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Under 14 CFR 61.109(a), a private pilot applicant for airplanes needs 3 hours of cross-country flight training with an instructor, at least 5 hours of solo cross-country time, one solo cross-country of at least 150 nautical miles total with full-stop landings at three points and one leg of more than 50 nautical miles, plus a night cross-country of more than 100 nautical miles. For logging, a cross-country must include a landing more than 50 nautical miles straight-line from the departure point. Here is how it all works from Van Nuys.
For private pilot experience, a cross-country needs a landing more than 50 NM straight-line from where you started (14 CFR 61.1).
Three hours of cross-country flight training with your instructor.
At least 5 hours of solo cross-country time within your 10 hours of solo.
150 NM total, three full-stop landings, one leg over 50 NM straight-line.
One night cross-country of more than 100 NM total distance, with an instructor.
Every solo cross-country needs instructor endorsements under 14 CFR 61.93.
The word "cross-country" has a specific legal meaning. In 14 CFR 61.1, cross-country time generally means flight time that includes a landing at a point other than the point of departure, using dead reckoning, pilotage, electronic navigation or other navigation systems to get there.
For the purpose of meeting the aeronautical experience requirements for a private pilot certificate (and for commercial, instrument and recreational pilots, except with a rotorcraft rating), the definition is stricter: the flight must include a landing at a point that is more than 50 nautical miles in a straight line from the original point of departure. Sport pilots use a shorter 25 nautical mile standard.
That 50 nautical mile line matters in Los Angeles. Many popular nearby airports are closer than you might think. Camarillo, Oxnard, Torrance and even Catalina Island's Airport in the Sky are all less than 50 nautical miles in a straight line from Van Nuys, so a flight to one of them alone does not count toward your private pilot cross-country time. Santa Barbara, about 68 nautical miles away, and Bakersfield, roughly 79 nautical miles away, do.
Distances are approximate straight-line figures from Van Nuys; always measure your own route on a current chart.
The private pilot single-engine airplane experience requirements in 14 CFR 61.109(a) include these cross-country items within the 40-hour minimum:
The long solo cross-country is the milestone most students remember. It must cover at least 150 nautical miles total distance, with full-stop landings at three points, and one segment of the flight must cover a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations. A classic example from Van Nuys is a triangle to Bakersfield and Santa Barbara and back, which covers more than 200 nautical miles in total, with legs longer than 50 nautical miles. Your instructor will choose a route that fits your skill, the weather and the airspace.
The towered-airport requirement is easy at our school: Van Nuys Airport has an FAA control tower, so you practice those takeoffs and landings at home. The night cross-country is covered in detail in our guide to night flying requirements.
Before you fly a solo cross-country as a student pilot, 14 CFR 61.93 requires training and endorsements. Your instructor must have trained you in cross-country procedures, including navigation by pilotage and dead reckoning, weather, emergency procedures, traffic patterns, collision avoidance, radio use, short-field and soft-field takeoffs and landings, and flight by reference to instruments.
For each solo cross-country flight, you generally need:
Before signing off, the instructor must review current and forecast weather to confirm the flight can be completed under VFR. There are limited exceptions in 61.93(b): with the right training and endorsement, a student may fly solo to another airport within 25 nautical miles for takeoff and landing practice, and may make repeated solo flights to a specific airport within 50 nautical miles without a new endorsement each time.
Good cross-country planning is a skill you will use for the rest of your flying life, and it is tested on your private pilot checkride. A thorough plan includes:
Southern California adds local factors. The marine layer can bring low clouds to coastal airports such as Santa Barbara, especially in the morning, and routes north over the mountains mean watching terrain and winds. Your instructor will help you plan departures from Van Nuys that keep you clear of busy airspace. Practice procedures and radio calls in our Redbird MCX full-motion simulator before you fly the route.
Cross-country flying is the gateway to what makes a pilot certificate useful: real trips. Once you are certificated, you can fly to destinations up and down California. Our guide to day trips from Van Nuys has ideas, and you can rent aircraft at Van Nuys to go.
If you continue to an instrument rating, you will need 50 hours of cross-country time as pilot in command under 14 CFR 61.65(d). The commercial pilot license requires longer flights, including a solo or PIC cross-country of at least 300 nautical miles total with one leg of at least 250 nautical miles straight-line, under 14 CFR 61.129(a)(4). Every cross-country you fly as a private pilot builds toward those goals.
Our fleet has an aircraft for every stage, from the Cessna 162, Piper Warrior and Diamond DA20 to the complex Piper Arrow and the Cirrus SR22 Turbo.
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