I have been fortunate enough to be a student a Pinnacle completing my private, instrument, commercial, and certified flight instructor ratings through their partnership with Liberty University. Whether you're looking for part 141 or 61 instruction Pinnacle offers everything in a professionally structured format to meet your needs. The aircraft are well maintained and dependable. In my opinion, this school has the highest quality instructors and ownership at CRQ. Check out their website to gather more information. This is your spot if you're looking to all things related to aviation training, especially if you want to utilize your GI Bill or gain a bachelors degree as a professional pilot while earning your ratings. read more

Pinnacle Aviation Academy - Cessna 152 - Flight Instruction Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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Look around- there are better values and more efficient processes for student pilots. Very nice people just limited motivation to progress student pilots. Issues future students should be aware of that are unique to pinnacle.  First, pinnacle does not allow touch and gos.  This maximizes profits by likely lowering their insurance rates. This means you will not get nearly enough landings to gain competency quickly.  We spent $25,000 and after 70 hours of flight time, 120 landings and probably another 40 hours of ground time as well as near 22 months w/ no solo approval.  Lots of 'stalling' with instructors drilled by the owner to really wait generate more hours billed. Presolo is treated like an IFR checkride. . As soon as we left solo.   At a busy airport like CRQ you will spend lots of extra money on the ramp due to unqie no touch and go policy.  Pinnacle pays their instructors just a fraction of the total, so on the positive side very nice people and quite a lucrative business with good margins. read more

Pinnacle Aviation Academy - $25k and no push to solo? - Flight Instruction Near Me - Carlsbad, California

My sister used Pinnacle for her flight training and had the absolute best experience. I also took a discovery flight with Pinnacle and am totally impressed with the professionalism, the staff, and the overall customer experience. The girls at the front desk, Riley and Reece, were friendly and very helpful with everything getting started in aviation. I took a discovery flight with Taylor and he was great! He was very professional but made the experience fun as well and I'm excited to get started at Pinnacle! read more

Pinnacle Aviation Academy - Flight Instruction Near Me - Carlsbad, California

This place is amazing. I highly recommend going here and booking this experience at least once in your life. The plane is small, and you really get to feel the air as you take control. The instructor was so nice and willing to answer every question. The price is super affordable too. I believe it was less than 100$ for a single flight for 1 person. read more

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I had the pleasure of following my (bonus) daughter's flight training experience, from the day, she first started walking into the "Pinnacle Aviation Academy" Office. What I observed since, is how the staff is very welcoming, explaining the process in detail & making sure that everyone has an amazing experience, while being trained to become excellent pilots. Our pilot girl really enjoys the camaraderie among all those future aviators. They learn with and from each other to reach their goals. The support they show for each other is commendable. read more

Pinnacle Aviation Academy - Tarmac area - Flight Instruction Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Amazing school with amazing instructors (including the front desk girls!). Would highly recommend anyone thinking of getting their pilot ratings to check it out. read more

The Pinnacle Aviation staff is top-notch. Every instructor I've flown with has been knowledgeable, patient, and genuinely invested in helping me become a better pilot. The school has a large fleet of well-maintained aircraft, and the front office team has supported me since day one, helping me stay on track with an aggressive training schedule. I've had a fantastic experience overall and can't recommend them highly enough. read more

My daughter had always wanted to be a pilot and pinnacle made it so easy! All of her instructors have been great. I really feel like she's in good hands. She is working on her multi engine and CFI now. They have made it seamless and hassle free and the support they have given her is priceless. Highly recommend as a Mom! read more

Discovery flight my Granddaughter and her boyfriend went on. The instructor took them down the coast. Maybe will have a Pilot in the family.

Did my private pilot training here. Great assortment of aircraft and instructors. Planes well maintained and the curriculum is both structured, and individualized to your own pace. read more

I've had an amazing experience at Pinnacle since I started there in 2019. The instructors are highly knowledgable and patient, making sure that you understand every aspect of flying. The aircraft are maintained to the highest standards, and all staff (dispatch, maintenance, instructors, and the owners) are incredibly supportive. Whether you're looking to learn how to fly or looking to advance your skills, Pinnacle is the place to learn. read more

Used to rent there 23 years ago. New management. All negative reviews accurate. Sucks.

Went to Pinnacle todays for my discovery flight. If you have even the slightest interest in flying, I HIGHLY recommend the discovery flight. The best $99 I ever spent. My flight was scheduled for 11am but of course being June Gloom meant it wasn't the clearest if mornings in Carlsbad. Juan was great about being flexible with whether or not we would want to go up in once we got to the airport and saw what the marine layer was doing. He was also really helpful, letting us go out and take pictures of the airplane and helping me find my missing glasses after my flight. My instructor was Erica and she was awesome! She was very conscientious about safety and was a really good instructor. She let me do as little or as much as I wanted to! I was able to pull the nose up for takeoff and do turns once we were up in the air. It was simply an awesome experience!!! Definitely considering doing classes to get my private pilot's license now! Highly recommend Pinnacle!! read more

Already a licensed pilot and flew there a few times with several of their CFIs just for refresher flights. Fleet seems well maintained. I enjoyed flying with all of their flight instructors except Kim Webster. I'm not sure he's still there, but he was the most rude, inconsiderate flight instructor I've ever met. Just nasty and sarcastic. Good marks for all their other CFIs. read more

My review is based on my experience with working on my general aviation pilots license (Part 91). My first CFI was okay, he taught me some good principles, but he was not personable at all and we had little to no rapport after flying for 17 hours together. He would tell me that I was one of his more skilled students and that I was picking this up really fast. Yet he never offered to solo me. Then he left Pinnacle so I was left to find a new CFI again. In comes...Lets call him Bob (hiding his actual name). I did not enjoy my time with Bob. In fact, my time with Bob was 100% time and money wasted. He had me doing hood/IFR training. (For what?) Then we spent like an additional handful of hours on simulated emergencies after I was already proficient in showing I knew the base level/required emergencies. Bob also constantly complimented my flying skills, said I was better than any of his other students this far along. (Mind you I still haven't solo'd.) I decided to seek out another CFI at Pinnacle, and for respect for him, he will remain nameless. I really liked my third CFI, I wish I had started with him all along. However, im 30 hours into flying now, and I *still* haven't solo'd. It's never been recommended, and i'm confident based off feedback from the CFI's and my skills that I am in fact fully prepared to solo. I should be long beyond the stage i'm at with the hours I have. My good friend started his Part 91 with Pacific Coast Flyers just a month or so ago. His CFI is very clearly motivated to get him solo'd and to get him graduated. He's told me that most students at PCF solo at around 15 hours and they *do not* review simulated emergencies before soloing. I have 30 hours and i'm beyond the simulated emergencies stage and I still haven't solo'd. I've also learned many things about Pinnacle that I don't like. Mainly the owners. They are in this for absolute cash grab. Everything they tell you to do is construed in a way that will make them money. For example. Before you get to your plane, they give you a time she's that had the tachometer and hobbs reading written down. As those numbers go up, you get charged more money. At pre-flight, they tell you to turn on the master/all the lights/flaps and do a walk around to make sure the lights are working. When you turn on the master power it starts the clock for hobbs. This means they are charging you to do your first initial walk around on the plane. This is just a scheme for them to squeeze as much money out of you as possible. I learned that all the CFI's at Pacific Coast Flyers do not do this, so why is Pinnacle? I was a dedicated student pilot, but when I found all that out I lost all interest in going to Pinnacle Aviation again. I haven't flown in 2 months now due to the greediness of Pinnacle. I am going to continue my flight training with Pacific Coast Flyers as their CFI's actually want you to be successful as a pilot. I will never recommend Pinnacle Aviation to anyone going for their Part 91. Go to Pacific Coast Flyers instead. They are cheaper to rent planes from, they have a larger aircraft selection, and the have a ton of CFI's that used to fly for Pinnacle (but they left), and the CFI's are really good price as well. This review is *not* a reflection of the employees at Pinnacle. They were all very nice, friendly, personable, etc. It's the way the organization is ran--that's my fundamental disagreement. read more

First, the good news about Pinnacle Aviation. They have a fleet of extremely well-maintained aircraft. They run an very professional flight training program with excellent instructors. Everyone who works there seems genuinely interested in helping you succeed and they are pleasant and knowledgeable. The cost for aircraft rental is somewhat higher than the competition, but I think you get what you pay for here. The planes are always clean, good looking, and ready to go. And since they don't do lease-backs, you know the same planes will always be there. Also, it is very nice that you don't pay monthly dues to join the "club" and rent aircraft. The bad news -- and this depends entirely on how you look at things -- is that they are an FCC Part 141 school. That means that they have a set curriculum with numerous check-rides designed (among other things) for foreign students who are here on a visa. You will learn to fly, but you will pay much, much more than you would pay for Part 61 training. If you are not a pilot or a student, this probably makes no sense to you. But trust me -- or go look it up -- Part 141 is the most expensive way to learn to fly. It's wonderful training, but you will pay and pay. Pinnacle will offer Part 61 training, and I took part of my training there under Part 61. The problem is that they still stick to the same curriculum and the same check-rides, so you still pay through the nose. So here is the bottom line: Rent your aircraft here. You won't regret it and won't mind paying the premium rates. Get your training elsewhere unless you need to take Part 141 training. The school and the instructors are awesome, but you will pay so much more than you need to. read more

I just finished my training here for PPL. I would recommend this school to not only anyone wanting to learn but to rent as well. Their airplanes are very well maintained and they are all clean. Can't speak for their 152s but all of their 172s are nice. I drove an hour just to go to this school despite having closer flight school options. I worked with two instructors- Andrew and Ryan. You pick a primary and a secondary instructor so you can fly without disruptions in scheduling conflict. I definitely recommend Ryan and Andrew. Obviously they are knowledgable and are great pilots but what I liked about them were that they knew how to communicate their knowledge to students. I think there is a big difference between being a good pilot and being a good instructor- both Andrew and Ryan are great instructors. I'm glad I ended up with instructors I was compatible with which allowed me to finish my training in a short amount of time. They have several instructors so you can choose instructors you feel most compatible with. I can't speak for other instructors' teaching styles but they all seem great and competent. I will however say that this school is more expensive than others. I looked at several options before choosing Pinnacle so I had a good grasp of average cost for PPL training. I spent more than I could have at other Part 61 courses but personally, part 141 training was worth the cost. I received 1:1 ground and had progress checks to ensure I was progressing. Ryan and Andrew had good understanding of my learning curve because we met frequently on 1:1 basis. Other schools might be cheaper but you will get more through training at Pinnacle. To me, extra cost was worth it. read more

I finished my private pilot certification, part 61, here. Overall I would say that it was a very positive experience. I started flying at pinnacle when I moved to Carlsbad for work, having trained most of my part 141 in Seattle at Rainier Flight. Unfortunately I had picked up several bad habits as a pilot at Rainier. In fact, when I first started the instructors were shocked at my weak understanding of flying fundamentals and poor flight planning skills, which were seriously inadequate despite my following notes from my instructor. The reason I tell you this is because Pinnacle takes safety seriously. One example was that at my previous school attitudes like "a C172 cruises at this 110 knots, so just remember it" were quite common. At pinnacle they make you look in the operating handbook and perform the calculation to figure it out by hand. This was characteristic of several important planning details, such as takeoff and landing distances. In my opinion, the most important thing about learning how to fly is learning how to make sure everyone is alive and well after flying. Pinnacle makes sure you understand and can demonstrate skills important to safe flight, even if you pay a bit more for it. When it comes to something with a high potential for death like general aviation, do you want to go cheap on the skills that might save your life? I wouldn't. I'm glad I was able to improve my skills, and I really enjoyed flying with Dick. My only complaints would be that they do not cater well to part 61 pilots, as they almost exclusively do part 141, and so you probably should do 141 if possible. Also I initially failed my first checkride, despite doing very well on the oral and written, although I doubt it was the fault of the school. read more

Yelp Pinnacle Aviation In the beginning it was a very rewarding experience to b admitted to the school as a foreign student. The reception I received as well as the registration process was easy and friendly with a lot of Californian kindness. For the most part the instructors were professional and knowledgeable. My first instructor was a former military pilot with many years of flying and teaching experience. He was demanding but considerate at the same time. He took into account my PPL budget and he was attentive and encouraging. Many of the students like me were on tight budgets. The foreign bank I was dealing with had restrictions allowing me to fly once or at the most twice a week. Apparently, this was a problem for Pinnacle that they had not informed me of at the time of registration. I wish I could give a positive review of the school but this was not my experience. I feel that the communication was below standard. After a long wait to obtain my M-1 visa in order to start my training the original warmth and attention during registration had vanished. The positive and encouraging communications I felt at the beginning had slipped away. I also felt I was being "picked on" because of the flying restrictions imposed by the bank. Feedback was in the form of being yelled at or written up with no teaching or constructive criticism, by my regular instructor (a different one from the one I referred to at the beginning), who out of the blue suggested in his report, after more than 15 hours of maneuvers, climbs, descends, turns, slow flight, and multiple stalls, I be assigned to another instructor/evaluator or terminated from the program. I was re assigned. Luckily, a second evaluator took into consideration my lack of actual flying time (because of bank restrictions). He had me perform alk the exercises practiced before, with great outcome, and recommended that I should become faster operating the controls, recognizing this would come with time and practice. This gave me hope to continue on the path to realizing a dream I had had since I was a child. But a few days later I received a call from an employee at the school who was not my designated instructor/officer. She informed me that me that the school was not renewing the form allowing my continued training at the school in the United States. The reason he gave was the "I had not yet flown solo" He informed me that an email had been sent but I had apparently not received it. Possibly it had gone to my spam. I asked why I had not been informed in person since I had been continuously present at the school. I also wanted to know why I had continued to be allowed to fly (at $225.00 per hour). I was told I was free to contact them to discuss further training five days before I had to leave the country. All this left a very bad taste and impression of the school. In short, SOME great instructors, good planes but very inferior communication and actual instruction. I also felt there was discrimination due to the bank restrictions. read more

Even though I'm living some 50 miles away, I've been renting Cessna 172s from Pinnacle for a very long time. The planes are well-maintained, and are always great to fly. I used to live near Carlsbad and learned to fly there in the 90ies, before Pinnacle existed. When Pinnacle started, I checked out in their new 172s, and what a difference it made! In 2012, I went back into flying after a couple years hiatus, and the Pinnacle instructor (Rob Anderson, who unfortunately is no longer working there) was great refreshing my skills. read more

I had my introductory flight with Pinnacle Academy last August 15, 2015 and it was a complete disaster! I met with Chief Flight Instructor James and he is a super cool, very knowledgeable and easy to deal and then, the horror unfolds. He passed me to one of the instructors, Zac McElroy and he seems to be a professional guy but he is not. He seems to lack an interest to fly with me that day cause it's 2 pm and I am not sure how many flights he had that morning but still, I am very understanding of his attitude. I told him that I only had an hour of flight experience with a different school and I want to join their academy cause it is close to where I reside. He handed me the checklist for the pre-flight and I was standing there outside the plane clueless while he is busy texting on his phone. I have to asked him to go with the pre-flight with me and that's when he started to move but I can tell his mind is somewhere else. I am still patient at that time and we proceeded with our flight. He wouldn't let me taxi the plane for take -off until I asked him to let me. There was a turbulence when we were up in the air and I have to asked him to help me with the controls of the plane cause I don't know what to do. He seems not too happy and I ended up getting stressed for the whole weekend. He took in account that since I only had an hour of flight that I am an expert and he keeps on focusing on the instruments when I should be looking out the horizon. It is a complete mess and I ended up not signing with them. I returned my Cessna Kit that costs $387 cause I wouldn't fly in a school where the instructors don't know what they are doing. I completed my ground school with a previous flight school so I have an idea of some things but not all if it and this is my first rating, Private Pilot. I called their office to make a complaint about his behavior and all the office staff could do is to say " We never have any complaint about him and that is so weird." This kind of response totally screams how this aviation school run their business and is completely unacceptable. This is the kind of school that you get what you paid for and the ladies at the front desk do not have an idea of what's going on half of the time. This school offers a cheap price for getting your private pilot license but for potential students who really want to learn, I suggest do your research. read more

Pinnacle Aviation Academy is awesome. I agree with a previous poster in that you get what you pay for. You pay a couple more bucks per hour for peace of mind, knowing you are flying a well-maintained aircraft with a well trained and qualified instructor. They are FAA Part 141 certified, and contrary to Mr. G., you will not pay "through the nose" simply for deciding to follow a Part 141 syllabus. If you perform poorly and don't study your materials, and don't pass your stage checks, then you will have to pay for remedial training. In the long run you actually save money training under Part 141 due to the lower minimum time, more structured training syllabus, and stage checks. The stage checks simply give the student (and primary instructor) an "outside" professional opinion as to the progress and skill level of the student pilot. It's far better to find out that stalls or radio calls need a little help at 15 hours rather than two days before a checkride... Wouldn't you agree? Also, another benefit of training under Part 141 is the time requirement for Instrument training. If you train Part 61 you'll need 50 hours of cross-country pilot-in-command time... Which isn't required in Part 141. I'm not going to bore you all with the details from the FAR... But take a look, and grab a calculator, and do the math! Another great part about the FAA Part 141 certification, is that the FAA inspects everything! They come inspect the facilities, the maintenance, the instructors, staff, everything, to ensure compliance with the federal regulations. I'm not saying that there aren't great Part 61 schools out there, but knowing that the FAA has inspected them and given them their stamp of approval gives me a little warm fuzzy. The school is great, the planes are safe, and the employees are dedicated. read more

They get a second star because their planes are well maintained and they are all configured mostly the same (the only real difference being a KLN-89 vs KLN-92 GPS) which makes most of their planes interchangeable to the student. Their rental rates are on par with most rentals but they are about 20% more expensive than either of the 2 clubs located on the field. Where Pinnacle suffers is in their instruction. There are 2 types of 141 schools out there. Those that use the structure and discipline of being 141 to accelerate the training and thereby survive on volume of students and those that use the structure and discipline of being 141 to delay the training and thereby survive on generating more revenue per student by locking them in to the program and then slowing their progression. You'll pay more per hour going 141 than you will going part 61 but if you go to a school that survives on volume you'll likely come out having paid less than you would part 61 (unless you need a lot of remedial flights). When you go to a school that survives on generating more revenue per student, you'll likely end up spending the same amount of time getting your certificate as you would part 61 and you'll still pay the premium meaning it'll cost you significantly more. Unfortunately, Pinnacle is the later type of 141 school. read more

This is a great flight school. The aircraft are maintained in excellent condition. Th quality of flight training is top notch. Flying at Palomar airport is an excellent experience for Aallah aspects of flight training. For instrument training, you can't find a better airport and school combination because of the proximity to training areas, and the multiple choices of types of approaches available at this airport and nearby airports. read more

This review is long over due: This flight academy is awesome. They are very welcoming. I was a student here a year ago and during the short time of my training, I had learned a lot from the instructors. If you're a busy person but you want to obtain on getting your ppl, this place is perfect for you. read more

Pinnacle is a great flying school. I recently completed my private and instrument ratings there. The 172's are all very well maintained and equiped with GTN650s. It's also a good area to learn to fly, air traffic is busy but not too busy. The Pinnacle staff are super friendly and welcoming. read more

Pinnacle is an awesome flight academy! I completed my Private, Instrument, Commercial, and Multi-Engine rating at Pinnacle. Their flight training is provided by quality instructors and their airplane maintenance is top notch! The combination of quality instruction, an awesome training facility, very well maintained aircraft, and perfect location is rare to find. I highly recommend Pinnacle Aviation Academy for anyone interested in pursuing their licenses. read more

by far the best flying school i have seen in the country. careful and experienced instructors. very clean and well maintained fleet.