A teenager can start flight training at any age, fly an airplane solo at 16, and hold a private pilot certificate at 17. Those are the FAA's rules, and they mean a fourteen-year-old who starts lessons at Van Nuys Airport can be a licensed pilot before graduating high school. You Fly LA teaches teens on the same syllabus, in the same airplanes and with the same instructors as adult students, and we run a dedicated Teens Pilot Course for ages 10 to 15. This page is written for parents as much as for the pilot, because most of the questions we get come from the front seat of the car rather than the left seat of the airplane. It sits under our guide to discovery flights in Los Angeles, which is where nearly every teen pilot begins.
Minimum Ages: Log, Solo, License
Three ages matter, and it helps to keep them apart.
| Milestone | Minimum Age (Airplane) | Regulation | What Is Needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Log dual instruction with an instructor | None | 14 CFR Part 61 | An instructor, a logbook, and the ability to reach the controls |
| Student pilot certificate | 16 (14 for gliders and balloons) | 14 CFR 61.83 | Application through IACRA, ability to read, speak and understand English |
| Solo flight | 16 | 14 CFR 61.83, 61.87 | Student pilot certificate, medical certificate, instructor's endorsement |
| Private pilot certificate | 17 | 14 CFR 61.103 | 40 flight hours minimum, knowledge test, practical test |
There is no minimum age to take lessons. The FAA does not set one, and every hour flown with an instructor goes in a logbook and counts toward the certificate, whether the student is 12 or 32. The practical limits are physical: the student needs to reach the rudder pedals, see over the panel and concentrate for a lesson. Seat cushions solve the first two for most kids from about age 10.
Sixteen is the age for solo. Under 14 CFR 61.83, a student pilot certificate for airplanes requires the applicant to be at least 16, and the certificate is required before the first solo flight. So a 14-year-old can train, build hours and become genuinely competent, but cannot be alone in the airplane until the sixteenth birthday. Many teens who start at 14 or 15 time their training so that they are ready to solo on or near that birthday, which is a memorable day at any airport.
Seventeen is the age for the private certificate under 14 CFR 61.103. A teen who solos at 16 typically finishes the cross-country and checkride preparation during the following year and takes the practical test at 17. From that point they are a private pilot with all the privileges of one: they can carry passengers, fly at night, and fly anywhere in the country.
The Medical Certificate
An FAA medical certificate is not required to take lessons. It is required before solo flight, so it becomes relevant as the sixteenth birthday approaches. The third-class medical is issued by an Aviation Medical Examiner after a straightforward exam, and the main reason to do it early is that it is the one item that can halt training, so it is better known at hour five than hour thirty. Glasses, braces, ADHD medication history and asthma are among the things parents worry about; most are manageable, some need documentation, and the examiner rather than the flight school is the person to ask.
The Teens Pilot Course, Ages 10 To 15
For students who are too young to solo, we run a structured course with a fixed price of $4,200. It contains ten hours of real flight training in the airplane, three hours in the Redbird MCX full-motion simulator, thirteen hours of dual instruction across both, and seven hours of classroom covering aerodynamics, weather, navigation, aircraft systems, radio communication and emergencies. A parent or guardian signs the enrollment, no medical certificate is required because every flight is dual, and payment is $2,500 to start and $1,700 at the midpoint.
Every one of those ten flight hours is logged. When the student turns 16 and moves on to the private pilot course, the hours count toward the 40-hour minimum and, more importantly, the student arrives already knowing how to fly the airplane. Two students of the same age, one of whom did the teens course, are typically a year apart in confidence on day one of private training.
The First Flight
Nearly every teen pilot starts with a sixty-minute discovery flight, $229, and there is no better test of whether the interest is real. The student sits in the left seat with an instructor in the right. The briefing explains the controls and what the hour will involve. The student does the preflight walk-around with the instructor, and from shortly after takeoff has the controls for most of the flight: climbing out over the Sepulveda Basin, turning along the Santa Monica Mountains, flying past the Hollywood Sign and the downtown skyline, and back to Van Nuys. The instructor handles the radio, the takeoff and the landing, and is on the controls with the student throughout.
Parents are welcome in the briefing and on the ramp. On the single-seat discovery flight the passenger seats are not used, so a parent watches from the ground; on the discovery flight for two, $299, a parent rides in the back while the teen flies. The second option is popular for a first flight because everybody sees what it is like. The hour is logged in a new logbook with the instructor's signature, and it counts.
Safety And Supervision
Every training flight for a student under 16 is dual: an FAA-certificated flight instructor is in the right seat with full controls and is the pilot in command of the aircraft. The instructor decides what the student does, takes the controls whenever necessary, and flies the airplane in any situation the student is not ready for. Solo flight, when the time comes at 16 or later, is authorized only by the instructor's written endorsement after the student has demonstrated the required maneuvers and passed a pre-solo knowledge test, and only in weather conditions the instructor has set limits on in advance.
The airplanes are maintained to FAA standards on an hourly inspection schedule, and the Piper Warrior and Cessna 162 that most teens train in are among the most forgiving trainers ever built. Van Nuys is a towered airport, so every movement is under air traffic control, and the practice areas are a few minutes away over open ground. Weather cancellations are free and are made conservatively. If you want to talk to the chief instructor about any of this before your child flies, call and ask; the instructors page introduces the people who will be teaching.
Scheduling Around School
We are open seven days a week from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, which means afternoon lessons after school, weekend lessons, and long blocks over summer and winter breaks. A lesson takes about two hours at the airport for roughly an hour of flying, so a 4:00 PM slot fits after most school days. The most productive pattern we see for teens during the school year is one weekday lesson and one weekend lesson, with ground study fitted in like homework. Over summer, three or four lessons a week is realistic and gets a lot done; several teens finish the teens course, or most of the hours toward a private certificate, in a single summer. The full-motion simulator is also a good use of a rainy or windy afternoon, at $120 an hour, and the hours count.
Parents can book and pay for a package or lesson by lesson; both are explained on the financing page. For the private pilot course, the packages, their hours and their monthly plans are on the flight school cost page.
Scholarships And Youth Programs
Aviation is unusual in how much scholarship money is aimed at teenagers. The EAA Ray Aviation Scholarship, run through local Experimental Aircraft Association chapters, supports teens through private pilot training with a chapter mentor. AOPA runs a high-school scholarship program alongside its adult flight training awards, and its free high-school aviation curriculum is used by schools around the country. Women in Aviation International, the Ninety-Nines and a number of regional foundations also award scholarships to young applicants. Beyond scholarships, the EAA Young Eagles program gives free introductory flights to kids aged 8 to 17 through volunteer pilots, and Civil Air Patrol cadet squadrons in the Los Angeles area combine ground training and orientation flights with a leadership program. Our financing page links to the main organizations.
Parent FAQ
Is It Safe For A Teenager To Fly A Plane?
Flight training with a certificated instructor in a maintained trainer at a towered airport is a very well-regulated activity. The instructor is pilot in command on every dual flight, has full controls, and sets every limit. Solo flight comes only after the student has demonstrated competence and the instructor has signed for it.
How Young Can My Child Start?
There is no legal minimum. Practically, around 10 is when most kids can reach the controls and follow a lesson, and our Teens Pilot Course is for ages 10 to 15. Younger children fly discovery flights with us regularly.
Does My Teen Need A Medical Certificate?
Not to take lessons. A third-class medical is required before solo flight at 16 or later. We suggest getting it a few months before the sixteenth birthday.
Can A 16-Year-Old Really Fly Alone?
Yes. Under 14 CFR 61.83 and 61.87 a student pilot aged 16 with a student pilot certificate, a medical certificate and an instructor's endorsement may fly solo. It is a supervised privilege with limits the instructor sets, not a license to go anywhere.
What Does It Cost?
A discovery flight is $229. The Teens Pilot Course for ages 10 to 15 is $4,200. The private pilot license, from 16 onward, is $10,400 for the 40-hour package or $15,400 for 60 hours, plus third-party costs for the medical, the written test and the examiner.
Will The Hours Count Later?
Every hour flown with an instructor is logged and counts toward the private pilot certificate, at any age.
Do I Need To Be There?
A parent or guardian signs the enrollment and should attend the first briefing. After that, many parents drop off and pick up as they would for any activity. You are always welcome to stay.
What About College And Careers?
A private certificate at 17 is a real advantage for aviation degree programs and airline pathway programs, and it is a genuinely impressive line on any application. Teens who continue can move into the airline pilot career program at 18.
Book The First Flight
The right first step for almost every teenager is an hour in the airplane. Book a discovery flight, or the flight for two if you would like to ride along, and see whether the interest survives contact with a real cockpit; it usually does. If you would rather talk first about ages, the teens course or the path to a license, book a free consultation with an instructor. We answer the phone every day from 9 AM to 9 PM at (818) 330-1318.