Flight Training FAQ: Every Question New Students Ask

This page answers the forty questions new students actually ask us at Van Nuys, in roughly the order they ask them: how long training takes, what it costs, what the FAA requires of you personally, what a normal lesson looks like, and what happens when the weather or the airplane does not cooperate. Every answer is our own operation's answer, with real prices and real regulation numbers rather than generalities.

If you are earlier than that and still deciding whether to learn at all, start with our guide to learning to fly in Los Angeles, which sets out the routes and the money end to end. If your questions are about a one-off discovery flight rather than a training course, the discovery flight FAQ is the page you want instead. And if you are not sure which program fits you, the twelve-question readiness check takes about three minutes.

The Numbers Behind Most Of These Answers

Almost every question below resolves into one of the figures in these two tables. Course prices are fixed: the number in the table is what the course costs, and the hours listed are the hours built into it. The hourly rates matter if you pay as you go, if you fly past the hours in a package, or if you move up to a faster airplane than the one your course is priced around.

Getting Started

Do I Need Any Experience To Start Flight Training?

None. The overwhelming majority of people who walk in have never touched the controls of an airplane, and the syllabus assumes exactly that. You do not need a science background, a head for maths beyond arithmetic, or any simulator time. What you need is a willingness to be a beginner in public for a few months, which is the part most adults find hardest.

How Do I Actually Begin?

Book a discovery flight, fly it, then decide. The flight is $229 for sixty minutes, you fly it from the left seat with an instructor, and it is logged as dual instruction. If you enroll within twenty-four hours, the full $229 is credited toward your course. That is deliberately the cheapest, lowest-commitment way to find out whether you like this before spending five figures on it.

What Is The Difference Between A Discovery Flight And A First Lesson?

Mostly framing. A discovery flight is a real lesson with a scenic route built in, so you get the view as well as the controls. A first training lesson is the same hour pointed at a syllabus objective instead: straight and level, climbs, descents and turns. Both go in your logbook and both count toward the FAA hour requirements. See what to expect for the full shape of the visit.

How Old Do I Have To Be To Start?

There is no minimum age to take lessons. The age limits apply to certificates, not instruction: 14 CFR 61.83 requires you to be sixteen to hold a student pilot certificate for airplanes, which is the document you need before you fly solo. Our teen flight training program starts at ten, and children fly with us regularly long before they can solo.

Is There An Upper Age Limit?

No. The FAA sets no upper age limit for a private pilot certificate, and no upper age limit for the third class medical that supports it. The airline age limit people half-remember applies to Part 121 flying, not to learning. The constraint at seventy is the same as at thirty: whether you can hold the appropriate medical, and how often you can get to the airport.

Do I Need To Buy Equipment Before I Start?

No. Books and materials are included in our course packages, and we have headsets in the airplanes for your first few lessons. Buy your own headset once you know you are staying, because a borrowed headset is the one piece of shared equipment that genuinely affects how much you take in. Everything else, including a tablet and an app subscription, can wait until cross-country work begins.

Are You A Part 61 Or A Part 141 School?

We train under Part 61. We do not hold Part 141 approval, which has three practical consequences: we cannot issue I-20 forms for an M-1 student visa, we cannot accept the GI Bill for private pilot training, and our syllabus can be reordered around your schedule and the weather rather than following an FAA-approved sequence. For most working adults that last point is the advantage, not the drawback.

Hours, Timing And How Long It Takes

How Long Does Flight Training Take?

A private pilot certificate takes most of our students four to eight months at two flights a week, against an FAA minimum of forty hours in 14 CFR 61.109 and a national average nearer sixty to seventy. Frequency decides almost everything. The full breakdown, including accelerated and part-time timelines, is on how long flight training takes.

How Often Should I Fly?

Twice a week is the number that works. Once a week is workable and slower. Once a fortnight means you spend the first twenty minutes of each lesson rebuilding what you had, and your total hours climb accordingly. Three or four times a week finishes fastest and suits people training full time. There is more detail on how often you should fly during training.

Can I Train Part Time While Working Full Time?

Yes, and most of our students do. We are open 9 AM to 9 PM seven days a week, so early-morning slots before work and weekend mornings are both normal. The scheduling problem is not finding slots, it is protecting them. Our page on part-time flight training in Los Angeles covers how to build a schedule that survives a real job.

Can I Train Full Time And Finish Faster?

Yes. Flying four or five times a week, a private pilot certificate is realistically a two to three month project, and our airline pilot career program runs from zero to 260 logged hours and every rating through MEI in about nine months for $84,000. The accelerated training page explains what the pace actually demands of you.

What Happens If The Weather Is Bad On Lesson Day?

You are not charged for a flight that does not happen, and we do not fly students into weather they cannot handle. Depending on what the sky is doing we will often convert the slot to ground instruction or simulator time rather than lose it. Los Angeles cancels less than almost anywhere, but the marine layer is real. Details on bad weather on lesson day.

How Far In Advance Should I Book Lessons?

Book a recurring slot rather than individual lessons. Students who hold the same two times every week finish; students who call on Thursday to find something for Saturday do not. Early morning is the most reliable time of day in the Valley, because it is calm and the heat has not built. Weekend mid-mornings go first and should be booked furthest ahead.

Money

How Much Does Flight Training Cost?

Our Private Pilot Standard course is $10,400 and Comprehensive is $15,400. The difference is hours, not quality: Standard is built around the forty-hour minimum and Comprehensive around the sixty hours most people genuinely need. Sport Pilot is $8,400. A full career track to airline minimums is $84,000. The arithmetic behind those numbers is on flight school cost in Los Angeles.

Can I Pay As I Go Instead Of Buying A Package?

Yes. You can book hour by hour at the retail rates in the table above and pay after each lesson. It costs more per hour than a package, and it removes the fixed-price protection, but it keeps you in control month to month. The full comparison, including who should choose which, is on paying as you go versus buying a package.

Do You Offer Financing?

Two routes. Interest-free direct payments with us over up to twelve months, typically $2,500 down and a small number of monthly installments, or Stratus Financial over up to fifteen years with a soft credit check to see your terms. Neither requires a lump sum up front. See financing for flight training and our financing page.

What Is Not Included In The Package Price?

Three things, all paid to somebody else. The FAA knowledge test, about $175 at a PSI testing center. The designated pilot examiner's fee for your checkride, roughly $800 to $1,000 in Southern California. And your FAA medical examination, billed by the aviation medical examiner. Books and materials are included. So is the simulator time listed in your course.

What Is The Difference Between The Package Rate And The Retail Rate?

The package rate is the hourly cost of an airplane inside a course you have enrolled in. The retail rate is what the same airplane costs by the hour if you are renting it or paying lesson by lesson. A Warrior is $179 an hour inside a course and $269 an hour retail. Both are wet rates, meaning fuel is included.

Does My Discovery Flight Count Toward Training?

In two ways. The flight time is logged as dual instruction and counts toward the FAA hour requirements for your certificate, the same as any other lesson. And the $229 is credited in full against your course price if you enroll within twenty-four hours of flying. Nobody pays twice for the same hour.

Do You Take The GI Bill?

Not for private pilot training. VA benefits for flight training are tied to approved programs, and a Part 61 school without that approval cannot bill them for a private certificate. There are veterans who fund training other ways and ratings beyond private that work differently, so talk to us before you assume either answer. Our sibling page on GI Bill and VA benefits sets out what applies where.

Are There Scholarships?

Yes, and more people qualify than apply. Aviation scholarships from national associations, type-specific foundations and regional groups run from a few hundred dollars to full certificate funding, and most rounds close under-subscribed. We keep a working list on aviation scholarships. Applying costs nothing but an afternoon of writing.

Medicals, Paperwork And Eligibility

Do I Need A Medical Certificate Before My First Lesson?

No. You can take lessons from day one with no medical at all. You need one before you fly solo, because 14 CFR 61.23 ties the medical to solo privileges, and before you hold a student pilot certificate that lets you. Start training, then get the medical done in the first month or two so it never becomes the thing holding you up.

Which Class Of Medical Do I Need?

A third class medical is enough for a private pilot certificate and for all of your training up to it. A second class is required to exercise commercial privileges, and a first class is what airline flying needs. If you have any long-term ambition beyond private, consider taking a first class examination early so you find out now rather than after spending $84,000.

Do I Need To Be A US Citizen To Learn To Fly?

No. Non-citizens train in the United States every day under the TSA's Flight Training Security Program in 49 CFR Part 1552, which requires a security threat assessment and a determination of eligibility before instruction starts. US citizens are not exempt from everything either: we are required to verify and record citizenship. Full process on citizenship and flight training.

How Good Does My English Need To Be?

Good enough to read, speak, write and understand it, which is the wording 14 CFR 61.83 and 61.103 use. In practice the bar is radio work: you have to hear a controller at speed and answer without hesitating. Accents are irrelevant. Vocabulary and listening speed are not. Read more on English language requirements for pilots.

Can I Fly In The US With A Foreign Pilot License?

Yes, by converting it. 14 CFR 61.75 allows the FAA to issue a US private pilot certificate on the basis of a foreign license from an ICAO contracting state, with the foreign license required to be in your possession when you fly on it. There is a verification step with the issuing authority that takes time. See flying in the US on a foreign license.

Is There A Weight Limit For Flight Training?

Not an FAA one. The limit is the weight and balance of the specific airplane on the day, with you, your instructor and the fuel on board. The two-seat Skycatcher is the tightest; the four-seat Warrior and the Cirrus have considerably more room. We work it out with real numbers rather than guessing. Details on weight limits for flight training.

Do I Need A Student Pilot Certificate, And When?

Before your first solo, not before your first lesson. You apply through the FAA's IACRA system with your instructor, and the plastic certificate arrives by post some weeks later, so start the application early rather than on the day you are ready to solo. Our IACRA walkthrough takes you through the form field by field.

The Lessons Themselves

What Should I Bring To My First Lesson?

Government-issued photo identification, sunglasses, closed shoes, water and about two and a half hours of unhurried time. That is genuinely the list. No logbook, no headset, no equipment. The identification matters because we are required to verify it. The full explanation, including what to wear and what to leave at home, is on what to bring to your first flight lesson.

What Happens In A Typical Lesson?

About twenty minutes of briefing on the ground, an hour to an hour and a half in the airplane including the preflight walkaround and taxi, then fifteen minutes of debrief with your instructor writing in your logbook. Budget two and a half hours at the airport for a one-hour flight. The flight time on the invoice is engine-running time, not the whole visit.

Will I Actually Fly The Airplane On Day One?

Yes. You will have your hands on the controls within minutes of levelling off on the first flight, and on most first lessons you will do the takeoff with the instructor following through. What you will not do on day one is land it unaided. That is the skill that takes the longest and it is entirely normal for it to arrive late.

Can I Bring A Passenger On A Lesson?

Sometimes, and it depends on the airplane and the lesson. A back-seat passenger in the four-seat Warrior on a sightseeing-flavoured early lesson is often fine; a passenger during pattern work or a stage check is not, and the two-seat Skycatcher and Diamond have no room at all. Weight and balance decides. Full answer on bringing a passenger on a lesson.

When Will I Solo?

Typically somewhere between fifteen and twenty-five hours, though the range either side of that is wide and means nothing about your ability. Before you go, 14 CFR 61.87 requires specific training, a knowledge test given by your instructor, and an endorsement in your logbook. Our sibling page on your first solo flight covers the requirements in order.

Do I Get The Same Instructor Every Time?

Yes, by default. You are assigned one instructor who owns your syllabus and your logbook, because continuity is worth real hours. When your instructor is unavailable you can fly with someone else rather than lose the slot, and a second opinion before a checkride is often useful. You can meet the team on our instructors page.

What If I Do Not Get On With My Instructor?

Say so and we change you. It costs nothing, it is common, and nobody takes it personally. Teaching styles differ more than most students expect, and a pairing that is not working is a training problem rather than a personality problem. Tell the office rather than quietly stopping booking, which is what people usually do instead.

Aircraft, The Airport And What Comes After

Which Airplane Will I Train In?

Most private pilot students train in the Cessna 162 Skycatcher or the Piper Warrior, both at $179 an hour inside a course. The Diamond DA20-C1 suits people who want a stick and a bubble canopy, the Piper Arrow is the complex trainer for commercial work, and the Cirrus SR22 Turbo is available as an upgrade. Everything we operate is listed on the airplanes you will fly.

Does Simulator Time Count Toward My Certificate?

Some of it, and the rules are specific. Our Redbird MCX is an FAA-approved advanced aviation training device: up to twenty of the forty dual instrument hours can be flown in it, and up to fifty hours can be credited toward a commercial certificate. It is also simply the cheapest way to learn procedures, at $120 an hour inside a package. See the full-motion simulator page.

What Is It Like Training At A Class D Airport Under Class B?

Harder at first and much better by the end. Van Nuys is a towered Class D field beneath the Los Angeles Class B shelf, with two parallel runways and a great deal of traffic. You will be talking to a controller from your first lesson, which is uncomfortable for about three weeks and then becomes the thing that makes you noticeably more capable than pilots trained at quiet fields.

What Is The Difference Between A Pilot License And A Pilot Certificate?

The FAA issues certificates, not licenses, and the regulations only use the word license for foreign documents. In ordinary speech the two words mean the same thing and nobody will correct you. The distinction does matter when you are reading 14 CFR or filling in a form. Full explanation on pilot license or pilot certificate.

What Can I Do After I Get My Private Pilot Certificate?

Carry passengers, fly across the country, rent our airplanes, and share the operating cost of a flight with your passengers within the pro rata limit in 14 CFR 61.113. What you cannot do is be paid to fly. Most people add an instrument rating next, because it is the rating that turns a fair-weather certificate into a usable one.

Related Reading

• Learn to fly in Los Angeles — the routes, the certificates and the costs in one place.
• Am I ready to learn to fly — a twelve-question readiness check with a recommendation at the end.
• Flight school cost in Los Angeles — how hourly rates build into a course price.
• Questions to ask a flight school — what to ask before you pay anyone.
• Discovery flight FAQ — the separate set of questions about a one-off flight.
• Student pilot resources — paperwork, medicals and tests in the order you meet them.
• Site map — the whole site in one list.

Still Have A Question

If your question is not on this page, ask it. A free consultation is a straight conversation with an instructor about your situation, with no sales script, and a discovery flight is $229 for sixty minutes in the left seat, credited in full toward your course if you enroll within twenty-four hours. Call (818) 330-1318 any day between 9 AM and 9 PM. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406, on Van Nuys Airport.