N316EF is the Piper Arrow PA-28R at You Fly LA, the only complex airplane on our ramp, and it is flown as part of the $15,400 commercial course. It is a four-seat, low-wing airplane with a 200-horsepower Lycoming IO-360, a Garmin 430, retractable landing gear and a constant-speed propeller, cruising at about 135 knots.
This page is the aircraft record: what it costs, what it is flown for, what flying it as pilot in command requires and how to book it. The rest of the fleet with rates alongside is on the airplanes you will fly, and the full type reference — model history, gear and propeller systems, how to read the handbook — is on the Piper Arrow PA-28R page.
N316EF At A Glance
| Item | N316EF |
|---|---|
| Registration | N316EF |
| Type | Piper Arrow PA-28R |
| Seats | Four |
| Wing | Low wing |
| Engine | 200 hp Lycoming IO-360 |
| Propeller | Constant speed |
| Landing gear | Retractable, operated manually |
| Automatic gear extension | Disabled |
| Typical cruise | About 135 knots |
| Avionics | Garmin 430 |
| Fleet position | The only complex airplane at You Fly LA |
| Based at | Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108 |
| Cost | Part of the $15,400 commercial course |
Those are the type-level figures we operate to. Empty weight, useful load and the equipment list belong to this individual airframe and are recorded in the weight and balance section of the handbook carried aboard, along with the supplements for any equipment installed under a supplemental type certificate. On a complex airplane the supplements matter as much as the main text, because they are where system modifications are documented.
What It Costs To Fly N316EF
| Item | Rate | When It Applies |
|---|---|---|
| N316EF | Part of the $15,400 commercial course | The complex hours inside the commercial course |
| Complex endorsement | $999, fixed | 14 CFR 61.31(e) training and sign-off |
| Flight instructor | $110 per hour | Any dual flight, aircraft or simulator |
| Ground instruction | $110 per hour | Briefings and ground school outside a package |
The Arrow has no separate hourly rate; its hours are part of the commercial course. The complex endorsement is sold as a fixed $999 rather than by the hour because the regulation sets a proficiency standard, not an hour count, and an open meter turns that into an argument. Everything else we charge is on flight school rates at Van Nuys.
What N316EF Is Flown For
Two things, in roughly this order: the complex endorsement and the complex hours a commercial certificate requires. Because every commercial student needs complex time in it, this airplane is the busiest per airframe on our line and the one worth booking earliest.
The Complex Endorsement And The Commercial Requirement
Under 14 CFR 61.31(e), no person may act as pilot in command of a complex airplane unless they have received and logged ground and flight training from an authorized instructor in a complex airplane, or in a full flight simulator or flight training device representative of one, been found proficient in its operation and systems, and received a one-time logbook endorsement. There is no minimum number of hours anywhere in that paragraph. What there is instead is a proficiency judgment about gear, propeller and the speed at which a clean airframe gets ahead of you.
Commercial candidates arrive for a different reason. 14 CFR 61.129(a) requires 250 hours of flight time and, within the 20 hours of training on the areas of operation, at least 10 hours of training in a complex airplane, a turbine-powered airplane or a technically advanced airplane appropriate to the category and class. N316EF satisfies that directly. Flying those 10 hours here also produces the 61.31(e) endorsement along the way, which is the efficient order to do it in rather than buying the two separately.
The automatic gear extension system on N316EF is disabled, so the gear is operated manually and nothing lowers it for you. What the airplane actually teaches is rhythm. There is a speed to slow to before the gear can come down, a point in the circuit where that has to happen, and a power-change sequence — propeller forward then throttle up, throttle back then propeller back — that becomes automatic somewhere around the fourth or fifth landing. Pilots are behind the airplane for the first hour and ahead of it by the end of the second. The wider regulatory picture, including the grandfather provisions, is on complex and high-performance endorsements, and the certificate itself is covered on the commercial pilot license page.
Checking Out In N316EF
This is the one airplane on our line where the endorsement comes before the checkout. You cannot act as pilot in command of it at all without the 61.31(e) logbook endorsement, whoever you are and however many hours you hold. On top of that, acting as pilot in command needs a pilot certificate with the appropriate privileges, a current FAA medical certificate or BasicMed qualification, and a flight review completed since the beginning of the 24th calendar month before the month of the flight under 14 CFR 61.56.
Carrying passengers requires three takeoffs and three landings within the preceding 90 days in the same category, class and type under 14 CFR 61.57(a), to a full stop at night. Insurance rather than the FAA usually sets the practical minimum for retractable-gear flying; call or text (818) 330-1318 to talk through checkouts and currency. The rest is on aircraft checkout requirements for renters.
How To Book N316EF
Call (818) 330-1318 and ask for N316EF by registration. With commercial students needing 10 hours each in it, this airplane books further ahead than anything else we operate. If you are buying the $999 endorsement, ask the desk to block the sessions together rather than spreading them across three weekends; gear habits build faster when the flights are close.
If you have never flown a light airplane, this is not where to start. A discovery flight in the Piper Warrior is $229 for 60 minutes from the left seat, credited in full toward training if you enroll within 24 hours.
Where The Registration Details Come From
This page publishes the specification we operate to and the prices we charge. The registration record — registered make and model, registrant, airworthiness class, certificate issue and expiry — belongs to the FAA and is public. Check the FAA aircraft registry entry for N316EF, or search any N-number at registry.faa.gov. The registry is the source of record.
Related Reading
- The airplanes you will fly lists every aircraft with its rate or course.
- Piper Arrow PA-28R is the type reference, with the gear and propeller systems explained.
- Complex and high-performance endorsements covers 14 CFR 61.31(e) and 61.31(f).
- Commercial pilot license covers the course the Arrow's 10 complex hours belong to.
- N3034Q is the fixed-gear Warrior most Arrow pilots flew first.
- Aircraft checkout requirements for renters lists what a checkout involves.
N316EF FAQ
What Kind Of Airplane Is N316EF?
A Piper Arrow PA-28R: a four-seat, low-wing airplane with a 200-horsepower Lycoming IO-360, a constant-speed propeller, retractable landing gear and a Garmin 430, cruising at about 135 knots. It is the only complex airplane at You Fly LA.
How Much Does N316EF Cost?
It has no separate hourly rate: N316EF is flown as part of the $15,400 commercial course, which covers the complex training a commercial certificate requires. The complex endorsement is a fixed $999.
Do I Need An Endorsement To Fly It?
Yes. 14 CFR 61.31(e) requires ground and flight training from an authorized instructor in a complex airplane, a finding of proficiency and a one-time logbook endorsement before you may act as pilot in command of one. There is no hour minimum in the rule.
Does Time In This Airplane Count Toward A Commercial Certificate?
Yes. 14 CFR 61.129(a) requires at least 10 hours of training in a complex, turbine-powered or technically advanced airplane within the 20 hours of training on the areas of operation, and the Arrow satisfies that directly.
Why Is The Complex Endorsement Sold At A Fixed Price?
Because the regulation sets a proficiency standard rather than an hour count. A fixed $999 means the training ends when you are proficient rather than when a budget runs out, and you know the number before you start.
How Far Ahead Should I Book It?
Further than any other airplane we operate. Commercial students need 10 hours each in it. Call (818) 330-1318 and ask the desk to block your sessions close together.
Can I Fly It Cross-Country Once Endorsed?
It is a capable cross-country airplane once you hold the 61.31(e) endorsement and a checkout in it; call or text (818) 330-1318 to talk through checkouts and currency. Four seats and about 135 knots put Santa Barbara, Big Bear, Catalina and the desert airports comfortably inside an afternoon from Van Nuys.
Fly N316EF From Van Nuys
Retractable gear and a constant-speed propeller are the point at which general aviation stops feeling like a trainer, and $999 buys the endorsement in this airplane. Call (818) 330-1318 and we will schedule it. If you have not started flying yet, a discovery flight is $229 for 60 minutes from the left seat, credited in full toward training if you enroll within 24 hours, or book a free consultation and we will map the route from here to a commercial certificate. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, Van Nuys, CA 91406, open 9 AM to 9 PM seven days a week.
