I just completed my first discovery flight at Dubois Aviation, and I cannot recommend them enough! My guide, Austin, was absolutely fantastic. He was incredibly patient, personable, and informative throughout the entire experience. He took the time to show me all the ins and outs of the aircraft, which made me feel super safe and comfortable from take-off to landing. A huge shoutout to Cathy at the front desk as well--she was really nice and sweet, making the check-in process smooth and welcoming. I always joke that I have never met an Austin or a Cathy I didn't like, and these two definitely kept that streak alive! If you are thinking about taking flight lessons or just want to try a discovery flight, this is the place to go. read more

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Thank you so so much to Dubois Aviation (specifically Weston) for taking us out on the coolest trip to Catalina and back. My son gained his first hour of flying and after spending time with Weston, wants to pursue flying more seriously. Weston was so kind and detailed with my kiddo. He was also very aware of everyone's needs on the plane. He made sure everyone felt comfortable the entire time. I highly recommend trying them out. This was easily one of the best days of my son's life. *While we were signing waivers inside, I noticed there was a crew of kiddos there for camp. I wish we lived closer so my son could participate! Very very cool! read more

DuBois Aviation - Jake learning about the plane - Flight Instruction Near Me - Chino, California

I brought my dad here for his birthday, and everyone was so friendly! Our reservation fell through (they said only women pick up the phone, but a man had answered when I called, so maybe there was a mix-up?), yet they were so accommodating to reschedule us for a few hours later in the same day. From the receptionist to the licensed pilot who instructed my dad to the employee who drove the cart to allow me to watch take-off, everyone was amazing! Jose (the flight instructor) allowed my dad to take control of the majority of the flight, which we appreciated so much! His hands-off approach helped my dad achieve his lifelong dream of flying a plane :) He was even so humble, he wouldn't accept a tip for his helpfulness even when he deserved it Bryce (who drove me to the take-off area) spotted their plane that I would've otherwise missed, and ensured I had the perfect angle for the video! He also told me about the tracking site which gave me peace-of-mind as I checked their location and progress The receptionist (whose name I didn't catch) was so patient with all of my questions while in the waiting area for an hour. She even went to the back to retrieve different T-shirt color and size options and a plastic bag to carry the clothes in! There were a few other employees who greeted us and made small-talk as well~ One woman informed us to the complimentary coffee and the locations of the restrooms. A different instructor calmed our nerves while we waited for our appointment. Overall, extremely pleasant customer service! Thank you Jose and Bryce for the hospitality and the one-of-a-kind flight experience! And thank you Jose for taking a beautifully-captured video of my dad flying the plane! read more

DuBois Aviation - planes available for lessons - Flight Instruction Near Me - Chino, California

I own a flight school at John Wayne Airport but I don't have a twin-engine aircraft and I needed to do some specialized training for myself. I went to Dubois for two reasons: first, their 1958 Piper Apache is a beautiful twin that I've been wanting to fly for its wonderful handling, old-school look, and favorable single-engine capabilities. Second, I knew of the owner, Lou DuBois, from having been an aviation professor at Orange Coast College and having students who went to DuBois. I had heard of Lou through many of my friends in aviation. He had a good reputation. Potential students have to understand that a flight school is just a building. What REALLY matters is your instructor. The rest is just noise. Select a school based on their instructors. I liked DuBois because it is an "old-school" flight school. The kind that dotted airports across the country and provided most of us with our ratings in decades past. It's run by regular pilots who want to give back and make a living doing it. Conversely, today's modern "flight academies" are a crap-shoot of questionable maintenance and instructors who are only there to gain hours and who hate their jobs. Most of them have CFI certificates with the ink on them still wet. It's the blind leading the blind and perpetuating terrible flying habits. I had heard that DuBois had good CFIs. I got lucky and got a great instructor in John Z.; a guy who, like me, cares deeply about his students. He's not in it for the money or the time or title. He cares about making good pilots. Like I said before, a school is only as good as their CFIs, and I don't know the rest of their team, but John was great. We hit it off personally and he was a great resource and genuinely cared about getting me done. Your mileage, of course, may vary depending on who you get. But never settle when it comes to a CFI. Never. My experience was great. Like all flight schools, there will be delays for maintenance and a thousand other things, but DuBois fulfilled all my expectations and they were nice, and personable, and honest. DuBois has good people. You can't ask for more. I wouldn't hesitate to send folks to DuBois to learn to fly or get other ratings. And their Apache is one of the best deals out there. read more

DuBois Aviation - Their beautiful 1958 workhorse, the venerable Piper Apache with 160 HP O-320Bs. - Flight Instruction Near Me - Chino, California

You pay $175 for what's supposed to be 45min FLIGHT time when in total it's only 24min plus prep of 5-10min. I'm disappointed. I'm grateful for the 2 CFI's my son had but I want to get my money's worth. It's just all about the money read more

DuBois Aviation - 24 min flight time only plus 5-10min pre check - Flight Instruction Near Me - Chino, California

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My god !!!! Save yourself the headache, your time, and your money and go somewhere else. This school is awful !!!! There are plenty of other schools nearby, in Corona, Riverside, OC, Pomona, Ontario, etc. Shop around. (1) The equipment here is old and constantly breaking down. (2) Management puts up a friendly face initially, but are indifferent or rude after you put down your block rate and are locked in. (3) They favor some students while treating others with contempt. (4) They switch you up to more expensive aircraft without your knowledge or consent, either because the standard equipment broke down, or they are intentionally trying to rip you off. (5) Some instructors rip you off by charging more hours then they actually spent with you, and are condescending while ripping you off. They talk trash amongst themselves about students behind their back. (6) Ground school here is a waste of time, but they require it. (7) Bring a stop watch and time them or they'll just slip it past you. Overall, not trustworthy, not honest, not consistent, and not very professional. The only upside is that the mechanics who work here, Angel, Michael, and Brian, are FANTASTIC !!!! Other than that, just a lot of headaches and a waste of your time and money. read more

STAY AWAY! Bryce is the owner and has a system going that allows them to over charge for a flight lesson. My son signed up to get his private pilot license and was told he could fly certain days. Once he started and had put money on the account the instructor changed the agreement with the days he was available to fly with my son. This isn't what we agreed on when we started and it caused problems for my son to fly three days a week. In the beginning the school tried to add on extra 1-2 hrs of ground time after each lesson which was charged at 69.00 hourly. I complained and after calling them out on it, they backed off and stopped the extra ground time. This school seems to add on unnecessary training to get more of your money so beware of your choice in flight training with this school. They look like a trustworthy school on the surface but they will drain your bank account quickly. STAY AWAY! As you can see the owner is trying to make the school look good. The instructor was supposed to fly with my son three days a week not seven. The other problem with this school is the ground training tactics. They set the student up for failure by asking ridiculous questions so the student has to add more ground time therefore allowing the school to charge more money. I have seen this type of behavior from schools who found a way to gouge the student. They want you to make flying as complicated as possible so they can get as much money from the student as possible. I am a 30,000 hr commercial pilot working for a major airline. I am a flight instructor who has taught over the last 20 years so I know what I'm talking about. The owner obviously has been through this type of complaint since he recorded our conversation. I will be taking him to small claims court to recover the balance of my account since he refused to give it back. It's unfortunate they just didn't do the right thing but now this is the route I have to take. I am not allowing them to keep my money since we no longer will be using their services. Schools like this need to be exposed! read more

I cannot say enough good things about Lou and all the people at Dubois Aviation. I had trouble with the school I was with and wanted to finish training in my plane which is not common and had tough insurance requirements. I called dozens of instructors and every school around and was told no, and then I called Dubois Aviation. Lou put a plan together, worked with my insurance, helped me through the process and trained me for my PPL. When others wouldn't take the time Lou and the team at Dubois Aviation got me through my Checkride in 60 days. I cannot recommend these people enough and I'll be getting my instrument and any other ratings and certificates from them. read more

After thinking about it for years, I decided to seriously look into getting my PPL. I figured it would be a good idea to take a discovery flight to make sure it's something I really want to do and invest time/money into. Well if you want to skip the rest of the review: the discovery flight at Dubois sold me on getting my PPL. For only $75 it was a great deal, I also brought along my girlfriend for no extra charge. The instructor was friendly and knowledgeable. She gave us a quick overview of what goes into taking a flight in a small aircraft, including the preflight check, radio calls, and other formalities before taking off. The actual flight, not including everything leading up to and preceding the flight was about 30 minutes. For the money I would definitely do it again if I wasn't planning on or couldn't get my PPL. However I hope to get my PPL in the coming months, so hopefully next time I visit Dubois it will be to begin flight training! read more

DuBois Aviation - Flight Instruction Near Me - Chino, California

An absolutely FANTASTIC flight school. I manage a flight school in Los Angeles and have been teaching and training for over five years. DuBois Aviation has some of the highest quality aircraft, flight instructors and support staff I've ever worked with. I worked on my multi-engine rating over the course of 4 months at DuBois and had a very high quality experience the whole way through, without any issues at all. The staff and instructors took care of everything administratively so I could just focus on my training. Kylie, Anna at the front desk handled all the scheduling of aircraft, instructors, the examiner and the line staff took great care of the airplane, fueling, repositioning and keeping it clean and ready every time I had a lesson. And Pam was always around to make sure everything ran efficiently in the office. Moreover, our flight instructors were awesome. I started out with Jacob, who was very good and finished up with Lou, the owner of the school. Both instructors knew the airplane very thoroughly and all the aerodynamic, systems and performance issues involved in the entire rating. To be honest, I found myself quite envious of how extensive Lou's knowledge was of his airplanes and of aviation in general. I hope and strive to one day be the aviator he is. And both instructor were very patient with me. Learning to fly an airplane is really challenging but can be made so much more difficult when an instructor doesn't have the right personality, passion and patience. Lou and Jacob let me make all the mistakes I needed to learn, without ever losing their cool. They are true professional pilots. Although I was doing advanced training, I observed the primary training that took place around me (private pilot, instrument rating). DuBois is very thorough, have all the resources, have very well taken-care of aircraft, lots of room to learn and all the current, advanced equipment of a modern flight school, including an excellent simulator. A true benefit of DuBois is maintenance is done in-house by a highly proficient mechanic, Reggie. They are always making little adjustments to their aircraft to make them more user-friendly, more robust and safer. Also, at any flight school, unscheduled maintenance is always an issue because flight school aircraft are used constantly and you cannot fly an aircraft that isn't in perfect condition. Because of their in-house maintenance, DuBois is able to jump on anything that comes up. I wish we had that luxury at the school I manage. I HIGHLY recommend DuBois to anyone seeking a private pilot or commercial certificate, an instrument or multi-engine rating. They also have a really cool Enstrom helicopter that I understand they will teach out of very soon. Check them out! read more

DuBois Aviation has been a lovely experience for me. I have flown over 2,000 hours and have seen a handful of schools, and I really enjoyed the friendly staff and airplanes here. I had the fortune to train with Lou, the owner (and aviation guru legend), in their Piper Apache twin engine, and although it is an older plane, I always really enjoyed flying in it. The beast ran well and Lou made very sure it and all his other planes are in working order. Every day having a lesson at DuBois was a great day that I looked forward to. The whole experience was comfortable like an at home feel. I always left lessons feeling good. Highly recommend! read more

DuBois Aviation - Piper Apache - Flight Instruction Near Me - Chino, California

My son did summer camp with DuBois Aviation and had the best experience!! I can't say enough great things - awesome staff and an amazing experience!! read more

Super bad management, I was with DuBois for 6 months, for the last 3 months and a half I was scheduling 3 times per week and only took 4 flights!! Because the aircraft was on repair, the problem was that the school made me drive 40 min to the airport to tell me I couldn't fly, even though I call before leaving my house and asked if the aircraft was ready to fly, this happened about 16 times. I had 2 instructors, first one charged me for ground lessons but didn't log it, back then I didn't know he was supposed to log it, second instructor as soon as I said hi he was looking at the clock to charge for ground " who does that" my breaking point was when I heard they had 2 accidents just before I started flying with them read more

DuBois is where I started my flight training. I couldn't be more grateful for finding this place. From my initial discovery flight, to where I'm at now: finishing my instrument rating, Dubois has been at the center of it all. If I had to highlight why my rating is five stars, I would point to the people that Dubois has connected me with. Both of my CFIs at Dubois have been key in helping me not only gain the skills and experience needed, but have become central to entire aviation future and they have become great friends. I could not thank them--John and Jacob--more. I am very grateful for Dubois and the people that this place has put in my life! No matter where I'm at in 10-15 years, I will always look back at my time with both John and Jacob and remember how much they helped me get to where I wanted to go. read more

Did some research before starting working on my instrument rating. Found this Flight school has good ranking on internet, and decided to give it a try while comparing other flight schools. First impression is the planes are good and well maintained. All the stuffs are very helpful and friendly. Especially Scot and j. Lou has lots of knowledges and experience, Whenever you have a question on aviation he knows all the answers in aviation. He taking care of his planes and stuffs. Did a good job running this flight school. Giving out useful tips when someone needs it. My instructor, John CFII, MEI. One of the best instructor. Very professional and patient. John help me go through my training steps by steps, motivates every students and gives useful advices on studying. Always learning new things on every flight with him and felt his passion on flying. Makes fight training more interesting and enjoyable. Although it's not close from where I live, the drive definitely worth it. The school environment is great I love the atmosphere everyone is nice and you will meet with other pilots learn from each other. Definitely recommend this flight school to achieve your goal. My CPL check ride coming up end of December. Wish me luck. read more

We came in today for a demo flight. It was awesome. The school offers a really good deal for a flight demo ( $49 for 30 minutes flight or $149 for 1.5 hours flight). Customer service was excellent. The lady at the front desk was very friendly. Our instructor, Pat Sullivan, was awesome. He took his time to show us how to inspect the airplane and also what to look for. He made us feel very comfortable eventhough it was our first time flying. He also gave me a chance to control the airplane but I was too scared to do it :) He was cool about it and tried to talk to us during the flight to help us relax. Overall, it was a very good experience. I would highly recommend Pat. Thanks for such a wonderful experience. read more

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My wife and I and our little mini Aussie took a discovery flight on Valentine day 2015 at Dubois Aviation and we had a great time. All the people we met at Dubois was very nice and courteous. Our flight instructor was Margaux and she was great. She looks young for a CFII but has lot of flight hours (3000+ hrs) so we felt very safe. She was fun, courteous, always explain to us about the flying and kept us engaged. We flew from Chino to Catalina island and back. She showed me how to do the take off and flying out to and back from Catalina, and she took care of the landing. We had a great view of Avalon, the Twin Harbor and Catalina coastline. The best part is the flight time (1.5 hr) is counted toward your PPL training hours. Highly recommended to everyone. read more

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Flight Training and Pilot services by the BEST instructors in Southern California! All levels of flight training, aircraft rental, flight reviews, demo flights, currency...EVERYTHING read more

DuBois Aviation - Flight Instruction Near Me - Chino, California

Did the Discovery flight over Lake Mathews. Charles Powell my CFI was awesome! Patient, explained everything and gave me the opportunity take the controls for a while. Will definitely be back for the Catalina flight before beginning formal classes for my ppl! Great job Charles! Can't leave Kevin at the front desk out of this either. Stopped in one day after work. He toured me around the facility and explained in detail what to expect. Well it was everything as explained and then some after my first flight! Highly recommend this for anybody afraid of flying or just wanting to explore the possibility of learning to fly. read more

These guys are best, and go out of their way to make it work. I was in a pinch on time and they went above and beyond to make a dream flight work for me. This is the most authentic feeling, down to earth, flight school / rental I've been to. The people are great, the instructor I worked with great, and the plane I was in was well maintained for its age. Although they don't have GPS in every plane, it is manageable. Next time I'm in the area I'll be heading here again. (ASEL PPL) read more

Great place to take the flight lessons. Experienced CFI, well maintained planes, easy scheduling, flexible payment options.

I attended Dubois and acquired my private pilot license. Everyone there is helpful, courteous, kind, and extremely knowledgeable. I continue to rent airplanes from them on almost a weekly basis. All very clean and very well maintained. read more

I'm down to my check ride prep and wanted to share my positive experience with the flight school! My CFI John, has been punctual, available and knowledgeable. The aircraft are well maintained and have not had any issues whatsoever. Prices are great as well. Would definitely recommend Dubois to anyone looking at flight lessons! read more

Great people here that are very welcoming. They also seem to be up to date on their maintenance, and the instructors are patient with beginners like myself. I went here to just get a discovery flight lesson, but ended up signing in for a deposit to get my ppl. read more

Dubois took my grandfather on a flight to Catalina through the "wish of a lifetime" program. He's an Air Force veteran, and was very excited about the experience. I know almost nothing about planes, but the staff at Dubois were welcoming and encouraging, and had answers to all our questions. The pilot was enthusiastic about taking my grandfather on the flight. It was a great experience. I will likely come back for the Catalina flight myself. 5/5. read more

Great flight school with excellent instructors. The rental rates are very reasonable. Aircraft are maintained really well. I earned my Instrument rating and currently working on my Commercial. John the flight instructor is awesome. I highly recommend this flight school. Pam and Lou are very passionate about aviation and it shows. read more

I Definitely recommend taking flight lessons here. Great instructors and very flexibles schedules. The aircrafts are well maintained and always ready to go. The staff are also very friendly and helpful. read more

I would recommend DuBois Aviation as a great start to becoming a private pilot. The staff is great and very knowledgeable in the field of aviation. DuBois CFIs in my opinion are the best in the field of aviation training. One in particular CFI I must acknowledge is John. Yes he is my CFI, and with no favoritism towards John,I will be a much better pilot for training under his supervision. He knew when to push and when to back off. But most of all he gave me the confidence I needed for me to get out of my comfort zone and push harder. John in my opinion is one of the best CFIs in aviation along with Jacob,and Charles. I hope to stay in contact with these pilots for the rest of my life. read more

Did the discovery flight to Catalina, so amazing! So much fun, and a little scary but our instructor helped to keep us (mostly me) calm! Would definitely do it again.. and recommend to friends! read more

I recently earned my Private Pilot through DuBois and I couldn't be happier. I was totally impressed by how much they really care about their students and want them to have the best possible experience. It seems like everybody really goes out of their way to make sure students have the most fun and enjoyable time becoming safe, skilled pilots. Lou and Pam really know how to run a flight school and it seems like they only hire the best people. The front desk folks are always friendly and helpful. The on-site mechanics are awesome and do a great job keeping the planes maintained. I have had the privilege of working with several of their instructors from my discovery flight a couple years ago to my primary instructor to a couple different instructors for stage checks and each one has been tremendous. They are all very knowledgeable and made for a remarkable learning experience that emphasized safety and made learning easy. I'm sure anybody with CFI attached to their name can get you to fly eventually, but the people at DuBois really make the difference in providing a learning environment that is truly enjoyable above and beyond what I expected from a flight school. I don't think you can get this sort of family atmosphere anywhere else and I will certainly be returning to DuBois for any future flight training. If you've ever thought about the possibility of flying, I can't recommend DuBois highly enough. read more

Right school I highly recommend it . Great Prices and the best way to get your hands on a pilot license.

First off,I understand that unforeseen issues can occur. The problem I have, it's not having contingencies in place to help avoid some of them. On Monday (10/23/17) I made arrangements to take their Discovery Flight to Catalina for Saturday (10/28/17). On Friday (10/27/17) I received an email that Dubois has to cancel my appointment. Apparently they don't have enough planes to use as one or more were still being serviced. Supposedly they called around to confirm other appointments to see if I can get in...No luck for me. I had planned on using this school to obtain my Pvt. Pilots license which can cost well over $5k. I rearranged my schedule which cost me money to make this flight happen for Saturday. All I was offered was an apology and a opportunity to reschedule THAT'S IT!!. This is unacceptable to me and I have now lost my trust with them. There are plenty of other schools out there that I will be reaching out to. read more

I first got into flying almost 20 years ago, but it was DuBois that reignited my passion and cemented time aloft in my life. Their instructors are patient, friendly, and knowledgeable. The signature red-and-white fleet of DuBois Piper Cherokees are fastidiously maintained (they have their own in-house mechanic), clean, and confidence-inspiring. Lou DuBois keeps his rates as low as possible and there's no daily minimums when you rent after you're licensed - rare! Everyone there really cares about flying and about their students, Chino Airport has become my home away from home, even though I live about 45 traffic-heavy miles west of there! Can't say enough great things about this place. If you've ever thought about learning to fly, check them out. (Also, Chino Airport is a great training environment; with two runways typically in use, it's just busy enough to give you confidence on radios, etc., while not being overly complicated or plagued with delays, like a busy single runway airport might be.) read more