Encino has the shortest drive to a discovery flight of anywhere in Los Angeles: 3.9 miles straight up Balboa Blvd, nine to eleven minutes from Ventura Blvd, no freeway at any point. The flight is $229 for 60 minutes and you are the one flying it, with a certificated flight instructor teaching beside you. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406 — the same street you are already on.
Four Miles, One Street, No Freeway
Balboa Blvd starts at Ventura Blvd in Encino and runs north without a break — under the 101, through the Sepulveda Basin, past Lake Balboa, across Victory, Vanowen, Sherman Way and Saticoy — and our address is on it. That is the entire journey. There is no rush-hour version of it, because there is no freeway in it.
Two variations worth knowing. From the 91436 side, the Encino Hills streets climbing toward Mulholland, you come down Hayvenhurst, Balboa or Encino Ave to Ventura first, which adds four to seven minutes. And on the rare winter day when the Sepulveda Basin is holding storm water and Balboa is closed through it, White Oak Ave north to Victory Blvd and then east to Balboa is the detour. The basin is a flood-control reservoir; a few days a year it does the job it was built for.
The 405 is two miles east of you and you should ignore it. Getting on at Ventura and off at Roscoe adds distance and puts you into the Sepulveda Pass flow, which is the worst road in the Valley between four and seven. Encino may be the only community we serve where the surface route wins at every hour of the day, which is why evening bookings from here almost never run late.
The Sepulveda Basin Is Under You Before The Climb Ends
Four miles is nothing in an aeroplane, so Encino appears almost immediately after departure. The Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area — the same basin you just drove through — resolves into its parts within about two minutes: the Sepulveda Dam at the east end, Lake Balboa as an obvious ring of water with its footpath around it, the golf courses, the wildlife reserve, and the concrete channel of the Los Angeles River threading between them.
Turn south and Ventura Blvd runs east to west along the foot of the hills, with the office towers at Ventura and Balboa standing out as the only real height between Sherman Oaks and Warner Center. Just east of them, Los Encinos State Historic Park is a green rectangle with a pond in it, mid-block on Moorpark — the adobe and the springs the whole community is named after, invisible from the street and obvious from the air.
Then the ridge. The Santa Monica Mountains fill the windscreen with Mulholland along the crest, and the Encino Reservoir appears in a canyon on the far side — water that most Encino residents have never seen, because from the ground there is a mountain in the way. Ninety seconds past the boulevard it is right there. Beyond it the ridge drops into the Westside, and on a clear afternoon Santa Monica Bay sits behind that.
Almost every Encino student spends the first minute looking for their own roof, and almost all of them find it, because Balboa Blvd is a straight line pointing at the house.
What You Do During The Hour
You take the left seat. The instructor starts the engine with you, talks you through the taxi, and flies the takeoff with your hands following on the controls. Then it is your aeroplane: climb, level off, turn left, turn right, feel what the trim does, discover that the nose drops in a turn unless you hold it up. The instructor stays on the controls and on the radio, teaching the whole way, and lands it at the end.
Before the flight there is a briefing and a preflight inspection you carry out together — fuel, oil, tyres, control surfaces, a full walk around the aeroplane. Afterwards, a debrief. Allow two hours at the airport for a 60-minute flight. Our page on how a first lesson is structured covers each stage in more detail.
The hour is logged as dual instruction received and counts toward the 40-hour Part 61 minimum for a private pilot certificate. That is the practical difference between a discovery flight and a scenic tour.
Length, Route And Price
| Flight | People | 60 / 90 / 120 Min |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery Flight | 1 | $229 / $299 / $399 |
| For Two — Malibu Coast | 2 | $299 / $399 / $499 |
| For Two — Downtown Los Angeles | 2 | $299 / $399 / $499 |
| Luxury Cirrus SR22 For Two | 2 | $399 / $549 / $699 |
| Full-Motion Simulator | 1 | $189 / — / — |
There is no tax and no booking fee on any of it — $229 is the total. Encino sits almost exactly between the two named two-person routes, so the choice is genuinely about what you want to look at rather than about geography. The reasoning behind each price is on what you pay, and what you don't, and the training programmes beyond the first hour are on the Encino flight school page.
Requirements: Age, Weight, ID, Medical
No experience is assumed and none is needed. There is no minimum age; under-18s need a parent or guardian to sign. No FAA medical certificate is required because the instructor is the pilot in command — that only becomes relevant if you go on to fly solo. Bring a photo ID.
Weight limits come from the aircraft: 180 lb per person and 360 lb combined in the Piper Warrior, 200 lb per person and 400 lb combined in the Cirrus SR22. They do not change with the length of the flight. If the numbers are close, call us before booking rather than after.
One thing worth knowing before you arrive: Van Nuys is a tower-controlled Class D field with parallel runways, sitting under the shelves of the Los Angeles Class B. You will hear the radio work from the first minute, and it is a large part of what makes a first hour here different from a first hour at a quiet field. The airport is described in full on the field itself.
When We Reschedule You
Two Encino-specific notes. In May and June the marine layer pushes over the ridge above Mulholland overnight, and because you are at the foot of that ridge, your street can be clear while the airport four miles north still is not — or the reverse. Judge by the airport. In midsummer the heat lifts density altitude, so the aeroplane climbs less willingly and the air over the Santa Monica Mountains gets bumpy in the afternoon; a morning slot is smoother.
If the weather cancels, you are not charged. Rescheduling is free for any reason up to 24 hours before the flight. Full detail at free rescheduling and weather cancellations. And because you are nine minutes away, a last-minute opening is a realistic thing for an Encino resident to take.
Encino Discovery Flight FAQ
How Far Is The Airport From Encino?
Balboa Blvd starts at Ventura Blvd in Encino and runs north without a break — under the 101, through the Sepulveda Basin, past Lake Balboa, across Victory, Vanowen, Sherman Way and Saticoy — and our address is on it.
Should I Use The 405 Instead?
Getting on at Ventura and off at Roscoe adds distance and puts you into the Sepulveda Pass flow, which is the worst road in the Valley between four and seven.
What Will I See In The First Two Minutes?
The Sepulveda Dam at the east end, Lake Balboa as an obvious ring of water with its footpath around it, the golf courses, the wildlife reserve, and the concrete channel of the Los Angeles River threading between them.
Do I Need A Medical Certificate Or Any Experience?
No FAA medical certificate is required because the instructor is the pilot in command — that only becomes relevant if you go on to fly solo.
How Much Does It Cost In Total?
There is no tax and no booking fee on any of it — $229 is the total.
Does The Hour Count Toward A Certificate?
The hour is logged as dual instruction received and counts toward the 40-hour Part 61 minimum for a private pilot certificate.
What Are The Weight Limits?
180 lb per person and 360 lb combined in the Piper Warrior, 200 lb per person and 400 lb combined in the Cirrus SR22.
Related Pages
- Sherman Oaks discovery flights — one community east on Ventura Blvd.
- Van Nuys discovery flights — the airport's own neighbourhood.
- Santa Monica first flights — the other end of the 405.
- How discovery flights work in LA — the routes in full.
Book Your Encino Discovery Flight
You already drive this road. Nine minutes north of Ventura Blvd, the same journey ends with you flying. 7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406, open 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM daily.
Book A Discovery Flight — $229 Book A Free Consultation Call (818) 330-1318