Come do a Discovery Flight
A one hour discovery flight with an instructor. Come see the airplanes and feel how they are to fly. No prior experience needed. We are flying out of John Wayne Airport in Orange County, and Riverside.
What the hour looks like.
You are in the left seat with an instructor next to you. Here is how it goes, start to finish.
- 1
Meet your instructor
You meet at the hangar fifteen minutes before your hour. Your instructor shows you the airplane and walks you through what is about to happen. No reading ahead, no test.
- 2
Walk around the airplane
You do the preflight together: fuel, oil, control surfaces, tires. It is the same check every pilot does before every flight, and it is how you learn what you are about to sit in.
- 3
Fly it
The instructor handles the takeoff. Clear of the airport, the controls are yours for most of the hour: climbs, turns, straight and level over the coast or the valley, depending on where you depart from.
- 4
Land and talk
The instructor lands, you taxi in, and you sit down for ten minutes to go over what you did. The hour goes in your logbook as dual instruction, so if you continue, you are already an hour in.
The airplane.
You fly a factory-new two seat trainer, not a fifty year old Cessna. Glass cockpit, so what you see is what the airlines fly with. A whole airplane parachute, so the airplane itself has a way down if it is ever needed. The same airplanes our students train in every day.
Two airports.
Pick whichever is closer. The flight, the airplane and the price are the same at both.
Orange County
John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana (KSNA)
Out over the coast. Newport, Laguna and the Pacific under the wing within minutes of takeoff.
Riverside
Riverside Municipal Airport (KRAL)
Our home field, where the whole fleet lives and where our students train. Quieter airspace and the mountains on the horizon.
Questions
How much is a discovery flight?
$200 for one hour with an instructor in a factory-new airplane, from John Wayne Airport in Orange County or from Riverside Municipal Airport. The price is the same at both airports and there is nothing else to pay on the day.
Do I fly the airplane myself?
Yes. Your instructor handles the takeoff and landing and talks you through the rest. Once you are clear of the airport you take the controls for most of the hour. The airplane has dual controls, so the instructor is with you the whole time.
Does a discovery flight count toward a pilot license?
Yes. It is flown with a certificated flight instructor, so the time is logged as dual instruction and counts toward the FAA minimums for a private pilot license. Think of it as lesson one.
What happens if the weather is bad?
We reschedule at no cost. Southern California gives us flying weather most days of the year, but if the clouds, wind or visibility are below our limits on the day, we will text you and move the flight to the next open hour that suits you.