Best flight school in Southern California. Airplanes are well…read moremaintained, instructors are excellent, the ground classes are top-notch, facilities are great, and the overall environment at the academy promotes a safe space for students to grow and learn. No better place to learn how to become a pilot.

Thank you for the experience. We were pleased with Leslie's expertise in flying and the rest of the…read morestaffs' hospitality. I highly recommend this place for someone who wants to get into flying an aircraft as a passion or career. Different programs available for anyone interested. Located in Torrance area. 1-31-2023

I usually never post on here unless its was a really bad experience in order to help others avoid…read morethe mistakes i went through. Started going to school here for my private pilot license about a year ago. 80 hours in and still no solo. Instructors will take you on your cross country flights just to build their hours. They do not care about their students success. I let it go on for too long, 18k later i finally decided to go to another school. I started the new school and within a month im ready for my solo..... goes to show the difference in schools and their CFI's. Ground lessons were useless... instructors will just talk within themselves and still charge you the full 2 hours. Not to mention their ground instructions are completely unorganized. Made me purchase their syllabus and not ONCE did we open it or follow it within that year. Total waste of time and money.

I cannot say enough about how amazing the folks at Pacific Skies Aviation are! From the owners to…read moreflight instructor Melissa, they are top notch. We bought a VIP package for my mom to go up on her 90th birthday. I spoke with Pacific Skies ahead of time and explained that my mom had never taken formal flying lessons, but that she loves all things aviation related. She doesn't plan on getting her license at this point, but she is extremely knowledgeable about what goes on in the cockpit. The one-on-one time with a professional flight instructor would be something we knew she would enjoy. She had the flight of a lifetime and she plans to come back for more! Thank you for making her 90th birthday so memorable!

I had a GREAT experience. I really enjoyed my first taste at flying during my discovery flight. I…read morehave been in small jets and Cessnas but never as the pilot. I opted for the hour flight and it was worth it. My instructor Andy was informative and seemed to gauge my abilities well to allow me to navigate freely along with his proper guidance. I've had the same experience with instructors at the Porsche experience. Trust is everything with training and I appreciate when an instructor thoughtfully measures your competencies to allow you to you to spread your wings a little further if possible. Everyone at the facility was super friendly too! I really liked my plane and I'm excited to continue moving forward with more trainings and getting more hours under my belt.

First discovery flight: unforgettable experience and instructor!!…read more For as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated by aviation. As a kid living abroad, I fondly remember flying home alone for the holidays and being shown the inside of cockpit. I love the feeling of accelerating down a runway, the feeling of rotation, and I love the engineering, mechanics, and aerodynamics that makes planes fly. I always wondered what it would be like to fly a plane, and to perhaps one day become a pilot. A few weeks ago, I was visiting some friends who just moved to LA, and they were both interested in trying it out as well. I called a few schools to see if any could accommodate all 3 of us flying together (we are all under 150lbs) and South Bay aviation went above and beyond by booking us on short notice for what would end up being a truly unforgettable experience.Because I am already interested in becoming a pilot, I purchased a simulator yoke(*) and rudder pedals to get a bit of training in, and my friends and I each flew maybe 5-10h each in the simulator at home. This is not a requirement, as anyone can do a discovery flight regardless of experience, but it was helpful for us as we were able to hit the ground running (or to keep runway heading one might say). I waited a few days to write this review because I have since done 2 other discovery flights (both out of Van Nuys) and wanted to have something to compare this to. Hands down, without a doubt, I would recommend to everyone to book flying here with Maxine, wether it just be for a discovery flight, to train for your PPL, or just to improve your flying skills. If I lived in LA I would be a student at this school. Here's why:Let's talk a bit about the flights first: all 3 of us did a 1 hour discovery flight, but we took a few different routes:I went first, doing a memorable flight over LA including sick views such as Hollywood sign, Griffith Observatory, Dodgers stadium, downtown LA, coast line, and amazingly, a corridor right over LAX that so many pilots dream of flying through. After sight seeing we had a bit of extra time and we did some maneuvers/training, more on this later. The other two flights were over Palos verdes, the coast, the port of Long Beach, and included significantly more time for maneuvers, which brings me to the main reason I am writing this review:Flying with Maxine wasn't just a ton of fun, it was also a masterclass in how to approach education and training. I am a big fan of the Magic School Bus TV show because the children in the show are always the ones figuring out how to do stuff, instead of adults figuring it out for them. From the very beginning during pre-flight check, to taxi, take off, climb, cruise, descent, and landing, Maxine pushed us to learn and improve as much as possible given our very limited experience and short time together. She spent the extra brain cycles to not just keep us safe and entertained (for example pointing out specific points of interest or history of port of Long Beach), but to help us become better pilots in just one short hour. For example, with both other flight schools, the instructor rushed to set up the plane without much explanation as to what was going on, Maxine showed us some of the steps and even had us help push the plane from/to its parking spot! She also showed us how trim actually works, and explained to us the various moving control surfaces. She explained the operation of the stall horn in an unforgettable way. Once on the runway, Maxine let us do the rotation and climb, while giving constant feedback when possible, instead of constantly grabbing controls -something I now know less experienced CFIs tend to do.Having spent a few hours in the simulator, I had a tendency to stare at my instruments instead of the horizon. Maxine clocked this right away and gave me feedback to improve my flying. She also helped us all understand the fundamentals of flight and trim, and once we were comfortable, we even tried some more advanced maneuvers like slow flight, turns around a point, and steep turns. Once again, Maxine evaluated what we were capable of and pushed us to try hard things, and then directly demonstrated specific, more technical maneuvers when we asked to see those. All while flying in one of the most scenic locations in the world! Flying with Maxine was the highlight of my trip to LA. She has a true gift for teaching, a true passion for flying, qualities I will look for wherever I end up training. We all left not only with incredible memories of flying over LAX, the coast, the Hollywood sign, but with a much better understanding of what it takes to be a pilot, and with significantly more confidence in our ability to master the art of flying over time. My only regret is that I don't live in LA, but I will be sure to come back as often as possible for flying lessons with our very own Ms Frizzle! (*) in retrospect a joystick would have been just as good & half the price

I booked through GetYourGuide which was a little bit difficult to navigate but eventually I…read morefinalized a 1hr tour for 2ppl. The app was not specific about my time slot nor did it mention when I would be contacted, additionally finding conflicting information about the business being open at either 8am or 10am? So that app sucks. But this review is for SCA who emailed at 930am giving me a time slot and we were ready! Terry was a fantastic guide, indulging when he realized we were terrified and loving it. He let me steer for a bit and I scared the heck out of everyone, he answered all of our basic questions and made jokes along the way. Great experience overall and it took 30min for my adrenaline to come back down. One of a kind experience!

*edit, as I've additionally added on* I decided to purchase a Groupon for this establishment 2…read moreyears ago for a discovery flight, and was fairly disappointed with response time, it took about 2 weeks to reach back to me through email with a time that wasn't suitable, no one seems to ever answer the phone as well. 2 years later I thought I'd give it a go, this time I thought maybe new management, or they were just busy last time, giving them the benefit of the doubt. Nope still no phone answer and no email response time. not even an automated email back that says, "hey we will get back to you in etc. business days". This was supposed to be a gift for my partner who wants to start flying lessons. If they aren't organized in something simple as Groupon's, how can I trust they'll be organized or fair when he does start aviation school? Also the responses on Groupon's for 1 star reviews are DIABOLICAL. Id recommend contacting Dubois Aviation, they answered in less than a minute and scheduled me in day 1. Benny (the manager) finally responded to my email after this review was posted, which confirms that my previous emails were received and simply ignored. When I asked where I could make a reservation, his response was, "nowhere now." This came across as intentionally dismissive and unprofessional, as if meant to offend rather than resolve anything. This type of attitude is extremely disappointing and inappropriate for someone in a managerial role. Communication like this reflects a lack of respect for customers and a complete absence of customer service. To the owner/management: it's clear that new or returning business is not a priority here. Between the rude communication and the minimal effort to address concerns, the overall experience has been very discouraging. Given the number of negative reviews on Yelp and the BBB, a change in approach and leadership style could significantly improve both customer trust and business success. I chose not to leave a negative review over two years ago out of goodwill, but unfortunately, the same issues persist. I'm grateful to have found another school/business that values professionalism and respectful communication.

If you ever plan to purchase Robinson helicopter parts from this institution, please forget about…read moreexpecting that you ever get your core value,that you pre-paid, back for your parts. This institution has a practice of never returning your money unless you remember to beg them for it. I call that a poor business practice.

If you ever want to impress someone give them a flight lesson to Catalina from Rolling Hills…read moreAviation!!! Rolling Hills Aviation has been around for over 30 years teaching people how to fly, fixing airplanes and providing tie down spots. This is a great place to stop in and talk about aviation even if you are afraid to get up in the air. It is also a great place to take your kids and watch the planes take off. Besides learning to fly at Rolling Hills, I had my wedding reception in the hanger.... great place to have an event!

This place is awesome I enjoyed the planes as well as the…read moreinstructor can't wait to fly again

Tried to book a flight. No response at all…read more Called at least 49 times. Not even a call back. Great customer service right.

I recently went on a demo intro flight with Mick at LA helicopter training in Torrance, I must say…read moreit was one of the best experiences of my life , a life long dream , Mick was very professional and showed his great knowledge and experience as well as putting me at ease on my first heli training experience and I can't wait to start my full time training with him ,

This was a great experience for my sister & I. The pilot was informative & made sure we had a great…read moretime. We booked on a full moon so it was perfect. Booking at sunset made this experience 10xs better.

My review is only on the customer service... or lack thereof. As some other reviewers have…read morementioned, I also purchased a Groupon for a flight lesson and after multiple emails over months, received only 1 response asking what date I desired, then nothing. The phone number does not connect so you can't get a hold of anyone. Currently working with Groupon to try to get a refund. Very disappointed in the lack of professionalism.

Tori bad mouth's Pam to customer's. Pam would never bad…read moremouth Tori. General Aviation Does not promote quality customer service.

Took the VIP tour for my daughters birthday This was…read morefantastic from the beginning to the end! We got yo sit and have drinks and snacks before our tour begins it was nice The tour was great and our tour guide was so knowledgeable and friendly he had the best vibe! 2hr tour with no walking was amazing we got to see so much and learned lots of new tidbits of shows We got to have lunch with our tickets It was really nice to go to central perk and the food was good we had a good selection of sandwiches and drinks We got to explore the friends area and lots of photo opportunities We got to see the big bang area and again have pictures taken We did the Superman experience and hang out in fortress and have some drinks very cool concept and everyone was very friendly We got to go see Harry Potter's area and see lots of DC items So much to see we truly enjoyed it so much we will definitely be back again

5.7.26 Fun…read moreexperience getting a behind-the-scenes look at how productions come together. Em, our tour guide, was personable and knowledgeable, which made the experience even more engaging. We were able to visit the set of Friends (one of my favorites) along with another sitcom set, though I can't recall the name. I do wish there had been more sets included on the tour. The experience is a mix of guided and self-paced exploration, which offers a nice balance. It wraps up with a gift shop at the end. Overall, a really enjoyable and worthwhile experience.