Bay Area Flying Clubs

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reidmrdotcom@reddit

This is from some years ago. WVFC had independent instructors and plane owners with different requirements and syllabi. SCFC is a school with a standardized syllabus and most instructors are employees, airplanes are owned by individuals but a checkout in one is good for any of that specific type (any steam 172 etc). Flying in the Bay Area is expensive, some go to an accelerated program in a different place / state and then get checked out locally after already being licensed.

With the independent instructors you are more likely to find some who are instruct as a career (though both had experienced and folks going though for hours), so their rates may be higher but some are more efficient as they may have more experience. WVFC felt a bit rougher to me and SCFC felt a bit nicer. But, I’d just go to both and check them out as I believe they both changed since I lived in the area. They should both also have instructor profiles with experience listed.

Of course, Reid Hillview is also not too far from where you are moving to and doesn’t require a bridge toll like Hayward, Oakland, and Livermore would.

Oh, anyone can go to the SCFC crosswind sim, it used to be a flat fee and program, so folks would usually go once, about an hour, and it is helpful for it’s purpose. Based on where you are moving to and job assumptions, I’m guessing costs in general aren’t a concern for you, so I’d do that regardless of where you get your rating. Best.

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Junior-Special5159@reddit (OP)

thank you for the detailed explanation. do you know if the checkout process varies at all between places?

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reidmrdotcom@reddit

Before I had moved to the Bay Area I had gone to almost all the FBOs and I had thought the checkout process at SCFC seemed easier than WVFC. But it's possible that as WVFC is a club that it just wasn't explained as well / was kind of confusing. Of course, you can always train on place and later switch / get checked out in another. If you stay in the area you'll be able to meet people at either place, and I think both even put on various events to check things out. I think basically, if you want more of an informal club type vibe, WVFC may be it. For a more formal, professional, and structured vibe SCFC would be it.

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bottomfeeder52@reddit

what was the checkout process at SCFC like?

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reidmrdotcom@reddit

It was more than 5 years ago, but they had ground to go over club rules, airport specific stuff, and airplane stuff, then a flight to go over the main stuff like stalls, landings, stuff like that. Then you were good for that plane type.

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bottomfeeder52@reddit

and all the planes are lease backs like WVFC? none owned by the school?

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reidmrdotcom@reddit

It used to be a mixture, but from what I remember, they were treated like they were owned (all had a standard checkout process, individual owners didn't dictate that).

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SkyhawkPilot@reddit

I’m a CFII at SCFC, happy to chat with you about training at KSQL. I have instructor friends at WVFC, so can give you pros/cons of each. Feel free to reach out!

I also did my training through CFI at SCFC so happy to share that experience.

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mtcwby@reddit

Wrong side of the bay for you but Flying Particles over at LVK is pretty reasonable. Instructor/Student relationship is just between them so there's no markup. I was a member and did the instrument rating back in 2003 with them and the prices are still pretty reasonable.

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Junior-Special5159@reddit (OP)

thank you I will look into them. i’ll be working from home part time in between ksql and kpao so it might be a pain to get over there compared to those two but it’s worth a search

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FridayMcNight@reddit

I've been a member at FPI for years, and it's among the best deals in flying around anywhere, but the savings probably aint worth the drive from Paly.

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akraut@reddit

West Valley is a flying club, SCFC is a school/rental place. That's largely the difference.

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Junior-Special5159@reddit (OP)

I get that but they both have very similar rates, both have instructors, and both do rentals if you have your license already. so does that really mean anything in a practical sense? would SCFC be more regimented while WVFC is up to the individual instructor?

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FridayMcNight@reddit

I think SCFC is a quality school, but at the end of the day, it's the individual instructor that matters, not the school. You should talk with several instructors at both places.

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akraut@reddit

I can't speak to SCFC; I'm a member at WVFC. West Valley owns and operates their own maintenance facility, so I can walk out and talk to the mechanic that touched something on the plane I'm about to fly. I flew with a few different instructors and really jived with the one I ended up working on my Private with. I have a few favorite planes over there. :) But I can hop in anything I'm checked out in, from either SQL or PAO pretty much whenever I want. And because it's a club, the atmosphere is very friendly. I've had wonderful chats with folks in the clubhouse and made several friends I've flown with there.

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Junior-Special5159@reddit (OP)

how is plane availability for renting/instruction in 172/182?

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dev-null@reddit

would SCFC be more regimented while WVFC is up to the individual instructor?

That's the feeling I got after talking to a couple of instructors at SCFC and taking lessons from one instructor at WVFC. Everyone at SCFC is following a standard syllabus, SCFC-specific checklists, procedures, etc.

WVFC being at two airports is nice - if one's closed for some reason (like runway work for a month), or there's some bad local weather (KSQL gets LLWS sometimes), you can usually grab a plane at the other airport.

WFVC also has a larger and diverse fleet. If I were to resume training for my private, I would probably finish the cert at SCFC and then switch to WVFC for renting.

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Junior-Special5159@reddit (OP)

which one would you go to if you planned to do training for instrument and commercial?

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JJ-_-@reddit

I did my private and first half of instrument with the San Carlos Flight Center! The owner is super nice and transparent, their instructors are great, and aircraft availability has never been an issue for me. they also have a G1000 AATD sim, so you can use that for 20 of your simulated instrument hours

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Junior-Special5159@reddit (OP)

why didn’t you finish your instrument there? I saw they also have a “crosswind” simulator. have you used that at all and is it helpful?

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JJ-_-@reddit

I didn't have the chance to finish my instrument there bc I graduated high school and moved across the country for college. I personally haven't used to crosswind simulator before, so I can't really speak to that directly but the G1000 simulator is pretty accurate and also really beneficial bc it let me do like 6 or 7 practice approaches anywhere in the world in the same time i could maybe do 3 locally in the real plane

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Junior-Special5159@reddit (OP)

that’s pretty cool

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

private pilot moving to the bay area looking to continue on with instrument training, possible commercial and CFI too if I decide to do the full career leap. KSQL will be my closest airport and it looks like the two big clubs/ schools are West Valley and San Carlos Flight Center. They seem to operate a little differently and WVFC looks bigger and also at KPAO. their instructors are all private contractors vs employees so I don’t know if they follow a specific set program like other schools. any gouge on one vs the other?

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