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 was heavily over billed. I went to Angel City Flyers to get my commercial, and from the very…read morefirst day, the introduction, they over billed me on hours. I would show up and they put me in a class room to do my weight and balance, which took about 4 minutes, and left me sitting there for another 20, all of which I was being billed for. First flight, I showed up, and after about 45 minutes getting fuel into the airplane (all of which I was being billed for), I had to wait around for the CFI to get sorted out and into the airplane. I got an hour and a half flight, and got billed for 3.4 hrs. This was routine. One time, I took a picture of when I showed up, and when I left using my car's clock as reference. I was on the premises for 2.1 hrs. Billed for 3.8. I got absolutely nowhere when I asked about he discrepancies. They looked at me like I was speaking another language. I ended up burning through my prepaid block, and told them I wouldn't put down anymore money until they addressed the over billing. They could have cared less.... And the last day, the CFI didn't sign my log book for my time, and he wouldn't even return my calls when I offered to drive down to have him fill out my log book. anyhow, 3919788 CFI Nathan was the "instructor"

I'll start by saying ATP has a fantastic program, and it somewhat shocks me to see a lot of…read morenegative reviews here. Over the past year, I've attended ATP in Long Beach and it's been a great experience. The program is extremely developed and it keeps you on your toes. The instructors and staff are fantastic. Every step of the way you're given everything you need to be successful; 1 on 1 instruction, group instruction, modules, sim and flight time, external resources, etc. I cannot speak for every location, but I trained in Long Beach and spent time at a few other training centers and have always had good experiences. Now, that being said, the program is very challenging. ATP is fast and it's going to be difficult. It required A LOT of studying every day and you need to be good at self-motivation. If that sounds like your alley, you'll do great at ATP and be happy you chose it, it's a great place to be. However, there are many students you'll encounter that are not a great fit for this type of program. Students that feel entitled to earning their licenses simply because they paid to be there. Others who go out every weekend and don't spend the time studying, or who complain about the pace of the program being too fast and not having enough free time, (knowing very well this is what they signed up for and originally wanted). I'd also like to note that a majority of the negative reviews on here are many years ago or from others that didn't go through the program and are saying they had a poor interaction when trying to sign up or are unhappy with the price. At the end of the day, flight training is expensive. If you can accept that it's going to be a costly program and that you're going to have to spend most of your free time for 9 months studying and flying, you will do great! Passing 7 check rides in 9 months is super fast, and that's the reason many choose ATP. They have a great program, and they will get you through it as long as you put in the work. Lastly, I was not asked to write this review. I'm not being paid or asked or anything like that. I just recently finished the program and noticed some poor reviews on Yelp, and wanted to share my two cents. I know back when I wanted to go to ATP, seeing this page might have discouraged me. In reality, there are thousands and thousands of students who attend or have attended ATP. Go to a training center and schedule an intro-flight if you're interested, go talk to current students and see if they like it. You'll get a much more accurate picture than 8 reviews on yelp. Most people in the program really enjoy it, but it's going to be the few that had bad experiences and want everyone to know that you'll see online. I'd give ATP 5 stars over and over!

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

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.

The Flight School & Instructor Dreams Are Made Of…read more Learning to fly is a big deal--it's equal parts thrilling, terrifying, and life-changing. Choosing the right flight school and especially the right flight instructor can make all the difference. From the moment I walked through the doors at this school, I felt like more than just a student--I felt seen, supported, and genuinely cared for. The school runs like a well-oiled machine: professional, organized, safety-focused, and full of heart. But the true magic? My flight instructor. I don't say this lightly: Rul Yacob, my instructor is the absolute best. Not just "great," not just "knowledgeable"--but one of those rare people who combines deep expertise with kindness, patience, and an intuitive understanding of how people learn. He doesn't just teach you to fly--he teaches you to believe you can. He never rushes. He listens. He explains concepts in ways that finally make them click. He celebrates your wins and lifts you up when you're struggling. Every single flight lesson left me better--not just as a pilot, but as a person. Thank you Rul! I recently soloed cross country and I truly couldn't have done it without him. It was one of the most meaningful days of my life, and I'll carry that memory forever--with gratitude, pride, and respect for the teacher who got me there. If you're thinking about learning to fly, do it here. Do it with Rul. Prepare to be inspired, challenged, and completely transformed. This isn't just a flight school--it's a launchpad for your dreams.