Flight school in Orange County.
Whether you are looking to become a career pilot or just fly for fun, CFII is the place for you. Come fly with us out of John Wayne airport in our fleet of factory-new airplanes.
Flight lessons in Orange County
Discovery flight
Your first lesson, from John Wayne. Meet your instructor, preflight the airplane together, then take the controls and fly along the coast. No experience needed. $200 for the hour, booked online at any open time.
Private pilot license
Learn to fly for yourself, part time, from John Wayne. Fly two or three times a week around work or school and take friends and family up the coast once you are licensed.
Career Track
Want to fly for a living? The full-time program, zero experience to flight instructor in about nine months for $89,000, trains at Riverside Municipal Airport, about 45 minutes inland.
What we are known for
Zero to career pilot in nine months.
The Career Track takes you from zero experience to commercial pilot and flight instructor in nine months, full time. It flies from our Riverside school, about 45 minutes inland, and most career students move into student housing near the airport. One price, with financing for the full amount.
See Career Program- 9 months
- full time, from zero to instructor
- 6 ratings
- and certificates, PPL to CFII
- 282 hours
- in your logbook
- $89,000
- with financing for the full amount
Flight training in Orange County
- Factory-new airplanes
- Tecnam P-Mentors with glass cockpits, not fifty-year-old trainers. Every one carries a whole-airplane parachute.
- One instructor, one student
- Every lesson is one on one, briefed, flown and debriefed with the same instructor who knows your last flight.
- Learn the radio where it counts
- John Wayne is a busy airline airport. You talk to the tower and approach control from your first lesson, and every airport after it feels easy.
- The coast is your classroom
- Lessons head out over the coastline and the hills of south Orange County, a few minutes after takeoff.
Where we fit
We fly from John Wayne: discovery flights and private pilot lessons in factory-new Tecnam P-Mentors, every one with a whole-airplane parachute. That is the difference you can see on the ramp, because most fleets in the county are Cessna 172s and Piper Archers, many of them decades old. For a flying career, our full-time Career Track trains at Riverside.
How to choose
- What year is my airplane?
- Ask which airplane you would train in, how old it is, and whether it has a parachute.
- How often can I fly?
- Two or three lessons a week is what keeps the total down. Ask how far ahead you have to book to get them.
- What is the total?
- Ask for the all-in total to the checkride, not the hourly rate. Examiner fees are extra everywhere.
- Same instructor every time?
- Changing instructors halfway costs you hours. Ask how long their instructors usually stay.
- Can I fly before I commit?
- Any good school will put you in the airplane with an instructor before you pay for a program.
John Wayne Airport
Orange County's airport, owned by the County, with more than 11 million airline passengers a year. About two thirds of its takeoffs and landings are general aviation, though, and small airplanes like ours have a runway of their own beside the airline runway. You learn in real airline airspace from your first lesson.
Near you
John Wayne sits in the middle of Orange County, a short drive from most of it.
- Santa Ana
- Irvine
- Costa Mesa
- Newport Beach
- Tustin
- Orange
- Anaheim
- Huntington Beach
- Fountain Valley
- Laguna Beach
- Lake Forest
- Mission Viejo
Questions
Where are the lessons?
At John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Santa Ana, next to Irvine, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. We send you where to meet your instructor when you book.
What flight schools are in Orange County?
Most fly from John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Santa Ana: CFII, OCFC (Orange County Flight Center), OC Flight Lessons, Pacific Flight Aviation, Royal Aviation and Sunrise Aviation. Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa runs a college flight program, Fun Outside Aviation trains at Fullerton Airport, and Rogue Aviation teaches helicopters from John Wayne and Long Beach.
Which airport is best for learning to fly in Orange County?
John Wayne has the most schools and puts you in busy airline airspace from your first lesson, which makes every airport after it feel easy. Fullerton, in the north of the county, is a smaller and quieter towered field. Pick the school first, then the airport that is closest to where you live.
What is a discovery flight?
Your first lesson. You meet your instructor, walk around the airplane together, then take off and fly it yourself with the instructor beside you. No experience needed. It is $200 for the hour, and you can book any open time online.
Can I get my private pilot license in Orange County?
Yes. We train private pilot students part time from John Wayne Airport, on a schedule that fits around work or school. The FAA minimum is 40 flight hours, and most people need 50 to 60.
How much do flying lessons cost?
Flight lessons at our John Wayne location are $250 an hour, airplane and instructor included, and a one hour discovery flight is $200. The total for a private pilot license depends mostly on how often you fly: the more often, the fewer hours it takes. For a reference point, Orange Coast College puts its private pilot flight lab at about $19,000 for a semester. Sign up and we will go over our numbers with you.
Is the Career Track at John Wayne too?
No. The Career Track, full time from zero experience to flight instructor in about nine months for $89,000, trains at Riverside Municipal Airport, about 45 minutes inland. Most career students move to student housing near that airport.
Do I need any experience, and how old do I need to be?
No experience: most of our students have never flown before. There is no minimum age for lessons. The FAA lets you fly solo at 16 and earn a private pilot license at 17.
Your first lesson is in Orange County.
One hour with an instructor in a factory-new airplane, from John Wayne. You fly it yourself, no experience needed.
Book a discovery flight$200. Pick any open hour online.