Gift Certificates · Flown When They’re Ready
Give Someone Their First Flight
A real flight in a real aeroplane, with one of our instructors beside them and the controls in their hands. $200 for one passenger, $300 for two or three. No date is fixed at purchase — they book when it suits them.
The Moment They Find Out
Surprises from the school’s Instagram — what it looks like when somebody unwraps a flight.
The Two Options
$200for one passenger
The $300 option is the same flight with company. Whoever is flying takes the seat next to the instructor; the others ride in the back with the same view. Both prices are final for the standard flight — the aircraft, the instructor, fuel, ordinary taxes and airport fees are included, and there is nothing to pay on the day.
- $300
- for two or three passengers
- 1 day
- named PDF by email, within one business day
| Option | Price | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery Flight — one passenger | $200 | One person: the pilot’s seat, the controls, the flight |
| Discovery Flight — two or three passengers | $300 | Two or three people on the same flight; whoever is flying sits up front |
Why A Flight Works As A Gift
A certificate covers a discovery flight — a short introductory flight where the person sits in the pilot’s seat and takes the controls. It is the flight, not a tour or a simulator.
- It gets used. A store card becomes groceries. A flight certificate becomes a date on the calendar, a morning at an airport, and something they will describe to people for years.
- It suits someone who is hard to buy for. Anyone who has ever said “I’ve always wanted to fly a plane” has told you exactly what to get them, and probably will not buy it for themselves.
- It can turn into something real. A fair number of pilots point back at one gifted first flight.
- If they want to keep going, training is billed by the hour — $110 an hour, all in — with no membership, no deposit and nothing bought in advance.
No pressure attached, either. There is nothing to sign on the day, and nobody will pitch them a programme while they are still catching their breath.
How It Works
Three steps, and none of them fixes a date.
Tell us which one you want
Pick the option — one passenger or two to three — and call or write to us. No account, no membership, no deposit. We send a secure payment link, and we take Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, plus ACH, Zelle and cash, with no card surcharge.
We deliver the certificate
You get a payment confirmation straight away. The certificate itself is a named PDF, sent by email within one business day once we have checked the name and your message by hand. By default it goes to you, so you can hand it over yourself — or tell us when you order and we will send it to the recipient on a date you pick, in which case your receipt stays with you and the price is not shown in their email. Prefer something physical? You can collect a printed card from the office free of charge. We do not post certificates.
They book their flight
The recipient calls the office with the certificate code, or writes to us. Either works, but a date counts as booked only once we have confirmed it in writing. We then confirm the meeting point at 3028 Peacekeeper Way, McClellan Park.
No date is attached at purchase — the gift is the flight, whenever they are ready for it.
Certificate Terms
- Delivery
- 1 business day
- Named PDF by email within one business day of payment. Printed card free from the office; no postal delivery.
- Value
- Never reduced
- We do not reduce the value of a certificate over time and we charge no inactivity or dormancy fee.
- Expiration
- Per California law
- Expiration and redemption terms are governed by applicable California law; contact us for the current written policy.
- Transfer
- Once, free
- An unused certificate can be transferred to someone else once, free, after we verify the purchase with the buyer. The new recipient still has to meet the age, ID and weight-and-balance requirements.
- Refund
- 7 days, unused
- The purchaser can request a refund of an unused certificate within seven calendar days of purchase. Once a flight is booked, the normal cancellation rules apply. Any rights you have under mandatory consumer law come first.
- Rescheduling
- 24 hours ahead
- Free up to 24 hours before the booked slot, up to two reschedules. Weather cancellations by us are free and do not count.
Who It’s For
We sell these year-round, and the reasons people give are consistent.
- Birthdays — for the person who has enough things and not enough stories.
- Anniversaries — the $300 option puts both of you in the same aeroplane.
- Graduations and milestones — for a teenager who talks about flying and has not had the chance to try it.
- Someone who has said it for years — “I always wanted to learn to fly” is a request, not small talk.
- Buying for a child or teenager? The minimum age is 12. Anyone under 18 needs a consent form signed by a parent or legal guardian, and an adult has to be present for check-in and the briefing — for under-16s the adult stays at the airfield throughout.
What The Recipient Can Expect
They arrive at Sacramento McClellan Airport and meet their instructor — no terminal, no security line, no queue. They walk around the aeroplane while it is inspected, get in the left seat, and the instructor flies the take-off. Once the aeroplane is level the controls are theirs: gentle turns, holding a heading, watching the rivers and farmland of the Sacramento Valley go by underneath. The instructor lands, then talks through what they did.
Nothing aerobatic happens. Nervous first-timers are the norm rather than the exception, and the whole flight runs at their pace — the instructor can head back early if they have had enough, and that costs nothing extra.
They are in the air about 45 minutes, and should plan on roughly 90 minutes at the airfield in total.
A gift certificate buys a discovery flight, and that one flight covers every occasion people book it for — a birthday, an anniversary, a proposal at 3,000 feet. The recipient is welcome to bring a phone or a compact camera once their instructor has briefed them on it, and what they can photograph on the day comes down to the weather and the route the pilot in command flies.
Ordering Ahead Of A Date
If the certificate needs to be in someone’s hands by a particular day, tell us that day when you order and we will confirm whether it is realistic before you pay rather than after.
For an emailed certificate, order at least two business days ahead — more if you want it sent to the recipient on a particular day. If the flight itself needs to be on a weekend or near sunset, expect to book that two to three weeks out.
One thing worth saying plainly: the flight itself does not have to happen on the occasion. Weather moves flights, and a first flight is better on a calm morning than on a windy afternoon that happens to be someone’s birthday. The certificate covers the flight; they pick the day.
How much is a flight gift certificate?
$200 for one passenger and $300 for two or three. Both are final prices for the standard flight — the aircraft, the instructor, fuel, ordinary taxes and airport fees are included, and there is nothing to pay on the day.
How is the certificate delivered, and how fast?
As a named PDF by email, within one business day of payment, once we have checked the name and your message by hand. By default it comes to you so you can hand it over yourself. You can also collect a printed card from the office free of charge; we do not post certificates.
Does the certificate expire?
We do not reduce its value over time and we charge no inactivity or dormancy fee. Expiration and redemption terms are governed by applicable California law — contact us for the current written policy.
What if the recipient is nervous about small aeroplanes?
Nervous first-timers are the norm rather than the exception. Nothing aerobatic happens, the flight runs at their pace, and the instructor can head back early if they have had enough — at no extra cost.
Can one certificate cover two people?
Yes — the $300 option covers two or three passengers on the same flight, subject to weight and balance. Whoever is flying sits next to the instructor and the others ride in the back with the same view.
How does the recipient book their flight?
They enter the certificate code in the form on our discovery flight page, or call the office on (916) 907-5812. A date counts as booked only once we have confirmed it in writing.
Give A Flight
Ask About A Gift Certificate
Tell us who it is for and when you need it in their hands, and we will confirm whether that is realistic before you pay rather than after.