(818) 290-8249 · Open 9 AM–9 PM, 7 Days a Week · ★★★★★ 4.9 · 500+ Reviews · Van Nuys Airport
Women are a growing share of new pilots: FAA data shows more than 100,000 active women pilots at the end of 2025 for the first time, and women made up 16.4% of student pilots. Los Angeles has deep roots in women's aviation history and an active community to support you. Here is how to get started, find mentors and scholarships, and train with confidence.
FAA requirements, from the 40-hour private pilot minimum to the 1,500-hour ATP, are identical for every pilot.
Women passed 100,000 active pilots at year-end 2025, according to FAA figures reported by industry media.
FAA data as of December 31, 2024 shows women hold about 5.5% of airline transport pilot certificates.
Amelia Earhart took her first airplane ride in Long Beach, and the 1929 Women's Air Derby started in Santa Monica.
The Ninety-Nines and Women in Aviation International offer mentoring, events and scholarships.
A discovery flight lets you take the controls with an instructor before committing to anything.
Southern California is a fitting place for women to learn to fly. On December 28, 1920, Amelia Earhart took a ten-minute airplane ride in Long Beach with pilot Frank Hawks, a flight the Los Angeles Public Library says altered the course of her life. Less than two weeks later, on January 3, 1921, she took her first lesson with instructor Neta Snook at Kinner Field in the Los Angeles area. Today the North Hollywood branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, a short drive from Van Nuys Airport, is named the Amelia Earhart Regional Branch.
In August 1929, the first transcontinental Women's Air Derby started at Clover Field in Santa Monica, now Santa Monica Airport, and finished in Cleveland nine days later. Twenty women entered and fourteen finished. Conversations among those racers helped lead to the founding of the Ninety-Nines on November 2, 1929, with Earhart later serving as its first president. The organization's Los Angeles chapter dates to 1932 and still meets at Santa Monica Airport.
When you fly out of Van Nuys over the San Fernando Valley, you are training in the same skies those pioneers helped open.
Progress is real, but there is plenty of room to grow. These figures come from FAA airman data, as reported by Women in Aviation International and aviation media:
The gap between the student pilot share and the airline transport pilot share tells the story: more women are starting than ever, and the next decade of captains will look different from the last. Airlines and aviation organizations actively recruit and support women pilots, and the career pays well. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 data, the median annual wage for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers was $232,140.
The path is the same for everyone. The FAA does not have separate standards for women, and nothing in the regulations favors one body type or background. Here is how to begin:
Worried about strength or height? Modern training aircraft are designed for a wide range of pilots, and seat adjustments and cushions solve most fit issues. Our fleet includes the Cessna 162, Piper Warrior, Diamond DA20 and the Cirrus SR22 Turbo, so you can find a cockpit that fits you.
When you visit any flight school, pay attention to how you are treated. You should feel comfortable asking questions, requesting a different instructor if the fit is not right, and getting clear answers about cost and scheduling. A good instructor relationship is built on respect and clear communication, and it makes every lesson more productive.
One of the best things you can do is connect with other women pilots early. A mentor who has been through training can answer questions that feel awkward to ask, recommend study habits, and help you through plateaus.
Scholarships can make a real dent in costs. Combine them with our financing options, including Stratus Financial loans with terms of up to 15 years and in-house plans. Our flight school loans guide covers every option in detail.
Some women learn to fly for weekend trips up the coast; others want the left seat of an airliner. Both are great reasons. If you are aiming for a career, the professional path runs through the instrument rating, the commercial pilot license, the multi-engine rating and, for many, becoming a flight instructor to build hours toward the 1,500 required for an unrestricted ATP under 14 CFR 61.159.
Our Airline Pilot Program takes you from zero experience through the training you need to start building time, for $84,000 (regularly $89,000, with a $5,000 promotion). Teen girls interested in flying can start early with our teen flight training program.
Women instructors are role models in their own right. Every woman CFI is someone who will inspire the next student who walks into the terminal wondering if she belongs. You do.
We train at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), which Los Angeles World Airports describes as one of the world's busiest general aviation airports. That means you learn with a control tower from day one and get comfortable talking to air traffic controllers, a skill that pays off in any flying career. Southern California's generally flyable weather helps you keep a steady training rhythm, and you will learn to manage local conditions like the marine layer.
We are open 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week, at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal. Between flights, practice procedures in our Redbird MCX full-motion simulator.
Call us to book your first flight or talk through your goals. We will help you take the first step toward your pilot certificate.
Real students, real first flights, real ratings — straight from Google and Yelp.
The fastest way to know if the left seat is for you is to stand on the flight line. Book a free consultation — or reach us whichever way you like.
Tour the school, meet your instructors, sit in the cockpit, and leave with a personal training plan and exact pricing. Your Discovery Flight fee is credited toward training when you enroll within 24 hours.
One minute, a few details, fast answers from a real person on our team.
