Standard
$10,400
40 Hours Logged
- 38 hrs single-engine aircraft · $179/hr
- 2 hrs full-motion simulator · $120/hr
- 30 hrs dual instruction · $110/hr
- 3 hrs ground school and briefings
$2,500 down + 4 × $1,975/mo
Enroll Now
Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) · West Side
Flight Training At Van Nuys Airport, Main Terminal Unit 108
You Fly LA trains pilots at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, on the west side of Van Nuys Airport, with lessons from 9 AM to 9 PM and discovery flights from 10 AM to 7 PM, seven days a week. You learn in towered Class D airspace, on the radio with a controller from the start. A 60-minute discovery flight is $229, and the Private Pilot course starts at $10,400.
Navigate to 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, not “Van Nuys Airport”: the field has several gates.
Flight School Near Van Nuys
Find Us On The West Side Of The Field
You Fly LA is in the Main Terminal, Unit 108, at 7900 Balboa Blvd, on the west side of Van Nuys Airport. Every lesson, discovery flight and simulator session starts here. For a 60-minute discovery flight, plan on about two hours at the airport.
Find Us
You Fly LA
7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108Van Nuys, CA 91406
Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), west side of the field
Open 7 Days9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Before You Leave Home
0 / 8 Ready
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01
Navigate To 7900 Balboa Blvd
Give GPS or a rideshare driver the street address, not “Van Nuys Airport”. The field has several public gates, and the wrong one means a locked fence and a detour.
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02
From The 405
Take the Sherman Way exit and head west about a mile and a half. Balboa is the major signaled intersection.
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03
From The 101
Exit at Balboa Blvd and drive north past Victory and Vanowen, alongside the airfield fence.
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04
From The 118
Come south on Balboa Blvd, straight down the western boundary of the field.
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Without A Car
The Metro G Line busway crosses Balboa at the south end of the airport. Van Nuys Metrolink station is a short ride away.
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06
Park On Site
There is parking on site at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108. Cannot find us? Call (818) 330-1318 and someone will talk you in.
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07
Allow For Traffic
Weekdays between 4 and 7 PM, allow more time than the map says. Running late? Call from the road.
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08
Arrive 15 Minutes Early
Bring government photo ID and wear closed-toe shoes. Headsets are provided.
KVNY · The Field
Van Nuys Airport At A Glance
The numbers that shape every lesson here. Tap a tile for the detail.
16R/34L Long Runway · About 8,000 Ft. The long parallel, with an ILS. The business jets use it.
Van Nuys Airport Guide16L/34R Training Runway · About 4,000 Ft. Most light training traffic uses it.
6–10:45 Tower Hours, AM To PM Daily. Open 6:00 AM to 10:45 PM daily, so every lesson between 9 AM and 9 PM has the tower open.
Class D Beneath The Burbank Class C. Two-way radio contact before you enter, with the Burbank Class C overhead and the Los Angeles Class B just to the south.
Airspace Classes Explained~800 Ft Field Elevation. On a 95-degree afternoon the density altitude is roughly 3,400 feet, so performance planning is part of training here.
Flyable Days At Van Nuys9–9 You Fly LA, 7 Days A Week. Lessons and simulator sessions, 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM; discovery flights, 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
How To Find UsThe Training Environment
Learning In Class D, Beneath The Burbank Class C
Van Nuys is a towered field in Class D airspace, which means two-way radio contact with the tower before you enter. So the radio is part of training here from the start. You copy the automatic weather broadcast, ground gives you a runway and a route, you read it back, and the tower clears you for takeoff and sequences you in the pattern.
It is also one of the busiest general aviation airports in the world, shared with business jets, helicopters and other training aircraft. That is useful to a student. Sequencing, spacing and go-arounds become ordinary parts of flying rather than emergencies.
Two Parallel Runways
16R/34L is the long runway, about 8,000 feet with an ILS. 16L/34R, about 4,000 feet, carries most of the light training traffic. Two parallels give the tower somewhere to put a trainer while a jet uses the other runway, so less of your paid lesson goes to holding short.
Airspace You Learn Properly
The Burbank Class C sits overhead and the Los Angeles Class B lies just to the south, so you learn to read a chart properly in your first hours, not later. For maneuvers you fly northwest over the Santa Susana Mountains toward Simi Valley, a few minutes from the runway, so more of each hour goes to training and less to getting there. Airspace classes explained covers the letters in plain language.
Weather
Weather At Van Nuys
Most days at Van Nuys are flying days. The NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals for the airport record about 34 days a year with measurable rain, and rain is rarely what moves a lesson. The marine layer is: low cloud that pushes inland overnight, most persistent in May and June, and lifts through the morning. Van Nuys sits inland, behind the Santa Monica Mountains, and generally clears earlier than the coast.
Hot summer afternoons raise density altitude and add turbulence. Santa Ana winds are strongest in autumn; they are usually short-lived and forecast well in advance. Neither stops training, but both change how a lesson is planned. If the weather says no, we move your flight at no charge.
- Book the first slot of the day for most of the year
- In May and June, book late morning or midday instead
- Check live conditions before you leave home
Today’s decoded report is on Van Nuys Airport weather today, and the year month by month is on flyable days at Van Nuys.
Flight School Near Van Nuys
Choosing A School On The Field
Search for a flight school near Van Nuys and you will find more than one on this field. They all use the same runways, the same tower, the same weather and the same practice areas, so the airport is not the variable; the school is. Ask each one the same questions, and write the answers down:
- Is the price a fixed package or an hourly estimate?
- What does an hour of dual cost, airplane and instructor together?
- What does the written weather and cancellation policy say?
- How many aircraft of the type you will fly are on the line?
- What happens to your money if you stop halfway through?
Our answers to the first three: fixed-price packages that list every hour; $179 an hour for the aircraft plus $110 for the instructor; and a written weather and cancellation policy under which a flight we cancel costs you nothing. Ask us the rest at a free consultation, standing next to the airplanes. Whichever school you choose, fly a discovery flight first. How to choose a flight school in Los Angeles has the longer list.
A Lesson Day
A Lesson Day At Van Nuys
Every lesson has the same shape, from the parking lot to the logbook. Only the content changes from your first lesson to your last.
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Step 1
Arrive At 7900 Balboa
Come about fifteen minutes before your slot, with a government photo ID and closed-toe shoes. Headsets are provided.
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Step 2
The Weather Call
Your instructor pulls the current observation, the forecast and the winds aloft, and you read them together. Fly the planned lesson, fly a different one, or do not fly: all three are normal.
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Step 3
The Ground Briefing
The objective, the maneuvers and the standard, then weight and balance. Ground instruction is $110 an hour, and anything you sort out on the whiteboard is something you are not paying $179 an hour to sort out in the air.
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Step 4
The Walk-Around
Fuel, oil, control surfaces and tires: the pre-flight inspection every pilot does before every flight, done together with your instructor.
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Step 5
Taxi And The Tower
Copy the automatic weather broadcast, call ground and read back the runway and the route. Then the tower clears you for takeoff.
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Step 6
Pattern Or Practice Area
Early lessons are pattern work on runway 16L/34R. Maneuvers happen northwest over the Santa Susana Mountains, a few minutes from the runway.
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Step 7
Debrief And Logbook
What was the objective, did you meet the standard, and what is the fix? Then the logbook entry, signed by your instructor.
Van Nuys Airport
On The Ramp At Van Nuys
The aircraft you train in, photographed on the ramp at Van Nuys Airport. Tap a photo to see it full size.
Cessna 162 Skycatchers In A Row · 1 / 6
Packages And Prices
Every Program At Van Nuys
Fixed, all-in packages, every one flown from our ramp at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108. Pick a program to see the hours it includes and how the payments work. Private Pilot packages include books and training materials.
Private Pilot
Most Popular
Comprehensive
$15,400
60 Hours Logged
- 55 hrs single-engine aircraft · $179/hr
- 5 hrs full-motion simulator · $120/hr
- 50 hrs dual instruction · $110/hr
- 10 hrs ground school and briefings
$2,500 down + 6 × $2,150/mo
Enroll NowMost Flight Time
Premium
$22,000
80 Hours Logged
- 70 hrs single-engine aircraft · $179/hr
- 10 hrs full-motion simulator · $120/hr
- 60 hrs dual instruction · $110/hr
- 20 hrs ground school and briefings
$2,500 down + 10 × $1,950/mo
Enroll NowSport Pilot
Sport Pilot Course
$8,400
28 Hours Logged
- 25 hrs flight time in the Cessna 162 Skycatcher
- 3 hrs full-motion simulator
- 25 hrs dual instruction
- 10 hrs ground school, pre- and post-flight
- A U.S. driver’s license in place of a medical
$2,500 down + 3 × $1,966/mo
Enroll NowInstrument
Instrument Rating Course
$11,700
40 Hours Logged
- 20 hrs single-engine flight time
- 20 hrs full-motion simulator
- 40 hrs dual instruction
- 10 hrs ground school, pre- and post-flight
- About 6–8 weeks
$2,500 down + 4 × $2,300/mo
Enroll NowCommercial
Commercial Pilot Course
$15,400
130 Program Hours
- 30 hrs single-engine flight time
- 20 hrs full-motion simulator
- 50 hrs dual instruction
- 30 hrs ground school, pre- and post-flight
- Complex time in the Piper Arrow
Financing available
Enroll NowMulti-Engine
Accelerated 7-Day
Multi-Engine Course
$5,100
10 Hours Logged
- 8 hrs Piper Seminole flight time
- 2 hrs full-motion simulator
- 10 hrs dual instruction
- 2 hrs ground school and briefings
- Start Monday, checkride that weekend
$2,500 down + 2 × $1,300/mo
Enroll NowFlight Instructor
CFI + CFII + MEI
Flight Instructor Program
$15,400
30 Hours Logged
- 20 hrs single-engine aircraft
- 8 hrs multi-engine aircraft
- 2 hrs simulator
- 50 hrs briefings and ground school
- About four weeks for all three ratings
Financing available
Enroll NowAirline Pilot
Fixed All-In
Airline Pilot Career Program
$84,000
260 Hours Logged
- Zero experience to CFI, CFII and MEI
- Private, instrument, commercial single and multi
- Complex, high-performance and spin endorsements
- 50 hrs full-motion simulator within the 260
- About 9 months
Financing up to 15 years · from $2,500 down
Enroll NowTeens
Teens Pilot Course
$4,200
13 Hours Logged
- 10 hrs flight time
- 3 hrs full-motion simulator
- 7 hrs classroom: aerodynamics, weather, navigation, systems, radio, emergencies
- A parent or guardian signs
- No medical required for dual flight
$2,500 first · $1,700 second
Enroll NowAdd the Cirrus SR22 Turbo to any lesson or package at +$400 an hour ($579 an hour in total), or the Diamond DA20-C1 at +$50 an hour. Not sure which program fits? Book a free consultation.
How Far Are You?
Getting Here From Around The Valley
Van Nuys Airport sits in the San Fernando Valley, with the 405, the 101 and the 118 all within a few minutes. Pick your neighborhood for the straight-line distance to our door, the usual route and Google directions. Coming from elsewhere in the city? Flight school in Los Angeles covers the whole metro.
Pick from the list, tap a pin, or type any address for directions.
From Encino
4Miles
About 4 Miles From Van Nuys Airport
Usual route: Balboa Blvd north from Ventura Blvd, no freeway.
Straight-line distance from the center of each area to our door. The drive is longer. Open Our Google Business Profile
Valley Neighborhoods
- Lake Balboa2 mi
- Reseda2 mi
- Northridge2 mi
- Mission Hills & North Hills3 mi
- Panorama City3 mi
- Granada Hills4 mi
- Encino4 mi
- Tarzana4 mi
- Winnetka4 mi
- Sherman Oaks5 mi
- Porter Ranch5 mi
- Canoga Park6 mi
- San Fernando6 mi
- Chatsworth6 mi
- Woodland Hills7 mi
- Sylmar7 mi
- North Hollywood8 mi
- Studio City8 mi
- West Hills8 mi
- Toluca Lake9 mi
- Burbank11 mi
Questions
Flight Training At Van Nuys: Questions
Still unsure? Call or text (818) 330-1318, 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week. An instructor or the owner answers.
At 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, Van Nuys, CA 91406, on the west side of the airport. Give GPS or a rideshare driver the street address rather than “Van Nuys Airport”: the field has several public gates, and the wrong one means a locked fence. If you get lost, call (818) 330-1318 and someone will talk you in.
Class D, with a control tower, so you need two-way radio contact before you enter. The Burbank Class C sits overhead, and the Los Angeles Class B lies just to the south. Our guide to airspace classes explains each one.
From 6:00 AM to 10:45 PM every day. Discovery flights run 10 AM to 7 PM and lessons 9 AM to 9 PM, so every one of them happens with the tower open.
You will hear every call from the start. On a discovery flight your instructor handles the radios, the takeoff and the landing so you can concentrate on flying the airplane. Once you begin training, talking to ground and tower is part of every lesson.
There is parking on site at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108. Not sure where to leave the car? Call (818) 330-1318 and we will talk you in.
Yes. The Metro G Line busway crosses Balboa at the south end of the airport, and Van Nuys Metrolink station is a short ride away. Rideshare works too, as long as the driver has the street address.
A 60-minute discovery flight is $229 (90 minutes $299, 120 minutes $399). The Private Pilot course is $10,400, $15,400 or $22,000 depending on the package. By the hour, the aircraft is $179, flight or ground instruction $110 and the simulator $120. The FAA knowledge test, the examiner’s fee and your medical are paid to those providers directly.
Yes. The public observation area is on the east side of the field, off Woodley Avenue at the end of Waterman Drive, with a live broadcast of the tower frequency. It is on the opposite side of the airport from us, so drive round to Balboa Blvd for your flight.
No question matches. Call (818) 330-1318 and ask us directly.
Van Nuys Airport · Open 7 Days
Take The First Flight From Van Nuys
Sixty minutes in the left seat for $229, logged toward your certificate. Enroll within 24 hours and the full cost of the flight is credited toward your course. Or sit down with an instructor first: the consultation is free.
Open 7 Days9:00 AM – 9:00 PM