A short, dense add-on rating in the Piper Seminole, flown from a field close enough to Northridge that most pilots finish it inside two weeks of mornings.
If you hold a private or commercial certificate, this is a short rating with a great deal packed into it. $5,100 in the Piper Seminole, usually ten to fifteen hours, and no additional FAA knowledge test because the class rating attaches to a certificate you already have. What is left is systems, aerodynamics, a lot of engine-out work, and an oral and practical with a designated examiner.
Northridge is a good address for this rating because it rewards compression. Fly four mornings in a row and the numbers stay in your head; spread it across two months and you pay to relearn Vmc every time you show up. Balboa Boulevard runs straight from the neighborhood to the airport gate, five miles, and the school is open 9 AM to 9 PM seven days, so consecutive blocks are easy to book.
Most of the difficulty here is not stick and rudder. It is the few seconds after a failure, when you identify the dead engine before you touch anything, and it is the arithmetic of what a single-engine climb rate really gives you on a warm afternoon out of Van Nuys. The Seminole's counter-rotating propellers take the critical engine out of the equation, which makes the demonstrations symmetric but no less demanding.
Five blocks, and they can run back to back if your calendar allows it.
Weight, altitude, center of gravity, bank angle, gear and flap position, and which way each one pushes the number. Accelerated stall awareness in the engine-out case, and why a Vmc roll and a stall are different problems with different recoveries. The examiner will spend most of the oral in this material, so it comes first.
Fuel system and crossfeed, electrical, the counter-rotating installation, prop governors, the feathering mechanism and the unfeathering accumulator. Then the performance section: accelerate-stop, accelerate-go, single-engine service ceiling, and what blue line actually buys you climbing out over the Valley on a hot afternoon.
Takeoffs, landings, steep turns, slow flight and stalls, flown to the standard of the certificate you already hold. The airplane is heavier and faster than most of what pilots arrive from, so the first couple of hours go on resetting your sight picture and getting used to managing two of everything.
The center of the rating. Failures on takeoff and in cruise, then identify, verify, feather. Drag and Vmc demonstrations, the limits of a single-engine go-around, and single-engine approaches flown through to a full stop landing. The higher work goes northwest over the Simi Hills and the Santa Susana Pass, where the altitude is available and there is nothing built underneath.
A mock oral across systems, performance and aerodynamics, then the full practical profile flown the way an examiner wants to see it. Most pilots are ready somewhere between ten and fifteen hours. The $5,100 covers the standard course, and if you want more polish first we add the hours rather than push you at a date.
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.
From Northridge the tidy version is Balboa Boulevard southbound the whole way, from Devonshire or Nordhoff down to 7900 Balboa, Suite 108A, just north of Sherman Way. Five miles, twelve minutes when the road is clear, and you arrive at the airport from the north rather than fighting across the Valley. From the west side of the neighborhood, Roscoe Boulevard east to Balboa is the shortcut worth knowing.
We open at 9 AM, and if you are flying consecutive days the first block is the one to want. Leave Northridge by half past eight and the drive is uneventful; leave at nine and Nordhoff and Reseda are full of campus traffic. Parking is free and on site, which matters when you are leaving the car for three-hour blocks several days running. Avoid the 118 westbound late in the afternoon.
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 →You will fly the Piper Seminole, and the $5,100 add-on covers it: four seats, retractable gear, counter-rotating propellers. It is the standard airplane for this job for good reasons. Predictable, honest at Vmc, and common enough that nothing in your checkride profile will be unfamiliar to the examiner sitting beside you.
The rest of the fleet is available if you want it. The Piper Arrow II for complex currency, and the Cessna 162 Skycatcher, Diamond DA20 and Piper Warrior alongside it, all at $179 an hour wet for enrolled students. Turbocharged glass-panel time in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo is flown on the $22,500 Premium program. The Redbird MCX full-motion simulator is worth an hour or two if you are keeping an instrument ticket current alongside the rating.
The local geography that decides where the engine-out exercises get flown.
Open, rising ground at the northwest corner of the Valley with altitude available and almost nothing built underneath. Most of the Vmc and drag demonstrations happen out here, clear of the Van Nuys pattern and the Burbank arrivals.
The dry basin west of Northridge, ringed by fence line and fire road and easy to identify from any altitude. A convenient reference when you are repositioning between exercises or setting up for the next demonstration.
A straight east-west line running the full width of Northridge, past the CSUN campus and out toward Canoga Park. Handy for calling a position quickly when you already have plenty to do in the cockpit.
16L and 16R one way, 34L and 34R the other. Single-engine approaches back into a field with two runways and a busy tower are more realistic practice than a quiet strip, and that is where each session ends.
$5,100 added onto a certificate you already hold, all of it flown in the Seminole. Ten to fifteen hours covers it for most pilots, and that compresses into about two weeks if the schedule lets you fly most mornings.
You need a current private or commercial certificate, a valid medical, and a logbook that is in order. No separate FAA knowledge test is required to add the multi-engine class rating. Bring all three documents to the first session and the endorsements get sorted then rather than on a second trip.
For most pilots, yes. Five miles down Balboa Boulevard means a three-hour block including brief and debrief still leaves you the day. A residential course usually costs more once travel and lodging are counted, and it puts the whole rating at the mercy of one week's weather rather than spreading the risk.
Yes, to standard, at a safe altitude, with the recovery briefed beforehand every time. Counter-rotating propellers mean the Seminole has no critical engine, so the emphasis falls on catching the onset early and reducing power on the operating engine instead of trying to hold the airplane straight with rudder.
Parking is free and on site at 7900 Balboa Boulevard, Suite 108A, with no meters. We open at 9 AM and the first block of the day is usually the best: smoother air over the Valley, a quieter pattern at Van Nuys, and a twelve-minute run down Balboa before campus traffic builds. We are open until 9 PM, seven days a week.
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 you are current, the logbook is in order and you want this rating finished rather than started, a Seminole block can usually go on the schedule within the week. Call (818) 290-8249 and we will build the shortest sequence that fits around the rest of your Northridge week.
Or Send Us A Message And We'll Come Back To You The Same Day →
