I have flown with a few 4 different clubs and I have had 4 different instructors. I passed my…read morepractical exam (checkride) thanks to Mathew at Red Sky Aviation. I highly recommend Red Sky Aviation!! Their rates are reasonable and their focus in on helping students achieve their goals. In my opinion, they are one of the best schools in the SF Bay Area.

I wanted to introduce our daughter to flying and on impulse, stopped by Red Sky Aviation, at the…read moreairport in Livermore, CA. My impression is that this may be the place for my girl to learn to fly. The owner and instructors have good communication skills and the patience to teach someone a new environment. ADDITION ------ 06-13-2013 Okay.....(sigh), our daughter, " just isn't very interested in flying." Sure, go ahead and break your father's heart. However, her littler brother is showing interest! Out to Red Sky to give our son an Introduction Flight! At Red Sky Aviation, we met our Certified Flight Instructor Pete. Pete understood we didn't just want to go for an airplane ride; we wanted to get our son excited about flying. Pete put the focus on our son and included him in the preflight process; explaining why we check the aircraft for safety. Our son is little - Pete got cushions and positioned him so he could control the plane and increase his visibility. Our son is shy. However, Pete was able to get past that and had our son control the aircraft during take off and flying. After the flight, our son had a Big Smile across his face. If Pete can get a shy boy to smile; he can get you to be happy you went to Red Sky Aviation. ADDITION ------ 10-26-2013 I haven't flown since 1980 but, wanted to find out if there was still enough of the Pilot in me to get back up there. I have this dream - my son and I go flying together and when he is older; gets his Pilot's License too. I went back to Red Sky Aviation and explained this to Pete. I may have a dream but, a Certified Flight Instructor is biased in reality. In in the cockpit, Pete handed me the checklist and observed as I slowly fumbled my through it. He didn't rush me but, guided me from time to time by diplomatically pointing to where I should be looking on the instrument panel. He let me taxi out to the run-up area, do the run-up and proceed to take off. I was surprised how much I still remembered and intuitively knew when to trim, check for traffic/airspeed/altitude and more. Yes, I was very rusty after 33 years. However, with Pete nudging me with positive comments was able to do 3 touch and goes. Now, do I think Pete can walk on water; well no.....but, if my wife and I have another baby boy, we are going to name him Pete.

Found this place because I needed to take my part 107 exam, I called a day before my schedule time…read morejust wanted to make sure they were open. The girl front desk(Katie) was able to help me confirm my exam date, and when I arrived she helped me check in and explained everything to me from how the exam work and what to do after. She also recommended me to take the flight class so I def will be back!

I was a member of this school for two years and do not recommend this school to anyone to start…read moretheir flight training. Very time-consuming and expensive with respect to the quality of their training. They don't provide any agenda and reasonable schedule and lengthen the training with many unnecessary steps and paperwork to make more money. Nothing noticeably better than other places.

Amazing supportive CFI and staff, very well organized syllabus and always opportunity to fly.read more

Read the red flags and don't ignore them…read more First and foremost the Instructors are professionals and really do care about the quality of training HOWEVER, as soon as they reach their 1500 hour milestone expect them to leave This happened to me 3 times and I don't blame them they want to reach their goals as much as you want to. Red flag 1 Student to instructor ratio It was challenging for me to keep a consistent training schedule when an instructor has more students than they can handle although they try their best to manage but from the student's perspective it can be infuriating when you want to keep a constant schedule and the instructor isn't unavailable due to his many students I tried to manage but it couldn't work out. Red flag 2 "You're still not ready" (69.2 hours later) This may sound biased but when 4 pilots say you are ready to solo based on performance and knowledge you would think you are ready. Now I have no quarrel with any instructor because in the end they are being told what to do and how to do it. I come from a background with Aviation Safety; currently employed by an airline at SFO and I work closely with well seasoned pilots so I can understand if there are a few corrections needed to be made in order to solo but if its been little over a year of some-what consistent training and almost no progression and with lesson rates increasing more than once due miscellaneous reasons, this could cause frustration. Beige Flag Summer Upwind Program Summertime here in the SF Bay Area provides a phenomenal weather for flight training. You would think there would be a wide selection of free time to train. Unfortunately that wasn't always the case due to the Summer Upwind Program for High School students to obtain their Private Pilot's License during the summer. Now, before I continue this is all observed from my perspective. I am all for youth to excel in their young careers but should that be prioritized? While they are occupied for the summer and have attention from CFI's what about the students who are paying? Personally, there should be a mutual balance. I support this program but it felt congested with the amount of students struggling to reach the same goal especially to those who are paying. Final Thoughts I do not blame the CFI's or the Chief CFI because in the end of the day someone else is telling them what to do, but I do feel there should be some accountability to the owner. Based from former CFI's and colleagues who are now airline pilots, it used to be about a passion to provide quality training to aspiring pilots, but it became more about money. Apparently this owner is also fairly new according to said airline pilots. It is a shame it took me almost 2 years to catch on to this. Could it have been a different experience? Perhaps However, the fundamentals from the instructors were phenomenal and business aside they were passionate about their craft and are truly proud on creating the next generation of aviators. I wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors but I do wish the school shifts its focus to how they once were. My new advice to individuals seeking guidance "As soon as the school starts asking for more money, time to find a new school" Airline Captains agree when it starts to become about money, the passion is gone be better

This was a wonderful birthday gift from my wife. She coordinated with Mark and found a day that…read moreworks for his schedule, and underlined the importance of timing. But that morning, he cancelled last minute without cause. The weather was beautiful, not just visually, but all the metrics on Foreflight. Gorgeous day for a flight. No refund, even when he cancels, and without cause. We had a year to use the booking. It took the better part of that year to find a gap in work and travels. I reached out with a few months left, but I have not heard back from Mark, even with follow ups. Total silence. In essence, we prepaid for a flight, he cancelled without cause, and he has been radio silent to reschedule. It has felt like a total scam. Buyer beware.

Mark took me out for a spin and much much more. I had a ball…read more Before the flight he took his time explaining everything, and getting a good feel for what I was actually looking for, and what I thought I could tolerate. I am not a pilot, so I just came to experience aerobatics. The first few simple maneuvers (roll and loop) were somewhat comparable to a good roller coaster (e.g. Flight deck at Great America). But having experienced that with a huge grin on my face Mark took it up a notch, ... and another, and another, and another ... Each step he checked with me to make sure I wanted more. In the end, after a wild combination of twists and turns that had me completely disoriented, I did start to feel a bit queasy. But at that point my time was up, and Mark had already announced that it would be the last trick. At no point did I feel unsafe, Mark most definitely knows what he is doing. Add to that that his airplane (extra 300) is 100% build for aerobatics. Yes, with a Stearman you can do tricks too, but if you want the real deal it doesn't compare. That said, the real deal is not for the faint of heart, but Mark would stop at whatever level you are comfortable. All in all an absolutely awesome experience.

Dmitriy is a friendly and enthusiastic teacher who can be firm when necessary (e.g. when safety is…read moreat risk!). His approachable manner even convinced one of my friends to start her own flying journey. He also teaches instrument and Cirrus, which means I can achieve all my flying goals without looking for a new teacher at each step.

Best in the business! Two certifications, IFR and Commercial, passed both in on first attempt…read more Dmitriy is a great instructor!

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.

Since my initial review in 2014, I have received my Instrument rating and am working on my…read moreCommercial Certificate. I also have put a Cessna 172-G1000 on the line and I can't saw enough great things about the GM, staff and maintenance crew. West Valley Flying club is an excellent club to learn to fly, get back in the cockpit, obtain ratings or rent planes. I received my Private Pilot certificate in 2011 after training there and I felt very well prepared for my check ride. Since then, I have flown to over 100 California airports in various planes, including a Cessna 172, a Cessna 182, Cirrus SR20 and a Cirrus SR22. The planes are well-maintained, instructors are professional and proficient and the online resources for booking works well. The staff as WVFC are fun and easy to work with. The resources available in the club are state-of-the art. I am still renting WVFC planes and I am also working on my Instrument rating in a Cessna 172 G1000. I really like all the upgrades the club has recently done. It seems like every time I go there, something new is added. If you want to go on a demo flight, or need a place to rent an airplane, I highly recommend West Valley Flying Club

Kelly, my instructor, was fantastic! She's a highly professional CFI with excellent situational…read moreawareness and a very thorough approach to flying. I really appreciated her attention to detail throughout the training. Just a heads-up--this is a tough club to get access to if you're not already a member, especially when it comes to booking both a plane and an instructor. But if you get the chance to fly with Kelly, you're in great hands!

I brought a "new to me" 1999 Citabria 7GCAA here for an inspection and for some preventative…read moremaintenance. My goal was to make sure the airplane was safe and reliable for normal flying and aerobatics. Jake and his mechanic Chirs found several items, including one very serious, that the last two mechanics missed. Jake is very thorough, knowledgeable, and a great communicator. He's also really responsive which is refreshing, Highly recommend.