Took flying lessons here 20 years ago. Stopped in to get some fuel the other day. Staff is friendly and helpful and always has a smile on their face. I will return. read more

No answer when I called to let them know when I was flying in. No answer on the UNICOM on arrival. No line guy to marshal us into a tiedown. No tiedowns available so we parked in a remote corner and walked to the office. No one at the front desk. Eventually an attendant appeared to take my fuel request. On return to the office next morning a different person at the front desk was obtuse, self-important, and unhelpful. To quote from Chris W.'s review below, "a very customer averse business". read more

I tried to schedule a Discovery Flight at this business. I was denied. They do not have time for those flights. How do I know if I am going to like flying if I don't go up first and try it? They were unable to accomodate me. This is a very customer adverse business. Management doesn't seem to understand who pays the bills. Try somewhere else. Cheers Chris Walton read more

As of 2 days ago, the Aztec won't get fixed it's being sold. And "in the future" with no time frame a Seminole is 'planned'..thus multi training or recurrent customers are not a priority. Note a Seminole is not high performance and not conventional...so less than 200hp per engine and No critical engine. The valley once had a few Aztec's and a Baron or 2 a 310 or 2...all high performance conventional twins...for pilots seeking a business jet path career.. Seminoles are fine for a average pilot just wanting "the rating"...and most Regional Airlines "were" fine with that. In the Q2 2025 lack of very many pilot jobs climate, therefore, a Seminole recurrent or multi rating has minimal resume value even for a future Regional pilot..This school spent 2 years no twin. Now selling the Aztec and no immediate intent to add that Seminole anyway, multi engine flight training isn't there focus at all. read more

Crappy courtesy car, driver's door doesn't open, so you have to scoot from passenger side to sit in drivers seat. No riew view mirror. Filthy dirty windows. BIG guy on tarmack was put out to tell us where to park. He didn't want to get out of his golf cart or do the hand signs showing us where to park our plane. This big big guy isn't doing his job. When he walked into the FBO after, he was the most unpleasant, grumpy guy I've seen in a long time. Not a fan of this FBO. read more

You have to rent at least once every 60 days and it was not ever communicated. If you don't rent it, you have to pay an obnoxious amount for another check out ride with them. My husband didn't rent with them for 90 days but successfully scheduled a day to rent the Warrior aircraft about a week prior. Less than 24 hours before his flight, they called and told him about their recency policy. He was wanting to prove his flight log and that he has flown 50+ hours since he last rented. Nope, you have to rent with them and pay them. They are not helpful and don't try to work with you. Bad customer service. Before this incident, my husband signed up to rent another Warrior aircraft, showed up with a relative who is interested in flight school and my husband was so excited to take him up for his first flight. Chandler Air Service told him the Warrior was in maintenance and unavailable and they didn't once communicate with him ahead of time. They showed up at 7am also. Just overall a bad experience multiple times. We're going to start renting elsewhere. Not worth your time and money unless you are able to rent often. Even then, I'm sure it would only earn a 2 star instead of 1 star review. read more

This review is based on almost 20 years as an aircraft renter from another state and holding every fixed wing certificate at the commercial level. 1st impression occurred when trying to get a flight during a visit prior to moving into the area. When I walked in, I was told that all the instructors are booked 3 weeks out and was unable to give me a check out flight. I was extremely disappointed but sent a loud message as to how busy they are and the need to plan weeks in advanced. As it turned out, the same holds true for aircraft rental almost. The days of logging onto a schedule same day or the day prior are obviously over. So, I scheduled weeks in advance for my next visit. Weeks later, I was assigned Matt for my C172 aircraft checkout. Matt was very friendly and really allowed me to do my thing and only interjected if he had a suggestion or helped with the airport and airspace familiarization especially as we ventured into the practice area to demonstrate stalls and slow flight, etc. and ability to be safe. I recommend Matt. Next flight, again, 3 weeks later was a mountain & density altitude checkout. Turns out the chief pilot required both Sedona & Payson landings which seamed to me overkill since they are both around the same altitude. This is a checkout which could have been less than $400 but turned into one over $500 because of 2nd, ouch. So be prepared for a primary flight instruction dual style cross county flight to be mandated regardless of your flight experience!!! Condition of the C172 aircraft are better than average (local standards) from that I have been flying elsewhere. Everyone I came across at Chandler Air Services are real nice though I wish this company would take those working the desk flying at least once so when you ask them a question, they have some idea what you are talking about and why. They are pretty clueless outside scheduling and handing out keys when it comes to aviation. This is a hit on the owners, not those working the desk. And when you schedule with them, make sure you double check periodically you are still on the schedule. One of mine disapeared once from 3 weeks out but was able to get it rescheduled 2 weeks out. Another hit which is a big grip of mine, aircraft are available for rent only during their office hours. Translation is that the earliest you can rent an airplane is 7:30 in the morning. This can be a safety issue since almost 3/4 the state during the summer has a density altitude +3000-4000 feet greater by 8-9 am in the warmer months when access to the aircraft at first light, 5:00am-6:00am would mitigate some of that risk. The only exception to this is if you are flying with their instructors who have 24/7 access. In my former state I am used to 24/7 aircraft access 7 days a week and can do my own scheduling with FBO/Flight Schools as a renter. If you're a student, I recommend Chandler Air and Matt unless you find scheduling an issue. Be sure to interview your instructor though for both a compatable personality and that they are going to be around foryour entire flight training, With the current airline pilot shortage, so many instructors are using you to build up to 1500 hours and jumping ship to the airlines leaving their students to find someone else and to take a few steps back. It is that way everywhere. If you are a renter, I recommend that you have other options in addition to Chandler Air available and don't rely on chandler air as your only source for an aircraft rental. You are likely to become frustrated. Note: I have no experience with the Piper Aircraft at Chandler Air so I can not speak on their avionics or condition/maintenance beyond the one time I tried to fly one, I found it to have a significant fuel leak at one of the sump valves which was the universes way of saying "Your not flying today!" That is general aviation! read more

I got my pilots license with Chandler Air Service. I stopped renting their airplanes as they seemed to be broken around 1/3 of the time. The most recent time I tried to go flying there, they had lost the key to the airplane. They wasted 1.5 hours of my time, and when I asked how they would make that up to me, they said they wouldn't, and that "these things happen". I was willing to put up with the bad customer service when they were inexpensive, but now they are on the more pricey side, but still with the same ancient, poorly maintained airplanes. read more

I got my tailwheel, complex, and high performance endorsements here and am working on my instrument rating. CFI and airplane availability is no worse than anywhere else (which is to say terrible, but that's just the state of general aviation for the past 10 years). When I've found questionable items during preflight, maintenance crew is on them immediately. Some instructors are more brusque than others, again, just like everywhere else. About my only gripe is that the tailwheel endorsement is a fixed 10 lessons/flights regardless of ability, more like a part 141 op than 61, and that the PA-18s are almost never available for $200 burger runs. read more

I got my private pilot certificate from them. Got my tailwheel rating from them. Aerobatic rating from them. I still rent from them. Detailed. Organized. Not much else you can ask for. They're busy, so they're very to the point. I like my instructors that way. Some of the long time instructors are now my friends. It's a good flight school with good people. read more

To those who wish to pursue an aviation career, I strongly advise you do three things prior to getting your airplane pilot's license. #1: Get a glider pilot's license BEFORE training on any powered aircraft. It will make you a far better, safer, and more proficient airplane pilot, and will ultimately save you money, and maybe even your life. Almost all great aviators are/were glider pilots as well as power pilots. #2: When you train to earn your ASEL (airplane single engine land) private pilot's license, do it primarily in a tailwheel airplane, like a Piper PA-18 Super Cub. CAS has such planes in their fleet. #3: Thoroughly vet and shop your instructor! So very important! Don't just accept whomever the flight school assigns you to. Remember, like hospitals, flight schools exist to make money, and you're about to spend insane amounts of money learning how to fly. Don't spend a second of your flying time with a demeaning and/or subpar flight instructor who's just looking to stack flight hours, and there are lots of those individuals out there. You should enjoy the flight training experience, not fear it. Most of my time flying at Chandler Air Service was positive, except for 3 or 4 instances where the instructors crossed the line. The worst of which occurred during a training flight in a taildragger, a Super Cub where the instructor sits behind the student. On short final to a landing, my instructor was not pleased with my airspeed and STRUCK ME in the back of the head! It is always a bad idea to hit another human being, or animal, especially when that person is 6'3", a former college football player, and attempting to land an airplane! This was an older instructor, yet regardless, this was totally inexcusable behavior. I don't know how I was able to contain my rage. Instead of bringing legal action against him, notifying the FAA and CPD, discussing the the matter with CAS's ownership, or most tempting, go Kermit Washington on this unapologetic instructor's face, post flight of course, I let the matter slide entirely. But I will never get that damaging and hurtful moment out of my mind, and in retrospect, I wish I had taken action on the matter. read more

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The lady at the front desk was friendly and helpful. I came to rent a C-172 and an instructor to refresh my piloting skills and enjoy the beautiful Arizona sites. I booked a plane and an instructor, but had to come back in 3 hours to fly. After waiting 3 hours and driving back, I met the instructor who seemed to interrogate me about my flying history, then he CANCELLED my flight last minute. I felt that was very rude and inconsiderate! Will not go back there again! read more

Because I posted a review that hurt their feelings they refused service. Halfway through a program I was asked to leave. Look at the unrecommended reviews below. Consistent with my experience. Google Maps...and several Avaition forums are equally negative. read more

2 of 3 tailwheel aircraft are down during their busy time. I drove an hour twice in one week only to find that there were scheduling errors and the plane wasn't available. They blamed it on the instructor. Little accountability at the dispatch desk. I wouldn't patronize them again. They are terrible. read more

I called Chandler Air Service to do some flying while I was on vacation. I felt like the owner and chief flight instructor (I'm pretty sure it was the chief CFI but I'm not positive) really talked down to me. It made me feel uneasy. I personally don't like flying with someone who doesn't seem respectful. It usually makes for an uncomfortable ride spending 3 hours trying to disprove someone's preconceived notion that you're an idiot. Sure, I probably am; just don't make it so obvious you think so. Then, I felt like they were trying to talk me out of flying with them. "So, what are you trying to do?" "Well, I wouldn't mind just doing some sight seeing in the area." Incredulously, "sight seeing? There's nothing to see here." Well, I've heard tell that there's a river about an hour north that cut a small trench through the desert. Also, we are surrounded by flat. I'm from the east coast; I've never seen so much flat. There are mountains all around that are covered with rocks. Our mountains are all covered in trees. I'd be happy just flying around the mountains. How about we fly to Mexico and you can teach me to cross the ADIZ? I don't know. Is there nothing interesting here at all but cacti, road runners, and snarky FBO staff? I said, "I understand that there was time slot around 2:00 and one at 4:00. I'll take both." Incredulously, "you couldn't have been told there was a 2:00 time slot available." Defensively, "oh, it was available yesterday. It's been booked!?" "No, we don't have 2:00 time slots. All time slots are 1.5 hours and we have 2:30 time slots." "Ok, fine. So the 2:30 slot is booked now?" "No." "Wait, I thought you said there wasn't a slot around 2:00? Can I not book both of them!?" Perhaps, just tell me where you're at with the two time slots on Sunday. Funny thing was, when I discussed flying with their CFI, he said, "we couldn't do all of that in 1.5 hours." I thought to myself, "I don't care if it takes all day and costs me two grand; I just want to fly stuff since I'm on vacation and I have some time off." "Wait, what happened to my three hour flight? I thought I could fly from 2:30 to 5:30?" I thought about it for a long while. I called back later and talked to the owner to explain that my previous interaction was aversive. She told me it wasn't. I thought that was odd. "No, you don't understand. I'm telling you it made me uncomfortable." She said, "well, I don't know what to tell you." Some things that come to mind are, "sorry! We would love to have a bunch of your money. Come in. We promise it will be a warm and inviting atmosphere." Or, "oh, sorry. It's just a misunderstanding. Let's go fly. You'll enjoy yourself." Or, even the false apology, "sorry you feel that way." But nope. Nothing of that sort. No apology at all. Just denial that it made me uncomfortable. It sucks though because they have cool planes and they're the biggest operation in the area. read more

Our 16 year old son had been anxiously waiting for the day his discovery flight. My wife and I are both licensed pilots and are in the aviation industry. It is no surprise our son has a love for flying as well. Between the two of us we have over 42 years experience in the aviation industry so we know what to expect from a CFI. We know how important professionalism and communication is in the aviation world. What we experienced on Sunday, 7/30/17, was the furthest thing from professional in one of Chandler Air Services CFI's, Steve Smith. We arrived 10 minutes early for our son's flight. We were told Steve would be down shortly. Steve came down 5-10 minutes late came over and asked our son a few questions while completely ignoring my wife and I. Steve didn't make any attempt to introduce himself or to see if we, the parents of a minor child, had any questions or concerns. We were entrusting the safety of our child to this man and he did not even acknowledge that we were in the room. He didn't even have the common courtesy to say hello. Who does that?! It was quite obvious that we were wasting Steve's time with a pointless little discovery flight. We called our son in from the ramp and left. It's funny...If my son goes on to obtain all of his ratings and certificates, which he plans on doing, it could have generated $40,000 +/- in revenue for Chandler Air Service. Oh well...I guess we will spend all that money elsewhere. read more

ATP rated professional pilot. Called to set up an instrument refresher. CAS demanded I include 1.5 hours of ground instruction (at $70/hr) for a 1.5 hour flight to shoot a few instrument approaches. I declined. I probably would've bought off on a half hour. But, 1.5 hours ground instruction? For what? Completely absurd. read more

My experience with these guys is that they book up quickly. The staff is very nice and so are the pilots. However their Cessna aircraft are very borderline, and are not made any better when the CFIs discourage the use of checklists. I asked one of the CFIs at runup where they kept the checklist was in the aircraft. His response, "Oh, no need. Pull out the POH if you really need one." Luckily I know the flows for 172s, so it wasn't a huge issue for me. But seriously, what if a student had an engine failure, is he going to climb in the back to pull out the POH. probably not. It was sketchy. read more