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) · Los Angeles
One Flying Lesson, No Course, No Commitment
Sixty minutes, $229, and you fly the aircraft yourself from the left seat with an instructor beside you. No experience, no medical certificate, no licence and nothing to sign up for afterwards. This page is for the person who wants to try it once and has no intention of becoming a pilot next Tuesday.
$229 for 60 minutesYou fly it, not the instructorNo medical certificate needed9AM to 9PM, seven days
$229one 60-minute lesson, aircraft and instructor included
5.0★70 Google reviews
355flyable days a year at Van Nuys, from our NOAA study
0prior experience, paperwork or medical certificate required
The Short Answer
Yes, You Can Take Exactly One Lesson
A single flying lesson at Van Nuys is $229 for 60 minutes, and it obliges you to nothing. You do not enrol, you do not buy a course, and nobody calls you afterwards to ask when you are starting. Plenty of people fly once, love it, and never come back. That is a completely reasonable thing to do with a Saturday.
What makes it a lesson rather than a ride is that you fly the aircraft. Once we are clear of the traffic pattern the controls are yours, and you handle the climb, the turns and the level-off while the instructor talks you through it. The instructor is legally pilot in command and does the takeoff and the landing. Everything in between is you.
It also counts. The hour is logged as dual instruction in a logbook we start for you, and under 14 CFR 61.109 it counts toward the 40 hours a private pilot certificate requires. If you never take another lesson, you still have that page. If you do carry on, the $229 comes off the program price in full when you enrol within 24 hours.
The Hour
What Actually Happens In The Sixty Minutes
Nobody tells you this in advance, so here it is in order. Allow about two hours at the airport in total, of which one is in the air.
01
Fifteen Minutes On The Ground
You meet your instructor, sign in, and get the short version of what the aircraft does and what you will be doing with it. Then you walk out to it together and do the preflight inspection, which is the part where you learn that people physically check the fuel and the oil before every flight.
02
Headsets, Start, Taxi
You sit in the left seat, which is the pilot seat. Headsets on, and from that moment you can hear Van Nuys tower and the other aircraft. Most people say this is the point at which it stops feeling like a tour. Taxiing is done with your feet, which surprises everybody.
03
Takeoff, And Then Your Hands
The instructor flies the takeoff. Somewhere in the climb, usually around 1,000 feet, they let go and tell you it is yours. There is no ceremony to it. You will be flying an aeroplane roughly eight minutes after the engine started.
04
Thirty Minutes Over Los Angeles
Straight and level, then turns, then climbs and descents. Depending on traffic and where you want to go, that happens over the San Fernando Valley, out toward the coast at Malibu, or south past the Hollywood sign. You choose. The instructor keeps a hand near the controls and takes them back if anything needs it.
05
Back In, And The Landing
The instructor lands. You keep your hands lightly on the controls to feel what they are doing, which is more instructive than watching. Van Nuys is a busy field, so there is usually a sequence to fit into and you get to hear how that works.
06
The Logbook
Fifteen minutes on the ground afterwards: what you did, what you did well, what a next lesson would work on. Your instructor signs the hour into a logbook that is yours to keep. That signature is the same one that goes into a professional pilot logbook, and it is worth more than the photographs.
Eligibility
Who Can Take A Flying Lesson
Almost everyone, and the exceptions are narrower than people assume. The questions below are the ones we get asked on the phone every week.
AGE
No Minimum Age To Fly With An Instructor
Children can fly a lesson with an instructor at any age if they can reach the controls, and we run a structured teens program for ages 10 to 15 at $4,200. You must be 16 to fly solo and 17 to hold a private pilot certificate. There is no upper age limit at all.
MED
No Medical Certificate Needed
14 CFR 61.23 requires an FAA medical certificate before you fly solo, not before you fly with an instructor. So a first lesson needs nothing from a doctor. If you later want to train seriously, a third-class medical is enough for a private certificate.
ID
Bring Photo Identification
A US citizen needs a driving licence or passport. A non-US citizen can fly an introductory lesson, but training toward a certificate requires TSA approval through the Alien Flight Student Program first, and that takes weeks rather than days.
W&B
Weight Is A Real Constraint
Small aircraft have weight and balance limits that are structural rather than a matter of taste. We ask for your weight when you book so we can put you in an aircraft with the right numbers. It is a scheduling question, not a judgement, and it is far better answered before you drive out here.
EYE
Glasses Are Fine
Corrected vision is acceptable for every class of FAA medical certificate, so glasses or contact lenses do not stop you flying or becoming a pilot. Bring sunglasses as well. The light over the Valley at midday is genuinely bright.
AIR
Motion Sickness Happens
Some people do feel queasy, usually on a warm afternoon when the air over the Valley is bumpy. Book a morning slot, eat something light beforehand, and tell your instructor before you take off rather than after. We can fly it gently, stay smooth, and come back early if you want to. Nobody is impressed by anyone toughing it out.
Be Honest With Yourself
A Lesson Is Not A Sightseeing Tour
If what you actually want is to look out of the window at the coastline while somebody else flies, book a tour instead. It is a different product and it is a better fit. Our airplane tours over Los Angeles page covers those, including the Hollywood sign and Malibu routes.
A lesson divides its attention. You are being taught, which means listening, doing, and being corrected, and the view is competing with a lot of that. People who want the view get more from a tour. People who want to know whether they can do this get more from a lesson.
The other honest note is about the person in the back. A lesson is one student flying, and a passenger in the back seat gets very little instruction and a lot of engine noise. If two of you want to fly properly, the Discovery Flight For Two swaps you both into the left seat for half the flight each, which is what most couples actually want.
If you are buying this for somebody else, a gift certificate avoids the whole problem of picking a date around their calendar. It is on our discovery flight gift certificate page, and it does not expire on the calendar year.
Prices
Where Are The Flying Lessons Near Me, And What Do They Cost?
Every lesson below leaves from Van Nuys Airport at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406, and every price is the whole price. Aircraft, fuel and instructor are all in it.
| Lesson | 60 min | 90 min | 120 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flying lesson for one — you fly, instructor beside you | $229 | $299 | $399 |
| Flying lesson for two — you swap seats mid-flight | $299 | $399 | $499 |
| Cirrus SR22 Turbo for two — glass cockpit, leather, parachute | $399 | $549 | $699 |
| Redbird MCX full-motion simulator session | $189 | — | — |
A 60-minute lesson is enough to know whether you like it. A 90-minute lesson gets you far enough from the airport to fly somewhere, which is a different and better feeling. Every one of these is loggable dual instruction and every one is credited in full against a training program if you enrol within 24 hours.
The Fleet
What You Will Actually Be Flying
Aircraft we own outright and maintain ourselves, not a broker arrangement. Your instructor will tell you which one you are booked into when you arrive, and you can ask to see it before you decide anything.
Van Nuys is a Class D field under the LAX Class B shelf, which means real tower communication from the moment you start the engine. It is why an hour here teaches you more than an hour at a quiet field.
Redbird MCX
Nervous? Start In The Simulator Instead
A full-motion, fully enclosed, FAA-approved simulator on site. It moves, it makes the right noises, and it has a stop button. For anyone anxious about the first flight, a $189 session is a genuinely useful first step and it is never cancelled for weather.
A Redbird session is $189 and runs on the ground at Van Nuys. If flying itself is the worry rather than the lesson, our fear of flying simulator page explains how we use it.
Your Instructor
Who Is Sitting Next To You
Every instructor here holds a commercial or ATP certificate, a flight instructor certificate and a current FAA medical, and is legally pilot in command for the whole flight. You cannot break anything. That is worth saying plainly, because it is the thing most first-time students are quietly worried about.
We have eleven of them, and they teach here as a career rather than as a waiting room for an airline job. For a one-off lesson that matters less than it does for a full course, but it shows up in the debrief: an instructor who intends to still be here next year explains things properly instead of just filling the hour.
Tell yours what you want out of the hour when you meet them. Some people want to be taught hard and given the controls for the whole flight. Some want to look at the coast and be talked through what is happening. Both are fine, and the flight is much better if you say which one you are.
What People Say
5.0 Stars, 70 Reviews
All of them on Google. First-lesson reviewers mention the same three things.
★
They Actually Let You Fly
The most common surprise in a first-lesson review is how much of the hour the student spent flying the aircraft themselves.
★
Nobody Was Sold To
Reviewers mention leaving without a follow-up sales call. You get a logbook entry and a handshake.
★
The Instructor Was Calm
Almost every nervous first-timer says the same thing afterwards: the instructor made it feel ordinary within ten minutes.
Book It
Pick A Lesson
Every option can be booked instantly, or talked through first on a free consultation if you would rather ask questions before you pay for anything.
Most booked
Flying Lesson For One
$229 / 60 min
The standard first lesson. You fly it, the hour is logged, and the price comes off a program in full if you enrol within 24 hours.
- Aircraft and fuelIncluded
- Certificated instructorIncluded
- Logbook entryYours to keep
- Medical certificateNot needed
Flying Lesson For Two
$299 / 60 min
Two of you, swapping the left seat halfway through. What most couples actually want when they book a lesson for one and bring somebody.
- Both of you flyHalf each
- 90 minutes$399
- 120 minutes$499
- Logbook entriesOne each
Cirrus SR22 Turbo For Two
$399 / 60 min
Glass cockpit, leather seats, air conditioning and a whole-airframe parachute. The one people book for an anniversary.
- Both of you flyHalf each
- 90 minutes$549
- 120 minutes$699
- CAPS airframe parachuteFitted
$500 off any private pilot program this summer. Standard $10,400 · Comprehensive $15,400 · Premium $22,000. Only relevant if the lesson goes well, so ask afterwards.
Next Step
Book It For A Morning
The air over the Valley is smoothest before about eleven, which matters more than the season. We fly 9AM to 9PM, seven days, from 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406, and 355 days a year clear the weather threshold we use for training. If you want to ask something before you book, the consultation is free and there is no pitch attached to it.
Flying Lesson For One
$229
60 minutes · you fly the aircraft · logged as dual instruction
Call (818) 290-8249Start With The Pillar
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FAQ
Flying Lesson Questions People Actually Ask
A 60-minute flying lesson at our Van Nuys school is $229, and that price includes the aircraft, the fuel and a certificated flight instructor. A 90-minute lesson is $299 and 120 minutes is $399. If two of you want to fly and swap seats, a lesson for two is $299 for 60 minutes.
Yes. A single lesson is a complete product at $229 and commits you to nothing afterwards. You fly the aircraft yourself with an instructor beside you, the hour is logged as dual instruction, and there is no course to sign up for. If you do decide to train, the $229 is credited in full against a program when you enroll within 24 hours.
No. 14 CFR 61.23 requires an FAA medical certificate before you fly solo, not before you fly with an instructor. A first lesson needs no medical, no licence and no prior experience. If you later train toward a private pilot certificate, a third-class medical is enough and you need it in hand before your first solo, usually somewhere between hours 15 and 25.
Yes, for most of the hour. The instructor performs the takeoff and the landing because they are legally pilot in command, and hands you the controls in the climb at around 1,000 feet. You then fly straight and level, turns, climbs and descents for roughly thirty minutes over Los Angeles.
There is no minimum age to fly a lesson with an instructor, provided the student can reach the controls, and we run a structured program for ages 10 to 15 at $4,200. You must be 16 years old to fly solo and 17 to hold a private pilot certificate. There is no upper age limit for any of it.
Yes. The hour is logged as dual instruction by your instructor and counts toward the 40 hours a private pilot certificate requires under 14 CFR 61.109. You keep the logbook whether or not you continue. The national average to finish a private certificate is 60 to 75 hours.
Bring photo identification, sunglasses and comfortable flat shoes, because you steer the aircraft on the ground with your feet. Skip a heavy meal beforehand and drink water. Headsets are provided, and you should allow about two hours at the airport in total for one hour in the air.
Tell your instructor immediately and they will level off, cool the cabin and head back if you want to. Book a morning slot if you are worried, because the air over the San Fernando Valley is smoothest before about eleven. Airsickness on a first flight is common, it is not a sign you cannot fly, and most people stop getting it within a handful of lessons.
Yes, in a four-seat aircraft a passenger can ride in the back, though they get engine noise and very little instruction. If both of you want to fly properly, book the lesson for two at $299 for 60 minutes and swap the left seat halfway through. Each of you then gets a logbook entry.
No. On a lesson you are the one flying, which means being taught and corrected for most of the hour, while a sightseeing tour has a pilot doing all the flying and you looking out of the window. If the view is what you want, a tour is the better purchase. If you want to find out whether you can fly, take the lesson.
Yes, and a gift certificate avoids having to guess a date that suits them. It covers the lesson rather than a fixed day, so the recipient books whenever they like. Van Nuys clears our training weather threshold 355 days a year, measured from twelve months of NOAA observations, so a date is rarely the problem.
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
Seventy 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...
KIDS FIRST FLIGHT
★★★★★
Had a great experience with this company. My son has been very into airplanes and his flight simulator on the computer so for his 11th birthday treated...
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...
GIFT FLIGHT
★★★★★
Great experience with first ever discovery flight! Would highly recommend! Got it as a gift for my dad and he had a great time flying!
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...
KIDS FIRST FLIGHT
★★★★★
Had a great experience with this company. My son has been very into airplanes and his flight simulator on the computer so for his 11th birthday treated...
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...
GIFT FLIGHT
★★★★★
Great experience with first ever discovery flight! Would highly recommend! Got it as a gift for my dad and he had a great time flying!
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.