For an introductory flying lesson near Encino you do not need a freeway, a plan or much of a head start. Van Nuys Airport is 3.9 miles straight up Balboa Blvd from Ventura, nine to eleven minutes, and You Fly LA is on that same street at number 7900. You spend 60 minutes in the left seat of a Piper Warrior for $229, flying it yourself with a certificated instructor beside you, and Encino is under the wing almost as soon as the wheels leave the runway: the Sepulveda Basin you just drove through, Ventura Blvd along the foot of the hills, and your own street somewhere on that straight line of Balboa.
Quick Answer: A discovery flight from Encino costs $229 for 60 minutes ($299 for 90, $399 for 120) at Van Nuys Airport, 9 to 11 minutes north on Balboa Blvd with no freeway at any hour. You fly the airplane, the instructor takes off and lands, and the hour counts toward a pilot certificate.
Book A Discovery Flight · $229 Book A Free Consultation Call Or Text (818) 330-1318
Four Miles, One Street, No Freeway
Balboa Blvd starts at Ventura Blvd in Encino and runs north without a break — under the 101, through the Sepulveda Basin, past Lake Balboa, across Victory, Vanowen, Sherman Way and Saticoy — and our address is on it. That is the whole trip. There is no rush-hour version of it, because there is no freeway in it.
Two variations worth knowing. From the 91436 side, the Encino Hills streets climbing toward Mulholland, you come down Hayvenhurst, Balboa or Encino Ave to Ventura first, which adds four to seven minutes. And on the rare winter day when the Sepulveda Basin is holding storm water and Balboa is closed through it, White Oak Ave north to Victory Blvd and then east to Balboa is the detour. The basin is a flood-control reservoir; a few days a year it does the job it was built for.
The 405 is two miles east of you and you should ignore it. Getting on at Ventura and off at Roscoe adds distance and puts you into the Sepulveda Pass flow, which is the worst road in the Valley between four and seven. Encino may be the only community we serve where the surface route wins at every hour of the day, which is why evening bookings from here almost never run late.
What You'll See From Encino's Side Of The Route
Three route landmarks are close to Encino: Van Nuys Airport four miles up your own street, Universal Studios east along the 101, and the Warner Center towers to the west. Encino sits almost exactly between the two directions the flight can take; the full loop is mapped landmark by landmark on our airplane rides page.
Four miles is nothing in an airplane, so Encino appears almost immediately after departure. The Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area — the same basin you just drove through — resolves into its parts within about two minutes: the Sepulveda Dam at the east end, Lake Balboa as an obvious ring of water with its footpath around it, the golf courses, the wildlife reserve, and the concrete channel of the Los Angeles River threading between them.
Turn south and Ventura Blvd runs east to west along the foot of the hills, with the office towers at Ventura and Balboa standing out as the only real height between Sherman Oaks and Warner Center. Just east of them, Los Encinos State Historic Park is a green rectangle with a pond in it, mid-block on Moorpark — the adobe and the springs the whole community is named after, invisible from the street and obvious from the air.
Then the ridge. The Santa Monica Mountains fill the windscreen with Mulholland along the crest, and the Encino Reservoir appears in a canyon on the far side — water that most Encino residents have never seen, because from the ground there is a mountain in the way. Ninety seconds past the boulevard it is right there. Beyond it the ridge drops into the Westside, and on a clear afternoon Santa Monica Bay sits behind that.
Almost every Encino student spends the first minute looking for their own roof, and almost all of them find it, because Balboa Blvd is a straight line pointing at the house.
How Your Discovery Flight Works
Allow two hours at the airport for a 60-minute flight. Our page on how a first lesson is structured covers each stage in more detail; here is how it runs from Encino.
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Straight Up Balboa
From Ventura Blvd it is one street and 3.9 miles, nine to eleven minutes; the Encino Hills side adds four to seven. The address is on Balboa itself, parking is free on site, and fifteen minutes early is plenty.
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Briefing At The Table
About five minutes with your instructor on the controls, the instruments and the plan. Ask to look for your house: Balboa Blvd points straight at it from the air.
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Preflight Together
Fuel, oil, tires, control surfaces and a full walk around the airplane, carried out by the two of you with a checklist.
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Taxi And Takeoff
Left seat for you. The engine start, the taxi and the run-up happen with you, not for you, and the instructor flies the takeoff with your hands following on the controls.
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Your Airplane
Climb, level off, turn left, turn right, feel what the trim does, and discover that the nose drops in a turn unless you hold it up. The Basin, Los Encinos State Historic Park and the Encino Reservoir behind the ridge are all within the first few minutes.
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Debrief And A Logbook Entry
The instructor lands, you talk the flight through, and the hour is logged as dual instruction received toward the 40-hour Part 61 minimum. Enroll within 24 hours and all of it is credited toward training.
Length, Route And Price
| Flight | People | 60 / 90 / 120 Min |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery Flight | 1 | $229 / $299 / $399 |
| For Two — Malibu Coast | 2 | $299 / $399 / $499 |
| For Two — Downtown Los Angeles | 2 | $299 / $399 / $499 |
| Luxury Cirrus SR22 Discovery Flight | 1, or 2 with a passenger | $499 / $649 / $799 ($599 / $849 / $1,049 with a passenger) |
| Full-Motion Simulator | 1 | $189 / — / — |
There is no tax and no booking fee on any of it — $229 is the total. Encino sits almost exactly between the two named two-person routes, so the choice is genuinely about what you want to look at rather than about geography. The reasoning behind each price is on what you pay, and what you don't, and the training programs beyond the first hour are on the Encino flight school page.
Book A Discovery Flight · $229 Call Or Text (818) 330-1318
Requirements: Age, Weight, ID, Medical
No experience is assumed and none is needed. There is no minimum age; under-18s need a parent or guardian to sign. No FAA medical certificate is required because the instructor is the pilot in command — that only becomes relevant if you go on to fly solo. Bring a photo ID.
Weight limits come from the aircraft: 180 lb per person and 360 lb combined in the Piper Warrior, 200 lb per person and 400 lb combined in the Cirrus SR22. They do not change with the length of the flight. If the numbers are close, call us before booking rather than after.
One thing worth knowing before you arrive: Van Nuys is a tower-controlled Class D field with parallel runways, sitting beneath the Burbank Class C, just north of the Los Angeles Class B. You will hear the radio work from the first minute, and it is a large part of what makes a first hour here different from a first hour at a quiet field. The airport is described in full on the field itself.
When We Reschedule You
Two Encino-specific notes. In May and June the marine layer pushes over the ridge above Mulholland overnight, and because you are at the foot of that ridge, your street can be clear while the airport four miles north still is not — or the reverse. Judge by the airport. In midsummer the heat lifts density altitude, so the airplane climbs less willingly and the air over the Santa Monica Mountains gets bumpy in the afternoon; a morning slot is smoother.
If the weather cancels, you are not charged. Rescheduling is free for any reason up to 24 hours before the flight. Full detail at free rescheduling and weather cancellations. And because you are nine minutes away, a last-minute opening is a realistic thing for an Encino resident to take.
That tile is the live report from the airport four miles north, which is the one that counts. If it is empty, text (818) 330-1318 and we will tell you what the field is doing.
Give It As A Gift From Encino
Because the airport is nine minutes away, a gift from Encino does not have to be planned around a free Saturday. The person you give it to can take a weekday evening slot, or a last-minute opening when we call, and be home before the traffic on Ventura clears. The Discovery Flight Gift Certificate arrives by email within minutes, in thirteen amounts from $189 to $1,049, with no blackout dates, and it never expires.
$229 is the 60-minute flight. $299 buys either flight for two, Downtown or Malibu Coast, and from Encino both are equally close, so the choice is about the view rather than the geography. For someone who has decided to train, Flight Training Credit in $500, $1,000 or $2,500 goes toward lessons. Every amount is explained on our flight gift certificates page.
Give A Flight · From $189 Call Or Text (818) 330-1318
Frequently Asked Questions
Where Do I Park At Van Nuys Airport?
Free, on site, at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108. From Encino the address is on the street you are already driving, so there is no turn to miss. Put the street address in your map app rather than "Van Nuys Airport", which can send you to a gate on the far side of the field.
How Long Is The Drive From Encino At Rush Hour?
Much the same as at any other time: nine to eleven minutes up Balboa Blvd, because there is no freeway in it. Ignore the 405: joining at Ventura and leaving at Roscoe drops you into the Sepulveda Pass traffic, which is the Valley's worst between four and seven.
Can Two People Fly Together?
Yes. Both flights for two, Downtown Los Angeles and Malibu Coast, are $299 for 60 minutes, and the Cirrus SR22 with a passenger is $599. One of you flies from the left seat while the other rides in the back on the intercom; seats are not swapped in the air, so book a flight each if you both want the controls.
Is There An Age Or Weight Limit?
Nobody is too young for a lesson if they can see over the panel and keep a headset on; under-18s just need a parent or guardian to sign. The Piper Warrior carries up to 180 lb per person and 360 lb combined, the Cirrus SR22 200 lb and 400 lb, and the limits are the same whatever length you book.
What Will I See In The First Two Minutes?
The Sepulveda Dam at the Basin's east end, then Lake Balboa, a clear ring of water with a footpath around it, then the golf courses and the wildlife reserve, with the Los Angeles River's concrete channel running between them.
What If Balboa Is Closed Through The Sepulveda Basin?
On the few winter days when storm water fills the Basin and Balboa closes through it, go north on White Oak Ave to Victory Blvd, then east on Victory to Balboa.
Does The Hour Count Toward A Certificate?
Yes. It is logged as dual instruction received and counts toward the 40-hour Part 61 minimum for a private pilot certificate, which is the practical difference between a discovery flight and a scenic tour.
Related Pages
- Flight school near Encino — the training programs beyond the first hour.
- Learning to fly from Encino — lessons nine minutes from home.
- Sherman Oaks discovery flights — one community east on Ventura Blvd.
- Van Nuys discovery flights — the airport's own neighborhood.
- Santa Monica first flights — the other end of the 405.
- How discovery flights work in LA — the routes in full.
- Flight gift certificates — every amount, delivered by email.
- Service areas around Van Nuys — the shortest and longest drives in the Valley, side by side.
Book Your Encino Discovery Flight
You already drive this road. Nine minutes north of Ventura Blvd, the same drive ends with you flying. 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, Van Nuys, CA 91406, open 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM daily.
Book A Discovery Flight · $229 Book A Free Consultation Call Or Text (818) 330-1318