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    Sonburst Aviation

    5.0 (12 reviews)
    Open 9:30 am - 5:00 pm

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    Mary L.

    Flying a airplane has always been on my bucket list. This is a aerobatic air experience with loops and going backwards only if you want. Booked a session online. I'm not looking to be a pilot but just a one flight. I also loved the fact I get to sit in the front of the plane(Pitts). Location has lots of parking and easy to find the Long Beach airport. I purposely did not eat much food and wore comfortable clothing because you have to climb inside the plane. Craig is the instructor/pilot (ex Air Force pilot). He is very easy going. He will ask you what type of aerobatic stuff you want. While up in the air he will give you a heads up before any stunt moves to see if you changed your mind. My personal fav was hammerheads. A queasy move for me is nose dive but I'm still glad I did it. Never felt unsafe. Overall I loved the experience so much I came back a couple times and continue coming back. Personal opinion best not to fly if you have heart conditions. I think there is a weight restriction but not certain what it is. There is also a GoPro video you get to take with you for memories. Thank you Sonburst aviation for this sky exciting experience.

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    Review Highlights - Sonburst Aviation

    The flight was exhilarating and Craig was professional, experienced, and quite the talented pilot.

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    Aces High Aviation - Me and my amazing flight instructor Chris!

    Aces High Aviation

    5.0(59 reviews)
    4.7 km

    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!

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    Aces High Aviation
    Aces High Aviation
    Aces High Aviation

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    Air Combat USA - John flew with owner Mike for his 79th birthday.  A fabulous experience.  If you are looking for a great gift for a loved one.

    Air Combat USA

    4.4(54 reviews)
    3.0 km

    I first came across Air Combat USA back in the 90's as a customer where this was as a college…read moregraduation gift. In the mid-2000s, I began flying out of Fullerton Municipal Airport as a licensed pilot where Air Combat USA was based and owned and operated by Mike "Maverick" Blackstone (Sr). I became friends with Mike (Sr) and his son Mike Jr., call sign "Rocket" who is also a Flight Instructor, acrobatic pilot, and airline pilot as well so I had an excellent view of normal operations. Sadly, Mike Sr. passed away and his son, "Rocket", took over ownership and all operations and moved to Long Beach Airport while still flight operations remain out at sea over the channel of Long Beach Harbor and Palos Verdes. As a customer, if you enjoyed watching Top Gun, or you enjoy acrobatics or simulator dog fighting, this is the real deal. You will be fitted with a flight suit and other flight gear so you look and feel the part as much as experience being a fighter pilot. You will experience a pre-flight briefing where you will be instructed on your mission, an introduction to ACM (Air Combat Maneuvering) , and meet your assigned flight instructor who will be in the aircraft with you to keep you safe while allowing you to fly as much as you are capable of. Then comes the flight and multiple engagements with another customer with a defined hard deck above the ocean. Did I mention your instructor might likely be a former fighter pilot from the Navy or other armed services branch? So you are in good hands with "Rocket" and other Air Combat USA staff. Finally, there is the debrief after landing and an inflight cockpit video if you purchase that option that you will get to view and hear your communications. Air Combat USA is the real deal and so much fun. Barf bags come with the flight if needed. After my 3 engagement of 5, I had to use it missing the 4th engagement which I lost by flying straight and level only to comeback and win my 5th engagement to splash my opponent along with the first 3 engagements. I cant recommend Air Combat USA enough. It is so far above the ultimate video game, it will be one of the highlights of you life. Perfect for birthday, holiday, anniversary, and graduation gifts for families and friends.

    This was one of the most amazing things i've ever done,I highly recommend it to anyone that loves…read moreto flyA+++++

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    Air Combat USA - Life long dream. 50th birthday

    Life long dream. 50th birthday

    Air Combat USA
    Air Combat USA

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    Long Beach Flying Club & Flight Academy - Solo time

    Long Beach Flying Club & Flight Academy

    3.1(32 reviews)
    2.6 km

    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.

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    Long Beach Flying Club & Flight Academy - Congratulations on getting your Private Pilots License RJ.

    Congratulations on getting your Private Pilots License RJ.

    Long Beach Flying Club & Flight Academy - Our Cherokee Six got a new paint job. Looking good sitting next to the Catalina Flying Boats DC-3

    Our Cherokee Six got a new paint job. Looking good sitting next to the Catalina Flying Boats DC-3

    Long Beach Flying Club & Flight Academy - Congratulations on your Private Pilots License Shehan!

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    Congratulations on your Private Pilots License Shehan!

    California Flight Center Reborne

    California Flight Center Reborne

    5.0(1 review)
    4.5 km

    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.

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    California Flight Center Reborne - Our amazing fleet

    Our amazing fleet

    California Flight Center Reborne - Student first Solo

    Student first Solo

    California Flight Center Reborne - Wonderful landing

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    Wonderful landing

    Sonburst Aviation - flightinstruction - Updated May 2026

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