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.
Van Nuys Airport · KVNY
Services At LA Flight School, Van Nuys Airport
Training, ratings, simulator sessions, checkouts and discovery flights, all run out of one hangar office on the west side of Van Nuys Airport.
5.0★85 reviews on Google
2,000+discovery flights flown safely
7aircraft and one full-motion sim
9 AM–9 PMevery day of the week
Local
What We Do Here, In Plain Terms
This page is the index. If you want to know whether we teach a particular thing, fly a particular airplane or sell a particular kind of flight, it is listed below with what it costs. We are based at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, on the western perimeter of Van Nuys Airport, and everything described here happens from that one office and the aircraft parked outside it. Nothing is subcontracted to another operator across the field.
Broadly there are four things we sell. Introductory flights for people who have never flown a light aircraft and want to try. Structured training programs that end in an FAA certificate or rating. Simulator time in a Redbird MCX, used both inside those programs and on its own. And instructional flying for pilots who already hold a license — checkouts, flight reviews, proficiency checks and endorsements. Most people arrive through the first and stay for the others.
Alongside those sit the parts nobody advertises but everybody needs. Ground instruction and written exam preparation, which we run in person rather than pointing you at a video course. Checkride preparation, including the oral portion that catches more candidates out than the flying does. Aircraft checkouts for licensed pilots new to a type. And a free in-person consultation for anyone still deciding, with no obligation attached to it whatsoever.
What we do not do is worth stating too. We do not run a helicopter school, we do not sell aircraft, we do not offer type ratings on jets, and we do not rent aircraft by the hour to pilots who are not training with us. We are a general aviation flight school with a fleet ranging from a two-seat light-sport airplane to a twin, which covers everything from a first flight to a multi-engine rating. Beyond that we will happily tell you who on the field does what we do not.
Courses & Pricing
Every Course We Teach
★★★★★
5.0 Rating
85 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
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 Cirrus For Two
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
$399Book 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.
Getting Here
How To Book Any Of It
The quickest route is the telephone. Call (818) 290-8249 between 9 AM and 9 PM, any day of the week, and you reach the desk at Suite 108A rather than an answering service. For a discovery flight we can usually offer something within a few days, and we will ask about weight and passenger numbers at the time of booking so the aircraft is matched properly. For training, the first call is a short conversation about your goals and your schedule.
If you would rather look before deciding, the in-person consultation is free and takes about thirty minutes. You will see the aircraft on the ramp, sit in the Redbird MCX, meet an instructor and get written numbers to take away. Nothing is signed at it. It is genuinely the most useful half-hour available to anyone comparing flight schools, and it costs nothing but the drive out to Balboa Blvd.
Finding us is straightforward once you know that Balboa Boulevard runs along the airport's western boundary. From the 405, exit at Sherman Way and head west to Balboa, then turn north; the airport fence runs along your right and our office block sits just past Saticoy. From the Westside, allow extra time for the 405 through the Sepulveda Pass on weekday mornings. From the east Valley, Sherman Way and Vanowen Street run straight across without touching a freeway. Parking outside our door is free and unattended, and Suite 108A is a numbered door in the block beside the hangars.
Why Van Nuys
What Makes This A Workable Place To Train
1
Maintenance Handled On Site
Aircraft are looked after here rather than being flown elsewhere and left waiting. That keeps availability high, which is the single most underrated factor in how long a certificate takes. A school with lovely airplanes that are always in maintenance will cost you months you cannot get back.
2
Ground School Taught In Person
Written exam preparation and ground instruction happen face to face with an instructor who will notice when you have nodded along without following. Video courses have their place as revision, but the questions that matter are the ones you did not know to ask, and those only surface in a room with somebody.
3
Long Opening Hours
We are open from 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week. That is not a slogan; it is what makes training compatible with a job. Evening slots also cover the night flying requirement for the private certificate, so time that would otherwise be a scheduling problem becomes part of the syllabus.
4
One School, Every Stage
First flight, license, instrument rating, complex time, multi-engine rating and currency afterwards, all from one office with one set of records. You are never re-inducted somewhere new mid-path or asked to prove your history to a stranger. For anyone planning to fly for years rather than months, that continuity matters.
The Fleet
The Fleet, And What Your Package Covers
Seven aircraft cover the range from first lesson to twin-engine work. Primary training runs on the Cessna 162 Skycatcher and the Piper Warrior, with the Diamond DA20 and its bubble canopy for anyone who wants the view, and the Piper Arrow II, retractable gear and a constant-speed propeller, for complex time. Enrolled students fly the single-engine trainers at $179 an hour, wet, so which one you train in is a choice rather than a separate line on an invoice. Your instructional hours sit inside the package price you enrolled at.
At the top of the fleet sit the Cirrus SR22 Turbo and the twin-engine Piper Seminole, and neither is on the $179 rate. The Cirrus brings a full glass cockpit, turbocharged performance and an airframe parachute, and it is flown on the $22,500 Premium program. The Seminole is where the $5,100 Multi-Engine Rating is flown. Sitting alongside them is the Redbird MCX full-motion simulator at $189 for a sixty-minute session, bookable on its own or built into a program.
From The Air
Services Beyond The Training Programs
These are the things people ring up about that are not a certificate or a rating.
🛫
Checkouts And Currency For Licensed Pilots
If you already hold a certificate, you fly our aircraft with one of our instructors: a checkout, a flight review, an instrument proficiency check or an endorsement. We do not rent aircraft by the hour to pilots who are not training with us, so there is no rate card to ask for. Ring the desk at Suite 108A.
🖥️
Redbird MCX Simulator Sessions
Full-motion simulator time at $189 for a sixty-minute session, available whether or not you are enrolled in a program. It is the cheapest place to practice instrument approaches, engine failures and weather scenarios, and it flies regardless of what the sky is doing.
📖
Ground School And Written Exam Prep
In-person instruction covering the FAA knowledge test material, from airspace and weather to performance and regulations. It runs alongside flight training rather than as a separate course, so what you study in the room appears in the airplane that week.
🤝
Free In-Person Consultation
Thirty minutes at Suite 108A with an instructor, the aircraft and the simulator, and no obligation at the end of it. Bring your schedule and your budget and you will leave with a written plan rather than a brochure.
FAQ
Common Questions
7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, on the western side of the field. The airport has several entrances serving different tenants, so use the street address rather than the airport name if you are being dropped off. Parking on site is free and unattended, and the office is a numbered door in the block beside the hangars.
Not by the hour. We sell training packages rather than blocks of flying time, so pilots who trained elsewhere come back to us for a rating, an endorsement, a flight review or a proficiency check, each flown with one of our instructors. Bring your certificate, logbook and medical, and ring (818) 290-8249 to arrange it.
Yes, at $189 for a sixty-minute session in the Redbird MCX. It is a full-motion device rather than a desktop trainer, with configurable weather and failures. Instrument pilots use it to stay sharp, students use it to rehearse procedures before spending aircraft money, and it is available whatever the weather is doing outside.
Aircraft time with fuel, instructor time in the air and on the ground, and the briefings either side of each lesson. Enrolled students fly on package pricing at $179 an hour, wet, in a single-engine aircraft. Outside the package sit the FAA written exam, the examiner's fee for your checkride, your medical certificate and personal equipment such as a headset.
Ground instruction is built into every program, and we teach it in person at Suite 108A. If you are preparing for a written exam and only need the knowledge portion, talk to us about arranging sessions on their own. Most students find the in-person format catches gaps that a video course lets them skate past.
Yes. Discovery Flight For Two is $299 for sixty minutes, $399 for ninety and $499 for two hours, with one person flying and the other in the back. The luxury version in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo is $399, $549 and $699. Tell us the passengers' weights when booking so we can match the aircraft.
Every day, 9 AM to 9 PM. Weekends are our busiest period, so book ahead if you want a Saturday morning slot, which is the most requested time of the week. Weekday evenings are usually easier to get at short notice and are perfectly good flying, especially for night training.
Either through Stratus Financial, our aviation lending partner, or through our in-house payment plan, which takes a deposit and spreads the balance across your program with no interest. Financing starts from $2,500 down. Every package carries a published price — $4,200 for the teen course, $10,900 for the Standard Private Pilot program — and we will put a monthly figure against whichever one you pick.
Talk To Us
Not Sure Which Service You Need
Ring (818) 290-8249 between 9 AM and 9 PM and describe what you are trying to do; an instructor will tell you which of the above fits and what it costs. If nothing here suits, we will say so.
Discovery Flight For One
$229
60 minutes, hands on the controls, fully loggable
Book A Discovery Flight
Or Call (818) 290-8249
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
Eighty-Five 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.
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.
