Reschedule free with at least 24 hours' notice, pay nothing for a flight we cancel for weather, and get the full $229 back as course credit if you enroll within 24 hours of a discovery flight. Those three terms answer most of the calls we get. This page collects the rest: booking, course enrollment, payment plans and aircraft rental at You Fly LA, in one place. If you are at the very start of this, begin with learning to fly in Los Angeles.
Terms are only useful if they are specific, so where a term has been published we state it plainly, and where one has not we say so rather than inventing it. The weather rules in particular have their own detailed page: our weather and cancellation policy covers what counts as a weather cancellation and what Los Angeles conditions actually do to a flying schedule month by month. Prices referenced here are published in full on flight school rates at Van Nuys.
Booking, Rescheduling And Cancellation
These terms apply to discovery flights, simulator sessions and any other experience you buy as a single booking.
- Rescheduling. Free rescheduling up to 24 hours before your slot. Give us at least 24 hours' notice and we will move you at no cost.
- When we cancel. If we cancel for weather or for any operational reason, we move you to a new slot at no cost and your purchase stays valid. You do not pay for a flight that does not happen.
- Arriving late, and not arriving. A no-show is treated as a flight taken. The aircraft, the instructor and the slot were held for you and cannot be resold at short notice.
- We may decline a flight. On the day, for weather, for a weight or eligibility issue, or for any reason connected with safety. The desk cannot overrule it and no commercial judgment enters into it.
Weight is the eligibility question that comes up most, and the numbers are aircraft certification limits rather than preferences: 180 lb for the one person flying a Warrior discovery flight alone, 360 lb combined on a flight for two, 400 lb combined in the Cirrus, and no limit at all in the full-motion simulator. If you are anywhere near one of those numbers, call (818) 330-1318 before you book rather than after.
The 24-Hour Credit On Discovery Flights
A discovery flight is a real flying lesson, flown from the left seat and logged as dual instruction. If you enroll in a course within 24 hours of the flight, the full price of the flight is credited toward your training. A $229 sixty-minute discovery flight becomes $229 off the course, not a token discount.
That is deliberate. It means the cheapest way to find out whether you want to spend $10,400 on a private pilot certificate is to spend $229 first and lose nothing if the answer is yes.
Gift Cards
Gift cards are sold for a value rather than for a specific flight, so the recipient chooses the experience, the aircraft and the date themselves. They are redeemed against any experience or course, and the booking terms above apply to whatever flight is eventually booked. Gift card details are on our gift cards page.
Course Enrollment And Payment
Our courses are fixed-price packages containing a defined block of aircraft time, dual instruction, ground instruction, simulator time and course materials. What is inside and outside that price is set out on fixed-price flight training.
- Deposit and installments. Most courses start at $2,500 down, with the balance in equal monthly installments. The Private Pilot Standard package at $10,400 is $2,500 followed by four payments of $1,974. The Instrument Rating at $11,700 is $2,500 followed by four payments of $2,300. The Multi-Engine Rating at $5,100 is $2,500 followed by two payments of $1,300.
- Interest-free direct payments. Paid directly to us, interest-free, over terms up to twelve months.
- Longer financing. Through Stratus Financial, terms run up to fifteen years on a soft credit check. Details are on flight training financing.
- Hours beyond the package. Charged at the published retail rates: the aircraft at $269 to $649 per hour by type, instruction and ground instruction at $110 per hour.
- Part 61. We train under Part 61. We do not hold Part 141, we do not issue I-20s, and the GI Bill does not fund a private pilot certificate at a Part 61 school.
Withdrawal and refund. Package purchases are final. We do not refund a course package once it is bought, and that applies to the deposit and to every installment after it.
If you stop training part way through, the unused balance stays on your account as credit against flying with us. That credit is transferable. You can pass it to another student, or spend it on a discovery flight for somebody else. Tell us the name and we move it.
The rule is short on purpose. A refund clause with conditions attached to it is a refund clause nobody can rely on, and we would rather you knew the position before you paid than argued about it afterwards. If you are not certain the course is right for you, fly the $229 discovery flight first and enroll after it.
Aircraft Rental Terms
Renting an aircraft solo is a separate arrangement from training, and it has its own prerequisites.
- A checkout in the type with us. A checkout with another operator does not transfer, even in an identical aircraft. What it involves is set out on aircraft checkout requirements for renters.
- Current documents. Pilot certificate, government photo identification, a medical certificate or BasicMed qualification under 14 CFR 61.23, and a flight review within the preceding 24 calendar months under 14 CFR 61.56.
- Currency for what you intend to do. Three takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 days before carrying passengers by day under 14 CFR 61.57(a), and three to a full stop at night for night passengers under 61.57(b).
- Endorsements where the type requires one. A complex endorsement under 14 CFR 61.31(e) for the Piper Arrow, a high-performance endorsement under 61.31(f) for the Cirrus SR22 Turbo.
- Renter insurance. Renter's insurance with at least $50,000 of coverage before any solo rental. The aircraft owner's policy protects the owner, not you. We do not sell insurance and do not recommend a provider.
- Rates are wet. Fuel is included in every published hourly rate, so there is no separate avgas charge at base.
Overnight and multi-day rentals. An aircraft kept away from Van Nuys overnight is billed at a minimum of three hours for each calendar day. That minimum applies whether you fly those hours or not, because an airplane parked on somebody else's ramp earns nothing and nobody here can fly it.
Fuel bought away from base. Buy avgas somewhere else and we credit it at our wet rate for that aircraft when you show us the receipt. Keep the receipt. Without it there is nothing to credit.
Late returns. An aircraft brought back after its booked return time is billed at that aircraft's hourly rate for the overrun. Call (818) 330-1318 the moment you know you are running late, because the airplane is usually booked behind you and a phone call is what lets us move the person waiting.
Damage and the deductible. The renter is responsible for damage up to a $5,000 deductible. The hull policy on the aircraft protects the owner rather than the renter, which is why that deductible lands where it does.
Renter's insurance. Renter's insurance with at least $50,000 of coverage is required before any solo rental. We check the certificate before we release an aircraft. We do not sell insurance and we do not recommend a provider, but a non-owned aircraft policy costs a fraction of one hour of flying and it is the cheapest thing on this page.
What Is Always Excluded
Three costs are charged by other people and are never inside any price we quote, on any product: the FAA medical certificate at roughly $120 to $200, charged by an Aviation Medical Examiner; the FAA knowledge test at about $175, charged by a PSI testing center; and the Designated Pilot Examiner's fee at roughly $800 to $1,000, charged by the examiner on the day and charged again for a retest. The full list is on the hidden costs of flight training.
Safety Overrides Every Term On This Page
A flight school that will not cancel is a flight school to avoid. Every term above sits inside a simple hierarchy: if the instructor, the chief flight instructor or the pilot in command judges that a flight should not happen, it does not happen, and no commercial consideration changes that. That is also why a canceled flight costs you nothing. Removing the financial pressure to fly is the only way to make sure nobody is ever quietly weighing a booking fee against a marine layer that has not lifted.
If something goes wrong, or a booking has not worked out the way you expected, tell us before you tell the internet. Most things are fixable with a phone call on the same day.
Related Reading
- Weather and cancellation policy covers what counts as a weather cancellation and the Los Angeles flying calendar.
- Fixed-price flight training sets out what a package includes and excludes.
- Flight training financing covers deposits, installments and training loans.
- Aircraft checkout requirements for renters covers documents, currency and checkout flights.
- Flight school rates at Van Nuys publishes every price referenced here.
- The hidden costs of flight training lists every third-party fee.
Policy FAQ
What Is Your Cancellation Policy?
Free rescheduling up to 24 hours before your slot, with at least 24 hours' notice. If we cancel for weather or any operational reason, we move you at no cost and your purchase stays valid. A no-show is treated as a flight taken, because the aircraft, instructor and slot were held for you.
Do I Pay If The Weather Cancels My Flight?
No. If the weather says no, you do not pay. We move you to a new slot at no cost and your purchase remains valid. Removing the financial pressure to fly is how a school makes sure nobody is weighing a booking fee against marginal conditions.
Is A Discovery Flight Credited Toward Training?
Yes, in full, if you enroll within 24 hours of the flight. A $229 sixty-minute discovery flight becomes $229 off your course. The flight is a real lesson flown from the left seat and logged as dual instruction either way.
How Do Course Payments Work?
Most courses start at $2,500 down with the balance in equal monthly installments, interest-free, paid directly to us over terms up to twelve months. Longer financing through Stratus Financial runs up to fifteen years on a soft credit check.
What Happens If I Need More Hours Than My Package Contains?
You continue at the published retail rates: the aircraft at $269 to $649 per hour depending on type, and instruction or ground instruction at $110 per hour. Choosing the package sized to how often you can realistically fly is the way to keep that from happening.
What Do I Need Before I Can Rent An Aircraft?
A checkout in the type with us, a pilot certificate, photo identification, a medical certificate or BasicMed qualification, a flight review within the preceding 24 calendar months, currency under 14 CFR 61.57 for what you intend to do, and any endorsement the type requires. Renter's insurance with at least $50,000 of coverage is required before any solo rental.
Do You Refund A Course Package?
No. Package purchases are final, deposit included. If you stop part way through, the unused balance stays as credit and that credit is transferable — to another student, or to a discovery flight for somebody else.
What Are The Rental Terms On An Overnight Trip?
A minimum of three hours is billed for each calendar day the aircraft is away from Van Nuys. Fuel bought away from base is credited at our wet rate when you show the receipt, and a late return is billed at the aircraft's hourly rate.
Can You Refuse To Fly Me?
Yes, on the day, for weather, for a weight or eligibility issue, or for anything connected with safety. Weight limits are aircraft certification limits rather than preferences. If you are near one, call before you book and we will find a flight that works.
Ask Before You Book
If a term you need is not on this page, ask rather than assume, and ask before you pay. Call (818) 330-1318 between 9 AM and 9 PM any day, or book a free consultation and we will put the whole arrangement in front of you before you commit to anything. If you are starting from the beginning, a discovery flight is $229 for 60 minutes and is credited in full toward training if you enroll within 24 hours. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406.