Van Nuys Airport · Los Angeles
Full-Motion Flight Simulator Near You In Los Angeles
An hour at the controls of an FAA-approved Redbird full-motion simulator at Van Nuys Airport, with an FAA-certificated instructor in the seat beside you. $189 for 60 minutes. No experience needed, no weight limit, and never canceled by weather.
7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, Van Nuys · open 7 days, 9 AM to 9 PM · groups and events by phone
FAA-Approved Full-Motion Simulator
Full Motion, Indoors At Van Nuys.
An FAA-approved Redbird full-motion simulator with a real instructor beside you — takeoffs, turns, landings, even engine failures. Never canceled by weather, no weight limit, and the hours can count toward a certificate.
Book The SimulatorYour Session
What An Hour In The Simulator Is Like
One seat, one instructor, and a session built around what you want from it: a first taste of flying, help with nerves, a specific skill or just fun. It runs roughly in this order.
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Step 1
Briefing
Your instructor asks what you want out of the hour, then walks you through the cockpit: what each control does, what the instruments say and how the motion platform behaves.
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Step 2
Startup And Taxi
You run the checklist, start the engine, call for taxi and steer with your feet. Rudder-pedal steering is the first thing that feels foreign to most people.
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Step 3
Takeoff
Throttle forward, hold the centerline, rotate. This is where the motion platform earns its keep: you feel the airplane come off the ground.
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Step 4
Airwork Over Los Angeles
Climbs, descents and turns, then wherever you want to go. First-timers usually fly the Hollywood Sign, Downtown or the coast toward Malibu; pilots working on a rating fly approaches and holds.
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Step 5
What A Real Airplane Can’t Do
Weather that is off-limits on a real training flight, a failed instrument, visibility down to minimums, or a short final at an airport across the world. Freeze it, talk it through, fly it again.
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Step 6
Landings And Debrief
Approach, flare, touch down, then reset on final and do it again, which no airplane lets you do. Your instructor debriefs what went well and signs the session in your logbook.
Compare
Full-Motion Vs Fixed-Base Vs Home Sim
“Simulator” covers everything from a laptop game to an airline device; what matters is the hardware around you. A home setup is a good thing to own, it just answers a different question. Pick one to see it alone, or show only the differences.
| Compare | Full-Motion (Ours) | Fixed-Base Simulator | Home Flight-Sim Setup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Motion | Yes: the platform moves with your inputs | No | No |
| Controls | Airplane-grade yoke, rudder pedals, throttle quadrant, real avionics | Usually airplane-grade | Desktop yoke or joystick; varies widely |
| Visuals | Wraparound, fills your peripheral vision | Wraparound or multi-monitor | One to three monitors or a VR headset |
| Instructor | In the cockpit with you | Usually | No |
| Teaches Procedures | Yes | Yes | Yes, if you are disciplined |
| Teaches Timing And Feel | Yes | Limited | No |
| Counts Toward A Certificate | Within each rating’s limits, logged by an authorized instructor | Within limits, when FAA-approved and logged | No |
| Weather | Never canceled | Never canceled | Never canceled |
| Cost | $189 for 60 minutes with us | Varies by school | Several hundred to several thousand dollars to buy |
Device categories (BATD, AATD, FTD and full flight simulators) are explained on FAA-approved flight simulators at Van Nuys.
Training Packages
Simulator Time In Every Course
Every You Fly LA training package includes full-motion simulator time, billed at $120 an hour inside a course. Tap a tile for the detail.
$120/hr Simulator Time Inside A Course. Inside a training package, simulator time is $120 an hour. The $189 simulator experience is a separate 60-minute session with an instructor.
Simulator Hours That Count2–10 Hrs Private Pilot Packages. Standard ($10,400) includes 2 simulator hours, Comprehensive ($15,400) includes 5 and Premium ($22,000) includes 10.
Private Pilot License20 Hrs Instrument Rating. The $11,700 instrument course is 40 hours: 20 in the airplane and 20 in the full-motion simulator, where the weather is whatever your instructor decides.
Instrument Rating20 Hrs Commercial Pilot Course. The $15,400 commercial course includes 20 hours in the full-motion simulator.
Commercial Pilot License3 Hrs Sport Pilot And Teens. The $8,400 Sport Pilot course and the $4,200 Teens Pilot Course each include 3 simulator hours.
Sport Pilot License2 Hrs Multi-Engine · 7 Days. The $5,100 multi-engine rating includes 8 hours in the Piper Seminole and 2 in the simulator.
Multi-Engine RatingLogging The Time
When Simulator Time Counts Toward A Certificate
Time in an FAA-approved training device can count toward a pilot certificate, within limits. An authorized instructor has to give it and log it, and how much counts depends on the certificate or rating you are working toward and on the device’s approval. That is why we do not print a credit-hour table for our unit: your instructor confirms on the day exactly how your hours apply. If logging is why you are booking, say so when you call and we will assign an instructor who can log it.
Where It Helps Most
Instrument training gets the most from a simulator: approaches, holds and partial-panel work are cheaper and more repeatable on the ground, and the weather is whatever your instructor sets. Private pilot students use it for procedures, radio calls and emergencies. Licensed pilots use it to stay sharp between flights or rehearse an unfamiliar airport.
The limits by regulation are on simulator hours that count. Not sure which course fits? A free consultation at the airport takes about half an hour.
Who It Suits
Who Books The Simulator
First-timers, nervous flyers, pilots in training and whole teams. Filter by what you need.
- First Flight
First-Timers And The Curious
The cheapest honest answer to “would I enjoy this?” before you commit to lessons. Do the simulator first, then the airplane.$189 60 MinBook The Simulator - First Flight
Nervous Flyers
An hour where you make the airplane move, with an instructor explaining every noise and a pause button. Repeat the parts that worry you.Fear Of Flying Session - No Limits
Anyone Over An Airplane Weight Limit
Our airplanes carry 180 lb per person in the Warrior and 200 lb in the Cirrus. The simulator has no weight limit, so nobody sits out.$189 60 MinBook The Simulator - No Limits
A Weather-Day Backup
If weather moves your discovery flight, the simulator is running regardless. Some people book both on purpose.$189 60 MinWeather Policy - Training
Student And Licensed Pilots
Approaches, holds, emergencies, new avionics and unfamiliar airports, cheaper and more repeatable than in the airplane, and loggable with an instructor.$120 Per Hr In A CourseFAA-Approved Simulators - Groups
Events, Birthdays And Film
Corporate events, team days, birthdays and film, TV or content shoots. Group blocks are arranged by phone on (818) 330-1318.Groups And Events
Nothing in this group yet.
How Far Are You?
How Far Is The Simulator From You?
The simulator is indoors at You Fly LA on Van Nuys Airport. Pick your neighborhood for the straight-line distance to our door and Google directions; each area links to its local page.
Pick from the list, tap a pin, or type any address for directions.
From Studio City
8Miles
About 8 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
Van Nuys Airport · West Side
Where The Simulator Is
The simulator is at You Fly LA, 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, on the west side of Van Nuys Airport. Sessions run 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week. Book single 60-minute sessions online; group and event blocks are arranged by phone.
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
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Navigate To 7900 Balboa Blvd
Give GPS or a rideshare driver the street address, not “Van Nuys Airport”: the field has several gates, and the wrong one means a locked fence.
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From The 405, 101 Or 118
405: exit Sherman Way, west about a mile and a half to Balboa. 101: exit Balboa Blvd, north past Victory. 118: south on Balboa.
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Park On Site
There is parking on site. Weekdays 4 to 7 PM, allow extra time, and call (818) 330-1318 from the road if you are late.
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Bring Friends If You Like
Friends and family are welcome to watch and take photos. Lost at the airport? Call and someone will talk you in.
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No Car? Take The G Line
The Metro G Line busway crosses Balboa at the south end of the airport; Van Nuys Metrolink is a short ride away.
Questions
Flight Simulator Near Me: Questions
Anything else? Call or text (818) 330-1318, 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week.
At You Fly LA on Van Nuys Airport, 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108. In a straight line that is about 4 miles from Encino, 5 from Sherman Oaks, 8 from Studio City, 11 from Burbank and 18 from Downtown Los Angeles. Sessions run 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days.
$189 for 60 minutes in the full-motion simulator with an FAA-certificated instructor beside you. The instructor is included and nothing is added at the desk. Inside a training course, simulator time is billed at $120 an hour.
No. Most people who book have never touched an airplane control. Your instructor sets the difficulty to match you, from a first takeoff to instrument approaches for working pilots.
No. The simulator is the one thing we offer with no weight limit at all. Our airplanes are limited to 180 lb per person and 360 lb combined in the Piper Warrior, and 200 lb and 400 lb in the Cirrus SR22.
Yes. It is an FAA-approved Redbird full-motion simulator, an advanced aviation training device (AATD). The cockpit sits on a platform that moves with your inputs, the controls are real hardware and the view wraps around you.
Yes, within limits. Device time counts only when an authorized instructor gives and logs it, and only up to the limit for that certificate or rating. Your instructor confirms how your hours apply; the numbers are on simulator hours that count.
Yes: corporate events, team days, birthdays and film, TV or content production. It never cancels for weather and has no weight limit, so everyone who shows up gets to fly. Group blocks are arranged by phone on (818) 330-1318.
Yes. A $189 gift card covers the 60-minute simulator experience. You Fly LA gift cards never expire, arrive by email within minutes and work on any flight or simulator session.
Rescheduling is free up to 24 hours before your session; call (818) 330-1318. Weather never cancels the simulator, because it is indoors.
No question matches. Call (818) 330-1318 and ask us directly.
Van Nuys Airport · Open 7 Days
Book An Hour In The Simulator
$189 for 60 minutes at Van Nuys Airport, instructor included. Book a single session online, or call for groups and events.
Open 7 Days9:00 AM – 9:00 PM