Full-Motion Flight Simulator Experience (60 Minutes)

Everything but the altitude. Sixty minutes in an FAA-approved Redbird full-motion simulator: a fully enclosed cockpit with real switches, a wraparound view of Los Angeles, and a motion platform that banks and pitches with you. An instructor sits beside you the whole time. You'll take off, fly turns, climbs and descents, and land, and then do the things no real first flight allows: an engine failure over the Valley, a night approach, a crosswind landing at LAX.

Who this is for

• The nervous. If the idea of a small airplane makes you tense, an hour in the sim first turns the real flight into a repeat rather than a leap. Many people book this, then the discovery flight.
• Kids and teens. No weight or height limit, no weather, and the ability to pause and explain.
• Anyone heavier than our aircraft limits. The simulator has no weight limit.
• A rainy day. The sim is what we offer when the weather grounds a flight; you can also book it on purpose.
• Gamers. If you fly at home, this is what the real controls, real procedures and a real instructor feel like.

What happens in the hour

1. Briefing (10 minutes). How the controls, instruments and radios work.
2. Startup and takeoff from Van Nuys, with the real airport and skyline outside.
3. The fundamentals: straight-and-level, climbs, descents, turns over the Hollywood Sign and downtown.
4. Your choice: a landing at LAX, an approach in weather, an engine-out, a night flight over the city.
5. Landing back at Van Nuys and a debrief. Plan on 75 minutes at the airport.

About the simulator

The Redbird is an FAA-approved Advanced Aviation Training Device, the same equipment flight schools use to train private and airline pilots. It has a fully enclosed cockpit, a 200-degree wraparound display, an electric motion platform and a full worldwide terrain and airport database, so we can fly you anywhere. Time in it with an instructor is loggable toward FAA pilot certificates.

What's included

• 60 minutes in the full-motion simulator with an instructor
• Briefing and debrief
• A signed logbook entry

Requirements

• None. No age, weight or experience limits; no medical, no ID needed for the simulator.
• Photos and video welcome.

Questions

Does it feel real?

The motion, the controls and the procedures are real; the view is a very good screen. Most people forget the difference within ten minutes, and some feel the same butterflies on takeoff.

Can I do the simulator and the real flight on the same day?

Yes, and it's a good combination: an hour in the sim, a short break, then the 60-minute discovery flight. Book both and mention it in the order notes so we schedule them together.

Is it a good gift?

It's the safest gift on the site: no weather, no weight limit, no nerves. Use a gift card and let them choose.