Aircraft Rental At Van Nuys Airport
$179 an hour wet for a single-engine aeroplane, for enrolled students who have been checked out on the type. Six types, all owned by us and maintained in our own shop on the field.
Two Honest Answers, Depending On Where You Are
Most flight school rental pages in Los Angeles imply that anybody with a licence can walk up and take an aeroplane. That is not how this operation works, and it is better to say so on the page than at the desk.
You Train With Us
If you are an enrolled student and you have been checked out on the type by one of our instructors, single-engine aircraft are $179 an hour wet. Fuel is in the figure. You book the aeroplane the same way you book a lesson.
Best forstudents building hours, staying current, or flying the cross-countries their certificate requires
- Rate$179/hr wet, single-engine
- FuelIncluded
- RequiresEnrolment and a checkout on the type
- AircraftCessna 162, Piper Warrior, Diamond DA20, Piper Arrow II
- TwinsNo published hourly rate — see below
You Have Not Trained With Us
There is a route, and it starts in the left seat with an instructor beside you. An hour at $229 establishes what you can do; after that a checkout is a short, specific piece of work rather than an open question. Nobody at this school hands an aeroplane to somebody they have not flown with.
Best fora certificated pilot new to the area, or somebody returning to flying after a gap
- Start WithAn hour of dual, $229
- ThenA checkout on the type with an instructor
- Then$179/hr wet on single-engine types
- Currency14 CFR 61.56 flight review and 61.57 recency still apply
- InsuranceOurs covers the aircraft; it is not your personal cover
What Each Type Costs, And What It Does Not
| Aircraft | Published hourly rate | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Cessna 162 Skycatcher | $179/hr wet | Sport pilot, private pilot, first solo |
| Piper Warrior | $179/hr wet | Private pilot, instrument, cross-country |
| Diamond DA20-C1 | $179/hr wet | Private pilot, time building |
| Piper Arrow II | $179/hr wet | Complex endorsement, commercial pilot |
| Piper Seminole (twin) | Not published | Bought as the $5,100 multi-engine rating |
| Cirrus SR22 Turbo | Not published | Bought as the $22,500 Premium program |
| Redbird MCX simulator | $189 a session | Procedures, emergencies, loggable time |
Six Types, All Ours
Nothing on this ramp is leased in for the afternoon. The maintenance calendar and the flying schedule belong to the same people, which is the practical reason an inspection lands where we put it rather than where a contractor has room.
Cessna 162 Skycatcher
- Seats2, side by side
- Engine100 hp Continental O-200-D
- AvionicsGarmin G300 glass display
- RoleSport pilot · private pilot
Piper Warrior
- Seats4
- Engine160 hp Lycoming
- AvionicsFull IFR panel
- RoleInstrument · cross-country
Diamond DA20-C1
- Seats2, side by side
- AirframeComposite, bubble canopy
- ControlCentre stick
- RolePrivate pilot · time building
Piper Arrow II
- Seats4
- UndercarriageRetractable
- PropellerConstant speed
- Role14 CFR 61.31(e) complex
Piper Seminole
- Seats4
- EnginesTwo, counter-rotating
- Rating14 CFR 61.63(c)
- AvailabilityThrough the $5,100 rating
Cirrus SR22 Turbo
- Seats4
- EngineTurbocharged
- AvionicsGlass panel
- AvailabilityThrough the $22,500 program
Scroll sideways, or tab to the strip and use the arrow keys.
Every airframe here is inspected on the 100-hour cycle 14 CFR 91.409(b) requires of aircraft used for instruction for hire, and the work is done in our own shop on the field rather than sent out.
What Has To Happen Before You Take One On Your Own
None of this is unusual and none of it is ours — it is what any operator letting an aeroplane out of its sight ought to require.
Enroll
Rental at this rate is for enrolled students. If you are training here already, you are enrolled. If you are a certificated pilot new to the school, the first step is an hour of dual so somebody has actually flown with you.
Show The Paperwork
A pilot certificate, a current medical certificate where one is required, and a flight review that meets 14 CFR 61.56 — within the preceding 24 calendar months. We take a copy and it goes on file.
Fly The Checkout
A checkout with one of our instructors on the specific type. Airwork, the emergency drills that matter in that airframe, and enough circuits to satisfy both of you. How long it takes depends on your currency, not on a policy.
Be Current, And Stay Current
14 CFR 61.57 sets the recency required to carry passengers — three takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 days, and to a full stop at night. Our own currency requirement for renting sits alongside it, not instead of it.
Book It Like A Lesson
Same schedule, same desk, same aircraft. $179 an hour wet on a single-engine type, billed on Hobbs time, with the fuel already in the figure.
Bring It Back Full Of Squawks
If something is not right, write it up. An operator that owns its own shop can fix a squawk in the building; one that leases its aeroplanes in has to pass it along. This is the practical difference the ownership makes.
What “$179 An Hour Wet” Actually Includes
Rental pricing is where flight schools get vague, so here is the whole of it.
“Wet” means the fuel is inside the rate. A dry rate looks cheaper and is not: you buy the fuel separately, at whatever the pump on the day says, and the real cost of an hour becomes something you can only calculate afterwards. We publish one figure because a figure you cannot plan against is not a price.
$179 an hour wet covers the aeroplane, the fuel and the oil, on a single-engine type, for an enrolled student checked out on it. It does not cover an instructor — if you want one in the right seat that is a lesson, and lessons are sold inside program prices rather than by the hour.
The Piper Seminole and the Cirrus SR22 Turbo carry no published hourly rate at all. That is deliberate. The Seminole exists here to teach the multi-engine class rating, which is $5,100 and takes about a week; the SR22 Turbo exists to fly the Premium private pilot program, which is $22,500. Quoting an hourly figure for either would imply an arrangement we do not offer.
The Redbird MCX is $189 a session with an instructor. It is not rented by the hour unsupervised, because an Advanced Aviation Training Device without somebody running the scenario is an expensive video game.
Why It Matters Who Owns The Aeroplane
Six Aircraft Types, Owned
Cessna 162 Skycatcher, Piper Warrior, Diamond DA20-C1, Piper Arrow II, Piper Seminole and Cirrus SR22 Turbo, all on our own books rather than leased in.
Our Own Shop On The Field
The 100-hour inspection 14 CFR 91.409(b) requires is done here, by people we employ, on aircraft they know. A squawk does not become a fortnight.
A Real Checkout
Twelve people on the roster, and every checkout is flown with one of them. Nobody here hands an aeroplane to a pilot they have not flown with.
A Redbird MCX On The Field
$189 a session. The cheapest way to stay sharp on procedures between flights, and it is never cancelled for weather.
One Published Rate
$179 an hour wet, single-engine, enrolled students. No block-time minimum, no membership, and no dry rate that moves with the pump.
Questions About Renting An Aeroplane At Van Nuys
$179 an hour wet for a single-engine aeroplane, for enrolled students who have been checked out on the type. Wet means the fuel and oil are inside that figure. It is the only hourly rate published on this site. The Piper Seminole and the Cirrus SR22 Turbo carry no published hourly rate, and a Redbird MCX simulator session with an instructor is $189.
Enrolled students who have been checked out on the type. If you hold a certificate and have not trained with us, the route starts with an hour of dual so that somebody here has actually flown with you; after that a checkout is a short, specific piece of work. We do not hand an aeroplane to a pilot we have never flown with, and neither should anybody else.
Your pilot certificate, a current medical certificate where the certificate you hold requires one, your logbook, and evidence of a flight review within the preceding 24 calendar months as 14 CFR 61.56 requires. We take copies and they go on file.
It depends on how current you are, not on a policy. A pilot flying regularly on a similar type is usually a single session; somebody returning after a long gap should expect more, and will be glad of it. The instructor decides, and they are deciding about the aeroplane rather than about you.
No, no and no. There is no block-time minimum, no membership fee and no monthly commitment. The rate is the rate.
Ask, with the dates and the destination. It depends on the airframe, the schedule and where you are going, and the answer is a conversation rather than a rule — but a school that owns one Arrow and one Seminole has to protect the training schedule those airframes carry.
A wet rate includes fuel; a dry rate does not. A dry figure always looks lower and is not, because you then buy fuel at whatever the pump charges that day and the true cost of the hour is only knowable afterwards. We publish a wet rate for the same reason we publish program prices: a figure you cannot plan against is not a price.
Neither has a published hourly rate. The Piper Seminole is here to teach the multi-engine class rating, which is $5,100 and takes about a week under 14 CFR 61.63(c). The Cirrus SR22 Turbo flies the Premium private pilot program at $22,500. If your object is time in either aeroplane, the rating and the program are the honest routes to it.
The aircraft is insured by us. That is not the same thing as personal cover for you, and any renting pilot anywhere should understand the difference and consider their own non-owned aircraft policy. Ask at the desk and we will tell you exactly what our cover does and does not do.
Fly With Us Once, Then Take One Out
Every route to renting an aeroplane here starts with an hour in which somebody sits beside you. If you are already training with us, ask your instructor about a checkout. If you are not, an hour costs $229, is logged as dual received, and comes off a program price in full if you enroll within a day.
Where To Go Next
The Aircraft
Our Fleet, Six Types Owned In-HouseThe Training Fleet At Van NuysPiper Seminole Multi-Engine TrainingRedbird MCX Simulator TrainingThe Field
Flight Training At Van Nuys AirportFlight School In Los Angeles355 Measured Flying Days At Van NuysAbout The SchoolAbout The Rate On This Page
$179 an hour wet is a single-engine rate available to enrolled students of Airline Pilot Flight School who have been checked out on the type by one of our instructors. It includes the aircraft, the fuel and the oil. It does not include instructor time. It is the only hourly figure published on this site.
The Piper Seminole and the Cirrus SR22 Turbo carry no published hourly rate. They are available through the $5,100 multi-engine rating and the $22,500 Premium private pilot program respectively.
Renting an aircraft does not alter any requirement in 14 CFR part 61. A flight review under 61.56 and the recency of experience in 61.57 remain the pilot’s responsibility, and our own checkout requirement sits alongside those rules rather than in place of them. Our insurance covers the aircraft and is not personal cover for a renting pilot.
Airline Pilot Flight School is a 14 CFR part 61 flight training provider at Van Nuys Airport, operating since 2019 with zero accidents and zero incidents as 49 CFR 830.2 defines those words. Every airframe is inspected on the 100-hour cycle 14 CFR 91.409(b) requires, in our own shop on the field.
Fly The Aeroplane Once, Then Decide
The assessment flight is the first hour of the syllabus and a two-way evaluation. You fly it from the left seat with an instructor beside you, they write down what they saw, and you get an honest read on whether the plan is realistic. It is loggable, and it is credited in full against enrolment if you enroll within 24 hours.
What happens on an assessment flight →