I recently passed my PPL checkride with Aces High, and I'm glad to have trained at a school that…read morecares about its students. I first did a discovery flight with another school in Fullerton, but the instructor demonstrated so many maneuvers that I ended up feeling nauseous. Some schools had programs that didn't fit my schedule, and other airports like John Wayne (SNA) often have long ground delays. I eventually chose to train in Long Beach--where I grew up--and it turned out to be a great decision. From day 1, the experience stood out. I met the owner, Sam Raymond, who was welcoming and down-to-earth. My first flight over the Long Beach harbor confirmed I was in the right place--the views over the training area are beautiful. Aces High's aircraft and instructor rates were also more competitive than many other schools. Aviation isn't easy, but it's very rewarding, and having the right support makes a big difference. Sam, Joy (Chief Instructor), and my main instructor Maxi M. were key in helping me pass my checkride. The school also has a great group of instructors--Chris, Luc, Grayson, Aston, Hilary, Sharon, Hannah, Mike, and Justin-- all great people to learn from.

I am a military helicopter pilot transitioning to airplanes. Because I already have ratings, the…read moretraining I needed did not follow the traditional "zero to hero" path to obtain a PPL, Instrument, and Commercial Multi-Engine rating. The owner Sam and his instructors were able to do the research and set me up on a plan that enabled me to pass my check rides efficiently. All of his instructors were very passionate about my success, especially Barry, Hilary, Maxi, Joy, and Mike. I highly recommend this school!

I trained for my Commercial Multi with Instructor David Russell and check rode with Brandon…read moreKuchmecki and passed! The instruction was superb and the facility is top notch. Everyone I talked to and met were super friendly especially the staff. I'm glad I chose them for my multi.

I looked all over the country to find the right flight school to take my multi-engine rating. I had…read morerecently purchased a DA-62 and wanted to complete my rating quickly, but also get great training. I considered going to a standard ME school that was training in a Seneca or other traditional twin. But the pilot I purchased my Diamond from, an Airbus Captain for Delta Airlines, recommended I get type specific training and focused my efforts on a Diamond specific training center. That was GREAT advice! I called Angel City Flyers with my local flight instructor and drilled their Chief Pilot, Cary Jones, with questions about their ME program and syllabus. He impressed my local CFI/MEI and ultimately I scheduled a week to go work on my ME rating with Cary himself. It was awesome. When I first met Cary, I'd say he seemed quiet and reserved. He had a very natural way of teaching -- mostly asking questions -- prodding to find my weak areas in either systems knowledge, aero dynamics, or when flying. Like most single-engine pilots... I'd never shut down an engine in flight... not a great idea in a SE. So I had some nervous anticipation doing that for the first time in the air. But man, Cary is so sharp in the cockpit. After going through a solid ground briefing, and watching him demonstrate in the air, he made it all look easy... probably too easy of course! Anyhow, I had an amazing experience. Knocked out my ME rating fast... learned a ton in the process. The more I picked Cary's brain about emergency procedures and experiences he's had... the more I grew as a pilot. We also had some fun along the way ;) Oh -- and one final note -- training at LONG BEACH is awesome! Busy airspace that helps build your game as a pilot. Consistent cross-winds on 26L/R to help with your confidence on those... and a coastal practice area. For someone who flies in the mountains all the time -- this was epic!

ATP is absolutely the worst flight training facility at Long Beach Airport. Go elsewhere.read more

Very disorganized operation. And you could literally buy one of their planes for 30k and save…read moreyourself 50k in costs.

The LBFC is a travesty of a business. After their planes flew too low over our homes, I flipped…read morethem off hoping to get them to stop flying so low, However, not only did they not stop flying low.., they began diving on our houses at high speeds and gun their engines to get a response. Their licenses should be pulled after a thorough investigation of their illegal and abusive practices. There activity is recorded on Flightradar24.com where they turn their transponders off so they cannot be identified. Crap management as well as crap pilots.

I was a member of the Long Beach Flying Club briefly in the past, but ended up canceling my…read moremembership rather quickly after joining because I decided I didn't want to fly their very "vintage" planes (more on that below). That said, I was recommending them to numerous friends up until my first-time interaction with their management today. Today, I brought by a fellow pilot friend who's working on his cross country requirements for his Instrument Rating. I suggested to him that Long Beach Flying Club would be a good place to complete these requirements doing dual instruction because he'd get the benefit of completing the requirement while getting some experience with a fleet of very "vintage" aircraft. I actually consider the age and lack of any modernization in their aircraft fleet to be something that pilots should experience, so I didn't consider this a downside. I don't know that I'd want to do all of my training in their fleet of aircraft, but it's worth getting a block of experience flying older planes. So, why the incredibly low rating? Unfortunately, I ran into Susan Baker. She has to be one of the rudest and least professional individuals I've interacted with in the aviation industry since I started flying in 2005. Sadly, she appears to be in charge of the place, so there's no one to escalate the issue to. What this means is even if you have a great instructor, and they do have some good ones, you'll eventually end up having to deal with Susan and she will not be someone who puts you first as the customer. Basically, she told us she was not interested in our business because she was too busy with her "Korean students". Sadly, this denied her instructors the opportunity to pick up an easy 15 hours of cross country instruction. She could have politely explained they didn't have the availability to take on new customers at the moment, but she made it a point to rudely declare, "I am not interested in your business", and then she literally walked away. As management, that sets the tone and culture for the Long Beach Flying club, so I'd guess there are systemic issues there. Unfortunately these sorts of flying schools tend to prey on foreign students because they have less recourse when the school doesn't address their needs, so their focus on this population of students makes sense. I feel bad for any of them that signed up thinking Long Beach Flying Club represents the otherwise great schools available throughout the Southern California area. After this off-putting experience, I reached out to several pilot friends who are part of the Long Beach airport community - it turns out Susan has a pretty bad reputation as no one was surprised by what I shared. So, would I recommend Long Beach Flying Club? I guess there are multiple angles on this. Would I recommend them as a "Flying Club"? Absolutely not - they're flat out rejecting applicants in the rudest possible way. Would I recommend them as a student? Again, no - inevitably you'll have to deal with their management in some way and if Susan is the person you'll end up dealing with, you're going to regret your choices in life. Would I recommend them to instructors looking for a place to teach? No - again, you'll have to deal with Susan and she'll have no issue trashing your potential customers, making it that much more difficult for you to build your flight training business. How about their planes? This one's also a hard no. Long Beach Flying Club has a reputation for having worn out planes with no modernization. They basically do the minimum work they need to do to keep the planes legal to fly (hopefully?). So, my prior recommendation to friends was Long Beach Flying Club is worth considering in spite of their aircraft. So what's left? Not much unfortunately. I'm actually a bit sad to write this review. I know some of the instructors there, and they're good people. But you need to think of your overall future experience as a customer. The instructor is just part of that equation. During this same outing, I took my friend to several flight schools at the airport: Aces High, Angel City Flyers, The Pilot Shop, and Pacific Air. Every single one of those locations had friendly professional service. They each have their advantages, but the unifying theme with each of them is that they seem genuinely customer focused with a well maintained fleet of aircraft. Also, I've done demo flights with both ATP and Sling Academy at Long Beach airport. Both of those academies were professional and friendly if you're looking for an "accelerated" program (I ended up going to one of them, but that's not the point of this review so I won't mention where I ended up). Long Beach Airport is an amazing community of pilots and flight schools. Stay away from Long Beach Flying Club, but please don't take their substandard approach to be at all representative of the rest of the great schools in this larger community!

I flew with Craig out of Compton for a CFI spin endorsement and he was awesome about fitting me…read moreinto his schedule on short notice. He sent over ground materials ahead of time so I was able to get the endorsement done in just one flight. The flight itself was a total blast. We did left and right spins plus an aerobatic intro where we ended up pulling over 3.5G. Make sure to bring an SD card for his GoPro so you can save the footage!

CFI Spin Endorsement: I can't say enough good things about CFI Craig Owings. He made this a super…read morefun experience and truly opened my eyes to the ways we are trained to fly planes. He provided so many great resources prior to the actual flight and is a wealth of knowledge and skill. I train out of Sling-Long Beach, very glad I was referred to go fly with Craig!

Did a discovery flight with Jeffrey. He was a very confident and skilled pilot who made the…read moreexperience so enjoyable . I was Very nervous to fly in a small plane but he made the expereince very enjoyable.

I have had the privilege of flying and receiving instruction from Jeff Rocco on many occasions…read more Jeff is a very knowledgeable, patient and insightful instructor who always gave me helpful feedback that improved my flying abilities. I highly recommend Jeff as a flight instructor if you are just starting your flying career, need a flight review or would just like to improve your skills.

I am 10 hours into my flight training and Max has been a great instructor, mentor and friend. He…read moreis able to make me feel at ease while teaching me to become the best pilot that I can be. He also tailors the instruction style to the individual student so that the pace and intensity of learning is the most efficient and long lasting. Would definitely recommend Max if you wish to get your private pilot's license.

From the owner: Individualized flight training by experienced instructors focused only on your needs…read moreWe come to you, or you to us. We don’t teach you to just pass the exam, we teach you the skills needed to fly like a pro from the start.