How To Get A Pilot License In California
There is no separate California license; every pilot certificate is issued by the FAA. Here is the exact order of steps for a Private Pilot certificate in California, what each costs, how long each takes, and where to start at Van Nuys Airport.
The Path From First Lesson To Pilot Certificate
Tap each step for what happens, what it costs and what to do next.
Your California Pilot License, In Order
Steps 2 and 3 can run in parallel with your first lessons.
Step 1: Fly Once Before You Commit
Start with a discovery flight. You take the controls with an instructor beside you, and the hour is logged as dual instruction toward your certificate.
At LA Flight School it is $229 for sixty minutes, credited in full if you enroll within 24 hours of landing.
Step 2: Get Your FAA Medical
For the Private Pilot certificate you need at least a third-class medical certificate from an FAA Aviation Medical Examiner before you fly solo. Book it early; if anything needs a second look, it is better to know before you have paid for training.
Sport Pilot students can use a valid US driver's license instead, if they meet the conditions for that route.
Step 3: Apply For Your Student Pilot Certificate
You apply online through the FAA's IACRA system with your instructor's help. The plastic card arrives by mail and you need it before you solo.
You must be at least 16 to hold a student pilot certificate for an airplane. Younger students can log lessons with an instructor before then.
Step 4: Train To Solo, Then Cross-Country
Your first stage is takeoffs, landings and emergencies until your instructor signs you off to solo. Then cross-country flights, night flying and preparation for the checkride.
Under Part 61 the FAA minimum is 40 hours, including at least 20 with an instructor and 10 solo. Most students log more, which is why our programs are fixed-price packages of 40, 60 or 80 hours.
Step 5: Pass The FAA Written
The Private Pilot knowledge test is a multiple-choice exam taken at an approved testing center. You need an instructor endorsement to sit it, and 70 percent to pass.
Ground school is included in every program, and many students take the test around the time they start cross-country flying.
Step 6: The Checkride
The practical test is an oral exam and a flight with an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner. Pass it and you leave with a temporary certificate the same day.
You must be at least 17 to take the Private Pilot checkride.
Estimate Your California Pilot License Timeline
Pick a goal and how often you can fly. The price is our fixed package price; the timeline is an estimate.
Estimates assume about 1.6 hours per lesson plus time for weather, the written test and the checkride. Financing through Stratus Financial runs up to 15 years, and the school offers an interest-free in-house plan.
Sport, Private Or Straight To A Career?
Most people who search for how to get a pilots license in California mean the Private Pilot certificate: day and night, passengers, anywhere in the country.
The Sport Pilot certificate takes fewer hours and can use a driver's license instead of a medical, but limits you to light-sport aircraft, daytime and one passenger. At $8,400 it is the shortest honest route to flying yourself.
If you want to fly for a living, the Airline Pilot Course takes you from zero time through Commercial, Instrument, Multi-Engine and all three instructor ratings in about nine months of structured training.
Find Your Program In Three Taps
Answer three questions and we will show you the program, the price and the next step. No email required.
1. What do you want from flying?
2. How fast do you want to go?
3. How old is the person training?
Teen Flight Training (Ages 10–15)
Real lessons logged in a real logbook, years before a student can legally solo, so the certificate comes quickly once they turn 16.
- Ages10 to 15
- LoggedReal dual instruction
- Builds towardSolo at 16
- Fixed price$4,200
Discovery Flight
One hour on the controls with an instructor beside you, logged toward your certificate. The cheapest way to find out whether flying is for you.
- Time in the air60 minutes
- You fly itFrom takeoff
- Logged asDual instruction
- Enroll within 24 hours$229 credited
Accelerated Private Pilot
The same fixed-price package, flown almost every day. Skills do not decay between lessons, so most accelerated students need fewer hours.
- PaceNear-daily flying
- Typical finish6 to 8 weeks
- Weather daysSimulator absorbs them
- PriceSame fixed package
Private Pilot Program
The certificate most people mean when they say pilot's license: fly day or night, carry passengers, go anywhere in the country.
- Standard$10,900 · 40 hrs
- Comprehensive$15,900 · 60 hrs
- Premium$22,500 · 80 hrs
- SimulatorIncluded
Airline Pilot Course
Zero time to Commercial, Instrument, Multi-Engine and all three instructor ratings, so you can be paid to build toward 1,500 hours.
- Logged hours260
- Certificates and ratingsThrough CFI, CFII, MEI
- Structured trainingAbout 9 months
- FinancingUp to 15 years
Instrument Rating
Fly in cloud and low visibility under IFR. In Los Angeles it turns the morning marine layer from a cancellation into a training day.
- FAA minimum40 hrs instrument time
- PrerequisitePrivate Pilot
- Marine layerBecomes routine
- Fixed price$11,700
Multi-Engine Add-On
Add the twin rating to an existing certificate in our Piper Seminole. An airline résumé needs it, and it is a short, focused course.
- AircraftPiper Seminole
- PrerequisitePrivate or Commercial
- FormatShort, focused course
- Fixed price$5,100
Discovery Flight
One hour on the controls with an instructor beside you, logged toward your certificate. The cheapest way to find out whether flying is for you.
- Time in the air60 minutes
- You fly itFrom takeoff
- Logged asDual instruction
- Enroll within 24 hours$229 credited
Step One Is A Sixty-Minute Flight
Book a discovery flight at Van Nuys and log your first hour toward the certificate. $229, credited in full if you enroll within 24 hours. 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406.
Getting A Pilot License In California: Questions
Do I need a California pilot license or an FAA license?
An FAA certificate. There is no state pilot license in California; FAA certificates are valid in every state.
How old do you have to be to get a pilot license in California?
16 to fly solo in an airplane and 17 to take the Private Pilot checkride. Younger students can log lessons with an instructor before then.
How many hours does it take to get a pilot license?
The FAA minimum for a Private Pilot certificate is 40 hours under Part 61. Most students log more, which is why our programs are fixed packages of 40, 60 or 80 hours.
How much does it cost to get a pilot license in California?
At LA Flight School the Standard Private Pilot Program is $10,900, the Comprehensive is $15,900 and the Premium is $22,500, all fixed prices. Sport Pilot is $8,400.
How long does it take to get a pilot license in California?
Three to six months at two or three lessons a week. On our accelerated track, flying near-daily, six to eight weeks is typical.
Do I need a medical certificate before my first lesson?
No. You can fly with an instructor before you have one, but you need at least a third-class medical to fly solo toward a Private Pilot certificate.