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

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.

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

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 .

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.

Numerous messages left with no response. I can only assume he is so busy that he must be…read morebackstroking in cash.

I had my B55 Baron interior done here in 1999 and 17 years later it is still a masterwork of fine…read morecraftsmanship. Very reasonable prices, too. This is a shop where the limits for your aircraft interior are only the limits of your own imagination.

Had my plane serviced there a couple of times in the past but this one was different…read more I was not in town and I emailed what had to be done with my plane in a Watsonville hangar nearby. It took three weeks AFTER the promised start date to get me plane into their shop. During that time there was no communication from UFS. I came by 4 weeks later and the airplane was still opened up with the tank (for the sender unit to be replaced) in pretty bad shape (curled up). Terry said that's "normal". The finally finished my plane (had to give them an ultimatum) to do it. Noone was there to push my and out and lonely mechanic tried to help me... When I got to my destination, 45 minutes away, when putting her into my hangar, j noticed the bottom cowling "sort of loose", just hanging there?? Upon further inspection, I discovered that the whole right front AND the center bottom cowling hadn't been secured, screws just "hanging" there. I could have lost that cowling in flight, shearing off my landing gear or at least blocking it. I immediately texted/emailed Ashley about this and she responded "we'll look into it" and let you know. I demanded in a follow up email to find out about the mechanic that failed to secure my plane. Dead silence solar after several prompts by me to their phone number and their email. Moral of the story? Don't service your plane at United Flight Services, you might not survive the flight afterwards. I got lucky, not everyone will be if that shop doesn't institute a rigorous quality safety program Moving on, NEVER HFS ever again.

A plus for mechanics! One star for Biannual service. Buyer beware! I called for a flight review and…read moregot a hold of a CFI thru texting. It was a clear text that I needed my Flight Review updated, nothing more. I did all the procedure turns, etc. plus charged half an hour ground. After the flight with some fair criticism, he decided the ground time would be postponed for the next day. The next day over the phone, he decided it wasn't a flight review and I needed to repeat the flight with a "pass or fail" requirements!!!??? So, after spending over $300, it was just a bust and waste of my time & $$$. I basically got screwed and management never called back to resolve this issue. Shame on you! Going to Specialized..better reviews!