The complete training fleet at Van Nuys Airport
Six aircraft types — from the glass-cockpit Skycatcher you'll solo in, to the complex Arrow, the twin Seminole and the turbocharged Cirrus flagship — all maintained in-house and flying seven days a week from Van Nuys Airport.
Six aircraft types. Twelve airplanes. One ramp.
Tap an aircraft to open its bay — tail numbers, engine, cruise speed, panel and the wet hourly rate. Every airplane below lives at Van Nuys Airport and is maintained by our own shop.
Cessna 162 Skycatcher
LA's largest Skycatcher fleet — the most affordable way into a logbook, with a modern glass panel from day one and five identical tails so you always fly.
Piper Warrior
The classic four-seat trainer — stable, roomy and IFR-equipped. It's the airplane most students take from first lesson all the way through the instrument rating, and it's the Discovery Flight for Two aircraft.
Diamond DA20-C1
Stick controls and fighter-like visibility under a bubble canopy — the most fun airplane on the line. A composite airframe and a sportier feel for students who want one.
Piper Arrow
The complex trainer. Retractable gear and a constant-speed prop are exactly what FAR 61.129 commercial training requires — this is the airplane that turns a private pilot into a professional one.
Piper Seminole
The twin airlines want on your resume. Counter-rotating propellers remove the critical-engine problem, making it the ideal multi trainer — engine-out work done right.
Cirrus SR22 Turbo
The airplane many pilots actually buy. Train in it and you graduate fluent in Perspective avionics, turbo engine management and CAPS decision-making — turbonormalized means full sea-level power all the way to FL250.
The whole fleet on one page
Every aircraft, every engine, every rate. All rates are wet — fuel included. The package rate applies to students enrolled in a course.
| Aircraft | On line | Engine | Cruise | Panel | Best for | Rate (Std / Pkg) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna 162 SkycatcherN60225 · N7030B · N6039M · N179LC · N5208V | 5 | 100 hp Continental O-200-D | 118 kt | Garmin G300 glass | Sport Pilot · Private Pilot | $269 / $179 | View |
| Piper WarriorN3034Q · N6312C | 2 | 160 hp Lycoming | 128 kt | Full IFR-equipped | Private Pilot · Instrument Rating | $269 / $179 | View |
| Diamond DA20-C1N306EF · N308EF | 2 | 125 hp Continental IO-240 | 130–138 kt | Garmin 430 | Private Pilot · Commercial | $329 / $229 | View |
| Piper ArrowN316EF | 1 | 200 hp Lycoming IO-360 | 135 kt | Garmin 430 | Commercial · Complex endorsement | $349 / $229 | View |
| Piper Seminole (twin)N311EF | 1 | 2 × 180 hp Lycoming, counter-rotating | 162 kt | Garmin 430 | Multi-Engine Rating · MEI | $649 / $449 | View |
| Cirrus SR22 TurboN422SN | 1 | 310 hp turbonormalized Continental IO-550 | 215 kt | Garmin Perspective glass | High-performance · IFR · Cirrus transition | $649 / $449 | View |
| Redbird MCX (full-motion sim)FAA-approved AATD | 1 | Full-motion simulator | n/a — ground | Glass & analog, real Garmin 430 | Instrument · procedures · emergencies | $200 / $120 | View |
| Redbird TD2 (sim)Desktop procedures trainer | 1 | Fixed-base simulator | n/a — ground | Configurable glass / analog | Procedures practice between lessons | $90 / FREE | View |
| Fleet total | 12 aircraft | 6 types | 118 → 215 kt | Glass & Garmin throughout | Sport Pilot through Airline Program | from $179/hr | Back to hangar |
From 118 knots to 215 knots — the same ramp
The ladder
These six airplanes aren't a random collection — they're four rungs. Start in a two-seat trainer, add complex time, add a second engine, then step into the flagship. Same ramp, same instructors, same logbook.
Learn
Your first hours, first solo and first certificate. Three types to choose from — glass high-wing, roomy IFR low-wing or the stick-and-canopy Diamond.
Go Complex
Retractable gear and a constant-speed prop — the complex time FAR 61.129 requires for the Commercial certificate.
Go Twin
Counter-rotating props, no critical engine. The accelerated seven-day rating that airlines want to see on your resume.
Go Big
310 turbocharged horsepower, Garmin Perspective and a CAPS airframe parachute — the FAR 61.31(f) high-performance endorsement.
Two more aircraft that never leave the building
Our Redbird MCX is a full-motion, FAA-approved AATD — dual controls, a real Garmin 430, glass and analog configurations, and loggable time. Pair it with the Redbird TD2 procedures trainer and you can drill approaches, holds, engine failures and emergencies as many times as it takes, at a fraction of aircraft cost.
Twelve airplanes, one standard
A fleet is only as good as the shop behind it and the schedule in front of it. Here's how ours is run.
Maintained in-house at Van Nuys
Our own maintenance team works on our own airplanes, on our own field. Nothing gets trucked out and waited on — squawks get fixed here, which is why our airplanes stay on the line instead of sitting in someone else's shop.
Identical configurations within each type
All five Skycatchers are set up the same way. Both Warriors are the same. Both DA20s are the same. You learn one panel and one checklist — and if your airplane goes down for maintenance, the next tail flies exactly like it.
Open 9 AM – 9 PM, seven days a week
Early mornings before work, evenings after it, weekends when you finally have time. Twelve aircraft and a seven-day schedule are what make one-on-one training around a real life actually possible.
Fly the fleet before you enroll
Every discovery flight is a real lesson in a real airplane with a real CFI — you'll take the controls over Los Angeles. Pick the airplane you're curious about.
For One
Your first hour at the controls — Skycatcher or Diamond DA20, over the Hollywood Sign, downtown LA and the coast.
For Two
Bring someone. Flown in the four-seat Piper Warrior so a passenger rides along while you fly.
Luxury Cirrus
The flagship SR22 Turbo — Garmin Perspective glass, 310 hp and a CAPS airframe parachute.
Multi-Engine
Two engines on your first flight — the Piper Seminole, counter-rotating props and all.
Fleet FAQ
We operate 12 aircraft across 6 types at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), plus 2 FAA-approved simulators. The fleet is five Cessna 162 Skycatchers, two Piper Warriors, two Diamond DA20-C1s, one Piper Arrow, one Piper Seminole twin and one Cirrus SR22 Turbo — supported by a Redbird MCX full-motion simulator and a Redbird TD2.
Most students start in a Cessna 162 Skycatcher — it's the most affordable airplane on the line at $179/hr package and it has a Garmin G300 glass panel, so you learn modern avionics from lesson one. If you want a four-seat cabin and a full IFR panel from the start, the Piper Warrior is the same rate. If you want a control stick and a bubble canopy, the Diamond DA20 is $229/hr package. All three lead to the same Private Pilot certificate — it's your call, and your instructor will help you choose on day one.
Rates run from $179/hr to $449/hr package, or $269/hr to $649/hr standard — all wet, meaning fuel is included. Cessna 162 and Piper Warrior are $269/$179; Diamond DA20 is $329/$229; Piper Arrow is $349/$229; Piper Seminole and Cirrus SR22 Turbo are $649/$449. Instruction is billed separately: $200/hr ($110 package) for a Private/Sport CFI, $150/hr ($120 package) for an advanced Multi/Instrument CFI and $300/hr ($199 package) for a Cirrus CFI.
The package rate is the price for students enrolled in one of our courses — Sport, Private, Instrument, Commercial, Multi-Engine or the Airline Program. The standard rate applies to non-enrolled rental and one-off flying. Both rates are wet. Enrolling typically saves $90–$200 per hour depending on the aircraft, which is why nearly everyone training with us flies on the package rate.
Yes, and that's exactly why the fleet is built this way. Step 1 is the Skycatcher, Warrior or DA20 for your Private. Step 2 is the Piper Arrow for complex time and the Commercial certificate (Complex Endorsement $999). Step 3 is the Piper Seminole for your Multi-Engine Rating ($5,100, seven-day accelerated course). Step 4 is the Cirrus SR22 Turbo for the high-performance endorsement ($1,799). You never have to change schools, change instructors or start over somewhere new.
We maintain the fleet in-house at Van Nuys Airport. Our own team works on our own airplanes on our own field, which means squawks get addressed immediately rather than waiting in an outside shop's queue. Aircraft within each type are kept in identical configurations, so every Skycatcher flies like every other Skycatcher.
Two, both FAA-approved. The Redbird MCX is a full-motion AATD with dual controls, a real Garmin 430 and both glass and analog configurations — the time is loggable and it's built into our Instrument and Airline syllabi, not sold as an add-on ($200/hr standard, $120/hr package). The Redbird TD2 procedures trainer is $90/hr standard and free to enrolled students. See the simulator page →
Absolutely — that's what a discovery flight is for. Discovery Flight for One $229, for Two $299 (in the four-seat Warrior), Luxury Cirrus $399 and Multi-Engine $499 in the Seminole. You fly the airplane with a CFI beside you, and 100% of the cost credits toward your training if you enroll within 24 hours. Prefer to start on the ground? The 1-hour Redbird MCX sim discovery is $189. Book a discovery flight →
The Piper Warrior is our IFR workhorse — a stable four-seat platform with a real IFR panel, and it's the airplane most students fly from first lesson through the instrument checkride. The Piper Arrow and Diamond DA20 (both Garmin 430) are also used for IFR work, and the Cirrus SR22 Turbo with Garmin Perspective is available for pilots who want to fly instruments behind a modern glass flight deck. Twenty of the hours in our Instrument Rating course happen in the Redbird MCX. Instrument Rating — $11,700 →
The full rate sheet is in the comparison table above — every aircraft, both tiers, effective March 2026, all wet. Each aircraft page carries the same numbers with the specs in detail. If you'd like the rates walked through against your goals and budget, call (818) 290-8249 — we're open 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week.
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Pick an airplane. We'll have it on the ramp.
Twelve aircraft, two simulators and instructors seven days a week at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY). Come fly one before you decide anything.