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.
Hour Building · Updated August 2026
Time-Building Jobs: Who Pays For Your 1,250 Hours
You finish the commercial certificate at 250 hours. The airlines want 1,500. Renting an aircraft to fly the difference would cost more than $220,000 even at our $179 package rate, which is why nobody does it. These are the six jobs that pay you instead — with real rates, real hour-accumulation speeds, and the part of each one nobody enjoys.
1,250 hours to findSix paid routesMinimum total time for each
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.
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...
250 hrscommercial certificate minimum under FAR 61.129
1,500 hrsATP minimum under FAR 61.159 (1,000–1,250 restricted)
12–18 motypical time to close that gap as a full-time CFI
$223,750what 1,250 rented hours would cost at our $179 package rate
5.0★100+ reviews on Google
The Real Problem
The Gap Between 250 And 1,500 Is The Hardest Part Of The Career
Not the checkrides. Not the written exams. The 1,250 hours in the middle, where you hold a commercial certificate that says you may be paid to fly and almost nobody wants to pay you very much to do it. Every pilot you have ever flown behind got through this, and most of them did it teaching somebody to land.
Do the arithmetic on the alternative once and you will not consider it again. Even at our $179 package rate — the rate enrolled students train on — 1,250 hours of rental costs $223,750, and it produces a logbook full of hours nobody is impressed by. The whole skill of this phase is finding flying that somebody else pays for, and then choosing between the jobs that pay best and the jobs that build the best logbook — because they are not the same jobs.
The six below are the ones that genuinely exist in volume in the United States. The pay figures are industry-wide ranges from job postings and pilot reporting, not our figures, and none of them are offers of employment. What we do employ is flight instructors, and there is a reason that job is first on the list.
Compared
Six Paid Time-Building Jobs, Honestly Rated
Hours-per-year figures assume the job is full time and in season. Minimum total time is what operators typically require, not a regulation, except where a FAR is cited.
| Job | Typical pay | Hours / year | Minimum total time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Flight instructing | $50,000–$80,000 | 700–1,000 | 250 hrs + CFI |
| 2. Banner towing | $150–$250 / day | 300–600 per season | 250–500 hrs |
| 3. Pipeline and powerline patrol | $55,000–$80,000 | 500–900 | 500 hrs |
| 4. Aerial survey and mapping | $45,000–$75,000 | 400–800 | 500 hrs |
| 5. Jump pilot | $8–$20 per load | 40–80 per month | often 500 hrs |
| 6. Part 135 cargo | $45,000–$75,000 | 500–800 | 1,200 hrs IFR PIC |
1. Flight Instructing
The default, and for good reason: it pays the most, builds hours fastest, and teaches you more than the other five combined. Teaching a stranger to land forces you to understand landings at a level that flying them yourself never will. The downside is that you fly the same 30-mile box for a year and your cross-country time barely moves.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Pay, Los Angeles | $40–$75 / flight hour |
| Annual, full time | $50,000–$80,000 |
| Hours per year | 700–1,000 |
| Minimum total time | 250 hrs plus CFI certificate |
| Best for | speed, pay, and airline interviews |
| Worst part | eight landings a day at one airport |
2. Banner Towing
Summer work over beaches, stadiums and traffic. You fly low, slow and hot, in an old tailwheel aircraft, in circles, for hours. The pay is poor and the stick-and-rudder education is excellent — pickups and drops at 100 feet make you precise in a way no simulator does. It is a season, not a career.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Pay | $150–$250 / day, or $25–$35 / hr |
| Hours per season | 300–600 (roughly 5 months) |
| Minimum total time | 250–500 hrs, tailwheel endorsement |
| Season | May to September |
| Best for | raw stick and rudder skill |
| Worst part | pay, heat, no autopilot, no air conditioning |
3. Pipeline And Powerline Patrol
Following a buried pipeline or a transmission line at 500 feet, six to eight hours a day, looking for leaks and encroachment. It accumulates hours faster than almost anything else and it is genuinely monotonous. Low-level flying in real terrain and weather makes you a careful pilot or an unemployed one.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Pay | $250–$350 / day |
| Annual | $55,000–$80,000 |
| Hours per year | 500–900 |
| Minimum total time | typically 500 hrs |
| Best for | volume of hours per calendar month |
| Worst part | repetitive, remote bases, low-altitude risk |
4. Aerial Survey And Mapping
Flying precise grid lines at altitude for photogrammetry, lidar and geophysical work. You will live in hotels in places you did not choose, wait days for clear air, then fly ten-hour days when it arrives. The cross-country and cross-terrain time is real and the ferry legs alone teach you more weather flying than a year of pattern work.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Annual | $45,000–$75,000 |
| Hours per year | 400–800 |
| Minimum total time | typically 500 hrs |
| Schedule | weeks away, weather dependent |
| Best for | cross-country and turbine exposure |
| Worst part | hotel rooms, and being paid to sit in them |
5. Jump Pilot For A Skydive Operation
Climb to 13,000, everyone leaves, descend fast, land, repeat. Twenty to thirty times on a good Saturday. You will log more takeoffs and landings per hour than in any other flying job and almost no cross-country, and you will learn engine management properly because the aircraft is worked hard and the margins are thin.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Pay | $8–$20 per load, or $25–$45 / hr |
| Hours per month, in season | 40–80 |
| Minimum total time | often 500 hrs; some drop zones lower |
| Schedule | weekends, summer-weighted |
| Best for | landings, and fitting around another job |
| Worst part | no cross-country, hard use aircraft |
6. Part 135 Cargo
Single-pilot freight, mostly at night, mostly in weather, often in a Caravan or a light twin. This is the best airline preparation on the list and the least forgiving flying on it. Note the regulation: 14 CFR 135.243 requires 1,200 hours total time to act as pilot in command under IFR, and 500 hours for VFR-only operations — so for most pilots this is a late-stage job, not a first one.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Annual | $45,000–$75,000 |
| Hours per year | 500–800 |
| Minimum for IFR PIC | 1,200 hrs, FAR 135.243 |
| Minimum for VFR PIC | 500 hrs, FAR 135.243 |
| Best for | real IFR, night, and turbine time |
| Worst part | nights, icing, single-pilot pressure |
Pay ranges are industry-wide figures drawn from published job listings and pilot reporting, compiled August 2026. They are not LA Flight School figures and they are not offers of employment. Operator minimums vary and insurers frequently set them higher than the regulation does.
Our Position
Instructing Wins, And It Is Not Close
Compare the top and bottom of that table on the only two axes that matter. Instructing pays $50,000 to $80,000 in Los Angeles and puts 700 to 1,000 hours a year in your logbook. Banner towing pays a quarter of that for half the hours. On money per hour flown, nothing else on the list is within reach.
Then there is the second effect, which is larger and harder to see. Airline interviews are heavily weighted toward judgment, communication and how you handle someone else making a mistake at 500 feet. A year of instructing is a year of exactly that, every day, with a stranger. Pilots who build hours in survey or patrol arrive at 1,500 hours with quieter logbooks and thinner stories.
The honest cost is variety. Instructing at one airport for 14 months gives you a great deal of pattern time and very little long cross-country, and your instrument currency is easy to let slide because you are teaching private students in clear California air. The fix is deliberate: fly one long cross-country a month, keep the CFII active, and get the multi-engine instructor rating so you are teaching in a Seminole and not only in a Warrior.
What Actually Counts
Five Kinds Of Hour Worth More Than Total Time
1
Pilot-In-Command Time
Airlines read PIC before they read total. The ATP requires 250 hours of PIC under FAR 61.159, and instructing generates it continuously while a right-seat job may not generate it at all.
2
Multi-Engine Time
The scarcest hour in a low-time logbook and the most expensive hour there is to buy in a twin. Holding an MEI means you build it while being paid rather than while paying.
3
Actual Instrument Time
Hours in real cloud, not under a hood. Southern California is a difficult place to accumulate them, which is why the coastal marine layer between May and July is worth chasing rather than avoiding.
4
Night Time
The ATP requires 100 hours of night. It is easy to arrive at 1,400 hours and discover you have 40, and then have to buy the rest. Track it monthly from your first commercial hour.
5
Cross-Country Over 50 Nm
200 hours of cross-country required for the ATP. Pattern-heavy jobs like jump flying and banner towing generate none of it, which is the single most common trap in hour building.
The Aircraft Behind The Hours
What 1,250 Hours Is Actually Flown In
Singles for the first thousand, a twin for the multi time, and a long coastal cross-country once a month to keep the logbook honest.
Watch
The School That Employs Flight Instructors
Van Nuys Airport, the fleet and the instructor team — the job that is first on the list above.
LA Flight School — 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406.
The Fleet
The Aircraft The 1,250 Hours Get Logged In
Time building is a numbers game, and the numbers only work if the aircraft is available and airworthy. Ours are owned and maintained by us at Van Nuys, inspected on our schedule rather than a rental broker's.
Single-engine training on the Standard and Comprehensive programs is flown in the Cessna, Piper and Diamond aircraft. The Premium program is flown in the Cirrus SR22 Turbo with its full glass cockpit.
Redbird MCX
A Full-Motion Simulator, And It Is Not A Toy
FAA-approved, fully enclosed, and it moves. Instrument instruction given in it is instruction you are paid for on days the aircraft cannot go — which is exactly the problem every time builder has.
Simulator hours are built into every private pilot program — 2 hours on Standard and Premium, 5 hours on Comprehensive.
Your Instructor
Career Instructors, Not Hour-Builders Passing Through
This page is about being paid to fly, so it is worth saying plainly how we staff: every instructor holds a commercial certificate or an ATP plus a CFI and a current medical, and is legally pilot in command on every flight.
There are eleven of them. They fly here as a career rather than treating the school as a waiting room, which is why students are not handed to a new instructor every eight weeks when someone hits 1,500 hours.
You are matched to an instructor at enrollment and you can change if the fit is wrong. If your plan is to instruct here yourself later, that is a conversation worth having at the consultation.
What People Say
5.0 Stars, 100+ Reviews
For a pilot choosing where to build hours, three things in the reviews matter more than the rest.
★
Instructors Who Actually Teach
The most repeated compliment in our reviews is not the aircraft or the price — it is the debrief.
★
Scheduling That Works
Eleven instructors and a fleet we own means lessons happen when we say they will.
★
Prices That Don't Move
The number you enroll at is the number you finish at. Reviewers mention this constantly.
Get To The Start Line
All Of This Begins With A Commercial Certificate
None of the six jobs above are available before 250 hours. If you are not there yet, the useful step is not researching jobs — it is one flight, and then a plan with dates on it.
Redbird Simulator Session
$189 / 1 hr
Full-motion, FAA-approved, never weather-canceled. Also the cheapest instrument practice you will ever buy.
Start here
Discovery Flight For One
$229 / 60 min
A real lesson with your hands on the controls. Loggable dual instruction, credited in full against any program within 24 hours.
Free Career Consultation
$0
Map your route from where you are now to 1,500 hours, with dates and a budget. No obligation.
Already hold a commercial certificate? The conversation to have is about the CFI, CFII and MEI ratings — they are what turn 1,250 unpaid hours into 1,250 paid ones.
Next Step
Every One Of Those 1,500 Hours Starts With The First
Sixty minutes over Los Angeles, hands on the controls, logged as real dual instruction — and it counts toward every hour requirement on this page. Enroll within 24 hours and the whole $229 comes off your program. Call (818) 290-8249, open 9am to 9pm, seven days.
Discovery Flight For One
$229
60 minutes · you fly the aircraft · fully loggable · credited on enrollment
FAQ
Time-Building Questions
Full-time flight instructing, at 700 to 1,000 hours a year, or pipeline patrol at 500 to 900. Both close the gap from 250 to 1,500 hours in roughly 12 to 18 months. Instructing pays better in Los Angeles at $50,000 to $80,000 a year against $55,000 to $80,000 for patrol, and it generates the pilot-in-command time airlines actually read.
In 2026, flight instructing pays $40 to $75 per flight hour in Los Angeles, pipeline patrol $250 to $350 a day, aerial survey $45,000 to $75,000 a year, Part 135 cargo $45,000 to $75,000 a year, jump pilots $8 to $20 per load, and banner towing $150 to $250 a day. These are industry-wide ranges from published job listings, not offers.
250 hours and a CFI certificate for instructing. Around 250 to 500 hours plus a tailwheel endorsement for banner towing. Typically 500 hours for pipeline patrol, aerial survey and most jump pilot positions. Part 135 cargo requires 500 hours for VFR pilot-in-command and 1,200 hours for IFR pilot-in-command under 14 CFR 135.243.
No, by a very wide margin. Building 1,250 hours of rental costs $223,750 even at our $179 package rate, and produces a logbook of solo cross-country time that carries little weight in an airline interview. Every paid time-building job on this page is better than renting, including the ones that pay badly.
No, but it is the highest-paying and fastest option, and it is the one airlines look on most favorably because it demonstrates judgment and communication under pressure. Pipeline patrol, aerial survey, jump flying, banner towing and Part 135 cargo are all real alternatives if teaching does not suit you.
12 to 18 months from 250 hours if you are flying full time at 60 to 90 hours a month. Part-time or seasonal work stretches that to two or three years. Track your night, cross-country and instrument time monthly — pilots who only count total time frequently reach 1,500 hours and find they are short on one of the ATP sub-requirements.
Part 135 cargo, for the night, weather and single-pilot IFR exposure, but it requires 1,200 hours for IFR pilot-in-command so it comes late. Flight instructing is the best available at 250 hours, because airline interviews weigh judgment and communication heavily and instructing rehearses both daily.
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
★★★★★
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...
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 →
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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