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.
Cost
Multi-Engine Rating Cost: $5,100, Itemised
The multi-engine add-on is $5,100 at Van Nuys and the number is fixed when you enroll. It covers Seminole time, instruction, ground school, simulator work and checkride preparation. The designated pilot examiner is booked and paid by you, and we do not mark it up.
$5,100, fixedInstruction includedFrom $2,500 downNo hourly meter on the twin
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, 360 lb combined. Questions: (818) 290-8249, 9 AM–9 PM, seven days.
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...
$5,100the complete multi-engine add-on
10–15 hrstypical hours to checkride standard
$2,500down, with financing through Stratus Financial or in house
5.0 ★100+ Google reviews
The short answer
How Much Does A Multi-Engine Rating Cost?
$5,100 here, complete, with instruction included and the price fixed at the point you enroll. That figure does not change if you need fifteen hours instead of ten, and there is no hourly meter running underneath it.
We price the rating rather than the airplane, and there is a reason for that beyond marketing. A multi-engine add-on has no FAA hour minimum — 14 CFR 61.63(c) asks for proficiency and a practical test and specifies no training time at all. When a rating has no floor, an hourly price has no ceiling, and the person carrying that risk should be the school rather than the student.
So the Piper Seminole carries no hourly figure on this website. Twin flying here is priced inside the $5,100. We publish one hourly rate anywhere, $179 wet, for single-engine training aircraft flown by enrolled students, and that rate is for the airplane and its fuel; instructional hours sit inside the package price.
The honest caveat is that $5,100 buys a rating, not a particular date on the calendar. If you arrive rusty, the hours go up and the price does not, which is good for you and is exactly why we ask about your currency before you enroll rather than after.
Itemised
What The $5,100 Includes
Everything below sits inside the number. Nothing below is billed separately, and nothing below is capped at a particular number of hours.
| Included | Detail |
|---|---|
| Piper Seminole flight time | To checkride standard. No hourly meter and no cap. |
| Dual instruction | On every hour flown. The instructor is not priced beside the airplane. |
| Ground and systems instruction | One to one. Fuel and crossfeed, electrical, propeller governors, feathering, gear. |
| Engine-out and VMC training | The bulk of the rating: identify, verify, feather, drag demonstrations, single-engine approaches, the VMC demonstration above 3,000 ft AGL. |
| Redbird MCX simulator time | Used inside the syllabus for checklist flows and repetition. |
| Mock oral and mock checkride | The full practical profile flown in the order an examiner runs it. |
| Endorsements | The logbook endorsements 14 CFR 61.63(c)(1) requires. |
| Complex airplane endorsement | A Seminole is complex, so 14 CFR 61.31(e) applies and the endorsement is given during the rating. |
There is no FAA knowledge test to pay for. 14 CFR 61.63(c)(4) excuses an additional written for anybody who already holds an airplane rating at that certificate level, which removes a cost most other ratings carry.
Outside the number
What Is Not Included, And Why We Say So
Three things sit outside the $5,100: the designated pilot examiner, your medical certificate, and your own equipment. We do not add a margin to any of them and we would rather you knew who you were paying.
The examiner is an individual designated by the FAA, not our employee, and you book and pay them directly. Schools that fold the examiner into a headline price are, in effect, charging you for the privilege of paying somebody else. We would rather quote the training.
Your medical you will already hold, because you already hold a pilot certificate. Your headset, charts and apps you will already own for the same reason. This is one of the few ratings where the gear list is empty.
If you are traveling in for an accelerated block, accommodation is yours to arrange. We do not book it and we do not take a cut, which is part of what keeps the $5,100 clean.
Comparing quotes
How To Compare Two Multi-Engine Quotes Properly
We will not name another school and we will not publish anybody else's price. We will tell you the three questions that decide whether two numbers are describing the same thing.
One: is it a package or an estimate? A quote built as an hourly rate multiplied by an assumed hour count is a forecast, not a price. Multi-engine forecasts run long, because the rating has no legal hour floor and because engine-out work takes as long as it takes. Ask whether the number is fixed. If the answer contains the word “typically”, it is not.
Two: is the instructor inside the number or beside it? Aircraft-only pricing always looks lower at the top of the page and always finishes higher. A multi-engine rating is close to one hundred percent dual instruction — there is no solo phase — so an instructor charge sitting outside the headline figure is not a detail.
Three: what do you pay for the eleventh hour? This is the question that separates schools, and it is worth asking in writing. Ask what happens if you need five hours more than the syllabus assumes. Ours is nothing: the number you enroll at is the number you finish at.
Then do the arithmetic yourself. We publish $5,100, itemised above, in a conventional twin, with the instrument tasks flown so that no Airplane Multiengine VFR Only limitation attaches to your certificate. Anyone quoting a larger number for the same rating in the same class of airplane is asking you to pay a difference for something, and it is entirely reasonable to ask what that something is before you pay it.
In context
Where The Multi-Engine Add-On Sits Against Everything Else
The published prices for every program we run, so you can see what $5,100 buys relative to the rest.
| Program | Price |
|---|---|
| Multi-Engine add-on | $5,100 |
| Sport Pilot Certificate | $8,400 |
| Standard Private Pilot Program | $10,900 |
| Comprehensive Private Pilot Program | $15,900 |
| Premium Private Pilot Program | $22,500 |
| Instrument Rating | $11,700 |
| Solo Certificate | $5,500 |
| Teens, ages 10–15 | $4,200 |
| Zero to airline | $89,000 |
| Redbird MCX simulator session | $189 |
| Multi-engine discovery flight in the Seminole | $499 |
The multi-engine add-on is the smallest check in professional flight training and it is the one that opens the most doors, which is the whole reason we treat it as a category rather than as a footnote.
Sequence and money
The Order You Take Ratings In Changes The Total By More Than The Price Of Any One Of Them
The single most expensive mistake in professional flight training is flying the wrong airplane for the least expensive hours. If you earn the commercial certificate in a twin, 14 CFR 61.129(b) applies and pulls real multi-engine time into your requirements: five hours of instrument training in a multiengine airplane, ten hours of training in a multiengine complex or turbine-powered airplane, two 2-hour cross-countries in a multi, and ten hours of solo or pilot-in-command duties in one.
Earn the commercial certificate in a single under 61.129(a) instead, and then add the multi-engine class rating under 61.63(c), and none of those multi-engine sub-requirements apply. The class addition has no hour minimum at all. That is the $5,100 route.
The same logic applies to the instrument rating. Take it before the commercial certificate, because 61.129 wants instrument training either way and because an instrument-rated pilot flies more of their time-building usefully. The commercial multi-engine page lays both routes out side by side.
None of this is a trick and none of it is our invention. It is what the regulations say, and it is worth an hour with somebody who will read your logbook before you spend the next twenty thousand dollars.
Financing
How People Actually Pay For It
From $2,500 down, with monthly plans, either through Stratus Financial or through our own in-house payment plans. At $5,100 the multi-engine add-on is the one rating most pilots can finish without financing, and plenty do.
The reason financing matters more on the longer programs is obvious, but there is a specific multi-engine case worth naming. Pilots on a career track often want the add-on immediately after the commercial checkride, when cash is thinnest and the value of finishing quickly is highest. That is a good use of a payment plan.
What we will not do is push a $5,100 rating at somebody who does not need it. If you are flying for pleasure and have no twin to fly afterwards, an instrument rating at $11,700 changes what you can do with an airplane far more than a second engine does, and we will say that on the phone before we say anything about financing.
Redbird MCX
Where The Hours Get Cheaper Without Getting Worse
The Redbird MCX is full-motion and FAA-approved, and an engine failure in it costs nothing.
Simulator repetition is how a fixed-price course stays fixed-price: the checklist flows and the identify-verify-feather sequence are built on the ground, so the Seminole time is spent on flying rather than on drilling. Standalone sessions are $189.
What people say
5.0 ★ · 100+ Google Reviews
The comment that recurs most in our reviews about money is that the number did not move, which tells you what most people expect from a flight school.
★
The Debrief, Not The Flight
The compliment that comes up most often in our reviews is not the airplane and it is not the ramp. It is that somebody sat down afterwards and drew the yaw on a whiteboard until it made sense.
★
Lessons That Actually Happen
Eleven instructors and a fleet we own and maintain. On a rating you are trying to finish inside two weeks, a school that cancels twice is the difference between done and half-done.
★
The Number Does Not Move
What you enroll at is what you finish at. On a $5,100 add-on that promise is most of the point, and reviewers keep writing about it because it is not universal.
Programs and prices
Multi-Engine Rating Pricing
One number, fixed at enrollment, financing from $2,500 down.
The rating
Multi-Engine Add-On
$5,100 / complete
The whole rating: Seminole time, dual instruction, ground and systems work, engine-out training and checkride preparation, at a price that is fixed when you enroll.
Multi-Engine Discovery Flight
$499 / 60 min
An hour in the Seminole before you commit $5,100 to it. Book it on the product page — an hour in the left seat settles the question faster than any amount of reading.
Discovery Flight For One
$229 / 60 min
A real lesson in a single. You fly the airplane, the time is loggable dual instruction, and the full $229 is credited against any program if you enroll within 24 hours.
Redbird MCX Session
$189 / session
Full-motion, FAA-approved and never canceled for weather. Engine failures cost nothing here, which is why the first dozen of yours happen on the ground.
Next step
Ask For The Itemised Sheet Before You Decide
The consultation is free and you will leave with the training plan and the price written down. If you would rather feel the airplane first, the $499 Seminole hour is the shortest route to an answer.
Discovery Flight For One
$229
60 minutes · you fly the aircraft · credited in full on enrollment within 24 hours
The Multi-Engine Cluster
Multi-engine rating training at Van NuysMulti-engine rating requirementsAccelerated multi-engine trainingCommercial multi-engine add-onThe Piper Seminole as a trainer
FAQ
Multi-Engine Rating Cost Questions
$5,100 at Van Nuys, complete, with instruction included and the price fixed at enrollment. It covers Seminole flight time to checkride standard, ground and systems instruction, engine-out training, simulator time and checkride preparation. The designated pilot examiner is booked and paid by you directly.
For the whole rating. There is no hourly meter on the Seminole and we publish no hourly figure for it. We publish one hourly rate anywhere: $179 wet, for single-engine training aircraft flown by enrolled students.
The price does not change. A multi-engine add-on has no FAA hour minimum under 14 CFR 61.63(c), so an hourly quote has no ceiling — which is exactly why we price the rating instead. If you need fifteen hours rather than ten, you pay $5,100.
The designated pilot examiner, whom you book and pay directly; your medical certificate; and your own headset, charts and apps. If you are traveling in for an accelerated block, accommodation is yours to arrange. We add no margin to any of it.
No. 14 CFR 61.63(c)(4) excuses an additional FAA knowledge test for anyone who already holds an airplane rating at that pilot certificate level, so there is no multi-engine written and no test fee. The oral on checkride day is correspondingly substantial.
Ask three questions. Is the number a fixed package or an hourly estimate with an assumed hour count? Is the instructor inside the number or billed beside it? And what do you pay if you need five hours more than the syllabus assumes? Get the answers in writing and the arithmetic does itself.
Yes, from $2,500 down, through Stratus Financial or through our own in-house payment plans. At $5,100 it is the one rating many pilots finish without financing, and there is no penalty for paying outright.
Yes: $5,100 against $11,700 here. It is also a much smaller piece of training. If you can only afford one and you are not on a professional track, the instrument rating changes what you can do with an airplane far more than a second engine does.
Because 14 CFR 61.129(b) pulls multi-engine time into the training requirements: five hours of instrument training in a multiengine airplane, ten hours of training in a multiengine complex or turbine-powered airplane, two 2-hour cross-countries in a multi, and ten hours of solo or pilot-in-command duties in one. Earning the certificate in a single and adding the class rating under 61.63(c) avoids all of that.
Ten to fifteen hours of flying for most current pilots, which compresses into about two weeks if you can fly consecutive mornings. Van Nuys gives us 355 flyable days a year measured against a 3,000-foot ceiling and five statute miles, from our own study of twelve months of NOAA observations.
Yes. The multi-engine discovery flight is $499 for sixty minutes in the Seminole with an instructor, and you fly the airplane. It is the sensible way to find out whether a second engine is what you actually want.
7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406, at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), open 9am to 9pm, seven days. Book the free consultation or call (818) 290-8249 and you will leave with the training plan and the price itemised on paper.
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
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
★★★★★
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...
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.
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