Rachel is an exceptional CFI, and I'd give her top marks across the board. In my time training with…read moreher, she's helped me gain confidence rapidly, she adjust to my schedule as a full time employee and we text each other constantly to encourage review and help maintain learning appetite on a repetition status. She's meticulous, thorough, and always open to different teaching approaches but make sure the specifics are understood and maintained. What stands out most is her willingness to try different angles to explain things, very intelligent approach in simplifying but assuring the importance and magnitude of the lesson. She's always focusing on details. She gives clear, direct feedback, making learning relatable. I highly recommend her to any student pilot, she's absolutely the kind of instructor who elevates your progress and makes the journey enjoyable. She's great listener, kind heart and awesome human being Five stars all the way!

East Bay Flight is a great flight school and rental operation…read more Their location at Oakland airport couldn't be better. There's plenty of secure parking, and they are situated right in the center of the North field, so you spend less time taxiing and more time flying. I flew with Pat, one of their CFIIs and the school's owner, to get my high-performance endorsement in their Cirrus. Pat was an excellent instructor: fun to fly with, extremely knowledgeable, and always patient in explaining concepts in a clear and approachable way. The fleet is top-notch with well-equipped Archers and a beautiful SR22T (which I think might be the only one available on this side of the Bay). Every aircraft is meticulously maintained, safe, and comfortable, and the rental rates are more than fair. Whether you're learning to fly, adding new ratings, or just looking for a trustworthy place to rent a solid airplane, I highly recommend East Bay Flight.

This school truly deserves all the praise. From a CFI pov, I can confidently say the aircraft…read moremaintenance is among the best -- if not the best -- in the entire Bay Area. As someone who also frequently rents planes here, I really appreciate how smooth and professional the rental process is. It's simple, efficient, and way less of a hassle compared to other schools. I genuinely love flying here, everything from the people to the planes just makes it a great experience every time. The instructors here are also top-notch: professional, supportive, and truly passionate about aviation. And shoutout to Pat (the owner and operator of the school) ,he's one of the kindest people you'll meet in this industry. Don't be shy to talk to him, he's always open and happy to help! Also, huge thanks to KOAK ATC, you guys are incredibly helpful and make flying in and out of Oakland a smooth and enjoyable experience. Whether you're training, renting, or just looking for a great aviation community, this is the place to be.

Ken Levins. Explosive temper. When I screwed up he treated me as an idiot…read more He screamed at me to turn in my OAK badge. I did as complied. He failed to tell OAK when I mailed in my badge to OAK. Literally cannot fly out of there because we had "words."

Great rates and instructors but found it difficult to get security deposit and an inadvertently…read morecharged $500 fine returned. Board is highly unresponsive and takes 5+ follow ups over multiple weeks for a response. Though it sounds like I am not alone in difficulties with club leadership based on a few other reviews.

Stanford flying club is a very good aviation school. The instructors are strict, patient and…read morefriendly. I have a very good learning experience with my instructors. They all have solid aviation skills and knowledge. Highly recommend this club!

I love this place!! Called to gather information ~2 month ago and I am already going through my…read moreflight trainings! It does get a bit anxious when I first tried to contact them. Bert gave me a call back and it was such a nice call! He is very humorous, which may lead to people feeling that he is unexperienced. I learned a lot and decided to come for an introductory lesson. My flight instructor is Sharon. She is the best!!! She is knowledgable and reliable. I really look forward to continue learning with her!

I'm learning to fly here at WVFC. It's a fun low key club with lots of planes, lots of instructors…read moreand two airport offices (KSQL and KPAO). They also offer ground school and have a few simulators you can rent. They do a lot of club activities in the Palo Alto office. The onboarding for a new pilot who's learning to fly is great.

I've been a member of West Valley Flying Club for a little over a year and I recommend it highly. I…read moream 61 years old and have always wanted to fly but my wife and I raised five children and until recently, the priorities of family life consumed all available time and money. My instructor is Scott Stauter and from the very first demo ride I felt safe and confident in flying with him and learning from him. I also attended ground school at West Valley with Wes Irish as the instructor. Due largely to excellent instruction, I was able to pass both the written and practical private pilot exams on the first attempt. It is a large club with a large and diverse fleet of aircraft as well as a large number of instructors. I suppose with ~40 affiliated instructors there may be a few bad apples in the bunch but I've flown with six different instructors for various check rides or special instruction and they all demonstrated a high level of professionalism and competence. Each instructor provided constructive criticism and suggestions for improving my game that I felt were given in good faith and in my best interest. The fact is I don't pick things up as fast as I did twenty years ago but none of the instructors that I flew with left me with the impression that they were trying to run up the clock. The planes I have flown (five so far) are maintained well and the mechanics are accessible, supportive, and helpful as is the office staff. Scheduling planes and instructors is easily accomplished through an online scheduling system. I fly out of Palo Alto once or twice a week and there have only been a couple of instances when I couldn't schedule a plane when I wanted to. The club has a strong culture of safety and proper preparedness for flight. They have implemented several checks and balances to assure proficiency of both students and instructors as they progress through the training regimen. An argument can be made that they've gone a bit overboard with this and I can understand how this might frustrate some people. But I have to tell you that I went into the PPL check ride feeling calm, competent, and confident and that is exactly how I now feel when I take off with my grandchildren in the plane. All in all, I am very happy with my experience at West Valley Flying Club.

If you want to learn to fly safely and professionally, this is the place…read more Professional Flight Crew is, hands down, the best flight school in the Bay Area. Here's why: 1. Safety - when you get into a small gasoline-powered machine at 3,500 feet, you're putting your faith, and your life, in the hands of your flight instructor. PFC is obsessed with teaching the right skills and techniques to be a safe pilot, on good days, and in the event everything goes wrong. Their instructors emphasize safe operation, contingency planning, and situational awareness from Day 1. 2. Teaching skills - PFC employs the best flight instructors in the Bay Area. They have thousands of hours of experience, and they have taught hundreds of students to fly. Whether you're a natural ace, or have a fear of flying, they will teach you the skills and techniques you need to be a first-class pilot. 3. The instructors - PFC flight instructors have to be some of the nicest, most patient people on the planet. I have a good time every time I fly with them, and although I've made many mistakes, they are consistently upbeat, positive and encouraging. They won't tell you you've done a good job when you haven't (and you don't want an instructor who does!) but they will support you from your first lesson all the way to your Private Pilot License and beyond. 4. Equipment - PFC has some of the nicest planes and simulators available in Northern California. They have low wing and high wing aircraft, traditional and glass cockpits, simple and complex aircraft, and multiple simulators. Whatever you want to learn, PFC has the equipment to teach you, and it is all immaculately serviced and maintained. 5. Affordability - PFC has some of the most reasonable prices for both instruction and plane rentals in the Bay Area. Learning to fly is expensive, but PFC makes it a lot more affordable than most schools. I can't recommend these guys highly enough. If you've been thinking about learning to fly, this is the place to do it!

Professional Flight Crew (PFC) This is a great flight training school hands down! The aircraft are…read moremeticulously maintained which of the owner Mohamed Chabeene takes pride in overseeing..As a flight instructor here at the school the atmosphere is friendly and warm always when you come in the front door. Everyone is very happy! Congratulations to Warren House solo last week. Bob Quinn

UPDATE: Despite his claims, Mr. Ewing did not "retire" from his duties as an examiner. After all,…read morewith how much time and effort it takes to become a DPE and with the profits they make, who would? Rather, earlier this year, the Oakland FSDO began an investigation into John Ewing following reports of falsifying test records, accepting unqualified applicants and others. Mr. Ewing was immediately suspended and in April, he surrendered his FAA designation in order to avoid being terminated following the conclusion of the investigation.

I had a fantastic experience with John for two checkrides. His rates are standard. The negative…read morereviewer probably wasn't prepared and wants to blame someone but themselves.

Vanessa is unfortunately just there to scam you out of your money. Do not support this business she…read moreis unkind, unhelpful, and does not care about your experience. Definitely seek anyone else on the island for your surfing needs!

Our first experience with surfing, last day of our US holiday. Mike and Dominic, our instructors,…read moremet us at Pacifica Beach on the parking lot. The somewhat worn out surf bus made me wonder whether this was going to be a fun 2 hours but the great care the guys took in explaining me and my kids about the dangers of surfing and how to cope with that took away any doubt I had about their professionalism. We had a blast! After a good instruction on how to get on your board, we hit the waves. Mike and Dominic were in the water with us instructing and helping us while standing in the turf for the full 2 hours and a bit more. We had a couple of great runs, wipe outs and lots of laughs. Would recommend this to anyone. Kees - 43 Theun - 15 Pieter - 12 Madelief (Daisy) - 11