Danny Waizman Flight School And Aircraft Rental

My boyfriend and I had a great time! The staff was very pleasant and welcoming. I highly recommend this company. When they say you will be flying the plane, you really fly the plane! Please note, the fuel cost is separate from the fuel cost. Since both myself and my boyfriend flew the plane, we had to pay $ 100 plus tax per person for the fuel. It was worth every last dollar!

Great experience great instructor but the 200 additional surcharge on a 159 groupon was unexpected.

My husband bought a Groupon for this school for Christmas. Yes, the Groupon does say that there is a fuel surcharge, however, when I called to make the appointment the person who answered didn’t tell me that (remember, this was a gift) and if he did and I happened to forget (no way I’d forget that) he didn’t mention that it’d be $ 100 additional. I found out by reading reviews here. When I called to ask them about the fuel surcharge the guy on the phone gave me an attitude. «Of course, everyone pays $ 100 surcharge. Everyone knows that.» When I told him that the people on Unilocal had no idea till they arrived for the appointment he played stupid. So, I called Groupon and got a credit, like Groupon Bucks (THANKS GROUPON!!!). When I called them back to cancel the guy I spoke with told me there was a $ 48 cancellation fee to which my response was, «I’m not paying a cancellation fee.» so he put me on the phone with Danny who told me it was $ 60. My response, again, was «I’m not paying a cancellation fee.» Keep in mind that this is taking place on a Friday at about 5pm and my appointment was for Sunday at 2pm. Groupon states I have 48 hours before the appointment to cancel. Guess what? 3 hours is not that much of a difference. If they actually send me a bill for the cancellation fee I will contact the FAA, the BBB, and whomever else needs to be contacted about these business practices. I hope that Groupon either takes them off their site or forces them to be more explicit about their fee.
*Update: Danny emailed me here whining about my review. If this business was upfront about the amount of the fee chances are my husband would have found the extra hundred somehow because he knows that I really want to fly a plane. This is near deceptive business practices. The fact that there is an additonal fee is fine, but to not explicitly state the exact fee when making an appointment is sneaky… at best.

Fly a plane!
I am one of those guys that play WWII fighter games on my PC all the time and my girl thought it was time for me to put up, or shut up — so for my birthday she got me a Groupon for an introductory flying lesson at the Danny Waizman flight school over at Republic airport.
Scheduling was a snap and I went with an early Saturday morning time to make my maiden flight. After getting checked in and and an introductory discussion on how a plane actually flies, we headed out to the plane. I spent some time on the flight line with Danny himself discussing how the pre-​flight checks are done and then it was time to mount up.
I was a bit surprised to learn that I would be doing most of the taxiing and flying! I figured they would get the plane in the air and let me do a few turns etc, but no, they showed me how to steer on the ground and I took it right up to the runway — after we were cleared, the pilot worked the flaps but I had control and took the plane up off the runway and there ya go — I am flying!
We headed south as it was a pretty morning — we flew down to Robert Moses, headed east along fire island then headed back (it was a one-​hour course). We did some turns and altitude changes — it was great.
Again, much to my surprise, I had control all the way in until about 100 feet from the runway where the pilot actually did the landing since, you know, that is the tricky part…
All in all a fabulous experience and you can bring up to 2 other people with you if you desire — there is a fuel surcharge, so be aware of that as well.
A great time and a great experience — definitely a great gift for that guy in your life who thinks he is an ace pilot or always wanted to be one!
Parking in front.

My boyfriend and I did the 1 hour flight lesson for 1 person. I bought the $ 99 groupon. I looked up reviews based on people who used the groupon deal and it said that there would be an additional $ 60 fuel charge. When we got there they said it was $ 100 fuel charge plus $ 60 for me to sit in the back of the plane. (a bit pricey if you ask me, especially for $ 60 of that was just for a passenger). The experience was awesome, and our pilot was great !!! we got to fly right along the water by fire island. Very pretty! Definitely a little scary being in that small plane, as it is very bumpy if its windy out. Overall, the experience was great. Good gift! but definitely get ready to shovel out so extra $$$$ when you get there

I absolutely loved this experience!
I received this as a birthday gift from my fiancé, and I couldn’t be happier with my afternoon. Danny is a very nice guy, and took the time to explain the runways to me, as well as the layout of Republic Airport, which helped me later during landing. Shlomo was a fantastic instructor. He, like Danny, took the time to give me a detailed lesson once we boarded the Piper PA-​28 Cherokee. He did take the time to walk me through the pre-​flight aircraft inspection, showing me the mechanics of the plane and what to be on the lookout for. We also had a second instructor who joined us, since he was still in training.
I taxied us down the runway, assuming that was the most I’d be doing until we were up in the air. I was wrong! Shlomo told me I would be taking off, and would be in complete control. I’ll admit, as soon as we lifted from the ground, the wind started to pick up and I didn’t think I could control the plane. Shlomo told me, «just keep pulling up, you’ve got this». He was right. We cleared the runway and continued our climb, and he was very complimentary, which kept me at ease. We mapped out our flight to fly over my neighborhood, so I could take a picture of my home. I pretty much flew all the way there, and then Shlomo took the controls so I could snap some pictures.
He then allowed me to take controls again, and we headed out over the Long Island Sound towards Connecticut (although we didn’t do all the way there). He had me practice some maneuvers for a little while, and then we headed back. I worked with the trim to stabilize the plane as well, which was really cool. Again, I figured I would handle the approach, and Shlomo would land the plane. He showed me how to take the approach and how to handle the landing, but I never thought I’d have landed the plane. Again, I was wrong. Once we reached the ground, the other instructor was tapping me on the shoulder telling me, «Man, you landed the plane!». I looked at Shlomo who had his hands in the air. That was really an exciting moment.
Yes, you have to pay the $ 100 for the Fuel Charge, but for what it is worth, thats a good deal in my opinion, considering I didn’t have to pay for the instructor fee or the aircraft rental. It’s exciting to look in my flight log and to see that I logged an hour of flight time, and that I handed the takeoff, landing, turns, and trim. When I have the money, I will absolutely go back for further lessons. Well done and thank you!

I got the lesson as a present from my wife. I got there and they make me watch a video lesson and after that I was ready to fly. But don’t think is just a groupon deal. You have to pay extra for fuel and gratuity. I paid another $ 30 extra for the video of My flight. Never got! Every time I call them they say they going to look and call me back. Never did! I went in September and now January still no video. It’s not about the money. It’s about the experience you had and want to keep it. They should give me full refund for all this inconvenience. Very upset! I do not recommend anyone to go there.

I came here with a $ 100 Groupon that I got as a birthday gift.
First, you should know they nickle and dime you. The Groupon was for «1hr flight lesson with video» but I was told instead of having the video I could take my dad up with me for an extra $ 20. We were charged $ 120 for a «fuel charge» that wasn’t mentioned in the Groupon or anywhere else after being told that fuel would only be $ 60. They «threw in the video anyway» so maybe that was the extra $ 60?
Regardless, the lesson was an awesome experience. I flew with Danny Waizman himself, a very kind man who makes you feel very comfortable with everything. I would say I had control of the plane for 40% of the time which was way more than I expected. Danny let me taxi around the runway, make turns and ascents/​descents in the air, and make landing approaches. We made 1 «touch and go» and 1 full landing after flying over Ocean Parkway for a few minutes. The view was amazing and it was exhilarating to be at the controls of a plane. My advice– don’t be nervous! Relax and enjoy the experience. Also KEEP TRACK OF TIME! Your «1 hour» starts when the engine starts and ends when the engine stops, but I’m pretty sure even that was only about 30 – 45 minutes for me.
I plan on pursuing a Private Pilot’s License but the fact that every other review of Danny is from a Groupon/​Livingsocial customer as opposed to a long term student of his makes me weary about sticking with Danny for the rest of my lessons. I will probably seek a CFI with a well known good reputation.
Bottom line– I recommend it as a one time experience, but there are probably better places to do even that. I read elsewhere that the best way to find a good flight school is to call up your local regional/​town airport and ask them for a recommendation.

Should have check reviews before buying living social deal.
Upcharge for fuel and tips. Was not disclosed.
Less flight time than expected.
Old planes.

I bought this company’s LivingSocial flying lesson deal at the end of 2012 to give to my boyfriend as a gift. He had a horrible experience. The person he set the lesson up with was rude on the telephone. He was ignored for an hour when he did finally get in for his lesson.
The ‘lesson’ consisted of Danny showing him around the building, then after little to no actual instruction taking him right up in the plane for a 20 minute flight. My boyfriend enjoyed the flight, but I had bought the voucher for an hour of instruction and an hour flight. What happened was more like a crash course in flying followed by a quick joy ride.
Even more disappointing was the awful customer service, or lack thereof, that I received when I inquired TWICE about how the company could possibly reimburse me or do something to rectify the situation. I submitted a message from their website, which was ignored. A week later I sent a personal email. Also ignored. I would have, at the very least, appreciated a response telling me that they were not willing to try to resolve the issue.
A poorly run business that’s just trying to make a quick dime. If they didn’t want to accommodate all the people that bought LivingSocial or Groupon vouchers they never should have offered them in the first place.

We had a horrible experience with Danny Waizman Flight School. These guys are scammers. First of all they are not professional, our pilot didn’t show up until an hour after our Introductory Flight appointment. Also I asked them on phone if they charge extra for person sitting in back of the flight, they said no and when we got there the other day its totally different story, they charge $ 60 for that and $ 20 extra for fuel surcharge. I would highly recommend other flight schools around, they might charge $ 20 – 30 more than Danny Waizman, but trust me it will be totally worth it.

So I got this voutcher as a Christmas present and I was super excited since I’ve never done this before and I could cross it off on my bucket list. I waited 6 months for this because I wanted the weather to be perfect! So I followed the instructions on the voutcher and went online to make an appointment. As I’m looking at their calendar, nothing was available until the month after. Total bummer!
Ok, so it was kind of tricky finding the building. There wasn’t a building that said Danny waizman flight school. The building said Atlantic aviation… Something like that. Totally confusing.
Anyways, we checked in and did some paperwork before we were led off to our plane. There wasn’t any introduction to piloting. There wasn’t even a video. Oh, let’s not forget about the weird fees that wasn’t stated in the voutcher. Expect to pay an additional $ 100 or so for gas and gratuity.
Now the whole flying experience is great. We got to see the beach and everything. It was cool seeing manhattan towering over in the distance. The downside is that you get less than half an hour flight time… Thought it would be more. I guess that’s what you get for not paying full price. Lol
I had also paid for 2 videos that recorded the whole experience. They had told us that it takes about an hour for them to make it so we could stop back and pick it up or they would mail it. We told them just to mail it because we didn’t feel like sticking around for an hour. We waited a week, but it didn’t arrive in the mail. Called a few times, got a few excuses but in the end, the video is lost. I got a refund, but I would rather have had the video…
All in all, flying is fun! Would love to do it again some day… Just not with this company.

As everyone else reviewing here, bought a deal — LivingSocial in my case. But you aren’t really getting a great deal, as you have to add at least $ 74 for 2 people for fuel surcharge and taxes, and tip your pilot if you wish (prominently displayed on the paper you get to sign at the beginning and at the end.) Logbook entry and other options are extra. Don’t forget gas and tolls getting to the airport (double your expected driving time from Manhattan on a weekday afternoon due to reliably horrible traffic.) You’re looking at almost $ 300 for two. Weekends, of course, are all booked up.
Our instructor was friendly and engaging (though a tad hard to understand due to accent), but of course our flights did not last anywhere near an hour each, even though there was no delay at the takeoff. (On busy days, especially weekends, tower delays can be really long — up to half an hour, he said — and that counts against your flight time.) A little annoyance — he forgot to check for the presence of the third headset in the cabin, so we had to turn off the engine and he went back to get it from the building. With all the excitement of the flight, we didn’t even monitor or ask anything about the time, only realizing when we were both done how little we actually flew.
We did not touch the throttle or rudder while flying — that’s too advanced for the first time. We went through the checklists (even though I had to ask the meaning of anything I didn’t know — there were no explanations whatsoever given otherwise), steered on the ground with foot pedals, and used ailerons to take off, fly to the shoreline, turn back and land (with pilot’s help, of course.) Keep in mind that being a passenger for the first time is scarier than being at the controls, but on the other hand, the passenger learns by listening in on the directions while he/​she is in the back. The airplane was a 1970s Piper.
It’s a cool experience regardless of the shortcomings and overly inflated expectations.

Extremely disappointed teenagers! I took both of my kids for a flying lesson here as a surprise. The only training they received was not the one hour training as promised — they sat waiting in an office and were then given 5 mins of training once they were actually in the plane. False advertising from Living Social who clearly just throw together deals with no real investigation as well as Danny Waizman negotiating false deals. I even called the flight school in advance before purchasing the vouchers to confirm what we would get.
The entire «one hour» flight from start to finish lasted all of 10 – 15 minutes at the MOST vs a one hour flight with about 20 minutes of individual flying time which was also confirmed in advance with «Elvan» (one of Danny’s team) on the phone.
The kids were extremely disappointed upon our return home — they said they were only allowed to fly the plane 1 – 2 minutes (they were on separate planes and both reviews from each of them were pretty much identical). Also, be cautious about paying $ 50 for a video — we got a 6 and 4 minute video (approx) and couldn’t even see them using the controls — just their faces. Assuming this was done as another way to hide the fact that the kids were not doing much flying at all.
Don’t waste your time going to this place — it’s a complete rip off. I’m giving this one star only because the employees were polite and friendly. I have also noticed most of the bad reviews for this school are hidden in the comments section so let’s see if my one makes it. If not I will continue to post not only here but on Twitter, reach out to consumer reports etc. Not only is this school false advertising, so is Living Social.
Its funny how all the negative reviews are filtered so no one can see them. Thanks Unilocal.

Went to this place after getting a Groupon deal. This place is inside the Atlantic Aviation building.
Reached there 30 minutes prior to the schedule and met Danny. A charming guy and he was quick to give a crash course on the aircraft we were about to fly and also gave other information on maps and everything.
I got 2 hours flying deal and decided to land in the nearby Islip Airport from Republic Airport and back. One thing to note is that 2 hours flying starts ticking as soon as the engine is on, meaning if the tower takes 25 mins to clear the fly, the you’ll be in air for about 20 mins.
My instructor Tanvir was great and answered all the million question I had.
Extras besides Groupon were $ 30 per hour for the fuel,$ 10 for landing fee at Islip, $ 20 for the log book (optional) and $ 20 for the instructor.
Overall the whole experience was great and I’m going again but this time to get a private pilot license.

I don’t know why Unilocal deleted my previous review for this company. I suspect they paid Unilocal not to post it or remove it. But here goes again. I got a groupon deal for 2 people flight and I was cancel 2x by the company becuase of weather (understandable)
The direction to the place is frustrating. I called the guy (with the heavy accent) to give me direction and he kept just refusing to tell me what’s near by but that there’s plane around. I finally managed to waste 1 hr of gas and flight time before I reach the location. I got there thanks to a local textile store who gave me exact ADDRESS. I didn’t understand why the company has to be so shady about their address. For those looking for the place, there’s a wendy across the street.
I told him that I have arrive and he was still giving me confusing and wrong direction to the parking lot.
I end up getting my refund from groupon because of their shady business.
What is so hard to give out the exact address???

WOW!
That one word sums up my experience with Danny Waizman Flight School. I purchased a deal via GroupOn and scheduling was a quick phone call away. On the day of my introductory class I was running late and Danny was perfectly fine with it and told me not to worry. I arrived at the Atlantic Air terminal at the Farmingdale Airport which is where Danny has his office.
Danny met me as soon as I walked in and showed me around. This place is very nice. He told me to grab some coffee and a cookie if I’d like (cookies were freshly baked and delicious by the way!). He then led me to his office and broke things down. He even gave me a quick physics lesson on how the airplane takes flight. After a safety talk we headed out to the aircraft and we walked through the pre-​flight check and then taxied to the parking spot and performed more checks before take off.
We took off and he basically handed me the controls!!! He was instructing me the entire time on what to look out for and the use of instruments and importance of having a backup to the instruments. We even practiced taking off and landing a few times which was fun!
I definitely enjoyed the lesson and Danny is a great guy and he obviously loves what he does. He definitely found someone that is going to become his student. I would highly recommend Danny Waizman Flight School!