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.
For Non-US Citizens · Van Nuys, Los Angeles
Training As An International Student Pilot In Los Angeles
Two things stop most international students before they ever reach an airplane: TSA security approval and visa status. Neither is difficult, both take longer than people expect, and both must be started before you book a flight to Los Angeles. This page explains the sequence honestly, including the parts where you need a lawyer rather than a flight school.
TSA Alien Flight Student ProgramM-1 Visa BasicsEnglish Proficiency Under The FARs
AFSPTSA approval required before training toward a certificate
4–8 wksplan this long for security approval and fingerprints
355flyable days a year in Los Angeles
5.0★100+ Google reviews
Read This First
What A Flight School Can Tell You, And What It Cannot
We can tell you exactly how the TSA Alien Flight Student Program works, because we submit training confirmations through it and we have taken students through it many times. We can tell you what the FAA requires of you in terms of English, medicals and certification. We can tell you what training in Los Angeles is actually like.
We cannot advise you on immigration. Visa categories, eligibility, what a particular status permits you to do while you are in the United States, and how long you may remain are legal questions with real consequences, and the answers change. Anything on this page about visas is orientation, not advice — confirm your specific situation with a US embassy or consulate, or with a US immigration attorney, before you spend money on travel.
The reason to say that plainly rather than bury it is that international students are routinely given confident, wrong answers by flight schools who want the enrollment. If a school tells you your visa question is simple, ask them which regulation they are relying on.
Orientation, not immigration advice. Confirm your specific situation with a US embassy or consulate, or with a US immigration attorney, before you spend money on travel.
The Sequence
Do These In This Order, Starting About Three Months Out
The order matters. Several steps depend on the one before, and the two slowest are outside anybody's control.
01
Confirm What Your Immigration Status Will Allow
Full-time flight training toward a pilot certificate is generally treated as a course of study, and the M-1 visa is the vocational student category most commonly associated with it. An M-1 requires a Form I-20 issued by a school certified under SEVP, so the first question to ask any flight school is whether it can support the status you need. A short recreational flight or an occasional lesson while visiting the US sits in genuinely nuanced territory — do not assume, and confirm it with a consulate or an immigration attorney rather than with us.
02
Apply To The TSA Alien Flight Student Program
Every non-US citizen must be vetted by the TSA before beginning flight training toward an initial pilot certificate, an instrument rating, a multi-engine rating or a type rating. You create an account on the AFSP website, choose the correct training category, name the flight training provider, upload your passport and supporting documents, and pay the processing fee published on the site. Our own walkthrough is at TSA flight training approval.
03
Get Fingerprinted
Fingerprints are part of the AFSP process and are usually the slowest step, because you must attend an approved collection site and availability varies by country. Book this the moment your application allows it. Students who leave fingerprinting until the end routinely lose three or four weeks they had budgeted for flying.
04
Obtain Your FAA Medical Certificate
A third-class medical is required before your first solo flight, and a first-class medical is the one to obtain first if you have any professional intention — it is far better to discover a problem before you buy a plane ticket. Medicals are issued by an Aviation Medical Examiner, and AMEs exist outside the United States as well as here. Our FAA medical guide covers the Los Angeles process.
05
Book Training Only Once Approval Is Confirmed
Do not buy a flight to Los Angeles on an expected approval date. TSA approval arrives when it arrives, and a training start date built on optimism is how students end up paying for accommodation while waiting to be allowed to fly. When approval is issued, we confirm your training start through AFSP and you begin.
06
Arrive, Get Checked Out, And Start Flying
First-day paperwork takes about an hour: identity documents verified against your AFSP approval, a training agreement, a schedule. Most students fly on day one or day two. Bring originals of everything — copies are frequently not accepted.
Documentation And Requirements
What You Need, In Detail
Bring originals. Photographs on a phone are not identity documents, and the verification we are required to perform is against the physical article.
Documents To Bring
| Document | Detail |
|---|---|
| Passport | Valid well beyond your intended stay, with the visa page if you hold one. |
| Your I-94 arrival record | Retrievable online from US Customs and Border Protection after you enter the country. |
| TSA AFSP approval confirmation | The approval notice for the specific training category you are undertaking. |
| FAA medical certificate | Third class as a minimum before solo, first class if you have professional ambitions. |
| Any existing pilot license and logbook | Including your national license, ratings, and a record of hours flown. Bring the original license, not a scan. |
| Proof of English language ability, if you hold one | An ICAO language proficiency endorsement, for example. It is not a substitute for the FAA requirement but it helps. |
| A means of paying that works internationally | Card limits catch people out on the first large payment. |
The Sequence, At A Glance
| Step | Action | When |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Confirm what your immigration status will allow | Before anything else — consulate or immigration attorney |
| 02 | Apply to the TSA Alien Flight Student Program | About three months out |
| 03 | Get fingerprinted | The moment the application allows — usually the slowest step |
| 04 | Obtain your FAA medical certificate | Before you buy a plane ticket |
| 05 | Book training | Only once TSA approval is confirmed |
| 06 | Arrive, get checked out, start flying | First-day paperwork about an hour; most fly on day one or two |
The English Requirement
The FAA requires an applicant for a pilot certificate to be able to read, speak, write and understand the English language. It is not a formality — it is written into the certification rules, the examiner assesses it, and a certificate may be issued with an operating limitation if proficiency cannot be demonstrated.
In practice, conversational fluency is enough to begin. The technical vocabulary — the phraseology used on the radio, the language of weather reports and checklists — is taught, and it is a compact and highly regular vocabulary that most students absorb within twenty hours. Van Nuys is a busy Class D field under the LAX Class B shelf, so you will use it constantly from the first week, which accelerates things considerably.
Where students struggle is speed rather than vocabulary. American controllers speak quickly. Listening to live air traffic control audio for Van Nuys before you arrive is the single most useful preparation available, and it is free.
Converting A Foreign Pilot License
If you already hold a pilot license issued by another country, FAR 61.75 provides a route to an FAA private pilot certificate issued on the basis of that foreign license. The FAA verifies the license directly with the issuing authority, which takes time — plan in weeks rather than days — and the resulting certificate carries privileges tied to the validity of the original.
This route does not apply to commercial or instrument privileges in the same way, and the details of what transfers and what must be re-tested change. Confirm the current requirements directly with the FAA before you plan around them.
On Arrival
What Los Angeles Is Actually Like As A Place To Train
Van Nuys Airport is in the San Fernando Valley, about 25 miles north-west of LAX and roughly 45 minutes from it in ordinary traffic. Our office is at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, and we are open 9am to 9pm seven days a week, which matters when you are trying to compress training into a fixed number of weeks.
The weather is the reason people train here rather than elsewhere in the United States. 355 flyable days a year means your schedule is limited by aircraft and instructor availability rather than by cloud. From May through August a coastal marine layer sits over the basin in the morning and burns off by mid-morning; it delays flights more often than it cancels them.
The airspace is demanding in a way that is good for you. Van Nuys is a Class D tower field underneath the Class B shelf of one of the busiest airspace systems in the world, and you will be speaking to controllers on your first lesson. Students who train here find radio work elsewhere straightforward afterwards.
On the practical side: you will want a way to get to the airport reliably. Rideshare works, public transport largely does not, and many international students rent a car. Housing near Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks and Reseda is the usual pattern. We are happy to point you at what other students have done, but we do not arrange accommodation.
25 Miles From LAXOpen 9am–9pm, 7 DaysClass D Under The LAX Class B Shelf
Where You Will Be Flying
The Airspace You Get For Your Money
Class D at Van Nuys, the Class B shelf overhead, the coast to the west and the desert to the north.
Watch
The School You Would Be Arriving At
Van Nuys Airport, the fleet and the instructors — open 9am to 9pm, seven days a week.
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 Aircraft You Would Be Flying Once The Paperwork Clears
Every airplane on this ramp is ours. Not a broker's rental, not a tired airframe with twelve thousand hours on it — 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
The Best Place In The Building To Fix Your Radio Work
FAA-approved, fully enclosed and full-motion. American controllers speak fast, and the simulator lets you practice Van Nuys phraseology at your own pace with an instructor beside you, without an aircraft on the meter.
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 Have Taken International Students Through This Before
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. Several have taken students through AFSP from application to checkride and know where the delays actually sit.
There are eleven of them, which matters more to you than to a local student: if you have flown here on a fixed number of weeks, your schedule cannot depend on one person's diary. Eleven instructors and a fleet we own is what makes an intensive block realistic.
You are matched to one instructor so the teaching is continuous, and you can change if the fit is wrong. What we will not do is give you immigration advice — that is a consulate or an attorney, and any school that tells you otherwise is guessing.
11 InstructorsExperienced With AFSP StudentsOpen 9am–9pm, Seven Days
Private Pilot Programs
One Fixed Price, Quoted In Dollars, Before You Buy A Plane Ticket
No hourly meter to guess at from another country. Aircraft, instructor, ground school, simulator time and materials are all inside the number.
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 — the realistic choice if you are budgeting from abroad.
- 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.
Before You Commit To A Program
Fly Once While You Are Here On Holiday
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. Talk to us about your status before booking if you are unsure what your visa permits.
Free Consultation
$0
Half an hour on your timeline, your paperwork and your budget. Start here if the TSA process is new to you.
Most Booked
Discovery Flight For One
$229 / 60 min
You fly it, over Los Angeles, logged as dual instruction. 90 min $299, 120 min $399.
Redbird Simulator Session
$189 / 1 hr
Full-motion and FAA-approved. Useful for practicing radio phraseology without the aircraft rate running.
Programs: Sport Pilot $8,400 · Private Pilot $10,900 · Instrument Rating $11,700 · Multi-engine add-on $5,100 · Zero-to-airline $89,000. Enrolled students fly at the $179 an hour package rate, wet, single-engine. Accelerated formats are on our accelerated training page.
Next Step
Start The Paperwork Early. Start The Flying Whenever You Land
Talk to us before you apply and we will tell you exactly which AFSP category you need and what we have to confirm at our end. Call (818) 290-8249 or book a discovery flight — $229 for 60 minutes, credited in full if you enroll within 24 hours.
Discovery Flight For One
$229
60 minutes · you fly the aircraft · fully loggable · credited on enrollment
FAQ
International Student Pilot Questions
Yes. Non-US citizens train for FAA certificates throughout the United States, but you must first be approved through the TSA's Alien Flight Student Program before beginning training toward an initial pilot certificate, an instrument rating, a multi-engine rating or a type rating. Approval involves an online application, supporting documents, fingerprints and a processing fee.
AFSP is the TSA security vetting program that non-US citizens must complete before starting flight training in the United States. You apply online, select your training category, name your flight school, upload identity documents including your passport, pay the published processing fee and submit fingerprints at an approved collection site. Your flight school confirms your training start and completion through the same system.
Plan on four to eight weeks from starting the application to being cleared to begin training, and longer if fingerprinting appointments are scarce in your country. Fingerprinting is almost always the slowest step. Do not book flights or accommodation around an assumed approval date.
The M-1 vocational student visa is the category most commonly associated with full-time flight training in the United States, and it requires a Form I-20 issued by a school certified under SEVP. Whether a particular status permits a particular kind of training is an immigration question with real consequences — confirm your own case with a US embassy or consulate, or with a US immigration attorney, before booking travel.
Many visitors do take a single introductory flight, and TSA vetting is tied to training toward a certificate or rating rather than to one sightseeing lesson. What a specific visa or ESTA status permits is not something a flight school can determine for you, so confirm it with a consulate or an immigration attorney if you have any doubt.
You must be able to read, speak, write and understand English to be issued an FAA pilot certificate — it is a certification requirement and the examiner assesses it directly. Conversational fluency is enough to start. The technical phraseology is compact and taught during training, and at a busy Class D field like Van Nuys you use it from the first lesson.
There is a route under FAR 61.75 for issuing an FAA private pilot certificate on the basis of a foreign license, and it requires the FAA to verify your license with the issuing authority — a process measured in weeks. The details of what transfers, and what must be re-tested, change over time. Confirm the current requirements directly with the FAA.
An intensive private pilot course can be completed in a matter of weeks flying most days, but the FAA minimum of 40 hours under FAR 61.109 is rarely what a student actually needs — the national average is 60 to 75. Build in time for the written exam, weather delays and examiner availability, and treat any quoted number of weeks as a best case rather than a plan.
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