Sometimes, and it depends on three things: the airplane, the lesson and the weight and balance. A friend or family member in the back of a four-seat Piper Warrior on an early familiarization lesson is often fine. A passenger during pattern work, stalls, a stage check or checkride preparation is not, and our two-seat airplanes have no seat to offer. Ask when you book rather than arriving with somebody in the car.
There is also a hard line further along your training that surprises people: once you are flying solo as a student pilot, 14 CFR 61.89 prohibits you from carrying a passenger at all, without exception, until you hold a private pilot certificate. This page covers both the flexible part and the rule. It sits under our flight training FAQ.
Which Airplanes Have A Spare Seat
| Aircraft | Seats | Room For A Passenger | Package Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piper Warrior PA-28-161 | 4 | Yes, subject to weight and balance | $179/hr |
| Piper Arrow PA-28R | 4 | Yes, subject to weight and balance | Part of the $15,400 commercial course |
| Cirrus SR22 Turbo | 4 | Yes, and the most comfortable back seat we have | $479/hr |
| Piper Seminole PA-44-180 | 4 | Yes, on multi-engine training | Part of the $5,100 multi-engine package |
| Cessna 162 Skycatcher | 2 | No | $179/hr |
| Diamond DA20-C1 | 2 | No | $229/hr |
Most private pilot students begin in the Skycatcher or the Warrior at the same $179 an hour inside a course, so if having somebody along matters to you on a particular day, say so and we will plan the lesson in the Warrior. Every seat occupied is weight and moment on the loading sheet, which is why the answer depends on who is coming as well as whether a seat exists. Our page on weight limits for flight training explains how that calculation works.
Which Lessons Suit A Passenger, And Which Do Not
The honest test is whether the lesson is one you need to concentrate on. An early flight over the San Fernando Valley learning climbs, descents and turns is a lesson somebody can sit quietly in the back of without costing you anything. A pattern lesson, where you will do eight or ten landings while your instructor talks continuously, is not: you will fly worse, you will learn less, and the person in the back will have an unpleasant hour.
The lessons we will decline outright are stalls and slow flight, spin awareness work, anything with simulated emergencies, stage checks, and the last few flights before a checkride. For the checkride itself the question does not arise, since the examiner occupies the other seat.
There is one more consideration nobody mentions until it happens: a passenger changes how you behave. Students fly more tentatively with an audience, and instructors have to teach around it. If you are near a milestone, fly the lesson alone and bring people later.
The Rule After You Solo
14 CFR 61.89 sets out what a student pilot may not do when acting as pilot in command, and the first item on the list is carrying a passenger. The same section prohibits carrying property for compensation or hire, flying in furtherance of a business, flying with less than three statute miles of visibility by day or five at night, flying when the flight cannot be made with visual reference to the surface, and operating contrary to any limitation your instructor has written in your logbook.
That prohibition is absolute for the whole of your solo phase. It lifts when you pass your practical test, at which point 14 CFR 61.113 gives you private pilot privileges: you may carry passengers, and you may share the operating expenses of a flight with them provided you pay no less than your pro rata share of fuel, oil, airport expenditures and rental fees. What you still may not do is be paid to fly. For most students the first flight with a passenger aboard, a parent or a partner in the right seat on the afternoon of the checkride, is the actual reward for the whole project.
Better Options For The Person Who Wants To Come
If somebody genuinely wants to fly rather than watch, put them in their own flight rather than in the back of your lesson. Our discovery flight for two over Downtown Los Angeles is built for exactly this: $299 for sixty minutes, $399 for ninety and $499 for two hours, with one person flying and the other along for the ride, and the same options run along the Malibu coast. In the Cirrus SR22 it is $599, $849 and $1,049 with a passenger, or $499, $649 and $799 for one flyer. Alternatively an hour in the Redbird MCX full-motion simulator at $189 gives them the cockpit experience with no airplane involved at all.
And if they only want to see it, the simplest answer is to arrive early. They can walk out to the airplane with you for the preflight, watch you taxi out, and meet you at the debrief with your logbook open. That is most of the experience, costs nothing and affects no loading sheet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can My Partner Sit In The Back During My Flying Lesson?
Often yes, in a four-seat airplane, on a suitable lesson, if the weight and balance works. Ask when you book so we can schedule the Warrior rather than a two-seat trainer, and expect the answer to be no for pattern work, stalls, stage checks and checkride preparation.
Can A Student Pilot Carry Passengers?
No. 14 CFR 61.89 prohibits a student pilot acting as pilot in command from carrying a passenger, with no exception, until they hold a private pilot certificate. On a dual lesson your instructor is the pilot in command, which is why a rider is possible then and never possible on a solo flight.
Does A Passenger Cost Extra?
Not on a dual training flight: you are paying for the airplane and the instructor, and the back seat is either usable or it is not. The trade-off is fuel and payload rather than money, which is why the loading sheet decides.
Can Someone Film My Lesson From The Back Seat?
Yes, on a lesson where a passenger is appropriate, provided everything is secured and nothing can reach the controls. Mention it at the briefing so your instructor can suggest where to sit and what not to block.
When Can I Take My Family Flying?
The day you pass your private pilot checkride. 14 CFR 61.113 lets you carry passengers straight away, and 61.57 requires three takeoffs and landings in the preceding ninety days in the same category and class before you do so. Most new pilots take somebody up within the week.
Related Reading
- Flight training FAQ — forty answers for new students.
- Is there a weight limit for flight training — how the loading sheet decides.
- Private pilot privileges and limitations — what 61.113 lets you do.
- Your first solo flight — the phase where the rule is absolute.
- Discovery flights over Los Angeles — flights built for two people.
- The airplanes you will fly — which types have four seats.
Bring Them Properly
If somebody wants to share this with you, the best version is their own hour in the left seat. A discovery flight is $229 for sixty minutes, and the version for two starts at $299. Both are credited in full toward a course if either of you enrolls within twenty-four hours. Call (818) 330-1318 any day from 9 AM to 9 PM, or book a free consultation. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, Van Nuys, CA 91406.
