N52049 is a Cessna 162 Skycatcher operated by You Fly LA at Van Nuys Airport, and the rate is $179 per hour wet at the package rate. It is a two-seat, high-wing light sport airplane with a 100-horsepower Continental O-200-D, a Garmin G300 glass panel and a cruise of about 118 knots.
This is the aircraft record for that airframe — rates, what it is used for, what flying it as pilot in command requires and how to book it — rather than a handbook summary. The full fleet with every rate is on the airplanes you will fly, and the type reference with performance figures and POH detail is the Cessna 162 Skycatcher page.
N52049 At A Glance
| Item | N52049 |
|---|---|
| Registration | N52049 |
| Type | Cessna 162 Skycatcher |
| Seats | Two, side by side |
| Wing | High wing |
| Engine | 100 hp Continental O-200-D |
| Typical cruise | About 118 knots |
| Avionics | Garmin G300 glass |
| Fleet position | One of the Skycatchers at You Fly LA |
| Based at | Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108 |
| Normally flown for | Sport Pilot and Private Pilot training |
| Package rate | $179 per hour, wet |
Those values describe the type as we operate it, and they are the same across all our Skycatchers. What is not the same between airframes is empty weight, useful load and the exact equipment list, all of which appear only in the weight and balance section of the handbook carried aboard the individual airplane. That document, not a published type figure, is what you load the aircraft against.
What It Costs To Fly N52049
| Item | Rate | When It Applies |
|---|---|---|
| N52049, package rate | $179 per hour, wet | Hours flown inside a fixed-price course |
| Flight instructor | $110 per hour | Any dual flight, aircraft or simulator |
| Ground instruction | $110 per hour | Briefings and ground school outside a package |
| Redbird TD2 desktop trainer | Free with packages | G300 procedures practice on the ground |
The airplane rate includes fuel. It is the package rate, what an hour costs when it is flown inside one of our fixed-price courses. Nothing else is added at the end of the flight. The complete rate card is on flight school rates at Van Nuys.
What N52049 Is Flown For
Sport pilot and private pilot training, the same as the rest of our Skycatchers. It is a two-seat trainer with small tanks and modest performance, and it exists to make frequent flying affordable rather than to carry people somewhere. A light sport aircraft under the rules, it may be flown by a sport pilot under the privileges and limits of 14 CFR 61.315, or by a private pilot under the wider privileges of 14 CFR 61.113.
Because the airplane is light and the engine is 100 horsepower, it also teaches density altitude honestly. A Valley afternoon in August with the temperature above 100 degrees produces a climb rate that no amount of technique improves, and a student who learns to plan around that in a Skycatcher does not have to learn it later in something heavier and faster.
Learning On The Garmin G300 Glass Panel
N52049 has a Garmin G300 in the panel: two screens, a primary flight display on the left with attitude, airspeed, altitude and heading presented as tapes and a horizon, and a multi-function display on the right carrying the moving map, terrain and engine information. There are no vacuum-driven gyros to fail slowly, and no six-pack scan in the traditional sense.
The argument over whether students should learn on glass or on round gauges is mostly settled by what they will actually fly afterwards. Almost every airplane a new pilot rents or buys in the next decade has an electronic primary flight display of some kind, and the habits that transfer are the ones built on a screen: reading trend vectors rather than rates, cross-checking a moving map against the window, and knowing what the display does when the air data or attitude source is lost. Our students practice the last of those on the ground first, because an hour in the Redbird TD2 desktop trainer, free with our packages, teaches the button logic far more cheaply than a $179 hour in the airplane.
What glass does not change is airmanship. The airplane still stalls at the same speed, still drifts in the afternoon wind over the Valley and still needs a landing flown by looking outside. Instructors here cover the panel with a card more often than students expect. If you want the wider comparison, glass cockpit vs steam gauges for flight training sets out both cases.
Checking Out In N52049
Acting as pilot in command takes more than a certificate. The regulations ask for a pilot certificate with the right privileges, a current FAA medical certificate or the driver's license route available to sport pilots under 14 CFR 61.23, a flight review since the beginning of the 24th calendar month before the month you fly under 14 CFR 61.56, and, to carry a passenger, three takeoffs and three landings within the preceding 90 days in the same category, class and type under 14 CFR 61.57(a). At night those three must be to a full stop, between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise.
We add a checkout in the type: ground instruction on systems and limitations, including the G300, then a flight with an instructor and a sign-off. Pilots coming from round-gauge airplanes usually find the panel takes the longest part of that session. Call or text (818) 330-1318 to talk through checkouts and currency; what a checkout usually involves is on aircraft checkout requirements for renters.
How To Book N52049
Call (818) 330-1318 and ask for N52049 by registration. We schedule airframe by airframe, so a request for a specific tail number is ordinary and the desk can answer it immediately. Aircraft come off the line for maintenance without notice, so the live schedule is the real answer to availability rather than anything printed here.
Never flown a light airplane? Start with a discovery flight at $229 for 60 minutes. You fly from the left seat, an instructor sits beside you, and the fee is credited in full toward training if you enroll within 24 hours.
Where The Registration Details Come From
We publish the operating specification and the rates. The registration record — make and model as registered, registrant, airworthiness class and certificate dates — is held by the FAA and is public. Look it up in the FAA aircraft registry entry for N52049, or search any N-number at registry.faa.gov. The registry is the source of record; if it disagrees with this page, it wins.
Related Reading
- The airplanes you will fly lists the fleet with its hourly rates.
- Cessna 162 Skycatcher is the type reference with V-speeds and handbook detail.
- Glass cockpit vs steam gauges weighs up learning on the G300 against round gauges.
- N179LC is another of our Skycatchers on the same rate.
- The full-motion simulator covers the cheaper ground hours that back this airplane up.
- Aircraft checkout requirements for renters lists what a checkout involves.
N52049 FAQ
What Kind Of Airplane Is N52049?
A Cessna 162 Skycatcher: a two-seat, high-wing light sport airplane with a 100-horsepower Continental O-200-D engine and a Garmin G300 glass panel, cruising at about 118 knots. It is one of the Skycatchers we operate at Van Nuys Airport.
What Avionics Does It Have?
A Garmin G300 glass panel: a primary flight display with attitude, airspeed, altitude and heading, and a multi-function display carrying the moving map, terrain and engine instrumentation. There is no traditional vacuum-driven six-pack.
Is It Harder To Learn On Glass?
Different rather than harder. The scan is built around tapes and trend information instead of round dials, and the button logic takes a few hours to become automatic. Most of that can be learned on the ground in the Redbird TD2 desktop trainer, free with our packages, rather than at the airplane rate.
How Much Does N52049 Cost Per Hour?
$179 per hour wet at the package rate, with instruction at $110 per hour on top for dual flights. Wet means fuel is included.
Can A Sport Pilot Fly It?
Yes. The Skycatcher is a light sport aircraft, so a sport pilot may act as pilot in command under the privileges and limits of 14 CFR 61.315. Operating in the Class D airspace at Van Nuys also requires the endorsement described in 14 CFR 61.325.
Can I Ask For This Tail Number Specifically?
Yes. Call (818) 330-1318 and ask for N52049. We schedule by airframe, and the desk will tell you whether it is free or whether another Skycatcher suits your slot better.
Does The Glass Panel Change What A Checkout Involves?
It usually lengthens the ground portion. Pilots arriving from round-gauge airplanes spend most of the checkout briefing on the G300 rather than on the airframe, because the airplane itself is straightforward and the display is where the unfamiliar part lives.
Fly N52049 From Van Nuys
Come and see the panel from the left seat. A discovery flight is $229 for 60 minutes with you flying and an instructor beside you, credited in full toward training if you enroll within 24 hours. If you would rather plan first, book a free consultation and we will set out the hours and the cost in writing. Call (818) 330-1318. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, Van Nuys, CA 91406, open 9 AM to 9 PM seven days a week.
