SAFETY FIRST
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Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
FAA Multi-Engine Add-On · Simi Valley
The Seminole Multi-Engine Rating For Simi Valley Pilots
The Seminole add-on runs $5,100 for pilots who already hold a certificate: five to eight hours of twin time in a two-week block, at a field thirty minutes east of Simi Valley.
2,000+Discovery flights flown safely
5.0★Our Google rating, 100+ reviews
30 minFrom Simi Valley to the flight line
9AM–9PMSeven days a week at KVNY
Multi-Engine Rating · Simi Valley, Ventura County
A Two-Week Rating, Thirty Minutes From Simi Valley
The shape of this will be familiar. Five to eight hours in the Piper Seminole, a solid block of ground on systems, performance and Vmc, and a practical test with no written exam to sit. As an add-on to a certificate you already hold, it is $5,100. It works considerably better flown as a block over one to two weeks than spread across a season, because asymmetric handling only becomes automatic through repetition.
Most of the Simi Valley pilots who come to us for this are already flying something out of Camarillo, Santa Paula or Van Nuys itself, and are stepping up to a Baron, a 310 or a share in a twin. Others are ticking the box ahead of a commercial application. The drive is thirty minutes on the 118, and for a course you fly daily that matters a good deal more than it does for a certificate spread over months.
There is a local argument for the second engine and it starts at your own back fence. West out of Simi the ground rises into the Simi Hills; north it climbs toward Oat Mountain and the Santa Susanas; and the useful runways sit behind terrain from most of the routes you already fly. Doing the drift-down and engine-out work over that exact country rather than over flat ground is the part pilots tell us they remember.
How It Works
The Five Blocks Of The Course — Start To Certificate
Ground plus four flying blocks, typically five to eight hours in the Seminole across one to two weeks.
1
Ground: Systems And Performance
Fuel, electrical and hydraulic systems, counter-rotating propellers and why the Seminole has no critical engine, the accelerate-stop and single-engine climb charts, and the theory you will be asked to defend on the oral: what raises and lowers Vmc, zero sideslip, and the honest meaning of blue line and red line.
2
Two-Engine Handling
Before anything is taken away from you, you fly the airplane normally. Starts, taxiing on two throttles, takeoff and landing profiles, cruise power management, and the discipline of doing everything twice because there are two of everything. The point is to be ahead of the airplane while it is still an easy airplane to be ahead of.
3
Vmc, Failures And Feathering
Failures on the takeoff roll, after rotation and in the cruise, Vmc demonstrations to the first indication, drift-down performance, and a genuine shutdown and air restart at altitude. Dead foot, dead engine, verify with the throttle, then feather, repeated until your hands are doing it while your mouth is still talking to the instructor.
4
Asymmetric Approaches And Landings
Single-engine approaches and landings back into a busy Class D field with real traffic in the pattern, and go-arounds that have already been decided for you before you touch the throttles. Instrument-rated pilots use this block to pick up the instrument privileges in the twin as well.
5
Oral And Checkride
A practice oral run against the ACS, one polish flight, then the practical test. The course price of $5,100 covers all of that, and the examiner gets booked against your flying rather than against a date somebody chose in advance. Afterwards the Seminole rents at $649 an hour.
Transparent Pricing
Multi-Engine Rating Pricing For Simi Valley Students
Every figure below is the real, published price. No "call for a quote," no hidden block-time minimums.
Add-On Rating
Multi-Engine Rating
Add multi-engine privileges to your existing private or commercial certificate, in our twin-engine Piper Seminole.
$5,100complete
- ✓Piper Seminole twin-engine trainer
- ✓Engine-out procedures & Vmc demos
- ✓Ground instruction included
- ✓Checkride preparation
- ✓Typically finished in 2–3 weeks
Already Rated And Current?
Aircraft are available to qualified pilots who have checked out with us — call for availability.
Callfor availability
- ✓Piper Seminole, wet
- ✓Checkout with one of our instructors required
- ✓Available 9AM–9PM daily
Fly The Twin First
Not rated yet? Take a Multi-Engine Discovery Flight and fly the Seminole hands-on.
$49960 min
- ✓Hands-on in the Seminole
- ✓Real multi-engine fundamentals
- ✓90 min $699 · 120 min $899
The multi-engine rating is the cheapest serious step in aviation — at $5,100 it is roughly half the cost of the private pilot certificate and it is the rating that unlocks the professional path. If you already hold a private or commercial certificate, this is the highest-return two weeks you can spend.
Getting Here From Simi Valley
30 Minutes And 20 Miles From Simi Valley
The 118 east through the Santa Susana Pass, down past Chatsworth and off at Balboa Blvd, then four miles south to 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, between Saticoy Street and Roscoe Blvd. Twenty miles, about thirty minutes. Because the course runs as a block you will be making that drive most days for a week or two, which is a strong argument for taking the first slot of the morning before the eastbound pass fills.
Parking is free in the lot outside the door, which stops mattering after the first day and matters a great deal by the tenth. The doors are open 9 AM to 9 PM every day, but the real constraint on start dates is the Seminole's own diary rather than ours, so call (818) 290-8249 and we will tell you where the clear blocks are. If you keep an airplane at Camarillo or Santa Paula, flying in is a short hop and transient parking here is easy to arrange.
Book A Discovery Flight
Book Your Discovery Flight From Simi Valley
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.
No Weather Cancellations
Redbird Simulator
$189
1 hour
Full-motion simulator with an instructor. No weight limit, no medical needed.
Reserve →
Most Popular
Discovery Flight For One
$229
60 minutes
You in the pilot's seat over Los Angeles, hands on the controls the whole way.
Book Now →
Most Gifted
Discovery Flight For Two
$299
60 minutes
One of you flies hands-on, the other takes in the skyline. Share the story.
Book Now →
The Showstopper
Luxury Discovery Flight
$499
60 minutes
Premium Cirrus SR22 glass cockpit and extended air time over the LA basin.
Book Now →
The Pro Move
Multi-Engine Discovery
$499
60 minutes
Twin-engine Piper Seminole and a genuine look at the professional path.
Book Now →
The Aircraft You'll Fly
What The Rating Is Flown In
The Piper Seminole is the airplane, and it rents at $649 an hour once you are rated in it. It earns its place as a trainer: predictable behavior on one engine, a Vmc demonstration that leaves nothing ambiguous, and systems plain enough that your attention stays outside the cockpit where it belongs during the parts that matter.
As a rated pilot the rest of the line is open to you as well: the Cessna 162 and the Piper Warrior at $269 an hour, the Diamond DA20 at $329, the Piper Arrow II at $349 and the Cirrus SR22 Turbo at $649. An hour or two in the Redbird MCX full-motion simulator before the checkride is time well spent on abnormal drills, and it is the cheapest place in Southern California to lose an engine.
What You'll See From The Air
The Country Under The Engine-Out Work
The practice area west and north of the field puts you above ground most Simi pilots only know from a trailhead.
⛰️
Simi Peak And The Oak Park Ridge
The high point of the Simi Hills, standing above Wood Ranch on the south side of the valley. It makes a clean altitude check and gives an honest sense of what a single-engine drift-down would actually have to clear.
🏜️
Alamos Canyon
The empty ground north of the 118 between Simi and Moorpark: dirt roads, a dry wash and almost nobody underneath. All that emptiness is precisely what you want underneath a morning of shutdowns and air restarts.
💧
Wood Ranch Reservoir
The water tucked into the hills above Long Canyon on the south edge of town. From the practice area it is one of very few reliable references in country that otherwise reads as unbroken chaparral.
🌾
Happy Camp Canyon And The Moorpark Farmland
Open canyon giving out onto orchards and row crops west of town. Flat, quiet and full of options, which is a comforting thing to have underneath you when an instructor reaches for a throttle.
Questions From Simi Valley
Multi-Engine Rating FAQ
A certificate you already hold, private or commercial, and a current medical. The regulations set no minimum hours for an add-on; the checkride sets the standard. In practice most people arrive with well over 100 hours of single-engine time behind them. Instrument-rated pilots can have the instrument privileges added in the twin during the same course.
$5,100 for the course. Expect five to eight hours in the Seminole plus the ground work, and one to two weeks if you fly most days. After the rating, Seminole time is $649 an hour. If you only want to feel a twin rather than train in one, a Multi-Engine Discovery Flight is $499 for 60 minutes, $699 for 90 and $899 for 120.
West and north of the field, over the Simi Hills and the Santa Susanas and out toward the Moorpark farmland. It is five to ten minutes from departure, high enough for a proper Vmc demonstration with a large margin underneath, and quiet enough on the radio that your attention can stay on the airplane instead of on sequencing.
Thirty minutes on the 118, and the usual alternative is waiting longer for a twin somewhere else. The other consideration is who teaches it. Our instructors are FAA certified with more than fifteen years each, and a course this short is far more sensitive to the quality of the instruction than to the length of the drive.
Yes, at $649 an hour once you are checked out and current. Pilots take it up the coast to Monterey, east to Sedona, or over to Las Vegas for a weekend, and those are exactly the legs where the second engine earns its keep. If you expect to fly it only occasionally, ask us about a currency plan before you book the rating.
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, 370 lb combined. Questions: (818) 290-8249, 9 AM–9 PM, seven days.
Courses & Pricing
The Rest Of What We Teach
★★★★★
5.0 Rating
100+ Google Reviews
Course prices are packages, not hourly rates - the aircraft, your instructor, ground school and simulator time are all in the figure. Van Nuys Airport, KVNY. Financing Available Through Stratus & In-House Plans.
Start Here
Discovery Flight
The First Hour At The Controls. Credited Toward Your Training If You Enroll Within 24 Hours Of Landing.
From$229
Book A Discovery Flight
01
Discovery Flight
The first hour at the controls; credits toward training if you enroll within 24 hours of landing.
From$229
02
Teen Flight Training Ages 10–15
Starting before it is legal to solo.
$4,200
03
Solo Certificate
Enough training to take an aircraft around the pattern alone.
$5,500
04
Sport Pilot
A real certificate, fewer hours, narrower privileges.
$8,400
05
Private Pilot Most Enrolled
The one most people mean by “learn to fly.”
$10,900
06
Instrument Rating
Turns a fair-weather pilot into a useful one.
$11,700
07
Comprehensive Private Pilot
Private with flight time, ground instruction and materials bundled.
$15,900
08
Premium Private Pilot
The most flight time before your checkride - 80 logged hours.
$22,500
09
Airline Pilot Program
Zero experience to airline-hireable qualifications.
$89,000
All Prices In USD. 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406 · Open 9 AM–9 PM, Seven Days. Free In-Person Tour Of The School
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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
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.
Talk To A Real Instructor
Add Your Multi-Engine Rating, 30 Minutes From Simi Valley
Bring the certificate you already hold and two clear weeks, and you can have a multi-engine rating by the end of the month. Call (818) 290-8249 to find out where the Seminole has open blocks, or come to Suite 108A at 7900 Balboa Blvd and look the airplane over first.
Or Send Us A Message And We'll Come Back To You The Same Day →Multi-Engine Rating
$5,100
Complete Add-On Rating
Book A Discovery Flight
Full Multi-Engine Rating Details