Low-angle view of a yellow Piper trainer with Cessna 162s and a twin parked behind it near the hangars at Van Nuys Airport

Part 61 · Van Nuys Airport

Part 61 Flight School In Los Angeles, At Van Nuys Airport

Looking for a Part 61 flight school near you? You Fly LA trains under 14 CFR Part 61: your instructor builds each lesson around your week, and you earn the same FAA certificate, to the same standards, as at a Part 141 school. Private pilot from $10,400, open 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week.

We hold no Part 141 certificate. If you need an M-1 visa, we will tell you before you pay anything. You Fly LA does not accept the GI Bill.

What It Means

What Part 61 Means For You

Part 61 and Part 141 are two sets of FAA rules a flight school can train under, not two grades of training. The certificate is the same, tested to the same Airman Certification Standards on the same kind of checkride with a designated examiner. What differs is who sets the order of your lessons.

Under Part 61, your instructor builds the sequence around you. If your Tuesday evaporates, you fly Thursday, and you fly whatever lesson Thursday's weather and airplane allow. When the May-to-June marine layer holds low cloud, a solo cross-country that cannot go becomes hood work, a ground lesson or an hour in the full-motion simulator: progress instead of a cancellation. Certificates are earned in hours but paid for in months, and for a working adult in Los Angeles that flexibility is usually what gets you to the checkride sooner.

How We Run It

  • One instructor, assigned after your consultation or first flight, who stays with you through the course; you can change at any time at no cost
  • A written syllabus and shared student records, even though Part 61 does not require them
  • A stage check with a second instructor before your first solo and before your checkride
  • Fixed package prices, so an instructor change cannot cost you money
  • Lessons from 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week, so evenings and weekends are real slots
Yellow Piper Seminole twin glowing in low sun on the Van Nuys ramp with trees and hangars behind
Late Afternoon On The Ramp · Van Nuys

Stated Plainly

When You Need A Part 141 School Instead

There are two situations where Part 61 cannot serve you. We would rather say so here than take a deposit.

An M-1 Student Visa

Only an SEVP-certified school can issue the Form I-20 an M-1 applicant needs, and SEVP certification for flight training requires FAA Part 141 approval. We cannot issue an I-20. Non-US citizens already lawfully in the United States in a status that permits training can generally train with us, and anyone who is not a US citizen needs TSA approval through the Alien Flight Student Program before private, instrument or multi-engine training begins. See international student pilots.

The Reduced-Hour R-ATP Route

The reduced airline transport pilot minimums come from graduating an FAA-authorized degree program, not from a flight school. No independent Part 61 school confers them, including us.

Part 61 Vs Part 141

Part 61 Vs Part 141 At A Glance

The differences that matter, and how we handle each one. Pick a column to see it on its own, or show only the rows where the answers differ.

Part 61 Vs Part 141 At A Glance
ComparePart 61Part 141You Fly LA
Private pilot minimum40 flight hours35 flight hours40, in a fixed $10,400 Standard course
Commercial minimum250 hoursLower under an approved course250 hours, under Part 61
SyllabusInstructor builds the sequence around youFAA-approved course outline, followed in orderWritten syllabus, sequenced around your week
Progress checksInstructor judgment plus the checkrideFormal stage checks with a chief or assistant chief instructorSecond-instructor stage checks before solo and checkride
Record keepingYour logbook and endorsementsSchool-held training records the FAA can auditYour logbook plus shared student records
Lesson flexibilityHigh: fly what the day's weather and aircraft allowLower: deviating from the approved sequence creates paperworkHigh, with twenty airplanes in the fleet
Start dateAny day you likeOften course-based intakesAny day; lessons 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days
M-1 student visaNot availableRequired: only an SEVP-certified school can issue Form I-20Not available: we cannot issue an I-20
R-ATP hour reductionNot availableOnly through an FAA-authorized degree programNot available
Certificate you earnIdenticalIdenticalIdentical

The certificate in your wallet does not record where you trained. The full comparison, with a short quiz, is on Part 61 vs Part 141 in Los Angeles.

Packages & Prices

Part 61 Programs And Fixed Prices

Every certificate and rating we teach, under Part 61, at a fixed price with the aircraft, simulator, instruction and ground hours listed before you start. These are You Fly LA's own prices.

Private Pilot

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 · $110/hr
  • Books and training materials included

$2,500 down + 4 × $1,975/mo

Enroll Now
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 · $110/hr
  • Books and training materials included

$2,500 down + 6 × $2,150/mo

Enroll Now
Most 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 · $110/hr
  • Books and training materials included

$2,500 down + 10 × $1,950/mo

Enroll Now

Sport Pilot

Sport Pilot Course

$8,400

28 Hours Logged

  • 25 hrs Cessna 162 Skycatcher · $179/hr
  • 3 hrs full-motion simulator · $120/hr
  • 25 hrs dual instruction · $110/hr
  • 10 hrs ground instruction · $110/hr
  • A US driver's license in place of a medical
  • Books included

$2,500 down + 3 × $1,966/mo

Enroll Now

Instrument

Instrument Rating Course

$11,700

40 Hours Logged

  • 20 hrs single-engine aircraft
  • 20 hrs full-motion simulator
  • 40 hrs dual instruction, aircraft and simulator
  • 10 hrs ground school and briefings
  • Requires a private pilot certificate and a third-class medical

$2,500 down + 4 × $2,300/mo

Enroll Now

Commercial

Commercial Pilot Course

$15,400

130 Program Hours

  • 30 hrs single-engine flight time
  • 20 hrs full-motion simulator
  • 50 hrs dual instruction, aircraft and simulator
  • 30 hrs ground school and briefings
  • Complex (Piper Arrow) and high-performance training
  • Requires a private certificate and 250 hours total time (or the 61.129 alternate)

Financing available

Enroll Now

Multi-Engine

Accelerated 7-Day

Multi-Engine Course

$5,100

10 Hours Logged

  • 8 hrs Piper Seminole
  • 2 hrs full-motion simulator
  • 10 hrs dual instruction
  • 2 hrs ground school and briefings
  • Start Monday, checkride that weekend
  • Reserve at least one month ahead

$2,500 down + 2 × $1,300/mo

Enroll Now

Flight Instructor

CFI + CFII + MEI

Flight Instructor Program

$15,400

30 Hours Logged

  • 20 hrs single-engine aircraft
  • 8 hrs multi-engine aircraft
  • 2 hrs full-motion simulator
  • 30 hrs aircraft and simulator instruction
  • 50 hrs briefings and ground school
  • Requires commercial single- and multi-engine certificates

Financing available

Enroll Now

Airline 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-engine
  • 185 hrs Piper and Cessna, 10 hrs Diamond, 5 hrs Turbo Cirrus, 10 hrs multi-engine
  • 50 hrs full-motion simulator
  • 120 hrs instruction, 80 hrs ground school and briefings

Financing up to 15 years · from $2,500 down

Enroll Now

Teens

Teens Pilot Course

$4,200

13 Hours Logged

  • Ages 10 to 15
  • 10 hrs flight training
  • 3 hrs full-motion simulator
  • 7 hrs classroom: aerodynamics, weather, navigation, systems, radio, emergencies
  • A parent or guardian signs

$2,500 first · $1,700 second

Enroll Now

Add the Cirrus SR22 Turbo to any lesson or package at +$400 per hour ($579 an hour in total), or the Diamond DA20-C1 at +$50 per hour. Not sure which program fits? Book a free consultation.

How It Works

How Part 61 Training Runs Here

No intake dates and no course calendar. You start when you are ready and fly as often as your week allows, which is why we do not print one timeline for everyone.

How Long Flight School Takes
  1. Close front-quarter view of yellow Piper Warrior N3034Q beside an open hangar at Van Nuys Airport1 / 5

    Step 1

    Consultation Or Discovery Flight

    A free consultation is about half an hour at the airport, with nothing to pay and nothing to sign: bring your schedule and your goal. Or fly first: a 60-minute discovery flight is $229, logs toward your certificate, and is credited in full if you enroll within 24 hours.

  2. Rear-quarter view of yellow Piper Seminole N311EF with its T-tail, parked on the ramp with trees and mountains behind2 / 5

    Step 2

    Build Your Week

    A pattern that works around a job is two lessons a week, one on a weekday evening and one at the weekend. Booking is online, and lessons run from 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week.

  3. Redbird MCX full-motion flight simulator with a student inside at You Fly LA, Van Nuys Airport3 / 5

    Step 3

    Ground And Simulator

    Ground lessons at $110 an hour and full-motion simulator time at $120 an hour inside a package. Simulator time counts toward a certificate within the limits for each rating, logged with an authorized instructor, and it keeps you moving when the weather says no.

  4. Moving-map display on the instrument panel with the coastline and a red sunset beyond the windshield4 / 5

    Step 4

    Stage Check And Solo

    Your instructor decides when you are ready, not a course calendar. Before your first solo, an instructor other than your own flies a stage check with you, because a second pair of eyes catches what a weekly instructor can stop noticing.

  5. Hazy sunset over the hills of Los Angeles seen over a yellow engine nacelle, with the second engine visible at right5 / 5

    Step 5

    Knowledge Test And Checkride

    A second stage check, then the same FAA knowledge test and the same practical test with an examiner as any Part 141 student, to the same Airman Certification Standards.

How Far Are You?

Part 61 Training Near You

One school, one airport: Van Nuys, from the west side of the field. Pick your neighborhood for the straight-line distance to our door and Google directions from there.

Pick from the list, tap a pin, or type any address for directions.

From Sherman Oaks

5Miles

About 5 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

Visit Before You Choose

A visit tells you more about a Part 61 school than any website. Come to Main Terminal Unit 108, meet an instructor, see the airplanes, and ask how a mid-training instructor change is handled and what gets written down. The consultation is free and takes about half an hour.

Find Us

You Fly LA

7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108
Van Nuys, CA 91406

Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), west side of the field

Open 7 Days9:00 AM – 9:00 PM

(818) 330-1318alex@youfly.la

Read Our Google Reviews

Yellow Piper Seminole twin parked in front of an open hangar door at Van Nuys Airport
Piper Seminole · Van Nuys Airport

Before You Visit

0 / 4 Ready

  1. 01

    Book The Consultation

    Pick a time at book a free consultation, or call (818) 330-1318.

  2. 02

    Navigate To 7900 Balboa Blvd

    Give GPS or a rideshare driver the street address, not “Van Nuys Airport”: the field has several public gates over about a mile of frontage, and the wrong one means a locked fence.

  3. 03

    Park On Site

    There is parking at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108. If you cannot find us, call and someone will talk you in.

  4. 04

    Bring Your Logbook

    Flown before? Bring it. Under Part 61 your instructor can credit the experience you already have.

Questions

Part 61 Flight School: Questions

Still unsure? Call (818) 330-1318, 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week.

All Questions

Part 61. We train at Van Nuys Airport under 14 CFR Part 61 and hold no Part 141 certificate. If you need an M-1 student visa, you need a Part 141 school instead, and we would rather tell you that before you pay a deposit. You Fly LA does not accept the GI Bill.

Yes. Both routes end at the same knowledge test and the same practical test with a designated examiner, flown to the same Airman Certification Standards. The certificate in your wallet does not record where you trained.

No. You Fly LA does not accept the GI Bill. An M-1 visa needs a Form I-20 from an SEVP-certified school, which requires Part 141 approval, so we cannot support one either. Veterans train with us by paying directly or through a flight training loan.

Yes. We fly from 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week, and under Part 61 your instructor fits the lesson to the slot you have. A pattern that works around a job is two lessons a week: one weekday evening and one at the weekend.

The Standard private pilot course is a fixed $10,400 for 40 hours: 38 in the airplane, 2 in the simulator, 30 of dual instruction and 3 of ground, books included, or $2,500 down and four payments of $1,975. Comprehensive is $15,400 for 60 hours and Premium $22,000 for 80.

Not by rule. Hourly rates are set by the school, not by the Part. What moves the total is how many hours you need, and that depends far more on how often you fly than on the 35- or 40-hour minimum.

At Van Nuys Airport: You Fly LA, 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, Van Nuys, CA 91406, on the west side of the field. Call (818) 330-1318, 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week.

Van Nuys Airport · Open 7 Days

Talk To An Instructor First

Bring your schedule and your goal. We will tell you honestly whether Part 61 with us fits, or whether you need a Part 141 school.

Open 7 Days9:00 AM – 9:00 PM