I was a member of this school for two years and do not recommend this school to anyone to start their flight training. Very time-consuming and expensive with respect to the quality of their training. They don't provide any agenda and reasonable schedule and lengthen the training with many unnecessary steps and paperwork to make more money. Nothing noticeably better than other places. read more

They don't let you get your PPL here. I could tell some instructors are trying to just get money, saying 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. read more

Amazing aviation school, great customer service, and great instructors! I purchased the discovery flight 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! read more

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Found this place because I needed to take my part 107 exam, I called a day before my schedule time just wanted to make sure they were open. The girl front desk(Katie) was able to help me confirm my exam date, and when I arrived she helped me check in and explained everything to me from how the exam work and what to do after. She also recommended me to take the flight class so I def will be back! read more

Advantage Aviation - Flight Instruction Near Me - Palo Alto, California

Took my aeronautical knowledge test at Advantage Aviation. The girl working the front desk was helpful. I was very nervous, about to drop $150 on this test I've been studying so hard for. Long story short, I passed! It was a cool experience leaving with all these pilots around me. Felt like I belonged, lol. Lots of parking read more

Beware -- they have a NO REFUNDS policy but they do not say so on the website. I bought this as a gift and found out when my son didn't want it and I asked for a refund. read more

I flew with Advantage from June to September 2014. Usually I fly as a private pilot in Europe (Norway). I want to highlight four topics flying with Advantage. 1. Very good facilities and planes The clubhouse is awesome (especially to a Norwegian). They always got the coffee ready for you as well as some candy or good cakes. They have several briefing rooms, three computers, nice restrooms and a cultural finish to the location. The number of airplanes is satisfying and I always felt I had good accessibility to them (had no problem booking a plane for a weekend or book a plane for an evening flight the day before). 2. Tremendous instructors My primary instructor was Will McAdams. He made me learn a lot on the two first flights we had when I first started flying at Advantage. Being new to the G1000, the busy Bay Area airspace and the US radio terminology he did a very good job maximizing my learning before I went solo. If he doesn't answer his e-mail it's just because he loves his work being present in an airplane from 7am to 11pm. I also did cross country flight planning with the always very helpful, professional and friendly Richard Digrazzi. On my request, on a Friday afternoon, he got in touch with the maintenance helping me clean the plugs in a G1000 airplane that didn't hot start. I had booked the plane for a weekend flight to Santa Barbara planning to stop at several airports along the coast and wouldn't have made it without Rich's help. 3. Helpful service Alvaro in the front desk is always very helpful and friendly. He helped me out more than once and I experienced the service as exceptional. If the usual printer didn't work or the airplane I booked got a squawk he'd do his very best to solve the problem right away. Advantage also has its own maintenance in the hangar located 100 ft from the club. They always fixed squawks quickly (switching wheel if needed, cleaning plugs when hot start G1000 is difficult, etc.) 4. Safety-oriented Last, but not least important. If there is anything you want it's this. If you don't like instructors and members giving you friendly advice (e.g. parking procedures, radio procedures, flying in the pattern, securing aircraft the best possible after flying, etc.) when you're doing your favorite (and sometimes risky) hobby then Advantage is not the right place for you. I really appreciated this as it made me, a foreign European pilot, feel that the club cared about not only getting you to spend time with their planes. I also felt I always could ask. read more

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So my dad was a pilot when he was younger and used to take me up for rides when he had his own small propellor plane. I knew I wanted to fly again, but this time take an actual lesson. I searched around yelp and found this place Advantage based off their 5 star reviews. Happy I did! I got an email back from a flying instructor, Will and we scheduled an introduction lesson. The ocean didn't have clouds over it so we even got to do a landing at Half Moon Bay! He let me fly almost the whole time, which I didn't realize they were allowed to do without being approved or something. He asked me if I wanted to "stall" the plane and I was really scared but it wasn't too bad after. I didn't know you do so many of those things in normal training! Scary to think about but I felt really comfortable the whole time. He was definitely doing the "cool pilot" thing about it all but I had a blast. I won't have the time to finish my Private Pilots License until I'm done with college, but I definitely can't wait to come back. Also, a really nice atmosphere inside the flying club. I remember these places looking like dirty grandparents houses or something but not here... read more

Advantage Aviation - By Half Moon bay taking off. - Flight Instruction Near Me - Palo Alto, California

A highly memorable place, had the Discovery Flight here and even though it was expensive it was totally worth it. If you're looking for a fun and safe flying experience I would definitely recommend Advantage Aviation! read more

Advantage Aviation instructors are a SCAM!!!!. Please save your thousands of dollars by not choosing this flight school. They do not let you get your private pilot license even if you are perfect at everything. They ask you to do more and more sessions, so they can earn money. If it was possible I would have given negative ratings. read more

I would give negative stars if I could. When calling today, the woman literally hung up on me because I pressed for more information, which have "infinite possibilities" no answers. If I am about to spend this $$ to learn to fly, you better have answers. It was funny, considering I've spoken with about 5 other well established programs that have no difficulties addressing my questions. The receptionist was ill informed regarding even basic information, and represented the height of unprofessionalism. I would absolutely NEVER waste my money on a place that prioritizes potential new clients in this way. read more

I really enjoyed a one hour discovery flight with Sumeet. He is professional yet personable, easy to understand, patient, and explain all details clearly. Thanks! read more

Advantage Aviation - Flight Instruction Near Me - Palo Alto, California

Just got my private pilot's license after training here under CFII Mark Erwin who I cannot recommend enough - it was just a fantastic journey. THANK YOU MARK! The club has great facilities - Sandi and Vera at the front desk are super friendly and helpful. Their mechanics are great too and the planes in much better shape than other clubs I've seen. Within the one year that I took to learn to fly these people have become family and the club has become home :) read more

I would give them 10 stars if I could. Me, my girlfriend, and son were headed to another flight school when we accidentally walked into Advantage Aviation. They were really friendly about the mixup, so I asked for their card to check them out the next time I wanted to do an intro flight lesson. 15 minutes later we walked straight back to Advantage Aviation after receiving rude service at the place we originally had a lesson set up with. Alvaro is very friendly and welcoming. He set us up with an instructor right away and made us feel very comfortable. It was Valentines Day so for them to set up an appointment within the hour was amazing. The atmosphere and decor inside Advantage Aviation is very classy, welcoming, and relaxing - exactly what you would want from a flight school/club. They even had treats for Valentine's Day, which my son (and my gut) really enjoyed. My flight instructor, Jeff, was exactly the type of instructor I would want for my first flight. It was my first time flying a plane and my son's first time in any type of aircraft. Jeff was thorough with his instruction, friendly, and supportive. I was pretty much basing my entire flight future on my first lesson that day, and because we accidentally walked into Advantage Aviation, it's going to be clear skies from here on out. I definitely plan on returning for instruction and another nice view of the Bay Area a few times a year. Thank you everyone at Advantage Aviation. The cupcakes and flight were great. You really made our Valentine's Day. read more

I got my private pilot license here. Big thanks to my CFI Jonathan Chung and Doug Peterman. Also thanks for the helps from Jeff Katz and Mike Shiflett. I have been through very advanced training not just for the flights but also personal character. Advantage Aviation has great planes with timely and quality maintenance. We can see fresh tires, accurate instruments, agile flight controls and all planes are cleaned frequently. Most of all, this is the ONLY place in the vast area uses G1000 commonly in most of the planes, and the prices are very practical and friendly. The club is well decorated with luxury resting area. There are multiple separated offices with TV, so the instructors can seriously brief and debrief the flights! The friendly fuel technicians are driving nice trucks and fuel the planes for you!! (Think about it, you never need to drag a plane along the taxi way do all the labors just for fuel) Definitely, I am looking forward to move on with my IFR and commercial here. Cheers! read more

I've returned to flying after about a 6 year hiatus and I've decided to join up at Advantage. My previous experiences have included Squadron 2 (SJC, moved to RHV, avoid at all costs), West Valley (PAO, HWD, SQL, E16), and Tradewinds (RHV). I'll review each of them shortly as well. I chose advantage because of a good selection of Technically advanced aircraft (glass cockpit) and high-performance/complex singles at a reasonable price. I'm mostly a cross-country IFR-oriented pilot, so, having well equipped and well maintained aircraft with good cruising speeds at reasonable rates is my most important criteria. Advantage has that, and, a very professional staff and excellent instructors. Feel free to send me a message with any questions. To put it in context, I have almost 900 hours and private, ASEL, instrument airplane ratings with complex and HP endorsements as well as about 150+ hours of actual instrument and 200+ hours of complex time. Looking forward to getting my instrument skills back up to proficiency and moving back up to the faster birds. read more

Nicest showroom for Palo Alto clubs and friendly CFI with well maintained rentals. Only down side are CFI fees and rentals are higher than San Jose and Livermore clubs. Had a blast flying with Derek Day he is a very cool fun guy to fly with! read more

I took a demo flight with Byron. It was a lot of fun! He had me do the flying which was scary at first but once I relaxed it was great. My son came along and had a blast. After the demo flight Byron walked me through all of the costs involved in obtaining your private pilot certificate. He was thorough and didn't hide any of the costs. Let me tell you, after doing the math on this I had a bit of sticker shock, but it was not out of line compared to the prices at other clubs except that the planes are a bit higher than others in the area. The club seems to be well-furnished and well-run. The members were friendly to me and my boy as well. read more

Called for information regarding services, and customer support was more or less incompetent. Asked for appropriate department, and company staff member was rude, asking "What do you want?" read more

This place really rocks. Aircraft are maintained well. The interior is always clean and tidy. Mark Erwin - was my instructor and was always professional and a pleasure to work with. Highly recommended. Andy Geosits - is also highly recommended. The staff can be a bit more friendly, but other than that, Advantage Aviation is the place to go for a bay tour or get your PPL & Ratings. read more

I started my flight training at Advantage Aviation one year ago and finished my private pilot license last month. I looked at all the flight clubs at Palo Alto and this one was definitely the best choice. Convenient location, great facility and staff with a constantly growing fleet of new aircraft. I trained in an Piper Archer, Cesssna 172N and eventually 172SP w/G1000. Their collection of Cirrus and C182 aircraft provide an easy transition to high performance flying. They even have tailwheel now! Come check it out. If you are thinking of getting your license in the Peninsula or South Bay, this is the best choice hands down. Check all of them out and you will probably agree. read more

Advantage Aviation - Comfortable, modern pilot's lounge - Flight Instruction Near Me - Palo Alto, California

Maintenance is pretty bad. We've started ferrying our plane elsewhere. Takes longer than estimated, not good at returning calls, does work that they didn't tell you about, and I tried to pick up our plane only to find that it had fouled spark plugs. read more

I surprised my wife for our anniversary by taking her on a discovery flight with Sumeet. We had a GREAT experience! We were a bit nervous right when we got there since we didn't know what to expect. But, Sumeet explained to us our flight plan and helped to answer any questions that we had shifting any worries to excitement. For our discovery flight, we flew around SF to Pacifica to Half Moon Bay to South Bay. The views were incredible with a lot of picture taking during the process. We can't thank Sumeet enough for this wonderful experience. He was professional throughout the time we were there and made the entire experience enjoyable. Two thumbs way up for sure!! read more

Advantage Aviation - Flight Instruction Near Me - Palo Alto, California

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I booked an introduction flight for my boyfriend's birthday present. We showed up at 9:15. There were nobody at front desk. We were scheduled for 9:30 with Jonathan Chung. In the end we were waiting for an hour. Jonathan was booked with other people. Amanda (front desk assistant) said that we are not in the system. I booked the flight on the phone and had the confirmation of my purchase. We were waiting for more than one hour for them find some other pilot. They scheduled us for this time with pilot Jonathan on the phone but somehow we are NOT in the system. Nobody even apologized or this!! In addition Amanda didn't want to provide manager's contact information. Because of this all our next plans were ruined because they assisted us one later than was supposed to. Other pilots were trying to help but not front desk and/or manager. Horrible experience!! read more

Bought my husband the introductory package. Great place to begin to learn how to fly. Had a great time. He will try now for his license

Love it! Staff friendly, engaging. Makes me want to take lessons. There was no pitching of classes, but plenty to keep me busy dreaming about becoming a student. If I decide to take that first lesson, it will be here. read more

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I took my 107 drone pilot test there. After weeks I never received my card and when I contact them they sent me an email to go to a site where there are a bunch of stuff and small lines to read to figure out how to receive my license card. Very frustrating the whole thing. read more

Loved this place and our training pilot and the location and the value for money that you get here.. L.O.V.E it... After a disastrous experience at another flight school I was really sceptical of doing this but my brother convinced me so I very reluctantly went for it. What can I say.. just a super awesome experience. From the way they spend time one on one explaining the controls and logic of flying.. to the hands-on pre flight check.. to the actual experience of flying sitting in the pilot's seat.. I'v become a fan. Fabulous experience with so much hands on opportunity I was blown away. Our instructor pilots relaxed, calm and confident manner was contagious. Can't say enough how good these guys were. Three of us tried it that day with three different instructor pilots and planes and each of us came out with the same experience. Says a lot about their consistency. Feel like I've been bitten by the flying bug. read more

All the 5-star reviews speak for themselves but since I'm having such an exceptional time here, I'll add another 5-star review. After checking out numerous clubs in 3 different airports, I started training at Advantage for my private pilot license and now am officially a pilot. In my opinion, there are two important things in choosing a flying club: == 1) Instructors - This is the person that will be by your side every step. You not only want to make sure he is competent, but that you get along with him. My instructor was Laurent Lambert and I can say that he's very knowledgeable, has the right combination of push and pull in his instruction and has a flexible schedule that can accommodate training someone with a full-time job. He's also very easy-going as a person and I expect to keep our friendship in the future (and hopefully get further ratings with him). I've also flown with Chuck Hellweg and Mark Erwin, both of whom were very professional, competent and fun to fly with. 2) Aircrafts - You don't want your training to be hampered by the unavailability of an aircraft. Advantage has a large number of aircrafts that are well-maintained. As you train, you will have to cancel some flights due to maintenance issues, but I've had very few such issues during my 10-month training. Discovering, diagnosing and (sometimes) fixing a variety failures is something you need to know as a pilot, anyway, so I learned something from every one of them. == Aside from the above two, I consider anything else you get from the flying club as a bonus. - Easy access to planes: Advantage has an online reservation system you can use to book planes and instructors. There's also an electronic keypad and an automated system to get into the club and access the keys to the planes 24/7 for all members. Oh, did I mention that the planes are parked right outside the club? - Nice facilities: The lounge and the rooms are all clean and well maintained. I think the biggest benefit of this is that it prompts the members to hang out and talk at the lounge. This is the place where I got to hear all kinds of pilot stories and get tips from various instructors. - Friendly staff: As a student pilot, I've had (and still have) all kinds of questions and blunders, but everyone who works here is super friendly like... all the freaking time. Awesome! If you're looking for a place to get flight instructions and the Palo Alto airport is convenient for you, GO TO ADVANTAGE AVATION. Hell, even if the Palo Alto airport is out of your way, I would still recommend it. read more

This is the BMW of flight clubs. I just joined! Learning to fly a plane is something really exciting to me BUT something to take very seriously. So, being the researcher I am, I did an exhaustive search online reading everything I could find and I then visited nearly all the clubs at Palo Alto and San Carlos. This club came highly recommended by my instructor. All the puzzle pieces fit perfectly. My top notch instructor's advice and my research correlated perfectly. This was the place. It stands apart when you walk in the door by the amazingly friendly and professional face at the front desk: Alvaro. You will also be impressed by the overall appearance of the place. Funny thing, is at many of these clubs I checked out the restroom - yes, the restroom! Consider it an indication of how well 'maintained' things are (planes anyone?). And also, you will likely bring family and friends with you here on some days. You want a club you can feel proud to be a member of and bring people to. Advantage looks amazing on the inside and has very clean restrooms for those of you that care about such things! I should also mention they have a great selection of modern planes (G1000s) and sims. Some clubs have only a few G1000 planes which can be an issue if you want to train in modern cockpits. Also, they do all their own maintenance on site which makes me feel more secure that those working on the plane know the plane. I'm extremely safety conscious and want to minimize risk in all areas that I can. I look forward to a long adventure here. Enjoy the process of figuring out what works best for you, learning to fly ... and I hope to see you in the sky! read more

Excellent service!! Went in looking for general information about their discovery flight options the day before Thanksgiving. Amanda, who was incredibly kind and helpful, took the time to answer all of our questions thoughtfully and thoroughly. read more

I was new to the area and committed to take my private pilot license. I was looking around multiple options around the Valley but definitely Advantage was the best choice. From the beginning I got a warm welcome from the people managing the center. Special mention to Alvaro, he was extremely helpful and solved all my first concerns. He helped me to arrange everything from the beginning and make sure all was going fine. Planes are very well maintain and there is huge variety of planes availble with latest tech. Overall, great center, great planes and even greater people read more

If you're looking into anything aviation related - including top notch instruction and help with your plane or local charter, this is the place. Owner Ken is one of nicest people around. I have taken flight lessons with Byron Bly and Jeff Katz both of whom are top notch instructors. read more

This was so much fun! It can be very tricky picking the right day. You know, if there is bad weather they won't take you up. We couldn't go up our first visit: too many clouds & fog, so no visibility. The second day the weather couldn't have been better & our pilot was awesome. So, just be patient & don't let Mother Nature ruin your experience. It is a wonderful place, very reasonably priced, offering a wonderful experience. We plan on doing it again! Thanks to all help make this a great birthday present! read more

I'm doing my primary training with AA in 172SP-G1000. I am very happy that I find this place. It's a great place to learn to fly. In addition to all late model singles, they even have a G58 Baron on the roster. If KPAO is convenient for you, look no further. This is the best club there, probably in the bay area. read more

This place is still tops, and Byron is truly the best AND extremely patient and informative. Will refer everyone here and to him if he is available! read more

A great fleet, an instructor for every possible goal (and temperament) and a facility that quite frankly leaves every other flying club in the dust; it's closer to a Flightcraft FBO than the typical clubhouse-like flying school. The recently installed electronic security and automated check-out/check-in system make Advantage a uniquely convenient, 24/7 resource. Not cheap, but this is Palo Alto, so what do you expect? read more

Advantage Aviation is highly recommended. It is a fantastic place to learn to fly!!!! My flight instructor, Matt Velichko, is incredibly knowledgable, reliable, and safe. He's the best of the best when it comes to instructors. Such a great experience!! read more

This is a good place to learn how to fly because of the quality of plane the offers and friendly stuff. Their instructors are actually also working in many different clubs, so in advantage aviation you can only take advantage of the plane selection. One thing i needed to remind anyone who looking to join the club is the fees that you need to prepare to pay. Many discharge, add-on fees plus expensive rate. Everything, except a free pencil, need MONEY! Even it is the stuff error on charging credit card they will charge you a $5 fees. Overall, I will give it a 50/50 on going to this club and good luck with your lesson! read more

This is a review of Advantage as an FAA test center, not as a flight school. I'm a glider pilot, so I train elsewhere. Advantage is the closest FAA test center to my office, and it's on my way home. I've taken several FAA knowledge tests there. The process is quick, easy, and they've always had all the supplies required for the test I wanted to take. read more