Already certificated? The twin add-on runs $5,100 in a Piper Seminole at a field roughly fifteen minutes of flying from the Santa Monica shoreline.
You know what Vmc is and what moves it, so nothing here is going to explain asymmetric thrust to you. The add-on costs $5,100 in a Piper Seminole, usually ten to fifteen hours of dual, with no additional knowledge test attached. Flown as a concentrated block over three or four consecutive mornings it stays short and sharp, which is how it should be taught and how we prefer to teach it.
If your airplane lives at Santa Monica you understand the position better than we could explain it: shortened runway since 2017, closure scheduled for the end of 2028, less room on the field every year. A good number of Westside pilots are quietly working out where they operate from next. Come over for the rating and take a proper look at this place while you are here. Neither obliges you to the other.
The syllabus also suits the geography. Engine-out work wants height and open ground, both of which are minutes away heading north over the hills or west toward Camarillo. Then the seaward side supplies the other half of the lesson, because single-engine service ceiling stops being a table in a book when the only thing beneath you is the ridge above Rustic Canyon. Seminole time is $649 an hour; a multi-engine discovery flight is $499 for sixty minutes.
Compressed properly, these sit across three or four visits rather than three or four weeks.
Fuel system and crossfeed, counter-rotating propellers and the absence of a critical engine, feathering and the unfeathering accumulator, gear, electrics. Then performance, where accelerate-stop, accelerate-go and single-engine service ceiling turn into numbers you use rather than recite. Expect the oral to open here and stay a while, so learn them properly rather than approximately.
Start-up, taxi, run-up, takeoffs and landings, steep turns, slow flight and stalls, all in something heavier and quicker than whatever you fly now and far less patient with lazy feet. Pattern work at Van Nuys is deliberately busy. Give yourself a few hours simply to stop handling the airplane as though it were a big single.
The core of it: failures on takeoff and in the cruise, recognition and verification before you touch a lever, securing and feathering, zero-sideslip control, drift-down, and the Vmc demonstration itself. Much of the drilling happens in the Redbird MCX beforehand, since eight failures in a ground hour makes the airborne version markedly calmer and cheaper.
Engine-out approaches and landings, plus the single-engine go-around decision that has earned every bit of its reputation. Then a mock oral over systems and performance charts, and a stage flight to test standards. An add-on carries no written exam, so the oral does more of the work than you may be used to.
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.
Driving, take the 10 east and climb the pass on the 405, then come off at Roscoe Blvd, run west to Balboa and turn south; 7900 is on your right. Eighteen miles, about thirty-five minutes, and against the heavy direction on both legs. Free parking sits directly outside the door. This is a multi-tenant complex with several unrelated schools in it, so come in on the suite number, 108A.
If you are current and would rather not drive at all, flying yourself in takes roughly fifteen minutes from the coast, goes in your logbook and beats the pass comfortably. Ring ahead and we will sort out somewhere for the airplane to sit for the day. Either way, the argument for doing this rating in a block is that you make the journey three or four times in total instead of fifteen, which is what stops it becoming a six-week project.
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 →Every hour of the rating is flown in the Piper Seminole at $649: four seats, counter-rotating Lycomings, constant-speed feathering propellers, retractable gear. It is the conventional multi trainer for sound reasons. Neither engine is critical, the handling is honest, Vmc behaves the way the textbook promises, and there is enough performance to make the engine-out numbers meaningful without the airplane ever becoming a handful.
Alongside it sit a Piper Arrow II at $349 an hour for complex time or a currency flight, a Cirrus SR22 Turbo with a full glass panel at $649, a Diamond DA20 at $329, and the Cessna 162 or Piper Warrior at $269. The Redbird MCX full-motion simulator takes on more of a twin syllabus than most pilots anticipate. Every instructor here is FAA-certified with 15 or more years of experience, and our Google rating stands at 5.0.
On the seaward side of the hills the useful landmarks are the ones with something survivable underneath them, and the nearest runway over there is SMO, for now.
A rare flat, soft, entirely unbuilt block between Marina del Rey and Playa del Rey, sitting under the southern end of the bay run. Worth registering on the way down the coast, because there is very little else like it.
An unbroken strip of flat, wide, unbuilt sand the length of the bay. There is no other ground answering that description anywhere on the Westside, and it is why the coastal route is kinder than the canyon route.
Steep folded ground behind the Palisades, climbing from sea level to the ridge inside a couple of miles. There is nothing underneath you there at all, which is exactly what turns single-engine climb performance into a live question.
West and south of the pier your options thin out fast. Drift-down figures, glide range back to a beach and where the shipping lanes sit are all better settled on the ground than discovered with a propeller stopped.
$5,100 for a pilot already holding a private or commercial certificate. Renting rather than training, Seminole time is $649 an hour. And if you would like to fly the airplane before signing up for the course, a Multi-Engine Discovery Flight is $499 at sixty minutes, $699 at ninety and $899 at two hours.
A private or commercial certificate, a current medical and a flight review that has not expired. Bring the logbook and the certificate to session one. No written exam applies to an add-on. If you hold an instrument rating and want multi-engine instrument privileges rather than a limitation stamped on the certificate, flag it early, because the checkride profile differs.
Ten to fifteen hours of dual for most pilots, which lands as three or four consecutive days or a pair of weekends. Recent currency matters more here than total time in the logbook. Because the schedule runs 9 AM to 9 PM every day, a run of consecutive mornings is something you can actually book rather than something we describe in theory.
Yes, and most people in your position should. It is about fifteen minutes over the hill, the time counts in your logbook, and it is a far better use of an hour than the 405. Call first and we will arrange where to leave it. Driving instead is eighteen miles and roughly thirty-five minutes, with free parking outside Suite 108A.
That is your call and we are not going to make the argument for you. The facts are simply that the runway was shortened in 2017 and the field is scheduled to close at the end of 2028 under the city's agreement with the FAA. A fair few Westside pilots are using a rating or a checkout as a low-commitment way of getting to know a second field before they actually need one.
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.
This is a compact rating with a fifteen-minute hop attached, and the Seminole is generally free on the mornings you want it. Call (818) 290-8249 or come by 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, and we will find three or four consecutive days that suit you.
Or Send Us A Message And We'll Come Back To You The Same Day →
