Canyon climbing north through sandstone toward Fillmore. It is one of the last places around here where the town simply stops and the groves begin. What you do not have overhead is light aircraft. There is no field in Moorpark, so the only traffic above you is high and going somewhere else, which is why learning to fly feels further away here than it is.
The distance is the real objection and it deserves a straight answer. From Moorpark you are thirty-three miles and about forty minutes from our door, on one freeway and one boulevard, with no canyon crossing and no city driving. Ventura County has closer airports, and they are decent places to rent a Cessna on a Sunday. We are at none of them: the school is at Van Nuys Airport, Suite 108A, 7900 Balboa Boulevard, and Moorpark is where our students drive from. What they do not have on a single ramp is a Cirrus SR22 Turbo with a glass panel, a Piper Seminole twin, a Piper Arrow with retractable gear and a Redbird MCX full-motion simulator.
Most Moorpark students we see already drive this direction. Commuters who take the 118 to Chatsworth or Northridge every morning, engineers and machinists in the Simi and Chatsworth industrial parks, teachers and nurses on shift patterns, Moorpark College students who want something on a transcript an employer cannot argue with. If you are already on that freeway five days a week, adding a sixth trip on a Saturday is a smaller decision than the map suggests.
The trick from this far out is to stop thinking in single lessons. People who drive from Ventura County tend to book a long morning: a flight, a break, ground instruction, then a simulator hour, so one trip does the work of three. Start with a discovery flight at $229 for sixty minutes, flying it yourself with an instructor beside you. It is logged as real instruction, and if you enroll within a day the entire fee comes off your program.
Our Courses
Ten programs flown out of Van Nuys Airport, with real pricing on every one. Start with an hour at the controls, or go straight through to airline-hireable qualifications — it is the same ladder either way.
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Start Here
The first hour at the controls, over Los Angeles, with an instructor beside you. It is the entry point to every course below — and the cheapest way to find out whether flying is actually for you.
From$229
Open 9 AM–9 PM, Seven Days · (818) 290-8249
CertificateMost Popular
The one most people mean by “learn to fly.” Fly with an instructor, fly alone, then carry passengers on your own certificate.
Fly With An Instructor Fly Solo Carry Passengers $10,900 Enroll Now
Youth Program
Ages 10–15. For young people who want to start before they can legally solo.
$4,200 View Course
Milestone
Enough training to take an aircraft around the pattern alone. The day everything changes.
$5,500 View Course
Certificate
A real certificate with fewer hours and narrower privileges. The shortest honest route to flying yourself.
$8,400 View Course
Bundle
Private Pilot with flight time, ground instruction and study materials bundled into one price.
$15,900 View CourseBundle
The same certificate as Private, with the most flight time before your checkride. Eighty logged hours, ground instruction and materials, all in one price.
80 Logged Hours Ground School Included Materials Included $22,500 View Course
Rating
The rating after Private. Turns a fair-weather pilot into a useful one who can file, launch and land in cloud.
$11,700 View Course
Rating
For pilots already certificated who are adding a twin. Trained in our own Piper Seminole.
$5,100 View Course
Our Fleet
Diamond DA20, Cessna 162, Piper Arrow II and our Piper Seminole twin — all on the field at Van Nuys.
View The FleetThe Full Route
Zero experience to airline-hireable qualifications, in one continuous program rather than nine separate ones. Financing is available, and every hour of it is flown out of Van Nuys.
$89,000Financing Available
Free In-Person Tour Before You Commit
Book It Or Gift It
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
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 Or Gift
Same Price
Two Seats
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 Or Gift
Same Price
The Nice One
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
$499Book Or Gift
Same Price
Twin Engine
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 Or Gift
Same Price
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.
Take Los Angeles Avenue east out of Moorpark. It becomes the 118 at Simi Valley and stays a freeway from there: past the Reagan Library ridge, over the Santa Susana Pass, then down onto the valley floor at Chatsworth and Northridge. Exit at Balboa Boulevard and turn south. Balboa runs six straight miles through Granada Hills and Northridge, crossing Devonshire, Nordhoff and Roscoe, and the west boundary of the airport appears on your left. Thirty-three miles, about forty minutes.
The 23 south to the 101 east is the other way, through Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Woodland Hills, coming off at Balboa in Encino. It is a few miles longer and much prettier, and it is the better choice on mornings when the Santa Susana Pass is stacked up. In practice the 118 wins most of the time, because outside the eight o'clock crush there is nothing between Simi Valley and Chatsworth to slow you.
Our lot at 7900 Balboa Boulevard is free, ungated and never full, which after forty minutes of driving matters more than it sounds. Come to Suite 108A. The site is a shared hangar complex with a number of separate aviation businesses in it, so use the suite number rather than hunting along the fence line. We are open from nine in the morning to nine at night every day, and a nine o'clock booking from Moorpark is a genuinely civilized drive.
You can start in a two-seat Cessna 162 and finish on a multi-engine rating without changing schools, instructors or airports. That matters most to people who live furthest away, because the alternative is discovering at eighty hours that your next rating requires a different field and a different hour of driving each way.
Because Moorpark students drive, we build the day around it: a flight, then ground instruction over coffee, then a $189 sixty-minute session in the Redbird. Three hours of useful training in one visit is worth far more to you than three separate forty-minute lessons squeezed in on weekday evenings.
Van Nuys is a towered field with parallel runways and constant general aviation traffic. You learn clearances, sequencing and pattern discipline properly from your first few lessons. Pilots who train somewhere quiet often reach a certificate still nervous about talking on the radio, and it takes a long time to unlearn that.
Nine in the morning until nine at night, seven days a week. For shift workers, commuters and anyone whose Saturday belongs to somebody else's soccer game, that range is the difference between finishing a certificate and abandoning one at thirty hours. The first in-person consultation costs you nothing at all.
Training starts in the Cessna 162 Skycatcher or the Piper Warrior. Both are forgiving without being vague, and both will tell you honestly when your rudder work is sloppy, which is what you want early. The Diamond DA20 is worth asking for on a clear day heading west, because the bubble canopy leaves nothing between you and the Santa Susana Mountains. A package covers whichever of them you fly, together with the instructor, so the choice costs you nothing. The Redbird MCX full-motion simulator, $189 for a sixty-minute session, takes the weather and the aircraft schedule out of the equation entirely.
Past the private certificate, the Piper Arrow II brings retractable gear and a constant-speed propeller for complex and commercial time. The Cirrus SR22 Turbo has a full glass cockpit and a parachute for the whole airframe, and it will put Monterey or Sedona within an easy day. The Piper Seminole is the twin the $5,100 multi-engine rating is flown in. All of it lives at one airport, which is the practical argument for driving past closer options.
Head west out of Van Nuys, cross two ridges, and everything between Simi Valley and the groves opens up.
A long white building sitting alone on a hilltop above Simi Valley, with the Air Force One pavilion attached to one end. It is the most obvious waypoint on the whole route west and you will use it without meaning to.
An unbroken patchwork of row crops, orchards and farm roads wedged between three towns that never joined up. From two thousand feet the greenbelt reads as a deliberate gap in the suburbs.
North of town the road climbs into pale sandstone bluffs cut open by mining terraces, which glow orange late in the day. Beyond it the ground drops into the Santa Clara River valley and the citrus country around Fillmore.
The steep ridge along Moorpark's northern edge, with a long dry canyon and its fire road running behind it. On a clear winter morning the Channel Islands sit on the horizon past that ridge.
It is forty minutes on the 118 with one exit and one turn, and most people who ask already drive part of that road daily. It is worth it if you plan longer visits: a flight plus ground plus simulator rather than one short lesson. Students who treat it as a half-day finish.
For a rental on a sunny afternoon they are fine. For a full training path they run out: no glass-cockpit Cirrus, no twin for the multi-engine rating, no full-motion simulator, often no tower to learn radio work at. Changing schools halfway through costs more time than fifteen extra miles.
The 118 for most trips. Los Angeles Avenue east, freeway from Simi Valley, over the Santa Susana Pass, exit Balboa Boulevard and turn south for six miles. Take the 23 down to the 101 instead if the pass is backed up in the morning, coming off at Balboa in Encino.
In our own lot at 7900 Balboa Boulevard. It is free, with no meter and no gate code, and there is always space. Come to Suite 108A. The complex is shared with several unrelated aviation companies, so search the suite number rather than the street address. Call (818) 290-8249 if the door is not obvious.
Yes, and from Moorpark we would encourage it. A common pattern is an early flight, a break with ground instruction, then a second flight or a $189 session in the Redbird. Two lessons in one day builds skill faster than two a fortnight apart, because nothing has faded between them.
You can train at any age, solo at sixteen and hold a private pilot certificate at seventeen. The Teen Flight Training Package is $4,200. It suits Moorpark students because Saturday mornings are the natural slot and the drive is a parent's decision rather than the teenager's problem.
The standard program is $10,900, the comprehensive version with far more instruction included is $15,900, and the premium package is $22,500. A solo certificate alone is $5,500 and the sport pilot license is $8,400. These are complete program prices, covering the aircraft, the instructor, ground school and simulator time.
It is $5,100 as an add-on for holders of a private or commercial certificate, flown in the Piper Seminole. Expect Vmc demonstrations, single-engine handling, drag reduction, engine-out approaches and the systems knowledge behind them. Most pilots fly it as a concentrated block, which suits a drive from Ventura County.
Call (818) 290-8249 and take an early slot, when the 118 is still moving and the air over the Simi Hills is smooth. We are at 7900 Balboa Boulevard, Suite 108A, open nine to nine daily, parking free.
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.
Loved On Google
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...
Reviews shown verbatim, exactly as each reviewer published them.
Aviation News
Notes from the flight line at Van Nuys — weather, regulation changes, checkride questions and the cost of training, written up as they come.
Open 7 days · 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Los Angeles Flight School
