A discovery flight is only as good as the airplane, and the two we use were chosen for the same reason: they're forgiving, comfortable, and honest in the hands of someone who has never flown before.
Piper Warrior
The Warrior is the airplane most of our discovery flights use, and it's the airplane more pilots have learned in than almost any other. It has four seats, a low wing that gives you an unobstructed view of the ground, a 160-horsepower engine, and handling that is stable and predictable: point it somewhere and it goes there. When your instructor says "your controls" for the first time, this is the airplane you want in your hands.
- Seats: pilot, instructor, and up to two in the back (one on a discovery flight for two)
- Weight limit: 180 lb per person
- Cruise speed: about 115 knots, roughly 130 mph
- Used on: the 60-minute discovery flight, the Downtown LA flight for two and the Malibu coast flight for two
Cirrus SR22
The SR22 is the best-selling piston airplane in the world, and it's the one people picture when they imagine owning an airplane. A glass cockpit with two large displays, a sidestick instead of a yoke, leather seats, air conditioning, a quiet cabin, and a whole-airplane parachute built into the fuselage. It's faster than the Warrior, so an hour covers more of the city, and its weight limit is higher.
- Seats: pilot, instructor, and up to two in the back
- Weight limit: 200 lb per person
- Cruise speed: about 180 knots, roughly 205 mph
- Used on: the Luxury Cirrus discovery flight for two
The Redbird full-motion simulator
Not an airplane, but the third seat we put people in. An FAA-approved Advanced Aviation Training Device with a fully enclosed cockpit, a 200-degree wraparound display and a motion platform. No weight limit, no weather, and it can be set to fly like either airplane above. Simulator experience.
Maintenance and safety
Every aircraft is maintained to FAA standards on a fixed inspection schedule, with maintenance done on the field. Every flight is preceded by the walk-around inspection you'll take part in, and your instructor is the pilot in command throughout.