Fly the Malibu and Santa Monica Coast
Out through the canyons, and suddenly there is nothing but water. The Pier, the Palisades, Malibu, Point Dume, Zuma — fifty miles of coastline with the Pacific on one side and the Santa Monica Mountains on the other. And you are the one flying it.
Where the coastal flight takes you
Over the mountains to the water
Van Nuys to the coast is twelve miles, which in an airplane is about six minutes. You climb out of the Valley, cross the Santa Monica Mountains — brown ridgelines, canyon roads, houses clinging to impossible slopes — and then the ground simply stops and the Pacific begins. It is the single most dramatic moment of any flight we run.
Santa Monica and the Palisades
Turn left along the shoreline and the Pier comes up first, the Ferris wheel small and perfectly round from above. Then the bluffs at Pacific Palisades, Will Rogers, and the long straight run of PCH threading between the cliffs and the sand.
Malibu, Point Dume and Zuma
North of Topanga the coast opens out. Malibu Pier, the Colony, the surf lines at Surfrider stacked in parallel curves. Point Dume juts out into the water with the cliffs dropping straight down, and beyond it Zuma runs for two uninterrupted miles of sand. In winter and spring you regularly see grey whales from here — they migrate right along this stretch.
Or south, to Palos Verdes
The other direction is just as good and nobody expects it. South past LAX — you watch the airliners on final from above and to the side — to Manhattan and Hermosa, then the cliffs at Palos Verdes, the Point Vicente lighthouse, and the harbour at Long Beach with the Queen Mary and the container cranes. Ask your instructor for this one if you have flown the Malibu side before.
The coast rewards picking the right hour
Coastal flying in Southern California has one variable that matters more than any other: the marine layer. A shallow deck of cloud pushes onshore overnight and usually burns back out to sea by late morning. It is most persistent in May and June — the pattern locals call May Gray and June Gloom — and it can put the shoreline under cloud while the Valley sits in full sun.
That is why we will sometimes suggest a mid-morning slot rather than a dawn one for the coastal route specifically, which is the opposite of our usual advice. Your instructor checks the actual forecast before you book and again on the day, and if the coast is socked in we will either fly the Hollywood and Valley route instead or reschedule you at no cost. Nobody pays for a flight into cloud.
Late afternoon is the other sweet spot. The light comes off the water sideways, the cliffs at Point Dume glow, and the whole coastline turns gold for about forty minutes. It is bumpier than morning air, but for photographs there is nothing close.
Coastal flights and prices
Priced per flight, not per person. Sixty minutes reaches Santa Monica and Malibu comfortably; ninety minutes gets you to Point Dume and back with time to linger.
Discovery Flight For One
Cessna or Piper trainer. 90 min $299 · 120 min $399.
Book for oneDiscovery Flight For Two
You fly, your guest shoots the coast. 90 min $399 · 120 min $499.
Book for twoLuxury Cirrus SR22T For Two
The best aircraft in the fleet for the coast — fast, air conditioned, huge windows. 90 min $549 · 120 min $699.
Book the CirrusCamarillo Coastal Lunch Flight
Fly the full coast northwest to Camarillo, have lunch at the airfield, fly home. Half a day, two people.
Book the lunch flightFlying the coast safely
Coastal flying adds two variables — water and weather. Both are handled by procedure, not by hope.
We stay within gliding distance
Our coastal routes are flown at altitudes and distances offshore that keep a suitable landing site within gliding range throughout — standard practice for single-engine flight over water.
Flotation carried
Flotation equipment is carried on routes that operate beyond gliding distance from shore, and your instructor briefs its location before you start the engine.
Marine layer is a hard stop
If the coast is below our weather minimums we fly the inland route or reschedule you free of charge. We do not push a coastal flight into cloud.
100-hour inspections
Under FAR 91.409(b) aircraft used for flight instruction for hire are inspected every 100 flight hours, in addition to the annual inspection.
Parachute on the Cirrus
The SR22T carries CAPS, a rocket-deployed parachute for the entire airframe — particularly reassuring on any route with water underneath it.
A professional in command
An FAA-certified flight instructor is pilot in command at all times, flies the takeoff and landing, and has a full second set of controls.
Coastal flight questions
About ten minutes to reach the shoreline near Santa Monica, and another eight or so up the coast to Malibu. A 60-minute flight covers Santa Monica and Malibu comfortably; 90 minutes gets you past Point Dume and Zuma with time to circle anything you want a second look at.
Often, yes — grey whales migrate along this stretch of coast between roughly December and April and are frequently visible from the air. Dolphin pods are common year-round. We cannot promise wildlife, but the odds are better from 1,500 feet than from the beach.
Our coastal routes are planned to remain within gliding distance of a suitable landing site, and flotation equipment is carried when a route operates beyond that. Combined with a professional instructor in command and 100-hour maintenance inspections, coastal flying is a routine, well-understood operation.
We fly the inland route — Hollywood Sign, the studios, the Valley and downtown — or reschedule you at no cost, whichever you prefer. The instructor makes the weather call and it is never negotiable.
The Cirrus SR22T at $399 for two. It is the fastest aircraft in the fleet, so you cover more coastline per minute, it has air conditioning, and the visibility from the cabin is the best we operate. That said, the $299 trainer flies the same route perfectly well.
Your instructor takes off and lands. Everything in between — the climb over the mountains, the turn along the shoreline, the run up to Malibu — is yours, with the instructor coaching and able to take over instantly.
Fifty miles of coastline, and you are flying
Book online or call (818) 290-8249 and we will check the marine layer forecast with you before you commit to a slot.