Your enrollment form has arrived and an enrollment specialist will call to go through your goals, your paperwork and your schedule. Below is everything that happens between now and your first lesson at Van Nuys Airport.
You will be making this drive regularly, so it is worth learning the shortest version of it now. The school sits at 7900 Balboa Blvd on the west boundary of Van Nuys Airport, a block south of Roscoe Blvd. Almost everyone arrives on Balboa itself: north from the 101 through Encino and Lake Balboa, or south from the 118 above Granada Hills. Both approaches take you past the Sepulveda Basin or the golf courses respectively.
If you are coming from the far side of the Valley, Sherman Way, Victory Blvd and Roscoe Blvd all cut straight across and meet Balboa within a mile of the door, which usually beats a freeway detour. From Santa Clarita, the 405 south to the Roscoe exit is the standard run. From Pasadena and Glendale, the 134 west to the 101 north is reliable outside the evening peak on the Ventura Freeway.
Book your lessons for the early morning if you can. The air over the Valley is smoothest before the sea breeze builds, traffic on Balboa is light before eight, and you will be away before the day heats up. Whichever gate you use, put the street address rather than the airport name into a navigation app, because Balboa Blvd serves several separate airport entrances along its length, and only one of them is ours.
Parking is free and there is no barrier. Coming in from Balboa Blvd, turn right immediately and follow the road down to the visitor spaces; Suite 108A is on the hangar side, marked with the suite number.
Six things stand between this form and your first logbook entry.
Someone from the enrollment desk rings to confirm what you submitted and to talk through which program actually fits. This is a longer conversation than a general inquiry, because we are now planning a real schedule against a real budget. Have your calendar open. If the call lands badly, name a better time and we will use it.
Enrollment is where the vague becomes specific. We settle whether you are aiming at a Sport Pilot License, a Private Pilot Certificate, or straight through to an airline career, and which package that maps to. The differences are in included instruction and aircraft time, so price and pace end up pinned down at the same time.
Federal rules require flight schools to verify identity and citizenship before training toward a certificate begins. For a US citizen that is normally a valid passport, or an original birth certificate together with a government photo ID. Non-citizens go through the TSA Alien Flight Student Program, which takes time, so we start it early rather than late.
You need an FAA medical certificate from an aviation medical examiner before you can fly solo, and a student pilot certificate applied for through the FAA's IACRA system. Neither is difficult, but both have lead times. We point you at examiners nearby and help with IACRA, which trips people up more often than the medical.
We agree how often you will fly and block the slots, because a booked slot is far more likely to happen than a good intention. At the same time we settle payment: in full, an in-house plan, or financing arranged through Stratus Financial. Nothing here needs to be decided in a rush on the phone.
You get the study material and a plan for the FAA written knowledge test, which is best started early rather than crammed at the end. Then your first lesson goes on the calendar. You fly it from the left seat with an instructor beside you, and the hour goes into a logbook that is now yours.
Our Courses
Ten programs flown out of Van Nuys Airport, with real pricing on every one. Start with an hour at the controls, or go straight through to airline-hireable qualifications — it is the same ladder either way.
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
Rating
For pilots already certificated who are adding a twin. Trained in our own Piper Seminole.
$5,100 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
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.
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
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
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.
Cross-country flights are where a license stops being theory.
Early lessons stay close to home, in the practice area north-west of the field and in the traffic pattern at Van Nuys itself. Once you are handling the aircraft comfortably, the syllabus pushes you outward: first to quieter airports twenty minutes away for landing practice, then on proper cross-country legs where you plan a route, work out fuel and time, talk to controllers you have never spoken to, and land somewhere you have not seen before.
That is the part most students remember. Southern California is unusually generous for this, because within sixty minutes of Van Nuys you can reach coastline, desert, mountains and an island, all with paved runways and fuel on the field. The weather is flyable most days of the year, which matters enormously when you are trying to finish a certificate on a schedule instead of waiting out an entire season of bad weather.
Thirty-odd miles west past the Santa Susanas, and the classic first cross-country from Van Nuys. Long runway, friendly tower, warplanes parked on the ramp.
A small strip in the citrus groves of the Santa Clara River valley. Uncontrolled and narrow, and a good test of your radio calls.
A runway on a ridge in the middle of the island, twenty-six miles offshore. It is the trip almost every student here wants to make.
A busier controlled field up the coast with airline traffic mixed in. Flying there teaches you to handle a real terminal environment without any drama.
You will start in the Cessna 162 Skycatcher, the Diamond DA20 or the Piper Warrior, depending on availability and on what fits you best physically. These are the airplanes you learn to land in, and you will spend most of your hours in one of them. All three are covered by the package you enroll on, aircraft and instructor together, so the choice is about what fits you rather than what it adds to the bill.
Later in your training the fleet opens up. The Piper Arrow II gives you retractable gear and a constant-speed propeller, the Cirrus SR22 Turbo puts you in a glass cockpit with an airframe parachute, and the Piper Seminole is the twin you would use for the $5,100 multi-engine rating. Instrument work leans heavily on the Redbird MCX full-motion simulator, $189 for a sixty-minute session, which is where approaches become cheap enough to repeat properly. All of it is on our own ramp at Van Nuys Airport, beside Suite 108A at 7900 Balboa Boulevard.
Five things you can start before the specialist calls.
Dig out your passport, or your original birth certificate and a photo ID. These have to be seen in person before training toward a certificate starts, and hunting for a birth certificate is the single commonest cause of a delayed first lesson.
An FAA medical from an aviation medical examiner is needed before solo, and appointments are not always same-week. If you take regular medication or have any history at all, raise it with us first, because there is usually a straightforward route through it.
Decide which two or three slots a week are genuinely protected, and treat them like a standing appointment. Students who fly twice a week finish; students who fly when convenient tend to spend more money relearning what they already knew.
The FAA knowledge test can be studied for from day one and passed long before your practical test. Getting it out of the way removes the most common bottleneck we see at the end of a private pilot course, when everything else is ready.
Whether that means paying a package up front, taking an in-house plan or applying to Stratus Financial, have it settled before lesson one. Running out of budget halfway through is the most expensive thing that can happen to a student pilot.
The Standard Private Pilot program is $10,900, the Comprehensive is $15,900 and the Premium is $22,500; the differences are in included instruction and aircraft hours rather than in the certificate you end up holding. Below them, the Sport Pilot License is $8,400 and the Solo Certificate is $5,500 for people who want a defined first milestone. The Teen Flight Training Package is $4,200, and teenagers can begin training well before they are old enough to hold the certificate itself at seventeen.
If you are going further, the Instrument Rating is $11,700, the Multi-Engine Rating is $5,100 as an add-on in the Seminole, and the Airline Pilot Program from zero hours to airline-ready is $89,000. Financing runs through Stratus Financial, who lend specifically for flight training, and we also offer in-house payment plans that spread the cost across the course rather than demanding it at the start. The specialist goes through both of those options with you in detail on the call itself.
Usually the same day, and always within one working day. We are staffed from 9 AM to 9 PM seven days a week, so evening callbacks are normal. If you want a specific window, ring (818) 290-8249.
No. The form starts a conversation and reserves nothing. No payment is taken until you have chosen a program and agreed how you are paying for it.
Photo ID plus proof of citizenship, which for US citizens means a passport or an original birth certificate with a government photo ID. These are checked in person at Suite 108A. Non-US citizens need TSA approval first.
Not to begin lessons, but yes before you fly solo. Book it early with an aviation medical examiner, because lead times vary and it is the item most likely to hold up progress.
It depends almost entirely on how often you fly. Two or three lessons a week typically means several months; once a fortnight can stretch beyond a year and cost more, because each gap costs you relearning. Consistency is cheaper than intensity.
No. You can pay a program in full, use an in-house payment plan, or finance through Stratus Financial. Most students use one of the latter two. The specialist will walk through what each option means month to month.
There is no upper age limit for a private pilot certificate, only the medical standard. People start in their fifties and sixties here regularly and do perfectly well. The honest constraint is time available to fly.
Yes. You can begin training at any age, solo at sixteen with a student pilot certificate and medical, and hold a private pilot certificate at seventeen. The Teen Flight Training Package at $4,200 exists for exactly this.
Call (818) 290-8249 between 9 AM and 9 PM, any day, and an instructor will talk it through with you. We hold a 5.0 rating on Google across 100+ reviews and our instructors are FAA-certified with over fifteen years of experience.
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.
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.
Aviation News
Notes from the flight line at Van Nuys — weather, regulation changes, checkride questions and the cost of training, written up as they come.
Open 7 days · 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Los Angeles Flight School
