A class rating rather than a certificate: five to ten hours of asymmetric work in the Piper Seminole, flown from a field twenty-five minutes west of Brand Boulevard.
You already know what this is. The multi-engine add-on is $5,100, flown in a Piper Seminole, and it is a class rating added to the certificate you hold rather than a new certificate. No additional knowledge test. Ground work, a block of flying, an oral and a flight test. Most current pilots finish it in something like five to ten hours, and the spread comes down to currency and to how comfortable you already are with a constant speed propeller.
The syllabus is mostly about asymmetric thrust and the arithmetic behind it: Vmc and why it moves with weight, altitude and configuration, the drag penalty of a windmilling propeller, drift down, and the honest gap between the accelerate go and accelerate stop numbers on a warm day. The airplane flies pleasantly on two engines. The rating is about what you do in the seconds after one of them stops being useful.
For a Glendale pilot this is the shortest genuinely valuable thing left on the list. Twenty-five minutes down the 134, no relocating, no week off in the desert. Most people book it as a compressed block, consecutive mornings or a run of evenings, and we are open 9 AM to 9 PM seven days a week to make that work. Once you hold it the Seminole rents at $649 an hour, so currency afterwards is a straightforward matter.
Five stages, most of them flown in the practice areas northwest of Van Nuys.
Seminole systems, fuel and electrical, the propeller and feathering system, critical engine and why it is critical on this airframe. Then the performance section: accelerate stop and accelerate go, single engine service ceiling, and the weight and altitude conditions under which the published Vmc number stops being conservative. This is done on the ground and it is not filler.
Two engine work first. Taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent and landings, plus the sequencing that gets denser with a second engine and retractable gear. Van Nuys is a towered field with parallel runways and enough traffic to keep you honest, so pattern work here is a useful reintroduction to being busy in the cockpit.
Identify, verify, feather. Failures on the ground roll, after rotation, in the climb and in cruise. Vmc demonstrations to the standard, zero sideslip with the bank into the operating engine, and drift down. You will feel the difference between five degrees of bank and none, and that is the moment the rating starts to make sense in the hands rather than on paper.
Engine out approaches flown to landing, and the single engine go around, which is the maneuver with the least margin in it and the one examiners look at hardest. If you hold an instrument rating we add engine out instrument approaches, because that is where the workload is real and it is worth seeing before you need it.
A mock oral covering systems, limitations and performance, then a mock flight so that nothing on the day is unfamiliar. The checkride itself is an oral and a flight test with an FAA examiner. If you hold a commercial certificate you finish with commercial multi-engine land privileges, and instrument privileges in the twin can be handled on the same ride.
Every figure below is the real, published price. No "call for a quote," no hidden block-time minimums.
Add multi-engine privileges to your existing private or commercial certificate, in our twin-engine Piper Seminole.
Aircraft are available to qualified pilots who have checked out with us — call for availability.
Not rated yet? Take a Multi-Engine Discovery Flight and fly the Seminole hands-on.
The 134 west from Glendale, north at the 170, and off at Victory Boulevard or Sherman Way for the run west to Balboa. Sixteen miles, about twenty-five minutes outside the peaks. Turn north on Balboa and the entrance to 7900 is on the right, with free parking in the lot outside Suite 108A. Show up with your logbook, certificate and medical, and any endorsements you already have.
Because this rating is usually flown as a compressed block, the drive pattern matters more than the distance. Early morning departures from Glendale are clean and the air over the practice areas is smooth. Anything that puts you eastbound on the 134 between four and seven will cost you twenty minutes on the way home. Pilots coming from the north end of the city or from Montrose generally find Glenoaks or the 2 down to the 134 faster than working around the Verdugos on the 210.
Pick your aircraft, pick a date and time, and you are on the schedule. You fly the airplane yourself with an FAA-certified instructor beside you — and every flight is 100% credited toward training if you enroll within 24 hours.
Full-motion simulator with an instructor. No weight limit, no medical needed.
Reserve →You in the pilot's seat over Los Angeles, hands on the controls the whole way.
Book Now →One of you flies hands-on, the other takes in the skyline. Share the story.
Book Now →Premium Cirrus SR22 glass cockpit and extended air time over the LA basin.
Book Now →Twin-engine Piper Seminole and a genuine look at the professional path.
Book Now →The Piper Seminole is a counter rotating twin, which means no critical engine in the conventional sense and symmetrical handling in the event of a failure on either side. It is honest at Vmc, predictable, and close enough to what an examiner expects that the checkride holds no surprises. It rents at $649 an hour once you hold the rating, and it is the same airplane used for the Multi-Engine Discovery Flight from $499.
The Redbird MCX full motion simulator is used for procedure work, engine failure sequences and instrument approaches on one engine. Repeating a failure profile ten times in the box costs a fraction of doing it in the airplane and is a large part of why a five to ten hour rating stays a five to ten hour rating. The rest of the fleet, from the Cessna 162 and Piper Warrior at $269 an hour to the Arrow II at $349 and the Cirrus SR22 Turbo at $649, is available if you want to stay current on singles at the same time.
Single engine climb performance is an abstraction until you look at what is east of the airport.
Roughly three thousand feet of rock sitting directly between Van Nuys and Glendale. Put a single engine service ceiling next to that number on a hot afternoon and the departure planning section of the syllabus stops being theoretical.
The wall behind the Crescenta Valley, with the highest point inside Los Angeles city limits at the near end of it. It is the reason drift down calculations around this basin are worth doing properly rather than from memory.
The corridor between the Verdugos and the San Gabriels, carrying the 210 through it. Useful terrain to know, and a sensible route to have thought about before you need a lower altitude on one engine.
The soft bottomed stretch of the LA River between Griffith Park and Glendale, the only reach of it that grows anything. From the air it is a green line through concrete and a clean visual reference on the way back west.
It is $5,100 as an add-on to a certificate you already hold, flown in the Piper Seminole. That covers the flight and ground instruction to checkride standard. The examiner's fee is separate, as it is everywhere. Once you hold the rating the Seminole rents at $649 an hour, and simulator time in the Redbird MCX is used where it saves you money without costing you anything in quality.
A private or commercial pilot certificate with single engine land privileges, a current medical, and reasonable recency. There is no additional FAA knowledge test to add a class rating to a certificate you already hold. No complex or high performance endorsement is required beforehand, though if you already have Arrow time the constant speed propeller and gear sequencing will feel familiar.
Typically five to ten hours of flight time, plus the ground work. Currency is the main variable. A pilot flying regularly and comfortable in a complex single will be at the shorter end. Someone who has not flown in a year should expect to spend the first couple of hours simply getting sharp again before the asymmetric work starts to stick.
Yes, and most Glendale pilots do exactly that. Twenty-five minutes down the 134 means you can fly two sessions a day for several consecutive days without staying anywhere. We are open 9 AM to 9 PM seven days a week and can book a run of consecutive mornings, which is the sensible pattern in summer because the air is smoother and the density altitude is lower before noon.
Yes, at $649 an hour once you hold the rating and have completed a checkout with us, subject to the usual insurance requirements. Most pilots fly it a few times in the first month to stay comfortable on one engine. If you want to feel the airplane before committing to the rating, the Multi-Engine Discovery Flight is $499 for an hour, $699 for ninety minutes and $899 for two hours.
Book It Or Gift It
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.
Twin Engine
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 Or Gift
Same Price
Most Given
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 Or Gift
Same Price
Two Seats
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 Or Gift
Same Price
The Nice One
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
$499Book Or Gift
Same Price
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.
Our Courses
Real pricing on every program we teach at Van Nuys Airport, beyond the pricing already shown above.
5.0 Average Rating
100+ Google Reviews
Start Here
The first hour at the controls, over Los Angeles, with an instructor beside you. It is the entry point to every course below — and the cheapest way to find out whether flying is actually for you.
From$229
Open 9 AM–9 PM, Seven Days · (818) 290-8249
CertificateMost Popular
The one most people mean by “learn to fly.” Fly with an instructor, fly alone, then carry passengers on your own certificate.
Fly With An Instructor Fly Solo Carry Passengers $10,900 Enroll Now
Youth Program
Ages 10–15. For young people who want to start before they can legally solo.
$4,200 View Course
Milestone
Enough training to take an aircraft around the pattern alone. The day everything changes.
$5,500 View Course
Certificate
A real certificate with fewer hours and narrower privileges. The shortest honest route to flying yourself.
$8,400 View Course
Bundle
Private Pilot with flight time, ground instruction and study materials bundled into one price.
$15,900 View CourseBundle
The same certificate as Private, with the most flight time before your checkride. Eighty logged hours, ground instruction and materials, all in one price.
80 Logged Hours Ground School Included Materials Included $22,500 View Course
Rating
The rating after Private. Turns a fair-weather pilot into a useful one who can file, launch and land in cloud.
$11,700 View Course
Our Fleet
Diamond DA20, Cessna 162, Piper Arrow II and our Piper Seminole twin — all on the field at Van Nuys.
View The FleetThe Full Route
Zero experience to airline-hireable qualifications, in one continuous program rather than nine separate ones. Financing is available, and every hour of it is flown out of Van Nuys.
$89,000Financing Available
Free In-Person Tour Before You Commit
Loved On Google
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...
Reviews shown verbatim, exactly as each reviewer published them.
If the rating has been sitting on your list for a couple of years, it is five to ten hours and twenty-five minutes of driving away from being done. Call (818) 290-8249 or come by 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, with your logbook, and we will find you a block of consecutive dates that fits.
Or Send Us A Message And We'll Come Back To You The Same Day →
