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.
Every Age That Matters
Flight Training Age Requirements: How Young, How Old
There is no minimum age to take a flying lesson. There is a minimum age to fly alone, a different one to hold a certificate, and one mandatory retirement age that applies to airline pilots and nobody else. The two questions we are asked most are from a 14-year-old and from a 68-year-old, and the answers are better than both of them expect.
16 To Solo An Airplane17 For A Private CertificateNo Upper Limit For Private Flying
Noneminimum age to take a flying lesson
16minimum age to fly an airplane solo
17minimum age for a private pilot certificate
5.0★100+ Google reviews
The Short Answer
You Can Start Today. You Cannot Fly Alone Until 16
The FAA sets no minimum age for receiving flight instruction. A ten-year-old can sit in the left seat, handle the controls and have the hour logged in a logbook, and those hours count for the rest of their life. What is regulated is flying alone and holding a certificate — and those come with hard numbers.
At the other end there is almost nothing. No FAA regulation prevents a person of any age from learning to fly, holding a private pilot certificate or flying for pleasure. The only mandatory retirement in US aviation applies to pilots operating scheduled airline flights under Part 121, and it is 65. Everything else — private flying, flight instructing, most other commercial operations — continues for as long as you can hold a medical and fly to standard.
So the honest framing is this. If you are young, start now and time your sixteenth birthday to be the week you solo. If you are older, the only real question is a medical certificate, and there are more routes to that than most people realize.
The Ladder
Every Age In FAA Flight Training
Nine numbers, from no minimum at all to the one mandatory retirement age in US aviation.
| Age | Milestone | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| None | No minimum to take lessons | You may receive and log flight instruction at any age. Hours logged as a child count toward certificates earned as an adult. Our teens program for ages 10 to 15 is $4,200. |
| 14 | Solo a glider or a balloon | The FAA permits a student pilot certificate at 14 for gliders and balloons, which means a 14-year-old may legally fly one alone with the appropriate endorsements. |
| 16 | Solo an airplane | A student pilot certificate for airplanes requires you to be 16. This is the first day you can legally fly a powered aircraft by yourself, and it is worth planning your training so it happens that week. |
| 17 | Private pilot certificate | 17 for airplanes, 16 for gliders and balloons. This is the certificate most people mean when they say pilot's license: 40 flight hours minimum under FAR 61.109, $10,900 with us. |
| 17 | Sport pilot certificate | 17 for airplanes and 16 for gliders and balloons under FAR 61.305 — you can still solo at 16, you simply cannot hold the certificate yet. 20 flight hours minimum, $8,400 in our program, and no FAA medical required if you hold a valid US driver's license. |
| 18 | Commercial certificate and flight instructor | 18 to hold a commercial pilot certificate and to be issued a flight instructor certificate. A commercial certificate requires 250 total flight hours under Part 61. |
| 21 | Restricted ATP | A restricted Airline Transport Pilot certificate can be held from 21 by graduates of certain FAA-approved programs, at 1,000 or 1,250 hours rather than 1,500. |
| 23 | Unrestricted ATP | 23 for the full Airline Transport Pilot certificate at 1,500 hours. This is the certificate an airline captain holds. |
| 65 | Mandatory airline retirement | Pilots may not operate scheduled airline flights under Part 121 after their 65th birthday. It applies to that operation and no other. Flight instructing, private flying and many commercial operations carry no age limit at all. |
Under 18
Starting Young, And Doing It In The Right Order
What A Teenager Should Actually Do
The mistake young pilots make is waiting. They assume nothing counts until they are 16, so they do nothing until they are 16, and then start from zero on a birthday they could have soloed on.
- Start logging hours now. Instruction received at 11 counts exactly as much as instruction received at 21. There is no expiry on logged dual instruction and no minimum age to receive it.
- Plan to solo on your sixteenth birthday. Most students solo between 15 and 25 flight hours. Work backwards from the date. A student who begins at 15 and flies regularly can be signed off and waiting.
- Get the written exam done. There is no minimum age to sit the FAA knowledge test, and passing it early removes the wall that stops so many students in their final months. Our written exam guide covers the format.
- Get a medical certificate before you invest. A third-class medical is required before solo and it is the one item that can genuinely stop a plan. Find out at 14, not at 16.
- Consider whether a career is the goal. If it is, get a first-class medical rather than a third, because the standards are stricter and it is far better to know early. See how to become a commercial pilot.
- Paperwork. A minor will need a parent or guardian involved in the training agreement, and identity documents will be checked. Bring a passport or birth certificate along with a photo ID.
Our Teens Program
Ages 10 to 15, $4,200. It is built around the fact that a young student cannot solo yet, so it front-loads the things that do not require a certificate: stick and rudder skill, radio work, navigation, weather, and the ground knowledge that will later become the written exam.
It is not a summer camp and it is not a simulator club. The hours are logged dual instruction in a real aircraft with a certified instructor, and they carry forward into a private pilot certificate later. A student who does this at 13 and 14 arrives at 16 needing very little to solo.
One honest caution: young students who fly infrequently lose skills faster than adults do, not slower. If the plan is one lesson a month, the hours will not compound in the way this program assumes.
Over 50, Over 60, Over 70
There Is No Upper Age Limit, And The Objections Are Smaller Than They Look
We are asked the too-old question constantly, usually by people in their fifties and sixties who have wanted to do this since childhood and have decided on their own that the door has closed. It has not. No FAA regulation prevents anyone of any age from learning to fly or from holding a private pilot certificate, and people earn certificates in their seventies every year.
The only genuine variable is the medical certificate, and there are three routes rather than one. A third-class medical from an Aviation Medical Examiner is valid for 24 calendar months once you are 40 or over. BasicMed is an alternative for many private operations, using a state-licensed physician and a free online course, though it requires you to have held an FAA medical at some point since July 2006. And a sport pilot certificate requires no FAA medical at all if you hold a valid US driver's license.
On learning speed: older students are generally slower on the physical handling and considerably better at everything else. Judgment, systematic thinking, checklist discipline and a willingness to say no to marginal weather are the things that actually keep pilots alive, and they arrive with age rather than in spite of it. Landings take a few more hours. Nothing else does.
The pattern worth watching for is not age. It is frequency. A 65-year-old flying twice a week will comfortably outpace a 25-year-old flying twice a month, and that is true at every point on the scale.
No FAA Upper Age LimitBasicMed And Sport Pilot RoutesThird Class: 24 Months At 40 And Over
Every Age, Same Aircraft
What A Lesson Looks Like At 12 And At 72
The same instructors, the same fleet and the same logbook, whatever the birthday on the ID.
Watch
The School, Whatever Age You Are Starting At
Van Nuys Airport, the fleet and the instructors — open 9am to 9pm, seven days.
LA Flight School — 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406.
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
Every Course 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.
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
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.
The Fleet
The Same Airplanes At 12 And At 72
No junior fleet, no separate trainer for older students. Every aircraft here 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
There Is No Minimum Age In Here Either
FAA-approved, fully enclosed and full-motion. It is where a nervous twelve-year-old and a cautious seventy-year-old both find out what the workload actually feels like, with no weather, no traffic and a pause button.
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
Instructors Who Teach Teenagers And Retirees In The Same Afternoon
Every instructor here holds a commercial or airline transport certificate plus a CFI and a current medical, and the instructor is legally pilot in command on every flight — which is exactly why a ten-year-old can fly a lesson and log it.
Teaching a fourteen-year-old and teaching a sixty-eight-year-old are different jobs, and with eleven instructors we can match you to someone who does yours well. Younger students need pace and structure; older students usually want the why before the how.
They fly here as a career rather than treating the school as a waiting room. You are matched to one instructor so the teaching is continuous, and if the fit is wrong you change.
11 InstructorsCommercial Or ATP, Plus CFIInstructor Is PIC On Every Lesson
Private Pilot Programs
The Certificate You Can Hold From Your Seventeenth Birthday, With No Upper Limit
Three programs, three fixed prices. Aircraft, instructor, ground school, simulator time and materials are all inside the number, whatever age you start at.
Standard Private Pilot Program
$10,900
Forty hours logged in the Cessna, Piper and Diamond singles. The FAA minimum route, done properly.
- 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 hours logged and ten hours of ground school — closer to what most students genuinely need.
- 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 certificate flown in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo, with a full glass cockpit from the first lesson.
- 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. Other programs: Sport Pilot $8,400 · Instrument Rating $11,700 · Multi-Engine add-on $5,100 · Solo Certificate $5,500 · Teens ages 10–15 $4,200 · zero-to-airline $89,000.
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.
Whatever Your Age
The First Hour Is The Same For Everybody
A discovery flight is a real lesson — 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. There is no minimum age to take one.
Redbird Simulator Session
$189 / 1 hr
Full-motion, FAA-approved, on the ground. A good first step for a cautious teenager or a cautious anybody.
Most Booked
Discovery Flight For One
$229 / 60 min
You fly it. Logged as dual instruction from the first minute. Credited in full within 24 hours. 90 min $299, 120 min $399.
Discovery Flight For Two
$299 / 60 min
Parent and teenager, or two adults. 90 min $399, 120 min $499.
Programs: Teens ages 10–15 $4,200 · Solo Certificate $5,500 · Sport Pilot $8,400 · Private Pilot $10,900 · Instrument Rating $11,700. Enrolled students fly at the $179 an hour package rate, wet, single-engine.
Next Step
The Right Age To Start Is The One You Are Now
Sixty minutes over Los Angeles with your hands on the controls, logged as real instruction from the first minute — whether you are 12 or 72. If you enroll within 24 hours the whole $229 comes off your program. Call (818) 290-8249 or book online.
Discovery Flight For One
$229
60 minutes · you fly the aircraft · fully loggable · credited on enrollment
FAQ
Age Requirement Questions
There is no minimum age to take flying lessons or to log dual instruction — a ten-year-old can fly with an instructor and have the hour recorded in a logbook. The regulated ages are for flying alone and holding certificates: 16 to solo an airplane, 14 to solo a glider or balloon, and 17 to be issued a private pilot certificate.
16 for an airplane and 14 for a glider or balloon. Those are the ages at which the FAA will issue a student pilot certificate, which is what a solo flight requires along with your instructor's endorsement. Most students reach solo standard between 15 and 25 flight hours, so a 15-year-old who trains consistently can solo on their sixteenth birthday.
17 for airplanes and 16 for gliders and balloons. You also need 40 flight hours minimum under FAR 61.109, a third-class medical certificate, and a passed written exam and checkride. Our private pilot program is $10,900 at Van Nuys Airport.
17 for airplanes and 16 for gliders and balloons, under FAR 61.305. You can still fly solo at 16 with a student pilot certificate and your instructor's endorsement — you simply cannot hold the sport pilot certificate itself until 17. It requires 20 flight hours and no FAA medical if you hold a valid US driver's license.
No. There is no upper age limit for learning to fly, holding a private pilot certificate or flying for pleasure. The only mandatory retirement age in US aviation is 65 for pilots operating scheduled airline flights under Part 121, and it does not apply to private flying, flight instructing or many other commercial operations.
No, and the practical obstacle is smaller than people expect. A third-class medical is valid for 24 calendar months once you are over 40, and it is the only real variable. If a medical is a genuine problem there are two alternatives: BasicMed for many private operations, and the sport pilot certificate, which requires no FAA medical at all if you hold a valid US driver's license.
23 for an unrestricted Airline Transport Pilot certificate at 1,500 flight hours, or 21 for a restricted ATP at 1,000 to 1,250 hours if you graduate from certain FAA-approved programs. You must also be 18 to hold the commercial pilot certificate that comes before it. Mandatory retirement from scheduled airline flying is 65.
Yes. There is no minimum age for instruction, and a 14-year-old may solo a glider or balloon. For airplanes they must wait until 16 to fly alone, so the sensible plan is to log hours and pass the written exam beforehand. Our teens program for ages 10 to 15 is $4,200 and every hour is logged dual instruction in a real aircraft.
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
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 →
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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