So, maybe you'd like to learn to fly now?

So let's say you also live in the Bay Area and you'd like to learn how to fly. With so many airports and flight instructors to choose from, what will you choose? It depends on what your priorities are. I can impart a little wisdom.

Like buying a house, choosing an airport is about three things: Location, location, location. If you're like me and you're relegated to using solely public transportation, then the number of airports you can train at is reduced significantly. In fact, I'd count that as the primary reason I am learning at Oakland International: I can get to it.

If you have some choice, though, you will inevitably hear the words Reid-Hillview Airport at some point. Reid-Hillview (RHV), located just east of San Jose, is the "hub" of private pilot training in the Bay Area. You can learn anything there, and there's tons of instructors to choose from.

So, does that automatically mean you should learn at RHV? No! First off, consider the advantages: Is having hundreds of instructors to choose from a good thing? Finding a good instructor is not like finding true love. If you're a generally personable guy, then most instructors will get along with you (at least) well enough. Give me three instructors, and I'm pretty sure I'd jive with at least one of them.

So then what's good about RHV's selection? Well, it means you can get newer or more obscure licenses (like the Sport Pilot License, which isn't taught anywhere else in the Bay Area), and, if you have a specific kind of plane you want to learn to fly in, you have a better chance of finding an instructor with that airplane model.

However, I didn't learn at RHV. I learned at Oakland International (OAK). Oakland International has one big claim to fame, in terms of pilot training: It's an honest-to-god, busy international airport. If you can fly in Oakland's airspace, you can fly anywhere. It really prepares you for flying with the Big Boys. I can only imagine how it feels to be a pilot like the kind they find up in sleepy airports like Petaluma, flying into OAK for the first time to visit a friend. They must be mortified. Fortunately, in the fast-talking, fast-thinking world of Class-B and Class-C airspace, an Oakland-trained pilot is prepared.

If you're going to learn at Oakland, and you don't own an airplane, you'll have to learn through a club. This leaves you basically have two major choices: the Alameda Aero Club and Oakland Flyers. My decision to go with the AAC was based primarily on price and the interaction I had with their staff.

Oakland Flyers has the better selection of aircraft. The AAC has four airplanes, all Cessna 172's, all more than 20 years old. The airplanes are well maintained by a passionate maintenance crew, but they don't look like much, and they aren't "cool" tailwheel, multi-engined, glass-cockpit, or aerobatic planes. Oakland Flyers has a bunch of planes of varying types and capabilities, but from what I hear tell (and this is nothing more than blatant hearsay), their planes break down more often, and their maintenance crew is slower to fix them.

In addition, Oakland Flyers is more expensive than the AAC. In fact, I have the strong suspicion that the AAC has among the best rental prices in the entire Bay Area. Maybe when I make some more money I will also enroll in Oakland Flyers, so I can enjoy membership in both clubs, but for now, the AAC is fine. It's a modest and homely club, with its four old clunker 172's, but it's reliable and cheap.

I don't intend to answer all the questions that a potential future pilot might have. ("How much will it cost?", "Is it safe?", "What can I do and where can I go?", etc.) There are plenty of websites that can give you general information on learning to fly (and my instructor's site answered most of my questions). My intent here is to give you some Bay Area-specific information that you wouldn't find anywhere else. Hope it helps!