Flying Lessons In Van Nuys

A first flying lesson at Van Nuys Airport is $229 for 60 minutes, and it is a real logged lesson rather than a sightseeing ride — you fly the aircraft from the left seat with an FAA-certificated instructor beside you. That $229 is credited in full against any program if you enroll within 24 hours. After that, enrolled students train at $179 an hour wet in a single-engine trainer, and a complete Standard Private Pilot Program is $10,900.

No. An FAA medical certificate is required before your first solo, not before your first lesson, so you can fly the $229 discovery flight and several lessons after it without one. Most students book a third-class medical somewhere around hour 10 to 15, comfortably ahead of solo. Sport pilot training, which is $8,400 with us, needs only a valid US driver's license.

There is no minimum age to take flying lessons. You must be 16 to solo an airplane and 17 to hold a private pilot certificate, so younger students are put on a schedule that lands their first solo on their 16th birthday. We also run a dedicated program for ages 10 to 15 at $4,200.

Yes, and you will fly most of the hour. On a $229 discovery flight you sit in the left seat, push the throttle forward for the takeoff and hand-fly the climb, the turns and the airwork over the San Fernando Valley. Your instructor is legally pilot in command and takes the radio and the landing, but roughly 40 of the 60 minutes are yours on the controls.

Yes. The $229 discovery flight is built for people who have never touched an airplane — no experience, no medical certificate and no study required before you arrive. You need a photo ID and about 90 minutes. You will fly roughly 40 of the 60 minutes yourself with an FAA-certificated instructor next to you.

Flying two lessons a week, most students at Van Nuys reach a checkride in about five months. Three lessons a week pulls that down to roughly three months, and a full-time student can finish in six to eight weeks. Los Angeles gives us 355 flyable days a year, which is why timelines here hold up better than in most of the country.

Judge any Van Nuys airport flight school on three things: whether it owns the aircraft you will fly, how many instructors it employs, and whether its prices are published. We own our fleet, we have 11 instructors, and every program price is on this page — $10,900, $15,900 and $22,500 for the three private pilot programs. We hold 5.0 stars across 100+ reviews on Google.

We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406, on the field at Van Nuys Airport, open 9am to 9pm seven days a week. That is under 20 minutes from Sherman Oaks, Encino, Burbank, Woodland Hills and Studio City, and about 35 minutes from the Westside. Call (818) 290-8249 to book a $229 first lesson.

No — the traffic is the advantage. Van Nuys is a Class D field with two parallel runways, so you get controlled-field radio work and real traffic sequencing from lesson one rather than month six. The honest cost is time on the ground: expect around ten minutes between engine start and takeoff clearance on a weekday morning, which is why beginners get early and mid-afternoon slots.

Most students at Van Nuys solo between 15 and 25 hours of dual instruction, and the busy pattern here tends to push people toward the upper end because the radio work is harder than at a quiet field. You need a third-class medical and a student pilot certificate in hand before solo day. Flying twice a week, that is typically three to four months in.

Yes. Every lesson we fly, including the $229 discovery flight, is logged as dual instruction received and counts toward the 40 hours FAR 61.109 requires for a private pilot certificate. Your instructor signs your logbook before you leave. The national average to a certificate is 60 to 75 hours, which is why our Comprehensive program is built around 60 logged hours at $15,900.

Bring a photo ID, sunglasses and shoes you can work rudder pedals in. That is the entire list — headset, charts, kneeboard and aircraft are all provided. Arrive 15 minutes before your slot at 7900 Balboa Blvd so the preflight brief starts on time, and plan on being with us about 90 minutes for a 60-minute flight.