FAA-Certificated InstructorsDiscovery Flights From $229Van Nuys Airport (VNY)
Van Nuys Airport · Los Angeles
Private Pilot to flight instructor at one address: 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, on the west side of Van Nuys Airport. Every program has a published, fixed price, from $10,600 for the Private Pilot License, and lessons run 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week.
Part 61 · 20 airplanes in the fleet + full-motion simulator · Plans from $2,500 down
Programs & Prices
Each program is a fixed, all-in package with the aircraft, simulator, instruction and ground hours listed before you start. These are You Fly LA’s own prices.
Standard
$10,600
40 Hours Logged
$2,500 down + 4 × $2,025/mo
Enroll NowComprehensive
$15,900
60 Hours Logged
$2,500 down + 6 × $2,067/mo
Enroll NowPremium
$21,300
80 Hours Logged
$2,500 down + 10 × $1,880/mo
Enroll NowSport Pilot Course
$8,400
28 Hours Logged
$2,500 down + 3 × $1,967/mo
Enroll NowInstrument Rating Course
$11,700
40 Hours Logged
$2,500 down + 4 × $2,300/mo
Enroll NowCommercial Pilot Course
$15,900
130 Hours Logged
Financing available
Enroll NowMulti-Engine Course
$5,100
10 Hours Logged
$2,500 down + 2 × $1,300/mo
Enroll NowFlight Instructor Program
$15,900
30 Hours Logged
Financing available
Enroll NowAirline Pilot Career Program
$82,000
260 Hours Logged
Financing up to 15 years · from $2,500 down
Enroll NowTeens Pilot Course
$4,200
13 Hours Logged
$2,500 first · $1,700 second
Enroll NowAdd the Cirrus SR22 Turbo to any lesson or package at +$400 per hour ($449/hr in total at the package rate), or the Diamond DA20-C1 at +$50 per hour. The FAA knowledge test, the examiner’s fee, your medical and a headset sit outside course tuition. Requirements and syllabus for each rating are on its own page; not sure where you fit? Book a free consultation.
How Far Are You?
A certificate is dozens of visits, so the trip matters. We have one location, the west side of Van Nuys Airport. Pick your neighborhood, tap a pin or type any address for the straight-line distance, directions and the page we wrote for your area.
Pick from the list, tap a pin, or type any address for directions.
From Sherman Oaks
5Miles
About 5 Miles From Van Nuys Airport
Straight-line distance from the center of each area to our door. The drive is longer. Open Our Google Business Profile
The Certificate Ladder
Hobbyist or airline captain, the order is the same. The difference is how far up you go, and at You Fly LA every rung has a published price.
1 / 6
Rung 1
Sixty minutes at the controls for $229, logged as dual instruction. Enroll in a program within 24 hours and 100% of it is credited toward the program. Or start with the free consultation.
2 / 6
Rung 2
The Private Pilot License starts at $10,600 for 40 logged hours; the Sport Pilot License is $8,400 if you want to fly for fun, faster. For the private certificate you need to be 17 (you can start younger), speak English and hold an FAA third-class medical.
3 / 6
Rung 3
Flying on instruments alone, in cloud and low visibility: $11,700 for 40 hours, twenty of them in the full-motion simulator, over about six to eight weeks.
4 / 6
Rung 4
Commercial Pilot is $15,900 for 130 program hours, with complex time in the Piper Arrow; the certificate itself needs 250 hours total time. The Multi-Engine Rating is $5,100 in seven days in the Piper Seminole.
5 / 6
Rung 5
CFI, CFII and MEI in about four weeks for $15,900, with a review for an instructor position with You Fly LA when you finish. Instructing is the usual way pilots build hours.
6 / 6
Rung 6
An ATP certificate requires 1,500 hours of total time, with reduced minimums on certain qualifying paths. The Airline Pilot Career Program packages zero experience to CFI, CFII and MEI as 260 logged hours for $82,000, in about nine months. Graduates of the Airline Pilot Career Program are guaranteed a paid CFI job with us at $48,000 a year while they build toward 1,500 hours, and a guaranteed airline interview.
Part 61 Or Part 141
Two sets of FAA rules a school can train under, not two grades of training: same certificate, same standards, same checkride. You Fly LA is a Part 61 school. Pick a column, or show only the rows that differ.
| Factor | Part 61 · You Fly LA | Part 141 |
|---|---|---|
| Private Pilot Minimum | 40 flight hours | 35 flight hours |
| Commercial Minimum | 250 hours | Lower under an approved course |
| Syllabus | Your instructor builds the sequence around you | FAA-approved course outline, followed in order |
| Progress Checks | Instructor judgment plus the checkride | Formal stage checks with a chief or assistant chief instructor |
| Lesson Flexibility | High: fly what today’s weather and aircraft allow | Lower: deviating from the sequence creates paperwork |
| Start Date | Any day you like | Often course-based intakes |
| M-1 Student Visa | Not available | Required: only an SEVP-certified school can issue Form I-20 |
| Certificate You Earn | Identical | Identical |
If you need an M-1 student visa, you need a Part 141 school, and we would rather say so here. You Fly LA does not accept the GI Bill. More on our Part 61 flight school and the full Part 61 vs Part 141 comparison.
Your Schedule
Both work here, because the schedule does not stop at 5 PM: we fly 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week, and Part 61 lets your instructor build the training around the days you can actually fly.
Twice a week is the pattern most working adults use successfully, because each lesson starts where the last one ended. Once a week works but takes roughly twice as long and costs more in total hours. When the June marine layer takes a morning, a Part 61 lesson can become a ground lesson or an hour in the simulator instead of a lost week. Part-time training has the detail.
If you can fly most days, the calendar compresses: the Multi-Engine Rating is built as seven days, the flight instructor ratings as about four weeks, and the Airline Pilot Career Program as about nine months from zero experience. See accelerated flight training.
How often you fly decides the calendar more than anything else, so we do not quote one number for everyone. How long flight school takes sets out realistic timelines, and the consultation turns them into yours.
Paying For It
Every package has a published price, and most can be paid as $2,500 down plus a few fixed monthly installments that add up to the package price. You can also pay lesson by lesson at the published hourly rates: aircraft $179, instruction $110, ground $110 and simulator $120.
| Program | Price | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Private Pilot, Standard | $10,600 | $2,500 down + 4 × $2,025 |
| Private Pilot, Comprehensive | $14,900 | $2,500 down + 6 × $2,067 |
| Private Pilot, Premium | $21,300 | $2,500 down + 10 × $1,880 |
| Sport Pilot | $8,400 | $2,500 down + 3 × $1,967 |
| Instrument Rating | $11,700 | $2,500 down + 4 × $2,300 |
| Multi-Engine Rating | $5,100 | $2,500 down + 2 × $1,300 |
| Commercial Pilot | $15,900 | Financing available |
| Flight Instructor | $15,900 | Financing available |
| Airline Pilot Career Program | $82,000 | Up to 15 years from $2,500 down |
| Teens Pilot Course | $4,200 | $2,500 first, $1,700 second |
The airline program is financed on a soft credit check. You Fly LA does not accept the GI Bill. The details are on flight training financing.
Before You Enroll
Every one of these questions has a checkable answer. Ask them of us and of anyone else on your list.
Our answers: published package prices; twenty airplanes in the fleet and a Redbird full-motion simulator on one ramp; a written syllabus and shared student records even though Part 61 does not require them; and every rating from Private Pilot to flight instructor at Van Nuys. Meet the instructors before you commit, and take the full question list on every visit.
The Fleet
The airplanes behind each rung of the ladder, from the Diamond DA20-C1 to the Piper Seminole twin. Tap any photo for the full-screen viewer.
Diamond DA20-C1 · 1 / 8
Van Nuys Airport · West Side
Come and see the aircraft, meet an instructor and ask everything on this page. Most consultations happen in person at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108; if you cannot get out here, we will do it by phone.
Find Us
You Fly LA
7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), west side of the field
Open 7 Days9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
0 / 4 Ready
Navigate To 7900 Balboa Blvd
Use the street address, not “Van Nuys Airport”: the field has several public gates over about a mile of frontage. From the 405, take the Sherman Way exit west to Balboa.
Park On Site
There is parking on site. Call (818) 330-1318 if you are not sure where to pull in.
Bring Your Questions
Your schedule, your budget, any medical questions and the rating you are aiming for. Nothing to pay and nothing to sign.
Plan About Half An Hour
That is how long the consultation takes. Weekday traffic between 4 and 7 PM is heavy, so allow extra time for the drive.
Questions
Anything else? Call (818) 330-1318, 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week. An instructor or the owner answers.
At You Fly LA the Private Pilot License starts at $10,600 for the Standard 40-hour package. The Sport Pilot License is $8,400, the Instrument Rating $11,700, Commercial Pilot $15,900, the Multi-Engine Rating $5,100 and the flight instructor ratings $15,900. The Airline Pilot Career Program, from zero experience to CFI, CFII and MEI, is $82,000 for 260 logged hours.
For a first lesson, only photo ID: no experience and no medical certificate. To earn a Private Pilot certificate you need to be 17 (you can start younger), read, speak and understand English, and hold an FAA third-class medical; non-US citizens also need TSA clearance. Anyone under 18 needs a parent or legal guardian to sign.
Part 61. The certificate and the checkride are identical; the difference is that your instructor builds the sequence around you instead of a fixed stage-check syllabus. If you need an M-1 student visa, you need a Part 141 school, and we would rather tell you now. You Fly LA does not accept the GI Bill.
You can train from zero experience to CFI, CFII and MEI in the Airline Pilot Career Program: 260 logged hours for $82,000, in about nine months, financed over up to 15 years from $2,500 down. An ATP certificate then requires 1,500 hours of total time, which most pilots build by instructing. Graduates of the Airline Pilot Career Program are guaranteed a paid CFI job with us at $48,000 a year while they build toward 1,500 hours, and a guaranteed airline interview.
Yes. We fly 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week, and Part 61 lets lessons follow the days you can fly. Twice a week is the pattern most working adults use successfully.
Yes. Most packages can be paid as $2,500 down plus a few fixed monthly payments, for example $2,500 down plus 4 × $2,025 for the $10,600 Standard private pilot course. The Commercial and flight instructor courses list financing as available, and the airline program is financed over up to 15 years on a soft credit check.
Yes, if you are already in the United States in a status that permits it. Non-US citizens need TSA approval through the Alien Flight Student Program before Private, Instrument or Multi-Engine training begins. As a Part 61 school we cannot issue the Form I-20 an M-1 student visa requires. International student pilots has the detail.
7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, Van Nuys, CA 91406, on the west side of Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), with parking on site. Give your satnav the street address rather than the airport name, and call (818) 330-1318 if you cannot find us.
No question matches. Call (818) 330-1318 and ask us directly.
Van Nuys Airport · Open 7 Days
Come to the airport, look at the airplanes, meet an instructor and ask everything on this page. It takes about half an hour, costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Open 7 Days9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Tell us a little about you and we'll get you cleared for takeoff.
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Amazing flight with Alex, we were on the most beautiful and iconic place in LA grants to him! Los Angeles is more beautiful from the sky so take this discovery flight it's one of the best experience of my life !
Amazing experience! Our flight instructor Alex was professional, patient, knowledgeable, and made the whole experience feel safe and exciting. It was joyfully and amazing birthday gift. Highly recommend!
I had the best time flying with my flight instructor Payton today at the best time possible! Golden hour through Malibu coastline, Hollywood sign, Doggers Stadium, and more. That was one awesome flight!
I have had an amazing experience with this flight school so far! I have been training here for a few months now and love it. The instructors and all staff members are extremely friendly and very knowledgeable…
Incredible experience!!! Alexis was so patience and relaxed. He allowed me to fly for about 45 minutes of the hour of the discovery flight! Definitely going to be looking into getting my pilots license!
I had such an AMAZING experience!!! They were so accommodating and detailed and everything was absolutely perfect. Our instructor Ralph was incredibly knowledgeable, professional, patient, and passionate about what he does.
This flight was a birthday present for my son. He had an amazing experience! The instructor was patient and we got to see amazing LA sites.
It was an amazing flight! Amazing experience! Thanks Alex for taking us around and give us to enjoy and try flying by myself. I am sure I'll come back for study.
Had a great experience flying with Ralph! He was very accommodating, friendly, and knowledgeable throughout the entire experience. He made sure we felt comfortable and safe while also sharing interesting information along the way.
Very nice experience. You can understand the basics and the feeling that you're in control of an airplane is indescribable. Like a dream came true. Highly recommend. Good price. Now it's gonna be easier to pass GTA missions 😂
Very nice! It's really a great experience! I'm so happy! Today's flight experience was amazing. The sky looked so beautiful and peaceful up there. My flight instructor is really nice and kind.
The best, it was wonderful, the best gift, you have absolutely to do it.
Alex took us on a one hour flight over LA would definitely recommend to anyone that wanna see LA from the sky !
Payton was amazing on our discovery flight, was beautiful seeing LA from above.
One of my best adventures and the best prices, highly recommended 😊
I'm very excited, excellent service and customer support, and a very reasonable price. 10/10
Very nice owner! It was a very nice flight. Can't forget the planes, very beautiful! I really recommend it!
We had a great time flying over here with kayla highly recommended
