Flight Training Credit — Gift Certificate
Credit against anything we teach
Three denominations — $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000 — applied against any program, discovery flight or simulator session. It is not tied to one product, which makes it the useful thing to give a person who has not chosen yet.
| Denominations | $1,000 · $2,500 · $5,000 |
| Redeemable against | Any program, flight or Redbird session on this store |
| Delivery | Sent by email — either straight to them, or to you if you would rather hand it over yourself |
| Amount shown | Your choice — printed on the certificate or kept private |
| Expiry | None |
| Field | Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), Van Nuys, CA 91406 |
Why the middle denomination is the interesting one
$2,500 is the figure our financing starts at, so a certificate of that size covers the deposit on a program outright. Somebody handed one is not being given a nice gesture toward a hobby — they are being given the part of the decision that usually stops it, which is the money that has to appear before anything begins.
$1,000 covers a first lesson and a simulator block with room over. $5,000 is most of a solo package.
How it behaves
It does not expire, it carries the name of whoever bought it, and it can be spent in pieces rather than all at once. Someone can fly a $229 assessment flight against it, think for a month, and put the rest toward a program.
It cannot be exchanged for cash and it is not a payment instrument. It is credit at one school.
Where the credit is likely to go
The programs it most often lands against are the Standard Private Pilot at $10,900, the Comprehensive at $15,900 and the Solo package at $5,500. All of those prices are published, so the recipient can work out exactly what the certificate covers before spending it.
Give money toward a decision, not a voucher for an experience.
What the credit is spent at
- We bought the airplanes rather than renting them from private owners, so the maintenance decisions are made here. 14 CFR 91.409(b) puts an airplane that gives instruction for hire on a 100-hour inspection interval, and that bill lands on us.
- There are eleven instructors, which is enough that a full schedule does not stall on one person's diary. Every one meets the same standard: CFI, commercial certificate or ATP, current medical.
- An enclosed, motion-based Redbird MCX, FAA-approved, is part of the operation rather than an add-on to it. Priced at $189 when booked by itself.
- 355 training days a year, taken from NOAA ASOS records at this field and judged against a stated minimum of 3,000 ft and 5 sm.
- No quote to request and no range to interpret. Program prices are fixed, published, and the same for everyone who walks in.