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.
Request Received
Thank You — We Have Your Request
Your message has arrived at Suite 108A and somebody will get back to you shortly. Since we do not yet know what you are after, this page covers everything on offer here, what it costs, and how to find us.
Suite 108A7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys
5.0★100+ reviews on Google
2,000+discovery flights flown
9 AM – 9 PMseven days a week
Meeting Location
How To Reach 7900 Balboa Blvd
The address sits on the western perimeter of Van Nuys Airport, in the middle of the San Fernando Valley and about thirty minutes from most of Los Angeles outside rush hour. The two obvious approaches are Balboa Blvd itself, running north from the 101 at Encino or south from the 118 at Granada Hills, and the 405, which you leave at Roscoe Blvd or Victory Blvd and follow west.
Coming from the coast, Topanga Canyon Blvd over the mountains and east along Sherman Way is a slower but far prettier run than the 405 through the Sepulveda Pass, and on a Saturday morning it is often quicker too. From North Hollywood and Studio City, Victory Blvd runs unbroken west to Balboa. From the Antelope Valley, the 14 to the 5 and then the 118 west avoids the Newhall Pass.
One thing worth knowing: Balboa Blvd has several gates into the airport, each serving different businesses, and a navigation app given the airport name may take you to the wrong one. Use the street address, 7900 Balboa Blvd, and turn right on entering the lot. If you find yourself at the signals at Roscoe Blvd you have passed us, and if you are at Sherman Way you are a little short.
Visitor parking is free and needs no permit. Come in off Balboa Blvd, turn right straight away, and follow the road to the spaces beside the hangars. Suite 108A faces the ramp.
What Happens Next
What Happens With Your Request Now
Everything from here is on us; nothing needs chasing.
1
It Lands At The Desk
Your message goes to the front desk at Suite 108A rather than to a central inbox somewhere else. Somebody reads it, works out whether it is a booking question, a price question or a training question, and passes it on to whoever can answer it properly. That is usually an instructor rather than an administrator.
2
We Reply The Same Day
If you wrote to us during our hours, which are 9 AM to 9 PM every day of the week, you should hear back the same day. Anything arriving overnight gets picked up first thing in the morning. If it is urgent, the fastest route is always to ring (818) 290-8249 and speak to somebody directly.
3
We May Ask One Question Back
Occasionally a request needs one more detail before it can be answered usefully: which date you had in mind, how many people are coming, whether you are buying for yourself or for somebody else, or whether you have flown before. If we ask, it is because a vague answer would waste more of your time than a short question does.
4
Booking, If That Is What You Want
We can hold a discovery flight, a simulator session or a free in-person consultation there and then. Aircraft and instructors both have to be available, so weekend mornings fill up first and midweek slots are usually easier to get. Nothing is charged before you have confirmed a date and a time that genuinely suits you.
5
Written Confirmation
Whatever we agree gets confirmed by email, and a text reminder follows before any booked appointment. If a gift voucher is involved, you get something you can actually hand over to somebody else. Keep the confirmation, because it is what we check you in against when you arrive at the door on the day itself.
6
If You Would Rather Just Visit
You are welcome to come in without an appointment. We are here from 9 AM until 9 PM every day, including weekends, and there is normally an instructor around who can show you an aircraft and answer your questions. A quick call ahead is worth it, since our instructors spend most of the day flying.
Courses & Pricing
Every Course 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
Multi-Engine Rating
For existing pilots adding a twin.
$5,100
04
Solo Certificate
Enough training to take an aircraft around the pattern alone.
$5,500
05
Sport Pilot
A real certificate, fewer hours, narrower privileges.
$8,400
06
Private Pilot Most Enrolled
The one most people mean by “learn to fly.”
$10,900
07
Instrument Rating
Turns a fair-weather pilot into a useful one.
$11,700
08
Comprehensive Private Pilot
Private with flight time, ground instruction and materials bundled.
$15,900
09
Premium Private Pilot
The most flight time before your checkride - 80 logged hours.
$22,500
10
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
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.
Van Nuys
What The Valley Looks Like From The Air
Almost everybody who contacts us ends up over this view.
Leave Van Nuys and turn east and the Valley reads like a map you already half know. The studio lots of Burbank sit below the Verdugo Mountains, the 101 and the 134 meet in a knot near Universal City, and Griffith Park fills the gap between Valley and basin. Beyond it the downtown towers stand up alone, which is a strange thing to see from a small airplane on an ordinary weekday afternoon.
The other flight worth knowing about is the evening one. As sunset approaches the light turns the hills orange, the marine layer sits offshore like a wall, and then the whole basin lights up at once. Night flying is part of a private pilot course rather than a novelty, and it is the phase that most students say changed how they felt about the city they live in.
From The Air
What You Fly Over
🎬
The Burbank Studio Lots
Warner Bros, Disney and Universal all sit within a couple of miles of each other. From above, the backlot streets and standing sets are unmistakable.
⛰️
The Verdugo Mountains
The isolated ridge between Burbank and Glendale, separate from the San Gabriels behind it. It is the clearest natural divider in the east Valley.
⚾
Dodger Stadium
Sitting in Chavez Ravine just north of downtown, its terraced car parks fanned around it. On a game night it is the brightest thing for miles.
🌃
The Downtown Skyline
A tight cluster of towers on an otherwise flat basin, twenty minutes out. After dark the grid of streets around it is what people remember.
The Fleet
The Fleet And The Simulator
The fleet covers everything from a first lesson to a twin-engine rating. The Cessna 162 Skycatcher, the Piper Warrior and the Diamond DA20 are the aircraft most training happens in, and a package covers the aircraft and the instructor together rather than billing them apart. The Piper Arrow II adds retractable gear and a constant-speed propeller, which is the complex time a commercial certificate wants. At the top end sit the glass-cockpit Cirrus SR22 Turbo and the twin-engine Piper Seminole, the aircraft behind the $5,100 Multi-Engine Rating and the Luxury Cirrus discovery flight.
Alongside the aircraft is a Redbird MCX full-motion simulator, which is a serious training device rather than a games machine. It has dual controls so an instructor can demonstrate, weather and failures that can be set deliberately, and a visual system good enough to fly instrument approaches in. At $189 for a sixty-minute session it is the least expensive way into the building, and a perfectly good place to have a first go at flying if a real aircraft feels like a step too far.
Before You Come
Things People Usually Ask About Next
Five details that come up in almost every conversation.
1
Gift Vouchers
Discovery flights are bought as gifts more often than for the buyer. We can issue something you can hand over, and the recipient books the date themselves when it suits them. Say so in your reply and we will sort it out.
2
Bringing Children
Children are welcome on the ground with an adult, and there is no minimum age to sit in an aircraft with a parent present. Teenagers can begin training at any age, and the Teen Flight Training Package at $4,200 exists for that group.
3
What To Wear If You Fly
Comfortable clothes, flat closed-toe shoes because you will be using rudder pedals, and sunglasses. Cockpits have glass on three sides and the light at altitude is strong. Avoid stiff hat brims, which argue with a headset, and leave anything loose in the car.
4
Weather And Rescheduling
Low cloud, strong crosswinds or poor visibility mean we call you and move the flight, normally that morning, at no cost. Nobody here will talk you into flying a marginal day. Spring marine layer and Santa Ana winds are the usual culprits.
5
Existing Pilots
If you already hold a certificate and are asking about rental, we will want to see your certificate, medical and logbook, and you will fly a checkout with an instructor first. That is standard everywhere and it is usually a single, straightforward flight.
Your Options
What Everything Here Costs
For a first flight, the Discovery Flight For One is $229 for sixty minutes, $299 for ninety and $399 for two hours; For Two is $299, $399 and $499; and the Luxury Cirrus For Two runs $499, $699 and $949. A Multi-Engine Discovery Flight in the Seminole is $499, $699 and $899, and a sixty-minute Redbird simulator session is $189. All of that time is loggable, and the full cost is credited toward training if you enroll within twenty-four hours.
For training, the Solo Certificate is $5,500, the Sport Pilot License $8,400, and the Private Pilot programs run $10,900, $15,900 and $22,500 depending on how much is included. The Instrument Rating is $11,700, the Multi-Engine Rating $5,100, and the Airline Pilot Program, taken from no experience through to airline-ready, is $89,000. Financing is available through Stratus Financial, and we run in-house payment plans as well. A free in-person consultation is the sensible way to work out which of those applies to you.
FAQ
Common Questions
Same day if you contacted us during opening hours, which are 9 AM to 9 PM seven days a week. Messages arriving overnight are answered first thing. If you need an answer faster, call (818) 290-8249.
An instructor, in most cases. There is no separate sales department here, so the person answering your question is somebody who teaches in the aircraft. Our instructors are FAA-certified and have more than fifteen years of experience.
Yes, and a lot of people do. We can arrange a voucher you can hand over, and the recipient picks their own date. Discovery Flight For One starts at $229 and For Two at $299.
Not for a discovery flight. It is an introductory instructional flight with a certificated instructor, so no license and no medical certificate are required. Bring photo identification. A medical becomes necessary later, before you fly solo.
Yes. We do not publish a rate card here, because what we sell are packages rather than blocks of flying time. Bring your certificate, medical and logbook, fly a checkout with one of our instructors, and the desk at Suite 108A will tell you what is available and when.
You can. A sixty-minute Redbird MCX session is $189, and it works both as a low-cost introduction and as serious instrument practice. Some people book it before a discovery flight to see how they feel.
There is no minimum age for a discovery flight or for beginning training. You can fly solo at sixteen and hold a private pilot certificate at seventeen. The Teen Flight Training Package is $4,200, and there is no upper age limit.
Every day, 9 AM to 9 PM, including weekends. Saturday and Sunday mornings are the busiest slots of the week and book out first, so ask early. Midweek availability is usually much easier.
Talk To Us
Reach Us Directly Any Day
Call (818) 290-8249 between 9 AM and 9 PM for a straight answer from somebody who flies these aircraft. Our Google rating is a straight 5.0 across 100+ reviews, and more than 2,000 discovery flights have gone out of this hangar safely.
Standard Private Pilot
$10,900
A discovery flight is credited in full if you enroll within 24 hours
See The Private Pilot Course
Or Call (818) 290-8249
No Cost, No Obligation
Get The Full Training Plan And Price Sheet
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.
- Every package price, itemised
- Financing from $2,500 down
- A timeline based on your schedule
Loved On Google
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.
Aviation News
Latest From The Field
Notes from the flight line at Van Nuys — weather, regulation changes, checkride questions and the cost of training, written up as they come.
Van Nuys Airport · KVNY
(818) 290-8249
7900 Balboa Blvd. Suite 108A
Van Nuys, CA 91406 Get directions →
Open the full contact page
Open 7 days · 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Los Angeles Flight School7900 Balboa Blvd. Suite 108A
Van Nuys, CA 91406 Get directions →
★★★★★
5.0 · 100+ Google reviews