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!

We were here July 2023. Eric Ramos was our Cfi. It was such amazing experience we've never had in…read moreour life. Eric been really patient and friend. Explain things to us clearly. Once again. Amazing experience, Thank you Eric to bring/join us this fun moment, you're amazing guy. Hopefully we will come back with other friends we will see you again!

Took our little ones to their 1hour demo flight. Scheduling was a breeze, our flight instructor…read moremade sure the weather was good before securing an appointment, and if any changes to the weather, rescheduling was easy too. We went around the long beach area, over the water and were able to see the pier, unfortunately we were not able to spot any whale or dolphins but it was fun nonetheless. Our 4 year old had fun. Our 1 year old not too much, she didn't wanna keep her headset one and was fuzzy most of the flight, our instructor was very understanding though We got a SD card of our flight to keep as an remembrance which was a plus. He even snapped a few pictures of us in front of the plane! Will definitely bring the little ones back when they're older. Highly recommend

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

Very disorganized operation. And you could literally buy one of their planes for 30k and save…read moreyourself 50k in costs.

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.

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.

Brian is an amazing flight instructor, he prepared me for my multi-engine checkride and taught me…read moreeverything I know about the DA-42. I will definitely be renting here!

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!

Great instructors, aircraft are barely kept legal. My second flight there the C-152 I was in…read moreexperienced a landing light switch short (and small fire). Planes are generally very tired because of their age (most 40 yrs old), high hours (20k+ airframe hours), and poor availability due to the large number of students. Especially when compared to other local flight schools. TLDR: Dumb, uninformed, incompetent, petty management. Stay away from Susan Baker. School has a policy that students must pick up their badge applications in person the third time the signature expires. After I lost the first one, Susan Baker maintained that I had applied twice (wrong, this was my second time) and that I would have to pick it up in person. Petty attitude. Was later kicked out by management after getting my PPL by them inappropriately enforcing FAA regulations. Manager Susan Baker believed "tutoring" qualified as "ground instruction" after I placed an advertisement for "PPL Tutoring" on the common room board (for time builders). FAA inspector from Long Beach FSDO disagrees and maintains that "tutoring" does not qualify as "ground instruction." Me getting paid also did not qualify as "for hire" because I was not exercising the privileges of my PPL certificate. Susan did not care upon hearing this and maintained her decision. They did not bother to call me when they saw the advertisement, they saw the ad, cancelled my membership, and immediately called me in to revoke my access. Two CFIs and another business owner of a local flight school agreed that the situation was unnecessary and very unprofessional.

I am 10 hours into my flight training and Max has been a great instructor, mentor and friend. He…read moreis able to make me feel at ease while teaching me to become the best pilot that I can be. He also tailors the instruction style to the individual student so that the pace and intensity of learning is the most efficient and long lasting. Would definitely recommend Max if you wish to get your private pilot's license.

From the owner: Individualized flight training by experienced instructors focused only on your needs…read moreWe come to you, or you to us. We don’t teach you to just pass the exam, we teach you the skills needed to fly like a pro from the start.

Best place to take your FAA written exams as Ramy is extremely helpful, professional and friendly…read more Knocked out the FIA and AGI back to back, just ask him if you'd like to take more than one. Also, CFIs should def look into getting their spin endorsement here. Their Robin 2160 is awesome!!

I wrote (and passed) my FAA Private Pilot Written Knowledge Exam here. They could not have been…read moremore accommodating. They opened on Sunday, just so I could take my exam. Everyone was super polite and helpful the times I called with questions. The day of the exam, they were open, set up and ready for me. The exam takes a couple hours, so I appreciated the clean exam room and comfortable chairs. Great experience.

Thank you for Michael for a wonderful Introductory Flight experience you provided for a special…read morebirthday gift this weekend! Easy and fast booking, very flexible with getting a flight arranged. Affordable pricing and very knowledgeable pilot. We will be back! Thanks so much Michael and Long Beach Flight School for your amazing hospitality!

IVA has been a wonderful experience. We are looking forward to our second child also attending. The…read moreentire staff, faculty and admin truly want to be there. The support is unmatched not only academically but also socio-emotionally. The community is diverse and welcoming. My child is challenged academically but not stressed and she loves her school and teachers/staff/faculty/admin. The way the material is presented and discussed is all truly with curiosity, engaging and to develop critical thinkers. We know there is nothing like IVA middle school in the best way possible.

My son is a now a junior in high school, but he remembers IVA fondly and has even volunteered with…read morethe school to give back to the middle school that he loved. What did he like about it? The small discussion-based classes, the kind and caring atmosphere, and the fact that it prepared him academically for a rigorous high school schedule. IVA still holds a special place in our family's heart and we consider ourselves very lucky that our son was able to spend such formative years there.