Advantage Aviation

Advantage Aviation is highly recommended. It is a fantastic place to learn to fly!!! My flight instructor, Matt Velichko, is incredibly knowledgable, reliable, and safe. He’s the best of the best when it comes to instructors. Such a great experience!

If you’re looking into anything aviation related — including top notch instruction and help with your plane or local charter, this is the place. Owner Ken is one of nicest people around. I have taken flight lessons with Byron Bly and Jeff Katz both of whom are top notch instructors.

Bought my husband the introductory package. Great place to begin to learn how to fly. Had a great time. He will try now for his license

I was new to the area and committed to take my private pilot license. I was looking around multiple options around the Valley but definitely Advantage was the best choice.
From the beginning I got a warm welcome from the people managing the center. Special mention to Alvaro, he was extremely helpful and solved all my first concerns. He helped me to arrange everything from the beginning and make sure all was going fine.
Planes are very well maintain and there is huge variety of planes availble with latest tech.
Overall, great center, great planes and even greater people

This is a review of Advantage as an FAA test center, not as a flight school. I’m a glider pilot, so I train elsewhere. Advantage is the closest FAA test center to my office, and it’s on my way home. I’ve taken several FAA knowledge tests there. The process is quick, easy, and they’ve always had all the supplies required for the test I wanted to take.

I flew with Advantage from June to September 2014. Usually I fly as a private pilot in Europe (Norway). I want to highlight four topics flying with Advantage.
1. Very good facilities and planes
The clubhouse is awesome (especially to a Norwegian). They always got the coffee ready for you as well as some candy or good cakes. They have several briefing rooms, three computers, nice restrooms and a cultural finish to the location. The number of airplanes is satisfying and I always felt I had good accessibility to them (had no problem booking a plane for a weekend or book a plane for an evening flight the day before).
2. Tremendous instructors
My primary instructor was Will McAdams. He made me learn a lot on the two first flights we had when I first started flying at Advantage. Being new to the G1000, the busy Bay Area airspace and the US radio terminology he did a very good job maximizing my learning before I went solo. If he doesn’t answer his e-​mail it’s just because he loves his work being present in an airplane from 7am to 11pm. I also did cross country flight planning with the always very helpful, professional and friendly Richard Digrazzi. On my request, on a Friday afternoon, he got in touch with the maintenance helping me clean the plugs in a G1000 airplane that didn’t hot start. I had booked the plane for a weekend flight to Santa Barbara planning to stop at several airports along the coast and wouldn’t have made it without Rich’s help.
3. Helpful service
Alvaro in the front desk is always very helpful and friendly. He helped me out more than once and I experienced the service as exceptional. If the usual printer didn’t work or the airplane I booked got a squawk he’d do his very best to solve the problem right away. Advantage also has its own maintenance in the hangar located 100 ft from the club. They always fixed squawks quickly (switching wheel if needed, cleaning plugs when hot start G1000 is difficult, etc.)
4. Safety-​oriented
Last, but not least important. If there is anything you want it’s this. If you don’t like instructors and members giving you friendly advice (e.g. parking procedures, radio procedures, flying in the pattern, securing aircraft the best possible after flying, etc.) when you’re doing your favorite (and sometimes risky) hobby then Advantage is not the right place for you. I really appreciated this as it made me, a foreign European pilot, feel that the club cared about not only getting you to spend time with their planes. I also felt I always could ask.

So my dad was a pilot when he was younger and used to take me up for rides when he had his own small propellor plane. I knew I wanted to fly again, but this time take an actual lesson. I searched around Unilocal and found this place Advantage based off their 5 star reviews. Happy I did!
I got an email back from a flying instructor, Will and we scheduled an introduction lesson. The ocean didn’t have clouds over it so we even got to do a landing at Half Moon Bay! He let me fly almost the whole time, which I didn’t realize they were allowed to do without being approved or something. He asked me if I wanted to «stall» the plane and I was really scared but it wasn’t too bad after. I didn’t know you do so many of those things in normal training! Scary to think about but I felt really comfortable the whole time. He was definitely doing the «cool pilot» thing about it all but I had a blast.
I won’t have the time to finish my Private Pilots License until I’m done with college, but I definitely can’t wait to come back. Also, a really nice atmosphere inside the flying club. I remember these places looking like dirty grandparents houses or something but not here…

This is the BMW of flight clubs. I just joined!
Learning to fly a plane is something really exciting to me BUT something to take very seriously. So, being the researcher I am, I did an exhaustive search online reading everything I could find and I then visited nearly all the clubs at Palo Alto and San Carlos. This club came highly recommended by my instructor.
All the puzzle pieces fit perfectly. My top notch instructor’s advice and my research correlated perfectly. This was the place. It stands apart when you walk in the door by the amazingly friendly and professional face at the front desk: Alvaro. You will also be impressed by the overall appearance of the place. Funny thing, is at many of these clubs I checked out the restroom — yes, the restroom! Consider it an indication of how well ‘maintained’ things are (planes anyone?). And also, you will likely bring family and friends with you here on some days. You want a club you can feel proud to be a member of and bring people to. Advantage looks amazing on the inside and has very clean restrooms for those of you that care about such things!
I should also mention they have a great selection of modern planes (G1000s) and sims. Some clubs have only a few G1000 planes which can be an issue if you want to train in modern cockpits. Also, they do all their own maintenance on site which makes me feel more secure that those working on the plane know the plane. I’m extremely safety conscious and want to minimize risk in all areas that I can.
I look forward to a long adventure here. Enjoy the process of figuring out what works best for you, learning to fly … and I hope to see you in the sky!

I would give them 10 stars if I could. Me, my girlfriend, and son were headed to another flight school when we accidentally walked into Advantage Aviation. They were really friendly about the mixup, so I asked for their card to check them out the next time I wanted to do an intro flight lesson. 15 minutes later we walked straight back to Advantage Aviation after receiving rude service at the place we originally had a lesson set up with.
Alvaro is very friendly and welcoming. He set us up with an instructor right away and made us feel very comfortable. It was Valentines Day so for them to set up an appointment within the hour was amazing. The atmosphere and décor inside Advantage Aviation is very classy, welcoming, and relaxing — exactly what you would want from a flight school/​club. They even had treats for Valentine’s Day, which my son (and my gut) really enjoyed.
My flight instructor, Jeff, was exactly the type of instructor I would want for my first flight. It was my first time flying a plane and my son’s first time in any type of aircraft. Jeff was thorough with his instruction, friendly, and supportive.
I was pretty much basing my entire flight future on my first lesson that day, and because we accidentally walked into Advantage Aviation, it’s going to be clear skies from here on out. I definitely plan on returning for instruction and another nice view of the Bay Area a few times a year.
Thank you everyone at Advantage Aviation. The cupcakes and flight were great. You really made our Valentine’s Day.

Great flying Club! Just finished getting my pilots license under Jeff. Everything was top notch and everyone was very friendly and helpful all at a reasonable price.

I took a demo flight with Byron. It was a lot of fun! He had me do the flying which was scary at first but once I relaxed it was great. My son came along and had a blast.
After the demo flight Byron walked me through all of the costs involved in obtaining your private pilot certificate. He was thorough and didn’t hide any of the costs.
Let me tell you, after doing the math on this I had a bit of sticker shock, but it was not out of line compared to the prices at other clubs except that the planes are a bit higher than others in the area.
The club seems to be well-​furnished and well-​run. The members were friendly to me and my boy as well.

Nicest showroom for Palo Alto clubs and friendly CFI with well maintained rentals.
Only down side are CFI fees and rentals are higher than San Jose and Livermore clubs. Had a blast flying with Derek Day he is a very cool fun guy to fly with!

I have heard they keep there planes in impeccable conditions. Really nice club inside. Everyone I have met is warm friendly & a high level of ethics. That to me is very important. This club has real integrity. Top notch at affordable pricing. This club knows what they are doing. That is important when trusting someone with your life.

All the 5-​star reviews speak for themselves but since I’m having such an exceptional time here, I’ll add another 5-​star review.
After checking out numerous clubs in 3 different airports, I started training at Advantage for my private pilot license and now am officially a pilot. In my opinion, there are two important things in choosing a flying club:
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1) Instructors — This is the person that will be by your side every step. You not only want to make sure he is competent, but that you get along with him.
My instructor was Laurent Lambert and I can say that he’s very knowledgeable, has the right combination of push and pull in his instruction and has a flexible schedule that can accommodate training someone with a full-​time job. He’s also very easy-​going as a person and I expect to keep our friendship in the future (and hopefully get further ratings with him).
I’ve also flown with Chuck Hellweg and Mark Erwin, both of whom were very professional, competent and fun to fly with.
2) Aircrafts — You don’t want your training to be hampered by the unavailability of an aircraft. Advantage has a large number of aircrafts that are well-​maintained. As you train, you will have to cancel some flights due to maintenance issues, but I’ve had very few such issues during my 10-​month training. Discovering, diagnosing and (sometimes) fixing a variety failures is something you need to know as a pilot, anyway, so I learned something from every one of them.
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Aside from the above two, I consider anything else you get from the flying club as a bonus.
— Easy access to planes: Advantage has an online reservation system you can use to book planes and instructors. There’s also an electronic keypad and an automated system to get into the club and access the keys to the planes ²⁴⁄₇ for all members. Oh, did I mention that the planes are parked right outside the club?
— Nice facilities: The lounge and the rooms are all clean and well maintained. I think the biggest benefit of this is that it prompts the members to hang out and talk at the lounge. This is the place where I got to hear all kinds of pilot stories and get tips from various instructors.
— Friendly staff: As a student pilot, I’ve had (and still have) all kinds of questions and blunders, but everyone who works here is super friendly like… all the freaking time. Awesome!
If you’re looking for a place to get flight instructions and the Palo Alto airport is convenient for you, GO TO ADVANTAGE AVATION. Hell, even if the Palo Alto airport is out of your way, I would still recommend it.

A great fleet, an instructor for every possible goal (and temperament) and a facility that quite frankly leaves every other flying club in the dust; it’s closer to a Flightcraft FBO than the typical clubhouse-​like flying school. The recently installed electronic security and automated check-​out/​check-​in system make Advantage a uniquely convenient, ²⁴⁄₇ resource. Not cheap, but this is Palo Alto, so what do you expect?

I’m doing my primary training with AA in 172SP-​G1000. I am very happy that I find this place. It’s a great place to learn to fly.
In addition to all late model singles, they even have a G58 Baron on the roster.
If KPAO is convenient for you, look no further. This is the best club there, probably in the bay area.

I have been flying with Advantage for a year and a half now, and have to say this is absolutely the best flying club/​school I have experienced. I have checked out all 5 flying clubs in PAO back in Jan 2008 when I was deciding on a club to join. Advantage was priced higher than Shoreline Flying Club but lower than West Valley Flying Club.
While Shoreline had no member dues, they had bare minimal facilities, no restrooms, no presentable «front desk girls» to hand you the keys, but the guys were nice. If you just wanted to take flying lessons the cheapest possible way this is the place to go. West Valley had the largest fleet selection, but have fuel surcharges and unbelievably tyrannical club rules on aircraft check outs rules.
For being less pricey than West Valley, Advantage actually have a MUCH more presentable facility, with hardwood floor, red-​carpet atmosphere, professional service (treats members like real customers!), AND great flight instructors, weather briefing computers, and comfy leather couches/​plasma TV in the lounge area, it makes you feel like a million bucks. I would take a date through here any time.
For impressing friends with the most incredible flying experience, there is no place better than here. They have 6 new late-​model Cessna 172SP’s (3 of which are Garmin 1000’s), a few pre-​1978 152/172’s if you are on a budget, and several Cirruses and Bonanzas, etc. Whether you are a high roller wanting to travel fast, a romantic going on a date, or a student pilot training on a budget, there is a right plane for you here!

This place is still tops, and Byron is truly the best AND extremely patient and informative. Will refer everyone here and to him if he is available!

I’ve returned to flying after about a 6 year hiatus and I’ve decided to join
up at Advantage. My previous experiences have included Squadron 2 (SJC, moved to RHV, avoid at all costs), West Valley (PAO, HWD, SQL, E16), and Tradewinds (RHV). I’ll review each of them shortly as well.
I chose advantage because of a good selection of Technically advanced aircraft (glass cockpit) and high-​performance/​complex singles at a reasonable price. I’m mostly a cross-​country IFR-​oriented
pilot, so, having well equipped and well maintained aircraft with good
cruising speeds at reasonable rates is my most important criteria.
Advantage has that, and, a very professional staff and excellent
instructors.
Feel free to send me a message with any questions. To put it in
context, I have almost 900 hours and private, ASEL, instrument
airplane ratings with complex and HP endorsements as well as
about 150+ hours of actual instrument and 200+ hours of complex
time. Looking forward to getting my instrument skills back up to
proficiency and moving back up to the faster birds.

I started my flight training at Advantage Aviation one year ago and finished my private pilot license last month. I looked at all the flight clubs at Palo Alto and this one was definitely the best choice. Convenient location, great facility and staff with a constantly growing fleet of new aircraft. I trained in an Piper Archer, Cesssna 172N and eventually 172SP w/​G1000. Their collection of Cirrus and C182 aircraft provide an easy transition to high performance flying. They even have tailwheel now! Come check it out. If you are thinking of getting your license in the Peninsula or South Bay, this is the best choice hands down. Check all of them out and you will probably agree.