Best aircraft maintenance shop in the Salinas/ Monterey area. Always competitive with their prices…read morecomparing to nearby shops. I always come back.

Incompetent and a rip-off. I went to this shop for an annual because few shops still work on…read moreradial engines. Not only could Larry not perform a simple leak-down test, he tried to bill me 20 hours for 2 hours worth of work. The aviation community is already seeing declining numbers, unfortunately, shops like Gold Coast Aviation try to squeeze more money out of fewer people which will lead to even fewer people getting into general aviation. I'd fly my airplane out of state for an annual to avoid this rip-off shop.

From the owner: Annual, 50 hour, 100 hour inspections. Piston engine service, repair, and overhaul. Radial engine…read moreoverhaul. Vintage aircraft maintenance. Aircraft Carburetor repair and overhaul. Magneto servicing and overhaul

After some less-than-ideal experiences at other shops, I try to have all avionics work done by…read moreAerial. Adam and his team don't cut corners, and the job is done correctly the first time. Their rates are very fair, especially when you consider their Bay Area location, and in my experience they're very good about adhering to their esimates. I feel very lucky to have a great avionics shop that's located nearby!

Excellent work, service, people. Need avionics done, this is the place!!read more

I had my Cherokee 140 painted at Bill Pott's Painting. Not only did Charlie Pott's fail to do some…read moresimple requests to make the cowling and door fit BEFORE paint he did not add chafing strips after but forgot to remove old hardware; He just painted over it! Moreover, He failed to replace all hardware with stainless as promised. He forgot to attach the wire to the tail light, he left a wire hanging out of the wing tip, left window trim loose, and did not seal windows after installing them. Now paint is bubbling on the flap. I found the front wheel starting to freeze up so I removed the wheel and bearing and found the bearing corroded with what I assume to be stripper. He also told me he couldn't remove the thermometer in the window so he just left it out. To add insult to injury, he said he found "hail damage" so charged me about 2500 more. Then when I found I had paid him 500. more than his bill do to his addition he won't pay me back. What an a hole! Never go to Bill Pott's Paint! Sincerely, Jeff 650-464-7261

From the owner: We specialize in aircraft refinishing our business was established in 1967 we strive to produce top…read morequality painting for our clients .

It's been a number of years, but I can say with certainty that a tiger like this does not ever…read morechange its stripes. Take your plane somewhere else to get it worked on. This individual is a classic dishonest small businessman and at best a mediocre aircraft mechanic (at worst a disastrous aircraft mechanic, as I found out). Among the pile of complaints which accumulated, the biggest was a real doozy: my Beechcraft Baron needed an elevator re-skinned because of corrosion, and this is a notoriously expensive repair because it must be a specific magnesium skin, no substitutions. Edwards did the repair, and charged me the same price any shop was charging at that time: about $5,000. The following year, after a bitter falling out because of his dishonesty, I took the plane to another shop for an annual. They almost dropped their teeth: he had re-skinned the elevator with a BONANZA elevator skin, which is ALUMINUM -- a recklessly illegal repair which, if I had crashed, could have landed him in prison. I checked the price of Bonanza elevator skins, and it seems Mr. Fraudwards had pocketed about $3,000 extra cash by doing this illegal repair while charging me the price for the legal one -- that's what my safety was worth to him. I called the FAA FSDO to make a complaint, asking that he be stripped of his A&P license; the inspector knew him by name and said I wasn't the first to call about him. I asked why he was still licensed, and the inspector said "we're waiting for the smoking gun to use against him to pull his license." Apparently, I would have had to crash for the gun to be smoking enough for the FAA. After talking to more people it became clear: Edwards' problem was not incompetence, it was pathological dishonesty. He simply behaved like a swindler in every aspect of his dealings. Do yourself a favor: skip this shop and find a reputable one. In the end, you'll save money by only paying once for repairs, and you'll have a safer aircraft.

I have owned several aircraft and currently own a Quad Cities Challenger II which is an LSA…read moreaircraft with a Rotax engine. When I first asked Al to work on the airplane, he told me that he was unfamiliar with the model. He then learned all the things necessary to perform my last three annuals and some modifications that I wanted to do with factory aftermarket parts. His work is excellent and he always manages to find a way to fit me into his busy schedule. His prices are fair and he stays within his quotes unless he finds an unexpected issue once he is working on the plane. In those cases, he has always offered me fair choices as to whether or not I want to spend extra money for the needed parts or labor. I have known him for several years and would not want to use another A&P in the area.

I've been having Brian work on my airplane for quite a few years, and will keep coming back. When…read moreyou work with Brian, he'll tell you directly what the problems are, work with you to find solutions, and is always honest and fair.

I had been taking my Pitts Special to another mechanic who kept sending me back in the air without…read morefixing a serious issue that was starving the engine of fuel. As a pilot one of the last things you want to hear is "take her up and see if that fixed it!" Brian at Flying S found the problem, educated me about my plane and let me assist as much as I was able in any and all repairs. He never overcharges and has completely reasonable rates, especially for this area. I'm moving to Washington State soon and will still bring both the Pitts and my Bonanza down to Brian for annuals.

Let me start by saying that Steve Frost of CAT has a great sense of humor and attitude. It's not…read moresomething you generally see in dealing with the high stress and costs world of dealing with aircraft particularly jets. I purchased a plane that had the wrong pistons installed (lower compression) based upon a number of circumstances. Steve helped resolved a matter for me that was above and beyond when we see in today's market. Professional, genuine, competent...

They don't let you get your PPL here. I could tell some instructors are trying to just get money,…read moresaying we need to sit down for 4 hours, he also said I was not close to the cross country solo even though I have 200 hours of dual, SWITCH immediately if an instructor isn't working for you. There are some good instructors here which is why I'm giving 3 stars, but there's also some really terrible instructors. I flew here a year and didn't make ANY progress except getting to the solo. Waste of my time and money. I recommend looking into a different flight school.

Amazing aviation school, great customer service, and great instructors! I purchased the discovery…read moreflight and it was an amazing experience from start to finish. Jonathan was our instructor, he seemed patience, friendly, and was very informative and down to to earth, answered our questions and it was an amazing flying experience overall. Will definitely be back!