Beach Cities Aviation Academy

★☆☆☆☆ 1 out of 5 a month ago

have not trained through this flight school, so I cannot comment on its overall training program. However, I have trained with one of its instructors, Lucas, outside of the school. My primary concern is cockpit communication. In my experience, I found the instructor’s spoken English difficult to understand, and communication between us was often challenging. While that may not be an issue for every student, I believe it became a significant safety concern during a takeoff incident. During the event, the aircraft failed to climb as expected, drifted substantially off the runway centerline, and I became concerned about maintaining control of the aircraft. The stall warning was sounding, density altitude was elevated, and I believed the situation required immediate intervention. I repeatedly told the instructor to “take the controls.” My recollection is that instead of immediately assuming control of the aircraft, his attention was focused on adjusting the flap settings. The experience left me with serious concerns about cockpit communication and decision-making during time-critical situations. Aviation training depends on rapid, clear communication and immediate coordination between student and instructor when safety is involved. Based on my experience, I would not personally choose to train with this instructor again. This review reflects my personal experience and opinions regarding this instructor and is not intended as a statement about the flight school’s other instructors or overall operation. However, based on 20 hours of training with their instructor Lucas, I feel like their judgment is questionable as this was a very careless person who had communication skills that made things challenging and potentially dangerous….. Actually, not potentially definitely dangerous.

Seattle Flyboard

★★★★★ 5 out of 5 6 months ago

I learned from the best here. Great instructors all the way around and the owner Robin, doesn't play about safety. Would definitely recommend them.

Javon

★★★★★ 5 out of 5 9 months ago

Excellent experience! Having flown at several flight schools and flying clubs while earning my Private Pilot license, I've learned [the hard way] what to watch out for (good and bad), and I had a good vibe about Beach Cities from the first time I walked into their office, to work on my multi-engine add-on pilot rating. Everyone I've interacted with there is friendly and welcoming and has been patient with my asking a million questions, as I tend to do! Many of their students have gone on to fly for the airlines, and most of BCAA's instructors were students at the school that were hand-picked to teach for them. Plenty of flight schools have big shiny signs and posh offices and are eager to get you to lock in and put down a ton of money buying overpriced block time, then they show no interest in the student's success, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Beach Cities runs a good fleet of well-maintained aircraft that they rent out by the hour, that could probably use a little paint work here or there, but all have recently-renovated engines and updated avionics, from what I've seen, and a very experienced staff that always makes me feel like they genuinely care about safety, professionalism, and about helping their students meet their goals. Thank you BCAA!

Eric Shalov

★★★★★ 5 out of 5 5 years ago

I’ve been popping my head in here off and on for the last few years. Finally took the dive and bought the discovery flight. My instructor, Timothy Spand, was very knowledgeable, & professional, and put me at ease. I learned ALOT in the 90 or so minutes scheduled. He offered many points of advice especially a framework for a pathway to becoming a pilot! 👍🏼✈️

Joseph Heine

★★★★☆ 4 out of 5 10 years ago

I have my PPL and I'm new to the area so I wanted somewhere to rent Cessnas out of. The staff here is very kind and they have plenty of knowledgeable instructors to help you with whatever you need. The only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is because they charge $115/hour for their Cessna 150, which is really steep since most places rent 152s for $90/hour.

Ross R