Which One To Pick
We sell five flying lessons for beginners, and for most first-timers the honest answer is the $349 one. You get a Cessna 162 Skycatcher, a hundred-horsepower two-seater with a Garmin G300 glass panel, or a Piper Warrior, a hundred-and-sixty-horsepower low wing with four seats. Which one depends on what is on the ramp that morning. Both are forgiving, and both are what our students fly on day one.
Take the $449 if somebody wants to watch. It is the same lesson in the Warrior with a second person in the back, listening on the intercom and taking the photographs. The guest is not charged separately and does not need to do anything. Partners and parents sit back there and it changes the day; a lot of people fly better with an audience than without one.
Take the DA20 if you have flown before, or if you already know you want the certificate and want to find out early whether you like a stick. The bubble canopy lets you see straight out, it is lighter on the controls than the Cessna, and it is quicker to tell you when your feet are lazy. Our opinion: it is the better airplane to learn in, and it is less forgiving for exactly that reason.
Take the Cirrus if the airplane is the point. N422SN has three hundred and ten turbocharged horsepower, a Perspective glass panel, a side-stick and a parachute for the whole airframe, and it cruises at 215 knots. It is not the sensible first lesson and most people do not start here. The ones who do tend to know already that they are going to finish the certificate.
Take the simulator if the weather looks doubtful, if you would rather your first time at the controls happened on the ground, or if $249 is the number that works. The Redbird MCX moves, it is an FAA-approved AATD, and weather never cancels it. Nothing in it is wasted: up to fifty hours in the Redbird count toward a commercial certificate later.
What's Included
- The airplane and the fuel
- Your certified flight instructor for the full two hours
- The thirty-minute ground lesson and the ten-minute debrief
- Headsets for everyone on board
- A logbook entry, signed, that counts as dual instruction under 14 CFR 61.109
Not included: nothing. There is no tax and nothing is added at the desk, so the price on the card is the price you pay. The simulator lesson includes the same instructor, ground lesson and debrief, with the Redbird in place of the airplane.
What It Costs
$349 buys two hours, of which about seventy minutes are spent flying. Taken apart at our pay-as-you-go rates, that seventy minutes in the Skycatcher is $269 an hour wet, and an instructor is $110 an hour for the whole two, which comes to about $534. Our beginner flight lessons are priced below the sum of their parts because they are how people start training with us, not because anything has been left out.
Inside a course package the Skycatcher drops to $179 an hour and the instructor stays at $110. A Private Pilot Standard package is $10,400 and covers thirty-eight hours of airplane, two of simulator, thirty hours of dual and three of ground.
For hourly rates and what each certificate costs, read what ongoing flight training costs at Van Nuys. For the five lesson prices taken apart one at a time, read what a beginner flying lesson costs.
After Your Lesson
Enroll in a course within twenty-four hours of your lesson and the whole lesson price comes off what you pay. Not a discount code, not a credit toward something else — the $349 or the $749 comes straight off the package.
If you do not enroll, you still keep the logbook entry. The time is dual instruction received, and it counts toward the forty-hour minimum in 14 CFR 61.109 wherever you fly next.
When you want to see the whole certificate laid out, start with our private pilot course at Van Nuys.
Questions About Beginner Flying Lessons
Do I Actually Fly The Airplane?
Yes. Your instructor works the radio and keeps a hand near the controls, and the climbs, the turns and most of the cruise are yours.
Do I Need A Medical Certificate?
Not for the lesson. You need one before your first solo, under 14 CFR 61.87 and 61.23.
How Old Do I Have To Be?
Anyone under eighteen needs a parent or guardian. You must be sixteen to fly solo and seventeen for the private certificate.
What If The Weather Is Bad?
We reschedule and you are not charged. The decision comes on the 9 AM weather call. In June, book an afternoon, after the marine layer has had time to burn off.
Can I Bring Somebody?
Yes, on the $449 lesson in the Piper Warrior, with your guest in the back seat. The Cessna 162 and the DA20 have two seats, and the Cirrus lesson has no guest seat.
Is There A Weight Limit?
Yes. It is 180 lb per person in the Cessna 162 or the Warrior, and 360 lb combined for two on the $449 lesson. In the DA20 or the Cirrus it is 200 lb for the person flying. The simulator has none.
How Do I Reschedule?
Call (818) 330-1318. Moving a lesson is free up to twenty-four hours before it starts.
What Should I Bring?
A photo ID, closed-toe shoes and sunglasses. We lend the headsets. Arrive about fifteen minutes before your slot.
