Discovery Flights In Los Angeles

A discovery flight is an introductory flight lesson in which you sit in the pilot's seat and fly the airplane yourself, with a certified flight instructor beside you. It is not a sightseeing ride and you are not a passenger. From the moment the airplane is safely off the ground, the controls are yours.

You Fly LA runs discovery flights out of Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) in Los Angeles, starting at $229. Every flight comes in a 60-minute, 90-minute and 120-minute version, in a Piper Warrior or a Cirrus SR22, for one person or two. This page is the complete guide: what a discovery flight is, how it differs from an air tour, what it costs and why, how long yours should be, what happens from arrival to landing, the requirements, what you will see over Los Angeles, whether it counts toward a pilot license, and how to pick between our twelve flights.

What A Discovery Flight Is

A discovery flight — sometimes called an introductory flight, a first flight lesson or an exploratory flight — is a short, structured first lesson designed to show someone what flying a small airplane is actually like. It exists because flight schools worked out long ago that no amount of explaining substitutes for putting somebody's hands on the controls.

Three things define it:

• You fly. You occupy the left seat — the pilot's seat. You hold the controls, you make the turns, you climb and descend. Your instructor handles the takeoff and the landing and is on the controls the entire time, but the flying in between is yours.
• An instructor teaches you. A certified flight instructor is in the right seat, with a full set of controls, explaining what you are doing as you do it. It is a lesson, not a joyride.
• It is loggable. Because it is instruction given by a certified instructor in an airplane, the time counts. Your instructor can log it in a logbook, and it counts toward the flight-hour requirements for a private pilot certificate whether or not you ever come back.

That last point is what genuinely separates a discovery flight from every other way of getting into a small airplane. You are not paying for a ride. You are paying for the first hour of pilot training, and you get to keep it.

What A Discovery Flight Is Not

It is not an air tour. On an air tour you sit in the back, a commercial pilot flies, you look out of the window, and nothing is logged. It is not a helicopter tour. It is not a simulator session, though a full-motion simulator is a good companion to one. And it is not a commitment to learning to fly — most people book one purely for the experience, and that is a perfectly good reason.

Discovery Flight Vs Air Tour Vs Simulator

How Much Does A Discovery Flight Cost In Los Angeles?

Our discovery flights run from $229 to $699. That range is typical for Los Angeles, and the reason for the spread is straightforward: what you pay for is airplane time, instructor time and the number of seats you are buying.

What Changes The Price

• How long you fly. The single biggest factor. Every one of our flights is offered at 60, 90 and 120 minutes, and the price steps up with each because the airplane and the instructor are booked for longer.
• How many people fly. A flight for two costs more than a flight for one — the second seat is a real cost in weight, fuel and useful load, and it means someone else gets to come along and take photos.
• Which airplane. A Piper Warrior is a straightforward, forgiving training airplane and the most affordable way to fly. A Cirrus SR22 is a modern, faster, leather-seated airplane with a glass cockpit and an airframe parachute, and costs more per hour to operate.
• Where you go. A route up the coast to Malibu covers more ground than a loop over downtown, so it needs more time in the air.

What does not change the price with us: there is no separate instructor fee, no fuel surcharge and no landing fee added at the end. The price on the page is the price you pay. We break the economics down further in How Much Does A Discovery Flight Cost In Los Angeles?

60, 90 Or 120 Minutes: How Long Should Your Discovery Flight Be?

This is the question we get asked most often, and the honest answer depends on what you want out of the flight rather than on what you can afford. Here is how the three lengths actually differ once you are in the air.

A few things worth knowing before you choose:

• The briefing and preflight do not get longer. The ground briefing, walkaround and debrief take roughly the same time whichever flight you book, so a longer flight buys you almost entirely extra air time — it is the better value per minute in the air.
• Sixty minutes is not short. It is a complete lesson and it is loggable. Nobody has ever come back from one saying it was not enough airplane.
• Choose 90 or 120 if you want the coast. Getting over the Santa Monica Mountains and down onto the shoreline takes time, and on a 60-minute flight it comes at the expense of hands-on flying.
• Two hours suits two people. On a 120-minute flight there is comfortably enough time for both of you to fly, which almost never works on an hour.
• You can upgrade on the day if the schedule allows it. Ask your instructor at the briefing rather than at the airplane.

What Happens On A Discovery Flight, Start To Finish

Plan on being at the airport for around two hours for a 60-minute flight, two and a half for a 90 and about three for a 120. The flying is the middle of it.

• Arrival and welcome. You meet your instructor at Van Nuys Airport. Bring photo ID. There is no paperwork marathon — a short form and you are moving.
• Ground briefing (about 20 minutes). Your instructor explains how an airplane flies, what the four controls do, how to read the main instruments, what the radio calls mean, and what the plan for the flight is. They will ask what you want out of it — views, hands-on flying, or a serious first lesson — and shape the flight accordingly.
• Preflight inspection (about 15 minutes). You walk around the airplane with your instructor and check it over: fuel, oil, control surfaces, tires, lights. This is a real part of every flight and you do it yourself, which is the moment most people realize this is not a theme-park ride.
• Startup, taxi and run-up. You climb into the left seat, get strapped in, put on a headset, and start the engine. Your instructor makes the radio calls while you steer the airplane to the runway with your feet.
• Takeoff. Your instructor flies the takeoff with your hands lightly on the controls so you can feel what they are doing.
• You fly (most of the flight). Once you are clear of the airport, the airplane is yours. Level turns, climbs, descents, holding a heading, holding an altitude. Your instructor talks you through each one and takes the controls back for anything you would rather not do. If you just want to fly straight and look at Los Angeles, that is fine too.
• The scenic part. Depending on your flight, you will head over the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory, out toward downtown, or west over the mountains to the coast.
• Return and landing. You fly the approach back toward Van Nuys with your instructor's help; they handle the landing.
• Debrief and logbook. Shutdown, then a short debrief. If you want the time logged, your instructor will log it. You will also get a clear, honest answer about what learning to fly would actually involve if you want one.

There is a more detailed walkthrough on our What To Expect page.

Discovery Flight Requirements

The weight limits are the same on every flight length and are not arbitrary — they are weight-and-balance limits that keep the airplane within its certified envelope with full fuel and two people aboard. If you are over them, the full-motion simulator has no weight limit at all. Full detail in Discovery Flight Requirements: Age, Weight, ID And Health.

Where You Fly From And What You Will See

Every flight leaves from Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), 7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406, in the San Fernando Valley. Van Nuys is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the world, which means real radio traffic, real sequencing and a genuine feel for how flying works. More about the field on our Van Nuys Airport page.

From there, depending on the flight you pick and what the air traffic is doing on the day:

• The Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory. The classic first turn out of the Valley — the sign on the hillside and the observatory below you, from an angle almost nobody sees. On every flight, including the 60-minute ones.
• Downtown Los Angeles. The towers of the financial district standing out of the basin, with the whole grid running away to the horizon.
• The Santa Monica Mountains. The ridge that divides the Valley from the coast, and the canyons cut through it.
• The coast and Malibu. Out over the mountains and down onto the shoreline, with the Pacific on one side and the hills on the other. The Malibu flights are built around it — 60 minutes reaches the coast, 90 follows it, and 120 runs the length of it and back.
• The Valley and the mountains beyond. On a clear day the San Gabriels, and sometimes snow on the peaks in winter.

We keep a full route-by-route breakdown in The Best Views On A Discovery Flight Over Los Angeles.

Does A Discovery Flight Count Toward A Pilot License?

Yes. This surprises people, so it is worth saying plainly: a discovery flight is flight instruction given by a certified flight instructor in an aircraft, so the time is logged as dual instruction received and it counts toward the flight-hour requirements for a private pilot certificate. If you go on to train — with us or with anyone else, this year or in five years — that time is already in the bank. A 120-minute flight logs two hours of it.

Bring a logbook if you have one. If you do not, your instructor can start one for you, and it is a good souvenir even if you never fly again. If the flight does make you want to carry on, Learn To Fly In Los Angeles lays out what the path actually looks like, and Flight Training At Van Nuys Airport covers training locally.

All Twelve Discovery Flights, Side By Side

Four flights, each in three lengths. Pick the row that matches who is flying and where you want to go, then pick the column that matches how long you want to be in the air.

Discovery Flight In Los Angeles — One Seat, Piper Warrior

The standard first lesson and the most affordable way to fly the airplane yourself. Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory and downtown. Weight limit 180 lb.

Discovery Flight For Two Over Downtown Los Angeles — Two Seats, Piper Warrior

Bring someone with you. The downtown skyline from the pilot's seat, with the second person free to shoot photos the whole way. Weight limits 180 lb each, 360 lb combined.

Malibu Coast Discovery Flight For Two — Two Seats, Piper Warrior

West over the Santa Monica Mountains and down onto the shoreline. This is the scenic flight, and the one people book for proposals and anniversaries. Weight limits 180 lb each, 360 lb combined.

Luxury Cirrus SR22 Discovery Flight For Two — Two Seats, Cirrus SR22

A modern glass-cockpit airplane with leather seats, side-stick controls and an airframe parachute. Faster than the Warrior, so you cover more ground in the same time, and the weight limits are higher: 200 lb each, 400 lb combined.

And One That Never Leaves The Ground

The Full-Motion Flight Simulator Experience is $189 for 60 minutes. No weight limit, never weather-canceled, and the cheapest way to try flying. It is also the right answer if you are over the aircraft weight limits or booked for a date that cannot move.

The short version: flying alone, start at $229 and add time if you want the coast. Bringing one person, the $299 Downtown flight is the value pick and the $399 Malibu 90 is the one to choose if it is an occasion. Want the nicest airplane, take the Cirrus. Over the weight limits or on a fixed date, take the simulator. Browse everything in the Discovery Flights collection, or just the two-seat flights in Discovery Flights For Two.

Discovery Flight FAQ

Do I Really Fly The Airplane?

Yes. You sit in the pilot's seat and fly for most of the flight. Your instructor handles takeoff and landing and is on the controls throughout, but the flying in between is genuinely yours. More on this in What Is A Discovery Flight, And Do You Really Fly The Plane?

Should I Book 60, 90 Or 120 Minutes?

Sixty minutes is a complete first lesson and the right choice if you are unsure how you will feel in a small airplane. Ninety is the sweet spot — enough time to fly properly and still reach the coast. A hundred and twenty is for proposals, for two people who both want to fly, and for anyone treating this as a real first lesson. Because the briefing and preflight take the same time whichever you book, the longer flights buy you almost pure extra air time.

Do I Need Any Experience?

None at all. That is the entire point of a discovery flight.

Do I Need A Medical Certificate?

No. Your instructor is the pilot in command, so no FAA medical is required for a discovery flight.

Is There A Minimum Age?

No minimum age to fly one. Under-18s need a parent or guardian to sign the paperwork.

What Are The Weight Limits?

180 lb per person and 360 lb combined in the Piper Warrior; 200 lb and 400 lb in the Cirrus SR22. The limits are the same at 60, 90 and 120 minutes. The simulator has no weight limit.

How Long Does The Whole Visit Take?

Around two hours for a 60-minute flight, two and a half for a 90-minute flight and about three for a 120-minute flight, once you include the briefing, the preflight inspection and the debrief.

What Happens If The Weather Is Bad?

We reschedule you for free, and if the weather says no, you do not pay. Free rescheduling applies up to 24 hours before your flight for any reason. See our Weather And Cancellation Policy.

Can Someone Come And Watch?

Yes. Friends and family are welcome at the airport, and Van Nuys is a good place to watch airplanes even if you are not flying. Only the people booked into seats can come on the flight.

Can I Take Photos And Video?

Yes. Bring your phone or a camera. On the two-person flights the second person usually ends up as the photographer.

Is A Discovery Flight A Good Gift?

It is one of the better ones, because it is an experience rather than an object. If you do not know the recipient's schedule, buy a gift card and let them pick the date and the length. We wrote about the pitfalls in Is A Discovery Flight A Good Gift?

Can I Propose On The Flight?

Yes, and people do. The 90- and 120-minute Malibu flights are the usual choice. Tell us when you book so we can plan the route and the timing. See Groups, Proposals And Events.

What If I Get Nervous Or Airsick?

Tell your instructor. They can fly the airplane gently, keep the turns shallow, cut the flight short, or take the controls at any moment. If flying makes you anxious, book 60 minutes rather than 120, or spend an hour in the full-motion simulator first.

Discovery Flights Elsewhere In Southern California

People search for discovery flights across the whole Los Angeles basin — Orange County, the South Bay, the Valley, the Westside. We fly from Van Nuys Airport, which is reachable from most of the region and puts the Hollywood Sign, downtown and the coast within a single flight. If you are coming from Orange County or further south, the drive is worth checking against your booking time; call us and we will help you pick a slot that works.

How To Book

Book any flight online from the Discovery Flights collection, or call (818) 330-1318 between 9 AM and 9 PM, seven days a week, if you would rather talk it through or you are booking for a group. Pick your date and time on the calendar on the product page. Free rescheduling up to 24 hours before your flight, and if the weather says no, you do not pay.