Flight Training in Los Angeles Area

[matthewjfrazier]

Hi all! Brand new here, but was hoping for a little guidance...

I'm looking to start training for my PPL and currently live in Los Angeles (not far from downtown). Can anyone suggest a good school within the surrounding areas? I know there's a handful of them at the Santa Monica airport, but I'm not quite sure how to choose one over the other. Any thoughts on what exactly I should be looking for in a school and what kind of questions I should be asking when doing research? Just want to make sure I choose a good, reliable and safe school!

Any thoughts/guidance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[asgcpa]

Torrence has at good flight school. Unfortunately forgot the name....

 

[stratobee]

I trained with Justice Aviation at SMO and they're good people. SMO unfortunately has a landing fee now for all movements, so it's more expensive there.

Beach Cities Aviation at Hawthorne is another good place. Run by legendary LA DPE Pat Carey. You'll learn more from a Pat checkride than during your whole training. His partner Robin is also extremely knowledgeable and ex-airline. Great people.

LA Flight Center at my home base El Monte is also good. They fly Diamonds. If you live downtown, it might be better for you to go against the traffic and train there.

 

[jhinman]

Beach Cities Aviation at Hawthorne is another good place. Run by legendary LA DPE Pat Carey. You'll learn more from a Pat checkride than during your whole training. His partner Robin is also extremely knowledgeable and ex-airline. Great people.

I took both my PPL and IR checkrides with Mr. Carey. Can confirm; he is the real deal.

 

[stratobee]

I took both my PPL and IR checkrides with Mr. Carey. Can confirm; he is the real deal.

Cool! Yeah, he can be tough old Irishman on you in the air, but I love the guy. He cares about you. Learned a lot from him.

 

[VWGhiaBob]

Avoid SMO: 1) Frequent IFR...big problem especially as summer approaches...even staff at Justice complain that flights are frequently cancelled due to IFR when the rest of LA is clear. 2) Car traffic getting there can be horrendous. 3) Landing fees and future of airport are uncertain.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have joined 8 Ball Flying Club at KVNY earlier. The club has a large roster of great instructors. And the rates boggle the mind: $119 Tach (translation $100 Hobbs meter) for a very nice loaded 172 with great avionics and traffic. The closest comparable rate I've seen is $138 / hour Hobbs...and that's for a good, but beat-up typical rental plane without traffic.

Feel free to send me a message for more info. Wish I had joined 8 Ball sooner...would have saved thousands of dollars and flown in nicer planes!

 

[socalpilot]

Avoid SMO: 1) Frequent IFR...big problem especially as summer approaches...even staff at Justice complain that flights are frequently cancelled due to IFR when the rest of LA is clear. 2) Car traffic getting there can be horrendous. 3) Landing fees and future of airport are uncertain.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have joined 8 Ball Flying Club at KVNY earlier. The club has a large roster of great instructors. And the rates boggle the mind: $119 Tach (translation $100 Hobbs meter) for a very nice loaded 172 with great avionics and traffic. The closest comparable rate I've seen is $138 / hour Hobbs...and that's for a good, but beat-up typical rental plane without traffic.

Feel free to send me a message for more info. Wish I had joined 8 Ball sooner...would have saved thousands of dollars and flown in nicer planes!

Additional info about 8-Ball Flying Club, yes the hourly will be a little lower, but you will have a monthly fee of $140 weather you fly or not. A $3500 buy-in is also part of the membership. The planes are a little newer, but are very tired and worn, squawks have to be written multiple times before they are fixed. Another big gotcha, you can be ASSESSED at any time! This doesn't happen at the rental places, so be ready for it. There was a $500 per member assesment when the Diamond engine blew up. (the plane was a lemon with a history of problems) Lastly, the leadership has been the same for years. It's basically one guy who calls himself the "maintenance officer" and won't step down, and he doesn't have to pay any dues. I'll let you imagine for yourself the atmosphere this creates. There are some very nice pilots in the regular ranks of the club otherwise. Just throwing that review out there for those shopping around.

Mike.

 

[Old Fart]

I fly out of Torrance, training with South Coast Aeronautics.