Aircraft Hire in LA

[Jinkster]

Anyone know of the better flying school in and around the LA area?

Especially prices and locations etc. Heading to LA in november looking to do about 12hours with a C152 or PA28.

Jinkster

[Genghis the Engineer]

I'm going out at the start of October and hiring a cheap runabout from Rainbow air at Long Beach. I've not been there before, but they seem well spoken off.

If you want to hold until the second week of October, send me an Email and I'll give you my fresh impressions.

G

[Jinkster]

Genghis I will send an email. I was looking at Air Desert Pacific myself.

Will send rainbow an email for details.

[kabz]

I was just at ADP. I flew an Archer and a Seneca. Maintenance seemed pretty solid. Aircraft have any squawks and their resolution logged in the aircraft binder. Stuff gets fixed or placarded inop (91.213) providing someone reports it.

I've heard mixed reports of ADP, but the place seemed pretty good overall, to me.

As many people have reported the aircraft may look a bit scruffy, but they are maintained and inspected at 100 hour intervals. In fact quite a few of the singles actually looked pretty smart. (If you are used to school 172's from the 70's).

As a disclaimer, I had a bad glideslope, and an inop trim indicator in a seneca. Note that any dual out there is charged at $40 which is highish for the US.

[Charlie Zulu]

Hi Jinkster,

I've used Air Desert Pacific based at Brackett Airfield (KPOC) for a couple of weeks hour building on two seperate occasions.

The first time I hired an Archer / Warrior. I was booked into at an aircraft all day every day by the time I arrived onsite. I didn't stipulate I'd like to take the aircraft away so wasn't concerned with having the same aircraft every day.

As kabz says the maintenance does seem pretty solid. I had a transponder mode C fail on me on the first day when I was flying from Santa Barbara to Hawthorne. Not much of a deal, except it was precisely when I was overhead the departure end of LAX runways at 3000' just off the shoreline. The controller asked me to check my transponder as Mode Charlie had dissapeared... well we couldn't get it back. The controller was pretty calm about it, even though he was holding Boeings and Airbuses at 2000' (1000' seperation) below me.

Anyway I got a waiver to take off at Hawthorne and got back to Brackett.

They fixed (replaced) the transponder by 8am the next day (I got back to Brackett at around 5pm the day before)! They said that I may have had to wait for the aircraft to come out of maintenance, so I turned up at 9am.... suprised! If that was here in the UK it'd take all day, if at all! ;-)

The aircraft do vary in quality, some of them look pretty smart! My favourite Archer was N2925Q (or was it N2529Q?).

The second time (Sep / Oct 2001) I hired their Arrow III which back then was pretty smart with decent avionics including an HSI. But I have had word from someone else on pprune that the same aircraft looks a little scruffy now. Incidentially I hired an Arrow II but when I arrived they apologised and said someone took the Arrow II on a long trip and would I mind hiring the Arrow III at the Arrow II rates ($10 cheaper per hour) - I didn't have to think for a second to say yes!!! They had already block booked the Arrow III for the entire two weeks I was there.

Have a great time and don't forget to go to all those great destinations such as Grand Canyon, Sedona, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Sacramento, Big Bear City, Catalina Island, San Diego (use the Intl airport - two minute tram ride into the centre of town from the FBO), etc etc...

I can't comment on other schools in the SoCal area as I've never used them sorry.

Best wishes,

Charlie Zulu.

[T/O]

Well, I've been at ADP at the end of the last year and recommend them.

Airplanes are quite old but maintenance is good (like described above), rates are very competetive and the location of ADP/Brackett Field is ideal.

LAX, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Van Nuys, Santa Ana, Palm Springs ... every place within half an hour or one hour. Complex airspace structure.

Much more fun and experience than for example in Arizona; Phoenix, Tucson etc.

Have fun!

[NLM13]

Jinkster,

Haven't been to CA since 2001, but while there flew with UKFT, who have since merged with Rainbow I beleive. Both schools had decent aircraft. I also visited ADF at brackett. They were recommended to me by my instructor the first time out. He used them alot and had no problems.

[Jinkster]

Is there anywhere in the UK that sells charts of the LA area including Brackett - new or out of date?

I know Transair sell charts of Florida area but not LA.

Or...cheeky I know does anyone have an old chart they are willing to sell / donate? :p

Jinkster

[Charlie Zulu]

Hi Jinkster,

Your cheekiness may have paid off... ;-)

I've been over to Brackett on a number of occassions so I have two sets of maps, one set I'm keeping as I'm looking to go out again next summer.

I can send you the following charts, but I must stress they will be out of date by a couple of years (Having said that they probably haven't changed much, just slight airspace / navaid changes, etc but they're still not legal!):

Los Angeles Sectional
Los Angeles VFR Terminal Area Chart
Las Vegas Sectional
San Diego VFR Terminal Area Chart
San Francisco Sectional

I can't find my Pheonix Sectional, I have two of them but I can't find them amongst all the junk I have. If I can before I send them to you then you'll get that as well.

Just PM me with your address etc... better still check your PM's and I've left my mobile number.

Best wishes,

Richard.

[Algy's Monocle]

Hired an aeroplane from Justice Aviation in Santa Monica 18 months ago. Flew for 20h. I thought they offered a very good service.

Only problem, it was a C172 with callsign N 172EP. Caused no end of "say again callsign"...both in the air and at various FBO's around the south west.

Great flying. Have fun.

[Jinkster]

Thanks Charlie Zulu, these prooners are so kind ;)

Jinkster