N316EF — Piper Arrow PA-28R: Rates, Equipment And Availability

N316EF is the Piper Arrow PA-28R at You Fly LA, the only complex airplane on our ramp, and it costs $349 per hour wet at retail or $229 per hour wet inside a course package. It is a four-seat, low-wing airplane with a 200-horsepower Lycoming IO-360, a Garmin 430, retractable landing gear and a constant-speed propeller, cruising at about 135 knots.

This page is the aircraft record: rates, what it is flown for, what renting it requires and how to book it. The rest of the fleet with rates alongside is on the airplanes you will fly, and the full type reference — model history, gear and propeller systems, how to read the handbook — is on the Piper Arrow PA-28R page.

Piper Arrow complex trainer with retractable gear and constant-speed propeller at Van Nuys

N316EF At A Glance

Type-Level Specification For Our Piper Arrow
Item N316EF
Registration N316EF
Type Piper Arrow PA-28R
Seats Four
Wing Low wing
Engine 200 hp Lycoming IO-360
Propeller Constant speed
Landing gear Retractable, operated manually
Automatic gear extension Disabled
Typical cruise About 135 knots
Avionics Garmin 430
Fleet position The only complex airplane at You Fly LA
Based at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), 7900 Balboa Blvd
Retail rate $349 per hour, wet
Package rate $229 per hour, wet

Those are the type-level figures we operate to. Empty weight, useful load and the equipment list belong to this individual airframe and are recorded in the weight and balance section of the handbook carried aboard, along with the supplements for any equipment installed under a supplemental type certificate. On a complex airplane the supplements matter as much as the main text, because they are where system modifications are documented.

What It Costs To Fly N316EF

Hourly Rates And Fixed Prices For N316EF In 2026
Item Rate When It Applies
N316EF, package rate $229 per hour, wet Hours flown inside a fixed-price course
N316EF, retail rate $349 per hour, wet Pay-as-you-go lessons and solo rental
Complex endorsement $999, fixed 14 CFR 61.31(e) training and sign-off
Flight instructor $110 per hour Any dual flight, aircraft or simulator
Ground instruction $110 per hour Briefings and ground school outside a package

Both hourly rates include fuel. The complex endorsement is sold as a fixed $999 rather than by the hour because the regulation sets a proficiency standard, not an hour count, and an open meter turns that into an argument. Everything else we charge is on flight school rates at Van Nuys.

What N316EF Is Flown For

Three things, in roughly this order: the complex endorsement, the complex hours a commercial certificate requires, and cross-country rental by pilots who have checked out in it. Because we own one Arrow rather than five, this airplane is the busiest per airframe on our line and the one worth booking earliest.

The Complex Endorsement And The Commercial Requirement

Under 14 CFR 61.31(e), no person may act as pilot in command of a complex airplane unless they have received and logged ground and flight training from an authorized instructor in a complex airplane, or in a full flight simulator or flight training device representative of one, been found proficient in its operation and systems, and received a one-time logbook endorsement. There is no minimum number of hours anywhere in that paragraph. What there is instead is a proficiency judgment about gear, propeller and the speed at which a clean airframe gets ahead of you.

Commercial candidates arrive for a different reason. 14 CFR 61.129(a) requires 250 hours of flight time and, within the 20 hours of training on the areas of operation, at least 10 hours of training in a complex airplane, a turbine-powered airplane or a technically advanced airplane appropriate to the category and class. N316EF satisfies that directly. Flying those 10 hours here also produces the 61.31(e) endorsement along the way, which is the efficient order to do it in rather than buying the two separately.

The automatic gear extension system on N316EF is disabled, so the gear is operated manually and nothing lowers it for you. What the airplane actually teaches is rhythm. There is a speed to slow to before the gear can come down, a point in the circuit where that has to happen, and a power-change sequence — propeller forward then throttle up, throttle back then propeller back — that becomes automatic somewhere around the fourth or fifth landing. Pilots are behind the airplane for the first hour and ahead of it by the end of the second. The wider regulatory picture, including the grandfather provisions, is on complex and high-performance endorsements, and the certificate itself is covered on the commercial pilot license page.

Front view of the four-seat Piper Arrow complex trainer inside the hangar at Van Nuys

Checking Out To Rent N316EF

This is the one airplane on our line where the endorsement comes before the checkout. You cannot act as pilot in command of it at all without the 61.31(e) logbook endorsement, whoever you are and however many hours you hold. On top of that, solo rental needs a pilot certificate with the appropriate privileges, a current FAA medical certificate or BasicMed qualification, and a flight review completed since the beginning of the 24th calendar month before the month of the flight under 14 CFR 61.56.

Carrying passengers requires three takeoffs and three landings within the preceding 90 days in the same category, class and type under 14 CFR 61.57(a), to a full stop at night. Insurance rather than the FAA usually sets the practical minimum for retractable-gear rental, and we will tell you what applies when you call. The rest is on aircraft checkout requirements for renters.

How To Book N316EF

Call (818) 330-1318 and ask for N316EF by registration. With one Arrow on the line and commercial students needing 10 hours each, this airplane books further ahead than anything else we operate. If you are buying the $999 endorsement, ask the desk to block the sessions together rather than spreading them across three weekends; gear habits build faster when the flights are close.

If you have never flown a light airplane, this is not where to start. A discovery flight in the Piper Warrior is $229 for 60 minutes from the left seat, credited in full toward training if you enroll within 24 hours.

Where The Registration Details Come From

This page publishes the specification we operate to and the prices we charge. The registration record — registered make and model, registrant, airworthiness class, certificate issue and expiry — belongs to the FAA and is public. Check the FAA aircraft registry entry for N316EF, or search any N-number at registry.faa.gov. The registry is the source of record.

Related Reading

N316EF FAQ

What Kind Of Airplane Is N316EF?

A Piper Arrow PA-28R: a four-seat, low-wing airplane with a 200-horsepower Lycoming IO-360, a constant-speed propeller, retractable landing gear and a Garmin 430, cruising at about 135 knots. It is the only complex airplane at You Fly LA.

How Much Does N316EF Cost Per Hour?

$229 per hour wet inside a course package and $349 per hour wet at retail, with an instructor at $110 per hour on top for dual flights. The complex endorsement is a fixed $999.

Do I Need An Endorsement To Fly It?

Yes. 14 CFR 61.31(e) requires ground and flight training from an authorized instructor in a complex airplane, a finding of proficiency and a one-time logbook endorsement before you may act as pilot in command of one. There is no hour minimum in the rule.

Does Time In This Airplane Count Toward A Commercial Certificate?

Yes. 14 CFR 61.129(a) requires at least 10 hours of training in a complex, turbine-powered or technically advanced airplane within the 20 hours of training on the areas of operation, and the Arrow satisfies that directly.

Why Is The Complex Endorsement Sold At A Fixed Price?

Because the regulation sets a proficiency standard rather than an hour count. A fixed $999 means the training ends when you are proficient rather than when a budget runs out, and you know the number before you start.

How Far Ahead Should I Book It?

Further than any other airplane we operate. There is one Arrow, and commercial students need 10 hours each in it. Call (818) 330-1318 and ask the desk to block your sessions close together.

Can I Rent It For A Cross-Country Once Endorsed?

Yes, once you hold the 61.31(e) endorsement and have completed our checkout. Four seats and about 135 knots put Santa Barbara, Big Bear, Catalina and the desert airports comfortably inside an afternoon from Van Nuys.

Fly N316EF From Van Nuys

Retractable gear and a constant-speed propeller are the point at which general aviation stops feeling like a trainer, and $999 buys the endorsement in this airplane. Call (818) 330-1318 and we will schedule it. If you have not started flying yet, a discovery flight is $229 for 60 minutes from the left seat, credited in full toward training if you enroll within 24 hours, or book a free consultation and we will map the route from here to a commercial certificate. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406, open 9 AM to 9 PM seven days a week.