I chose my instructor based on flight hours and real-world experience. He has an airline background…read moreand trains not only students but also future instructors. Lessons are flexible, stress-free, and highly professional. I highly recommend him to anyone looking for expert training at their own pace

Flying with D. Damir has been a real pleasure. Flight training will test you, but Damir will help…read morekeep you on track. He was able to explain concepts I wasn't able to get from other sources and helped with practical and test prep. I passed my written and check ride on the first try! I would recommend him to anyone who wants to learn how to fly safely with professionalism and enjoy the process. He continues to offer support as I continue to grow in GA. It was an amazing experience, and the reward is the best. There will forever be before I got my PPL and after my PPL. ‍

I'm learning to fly here at WVFC. It's a fun low key club with lots of planes, lots of instructors…read moreand two airport offices (KSQL and KPAO). They also offer ground school and have a few simulators you can rent. They do a lot of club activities in the Palo Alto office. The onboarding for a new pilot who's learning to fly is great.

I've been a member of West Valley Flying Club for a little over a year and I recommend it highly. I…read moream 61 years old and have always wanted to fly but my wife and I raised five children and until recently, the priorities of family life consumed all available time and money. My instructor is Scott Stauter and from the very first demo ride I felt safe and confident in flying with him and learning from him. I also attended ground school at West Valley with Wes Irish as the instructor. Due largely to excellent instruction, I was able to pass both the written and practical private pilot exams on the first attempt. It is a large club with a large and diverse fleet of aircraft as well as a large number of instructors. I suppose with ~40 affiliated instructors there may be a few bad apples in the bunch but I've flown with six different instructors for various check rides or special instruction and they all demonstrated a high level of professionalism and competence. Each instructor provided constructive criticism and suggestions for improving my game that I felt were given in good faith and in my best interest. The fact is I don't pick things up as fast as I did twenty years ago but none of the instructors that I flew with left me with the impression that they were trying to run up the clock. The planes I have flown (five so far) are maintained well and the mechanics are accessible, supportive, and helpful as is the office staff. Scheduling planes and instructors is easily accomplished through an online scheduling system. I fly out of Palo Alto once or twice a week and there have only been a couple of instances when I couldn't schedule a plane when I wanted to. The club has a strong culture of safety and proper preparedness for flight. They have implemented several checks and balances to assure proficiency of both students and instructors as they progress through the training regimen. An argument can be made that they've gone a bit overboard with this and I can understand how this might frustrate some people. But I have to tell you that I went into the PPL check ride feeling calm, competent, and confident and that is exactly how I now feel when I take off with my grandchildren in the plane. All in all, I am very happy with my experience at West Valley Flying Club.

I recently started training with Jato Aviation and have had a great experience with everyone I've…read moreworked with. From the beginning, April (CEO) and Jim (Client Relations) made onboarding fast and straightforward, clearly outlining what I'd be learning and what to expect. My flight training with Jack has been exceptional--efficient, structured, and high quality. I've trained with instructors across the U.S., and he's genuinely top tier. He guided my transition into the G7, was responsive and available by text, and consistently emphasized the key safety considerations and how to mitigate them in real operations. Excited to continue learning with them.

They charged $200 for a 172 and instructor rate was $95 at least in my case. For a checkout I had…read moreto do 2 hours ground with the instructor. They were very proud and protective of their g1000 planes, it was surprising that one of the screens went completely dark right after the takeoff, but they charged me full price anyway. Maybe an OK school. I will never know, because for me just doesn't worth the price.

I've had lessons at three different schools. First with Morningside Flight Park in NH; then with…read moreKittyhawk in NC; and finally with Mission Soaring. I enjoyed all of it, but I have to say that the professionalism, quality of instruction and safety at Mission Soaring is outstanding. Pat, Eric and team have tons of experience and know exactly the right thing to say to help students progress *safely* through each stage of learning. The community of pilots at Tres Pinos is amazing and supportive. Experienced graduates often return to take advantage of the unique combination of consistently flyable conditions and expert help with any lingering bad habits. At Tres Pinos you can make friends that will gladly help you at every stage... from your first flights and landings to your graduation to coastal and mountain flying. This is a great place to learn to soar but also to practice humility and grit along the way.

Holy poo that was fun!…read more My buddies and I had our first hang gliding lesson with Mission a couple weeks ago. Since the Milpitas office was closed during Memorial Day week, we didn't have to do the one hour orientation in Milpitas (although most people normally do). They instead sent us the packet with the waivers and directions to the Hollister site via mail. We called the instructor when we arrived and he drove us up through some dried up grassy hills with his truck. There were 4 of us (two per hang glider) and one instructor, which meant that we got plenty of attention, each did 7-8 jumps off the hill each& got 8 ft of air at the end of the day- yea we no beginners yo! I must admit I was scared, but with each jump, the instructor ran beside us and reminded us of what to do (e.g. to steer left/right/up/down). He also reminded me to breathe& relax each time before I took off. Breathing is important! We spent a good 4.5 hours that day on that hill. For $160/per person, this lesson was about $40/hr which in my opinion is much cheaper than sky-diving or tandem hang-gliding. We put away the hang-gliders just as the sun set. Exhausted &hungry, we walked back to the truck ready for the long drive home. To our surprise, our instructor pull out a huge cooler and handed us some beers. "My students always get beer!" He smiled. Already dehydrated from the sun, the beer hit me fast. And then like he can read my mind, he hands me a soda and Iaughs.

I came to Rachael and NLT after a rough experience with another tailwheel instructor. I found a…read moresystematic syllabus, a student-centered approach, pedagogy that made sense, and a an ability to adapt on the fly to what I needed to learn. NLT and Rachael are exactly what flight training should be: student ability appropriate, encouraging, and fun. I've recommended this school to my colleagues and pilot friends repeatedly since finishing my endorsement. During my lessons I met other pilots on the ramp and was added to a group chat for bay area tailwheel pilots. It was clear on the radios that Rachael is well known at the local airport, and tower at a fairly busy class D airfield complimented my wheel landings.

Rachael is Amazing and she covers material in a fun way and it makes you feel interested to learn…read more -Gaurav Agrawal

I recently completed ground school with Graham, and I can't recommend it highly enough…read more What truly stands out is his depth of experience combined with genuine passion for aviation. He doesn't teach the material - he brings it to life with real-world insights and a level of diligence that ensures nothing important gets overlooked. Equally impressive is the atmosphere he created. The sessions are engaging, structured, and enjoyable, making even complex topics accessible and interesting. (Not to forget the bagels he provides each time!) If you are considering ground school, this is an outstanding choice.

Graham is an excellent teacher of the ground knowledge that the FAA requires when you go for your…read moreprivate pilot certificate. He has organized the material into ten weekly meetings. Each lesson is three hours long, but the time flys by because he makes it so interesting. The sessions are video recorded, so enrolled students can repeat any topic that is giving you trouble. What seemed so daunting before now is so easy when I take the practice questions from tge FAA test.

This was a great place for a discovery flight! Greg is very kind, attentive, and diligent in his…read morework as an operations manager. All of the instructors I've met are really nice and experienced. In particular, I would like to give a special shoutout to Nitin, who was my CFI on the discovery flight. He provided excellent instructor "service", explaining every concept and question with a calm, reassuring, thorough, and humorous flair. I felt a very tight camaraderie between everyone at Nice Air. All of the staff sincerely cares about providing a positive and supportive environment for each other and, most importantly, their students. The level of encouragement and support truly stood out to me. Flying is certainly expensive, but I'd be hard-pressed to find a place that nails both quality and affordability as this. I'd definitely consider pursuing lessons here in the future. This place may be called Nice Air, but if they ever needed to be renamed in the future, Superb Air is an apt choice.

I chose this FBO to support my Angel Flight mission due to Hiro's excellent and friendly service…read more He was a great help in helping us drop off our patient and getting us a rental car so we could stay overnight. Will certainly stay here again and get all of our FBO needs!

Stanford flying club is a very good aviation school. The instructors are strict, patient and…read morefriendly. I have a very good learning experience with my instructors. They all have solid aviation skills and knowledge. Highly recommend this club!

I love this place!! Called to gather information ~2 month ago and I am already going through my…read moreflight trainings! It does get a bit anxious when I first tried to contact them. Bert gave me a call back and it was such a nice call! He is very humorous, which may lead to people feeling that he is unexperienced. I learned a lot and decided to come for an introductory lesson. My flight instructor is Sharon. She is the best!!! She is knowledgable and reliable. I really look forward to continue learning with her!