Terms And Refunds: What Is Settled
The refund basis, the cancellation windows, the no-show rule and the notice periods are written in full and published on this site. This page is the short version; four documents carry the detail and each of them is linked below.
What This Page Is, And Which Document Governs
This page is the summary. Four documents carry the actual terms, and each of them is published in full on this site: the Terms of Service, the Return and Refund Policy, the Privacy Policy, and the Discovery Flight Terms and Conditions.
The single term most people want first: all sales are final, and instead of a refund your purchase is transferable to another person free of charge with at least 48 hours written notice. Nothing you buy from us expires. If we cancel for weather or maintenance, you reschedule at no cost. That is set out in full in the Return and Refund Policy.
The governing document for anything you sign is the document you signed. A training agreement or a release of liability controls over any page on this site for the thing it covers. Below that, the four published policies control, and this page is a summary of them rather than a term in its own right.
What is settled about pricing has not changed and is worth repeating: every course price is published as a single figure, it is fixed at the point you enroll, and nothing is repriced when you move from one phase to the next. That covers the majority of disputes that arise between students and flight schools.
One thing remains true whatever the paperwork says. Money spent on training you have already received is gone, everywhere, at every school. That is why this site argues for sitting your medical before you enroll and for testing your tempo before you borrow.
What Is Already Firm?
Four commitments that are in force now and are visible across the whole site rather than only on this page. Each one is checkable by opening any other page.
Published Prices, As Single Figures
Every course price is on the site. No figure is a range, no figure is withheld pending an enquiry, and there is no separate quote available to somebody who asks for one.
- RangesNone published
- Withheld PricesNone
- Negotiated RatesNone
- Block DiscountsNone
Fixed At Enrolment
The figure attached to a program on the day you enroll is the figure for the content that program states. It is not an estimate and it is not revised as you go.
- Repricing At A Phase BoundaryNone
- BasisThe stated content
- Where StatedThe training agreement
- Extra Flying$179 wet, single-engine
Third-Party Charges Named, Not Priced
Examiner fees, knowledge test fees, your FAA medical examination and your own equipment are set by other people. They are named across this site and priced nowhere on it.
- Examiner FeePaid by you, directly
- Knowledge TestPaid by you, directly
- MedicalPaid by you, directly
- EquipmentYours, and buy it late
Training Delivered Is Delivered
Instruction that has been given and flying that has been flown are not recoverable, at this school or any other. Nothing you have not yet flown is refunded either, but it transfers free with 48 hours notice and it does not expire.
- Flown HoursNot refundable
- Unflown BalanceNot refundable, but transferable
- Your LogbookYours, always
- Your CertificateIssued by the FAA, not by us
What Does Fixed At Enrolment Actually Mean?
It means the figure attached to a program on the day you enroll is the figure for the content that program states, and that nothing is recalculated when you cross from one phase into the next. It is not an estimate, it is not indexed to the price of fuel, and it does not rise because a phase took longer than expected inside the stated content.
It does not mean the total you spend cannot change. If you need flying beyond what the program contains, that bills separately at the published $179 wet single-engine rate. Stating the boundary of a promise is part of making the promise honest, and this is where that boundary falls.
It is also the reason the Comprehensive private pilot program exists at $15,900 rather than only the $10,900 Standard. Comprehensive is priced against 60 logged hours instead of the regulatory 40, so the most common way a fixed price stops being fixed — running past the content — is much less likely to happen to you.
What additional instruction costs, as distinct from additional flying, is not published anywhere on this site. Rather than invent a figure, the gap is named here and on the fixed price page. Ask for it in writing before you enroll, and put the same question to every school you are comparing.
The Terms, In Short
Seven items that were open on this page are now written. Each one below is a summary; the document named beside it is the one that governs, and the figures are quoted from it.
Refunds Against Unflown Training
All sales are final and no refund is issued, except where a refund is required by law. In place of a refund, any purchase may be transferred to another person free of charge with at least 48 hours written notice, and unused prepaid credit does not expire. Set out in the Return and Refund Policy, sections 1, 2 and 9.
Deposit Treatment
A deposit is a payment like any other and is non-refundable on the same basis, and financing arrangements begin from $2,500 down. Like every other purchase, it is transferable free of charge with 48 hours notice, and it does not expire. Return and Refund Policy, section 1.
Lesson Cancellation Notice, And No-Shows
Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours in advance. A cancellation inside 24 hours may be charged a late cancellation fee of up to 50% of the scheduled lesson. A no-show is charged in full, and arriving more than 30 minutes late is treated as a no-show. Return and Refund Policy, section 4.
A Discovery Flight is stricter: a cancellation inside 48 hours is charged the full price, under the Discovery Flight Terms and Conditions, section 6.
Weather And Unserviceability Cancellations
If we cancel for weather, maintenance, instructor unavailability, airspace restrictions or any other safety consideration, we reschedule you at no additional cost, your purchase stays valid, and no refund is issued. A safety cancellation is not a failure to deliver. Return and Refund Policy, section 5.
Context that has not changed: NOAA ASOS observations put 355 training-capable days into the twelve months ending 1 August 2026 at this field, so weather cancellations are a small part of the calendar.
Whether Program Credit Expires
It does not. Unused prepaid credit does not expire and remains available to you, and it may be transferred to another student free of charge on written request. Gift certificates carry no expiration date and no dormancy fee, consistent with California Civil Code section 1749.5. Return and Refund Policy, sections 8 and 9.
Additional Instruction Beyond A Program
The published $179 hourly figure is the airframe and its fuel for enrolled students, and it is not an instructor rate. No instructor rate is published anywhere on this site, and rather than invent one this page still names the gap. Ask for it in writing before you enroll and put the same question to every school you are comparing.
Transfer, Pause And Reinstatement
Any purchase, including an enrolment, may be transferred to another person free of charge with at least 48 hours written notice, and there is no limit on how many times. A reschedule is free with 48 hours notice and carries a $50 rebooking fee inside that window, at our discretion. Return and Refund Policy, sections 2 and 3.
If you become medically unable to continue and can document it from a physician or an FAA Aviation Medical Examiner, your remaining balance may be credited forward or transferred to another student. Those cases are considered individually and a refund is not guaranteed. Return and Refund Policy, section 10.
How To Use A Terms Page Before You Pay
Four steps. They work against any flight school rather than only this one, and the seven items above make a usable checklist wherever you take them.
Take The Seven Items With You
Print them, or keep the tab open. Ask every school you are considering for each one in writing. A school that answers all seven before taking a deposit is behaving properly; a school that answers none is telling you something worth hearing.
Ask Before The Money Moves, Not After
Every one of these questions is easy to ask before a deposit and awkward to ask afterwards. The moment of maximum leverage is the moment before payment, and it does not come round again.
Check That The Page Matches The Agreement
A summary is not a term and a verbal answer is not a term either. Ask for the training agreement, read the refund clause, and check that what this page says appears in the document you are being asked to sign. Where the two differ, the signed document is what applies.
Reduce What You Are Exposed To
Sit the medical before you enroll, fly an assessment flight before you commit, and consider paying a phase at a time rather than the whole route up front. Each of those three shrinks the amount of money sitting behind a cancellation window.
What Costs Sit Outside Every Program Price?
Five, and none of them is priced on this site. That is deliberate: they belong to a testing centre, an examiner, a physician and a retailer, none of whom sets a price with reference to us.
The FAA Knowledge Test
One for each certificate or rating, paid at the testing centre. The private pilot test asks 60 questions, allows 2.0 hours and needs 70 to pass, per the FAA's own knowledge testing matrix.
The Designated Pilot Examiner
A fee for each practical test, paid to the examiner. The examiner is not employed by this school, and a school that quotes their fee as though it were fixed is quoting somebody else's number.
Your Medical Examination
Paid to an Aviation Medical Examiner. The certificate is yours and it stays yours whatever you decide about training, which is part of the argument for sitting it early.
Your Own Equipment
A headset, charts and any electronic flight bag subscription you choose to run. Every private pilot program already includes the books and the training materials, so buy the rest late and ask your instructor first.
Flying Beyond The Program
Billed at the published $179 wet single-engine rate. This is the one item on the list that is ours, and it is the only hourly figure published anywhere on this site.
What Can You Check For Yourself?
Five things about the operation, none of which depends on a term written above. Terms are worth reading and they are worth being sceptical about, so this is what sits underneath them.
Airframe Types On The Ramp, Owned Rather Than Brokered
Cessna 162 Skycatcher, Piper Warrior, Piper Arrow II, Diamond DA20, Cirrus SR22 Turbo and Piper Seminole. The airplanes belong to the operation, so the maintenance calendar is ours and not a lessor's.
Inspected under 14 CFR 91.409(b)Instructors Working Here
Each carries a commercial certificate or an ATP beneath, an instructor certificate above it, and a medical in date. You are matched with one of them, and you may ask for another if the fit is wrong.
14 CFR 61.183 · 61.23 · 61.195Training-Capable Days Measured Across Twelve Months
Counted from NOAA ASOS observations for the year ending 1 August 2026, admitting a day only where the ceiling held at 3,000 feet with five statute miles of visibility across four qualifying daylight hours.
NOAA ASOS via the Iowa Environmental MesonetA Session In The Redbird MCX
An advanced aviation training device, priced by the session rather than by the hour. Two sessions sit inside Standard and Premium, five inside Comprehensive, and weather never takes one away.
Published, not quoted on requestCourse Prices Withheld Until You Enquire
None. Every course figure is printed on the site, nothing is offered as a spread, and the price you sign for is the price you read.
Stated rather than impliedWhy Publish The Terms At All?
Because the two alternatives are worse. Publishing nothing tells a prospective student nothing and hides the fact that the questions have answers. Publishing something vague looks more finished while being far less useful, and it moves the argument to the moment when somebody wants their money back.
Publishing them does three things instead. It lets you ask better questions. It lets you compare schools on the same seven points rather than on tone. And it commits this school in public to terms it then has to honour, which is a harder thing to walk away from than an unwritten policy nobody has asked about.
It also sets an expectation about how the rest of the site is written. Where a figure is unknown, this site says so; where a regulation is quoted, the paragraph is named; where a claim would need a record this business does not have, no claim is made. One figure on this page is still named rather than published, and it is named as a gap: the hourly rate for instruction beyond a program.
One firm statement to close on, because it does not depend on any term above. Money spent on training you have already received is gone, everywhere, at every school. That is why this site argues for sitting the medical before enrolling and for testing your tempo before borrowing, and it is the single most useful sentence on the page.
The Status Of This Document
This page is a summary and it is not itself a contract. The documents that govern are the Terms of Service, the Return and Refund Policy, the Privacy Policy and the Discovery Flight Terms and Conditions, together with any training agreement or release of liability you sign. Where this page and one of those differ, the other document applies. Last updated: 4 September 2026.
Airline Pilot Flight School trains under part 61 of 14 CFR, at Van Nuys Airport. It is not an airline, it is not owned by one, and no carrier holds a cadet program, pathway agreement or hiring arrangement with us. We do not guarantee an interview, a job or a salary.
No pass rate, no graduate count and no rating of any kind is published on this site. The operation is new, any such figure would come from a sample too small to mean anything, and inventing one is the easiest lie available in this industry. What is published instead is the syllabus, the price, the hours and the regulation behind each requirement.
Questions About Terms And Refunds
All sales are final and no refund is issued, except where a refund is required by law. Instead, any purchase transfers to another person free of charge with at least 48 hours written notice, and nothing you buy expires. Sections 1, 2 and 9 of the Return and Refund Policy set it out in full.
No. A deposit is a payment like any other and is non-refundable on the same basis, and financing arrangements begin from $2,500 down. Like everything else you buy here, it is transferable free of charge with 48 hours notice and it does not expire.
Cancel at least 24 hours ahead and there is no charge. Inside 24 hours you may be charged a late cancellation fee of up to 50% of the scheduled lesson. A Discovery Flight is stricter: inside 48 hours it is charged in full.
Not arriving, or arriving more than 30 minutes late. Both are charged in full and the lesson is marked complete. The airplane and the instructor cannot be held past that point without pushing every student behind you off their slot.
No, and that has always been settled. The figure attached to a program on the day you enroll is the figure for the content that program states, and nothing is recalculated when you move between phases. That commitment is visible on every program page rather than only here.
Charges set by other people: the examiner's fee for a practical test, knowledge test fees, your FAA medical examination and your own equipment. Those are named across this site and priced nowhere on it, because this school neither sets nor bills any of them.
That figure is still not published, and rather than invent one this site names the gap. The published $179 hourly rate is the airframe and its fuel for enrolled students, not an instructor rate. Ask before you enroll, get the answer in writing, and put the same question to every other school.
No. Unused prepaid credit does not expire, it stays available to you, and it may be transferred to another student free of charge on written request. Gift certificates carry no expiration date and no dormancy fee, consistent with California Civil Code section 1749.5.
We reschedule you at no additional cost and your purchase stays valid. No refund is issued, because a safety cancellation is not a failure to deliver. NOAA ASOS observations recorded 355 training-capable days at this field across the twelve months ending 1 August 2026, so it is a small part of the calendar.
Both. A reschedule is free with at least 48 hours notice and carries a $50 rebooking fee inside that window, at our discretion. A transfer to another person is free with the same 48 hours notice, and there is no limit on how many times a purchase may be transferred.
Whatever you signed, first: a training agreement or a release of liability controls over any page on this site for the thing it covers. Below that, the four published policies. This page is a summary of them and is not itself a contract.
Your logbook is yours and always was. Any certificate or rating you have earned was issued by the FAA rather than by this school, and it is unaffected by whether you finish a program here. Training records held by the school are a separate matter and worth asking about in the agreement.
Read The Documents, Then Ask The Awkward Questions
Four documents, all published in full, all linked below. Read the Return and Refund Policy before you pay anything, because that is where the cancellation window, the no-show rule and the transfer terms actually live. If you would rather settle a different question first, an hour in an airplane costs $229.
Where To Go Next
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 →