Pinnacle Aviation Academy

They get a second star because their planes are well maintained and they are all configured mostly the same (the only real difference being a KLN-​89 vs KLN-​92 GPS) which makes most of their planes interchangeable to the student. Their rental rates are on par with most rentals but they are about 20% more expensive than either of the 2 clubs located on the field.
Where Pinnacle suffers is in their instruction. There are 2 types of 141 schools out there. Those that use the structure and discipline of being 141 to accelerate the training and thereby survive on volume of students and those that use the structure and discipline of being 141 to delay the training and thereby survive on generating more revenue per student by locking them in to the program and then slowing their progression.
You’ll pay more per hour going 141 than you will going part 61 but if you go to a school that survives on volume you’ll likely come out having paid less than you would part 61 (unless you need a lot of remedial flights). When you go to a school that survives on generating more revenue per student, you’ll likely end up spending the same amount of time getting your certificate as you would part 61 and you’ll still pay the premium meaning it’ll cost you significantly more.
Unfortunately, Pinnacle is the later type of 141 school.

Even though I’m living some 50 miles away, I’ve been renting Cessna 172s from Pinnacle for a very long time. The planes are well-​maintained, and are always great to fly.
I used to live near Carlsbad and learned to fly there in the 90ies, before Pinnacle existed.
When Pinnacle started, I checked out in their new 172s, and what a difference it made!
In 2012, I went back into flying after a couple years hiatus, and the Pinnacle instructor (Rob Anderson, who unfortunately is no longer working there) was great refreshing my skills.

This review is long over due: This flight academy is awesome. They are very welcoming. I was a student here a year ago and during the short time of my training, I had learned a lot from the instructors. If you’re a busy person but you want to obtain on getting your ppl, this place is perfect for you.

I finished my private pilot certification, part 61, here. Overall I would say that it was a very positive experience.
I started flying at pinnacle when I moved to Carlsbad for work, having trained most of my part 141 in Seattle at Rainier Flight. Unfortunately I had picked up several bad habits as a pilot at Rainier. In fact, when I first started the instructors were shocked at my weak understanding of flying fundamentals and poor flight planning skills, which were seriously inadequate despite my following notes from my instructor.
The reason I tell you this is because Pinnacle takes safety seriously. One example was that at my previous school attitudes like «a C172 cruises at this 110 knots, so just remember it» were quite common. At pinnacle they make you look in the operating handbook and perform the calculation to figure it out by hand. This was characteristic of several important planning details, such as takeoff and landing distances.
In my opinion, the most important thing about learning how to fly is learning how to make sure everyone is alive and well after flying. Pinnacle makes sure you understand and can demonstrate skills important to safe flight, even if you pay a bit more for it.
When it comes to something with a high potential for death like general aviation, do you want to go cheap on the skills that might save your life? I wouldn’t.
I’m glad I was able to improve my skills, and I really enjoyed flying with Dick. My only complaints would be that they do not cater well to part 61 pilots, as they almost exclusively do part 141, and so you probably should do 141 if possible. Also I initially failed my first checkride, despite doing very well on the oral and written, although I doubt it was the fault of the school.

This is a great flight school. The aircraft are maintained in excellent condition. Th quality of flight training is top notch. Flying at Palomar airport is an excellent experience for Aallah aspects of flight training. For instrument training, you can’t find a better airport and school combination because of the proximity to training areas, and the multiple choices of types of approaches available at this airport and nearby airports.

I just finished my training here for PPL. I would recommend this school to not only anyone wanting to learn but to rent as well. Their airplanes are very well maintained and they are all clean. Can’t speak for their 152s but all of their 172s are nice.
I drove an hour just to go to this school despite having closer flight school options. I worked with two instructors– Andrew and Ryan. You pick a primary and a secondary instructor so you can fly without disruptions in scheduling conflict. I definitely recommend Ryan and Andrew. Obviously they are knowledgable and are great pilots but what I liked about them were that they knew how to communicate their knowledge to students. I think there is a big difference between being a good pilot and being a good instructor– both Andrew and Ryan are great instructors. I’m glad I ended up with instructors I was compatible with which allowed me to finish my training in a short amount of time.
They have several instructors so you can choose instructors you feel most compatible with. I can’t speak for other instructors’ teaching styles but they all seem great and competent.
I will however say that this school is more expensive than others. I looked at several options before choosing Pinnacle so I had a good grasp of average cost for PPL training. I spent more than I could have at other Part 61 courses but personally, part 141 training was worth the cost. I received 1:1 ground and had progress checks to ensure I was progressing. Ryan and Andrew had good understanding of my learning curve because we met frequently on 1:1 basis. Other schools might be cheaper but you will get more through training at Pinnacle. To me, extra cost was worth it.

Pinnacle Aviation Academy is awesome. I agree with a previous poster in that you get what you pay for. You pay a couple more bucks per hour for peace of mind, knowing you are flying a well-​maintained aircraft with a well trained and qualified instructor.
They are FAA Part 141 certified, and contrary to Mr. G., you will not pay «through the nose» simply for deciding to follow a Part 141 syllabus. If you perform poorly and don’t study your materials, and don’t pass your stage checks, then you will have to pay for remedial training. In the long run you actually save money training under Part 141 due to the lower minimum time, more structured training syllabus, and stage checks. The stage checks simply give the student (and primary instructor) an «outside» professional opinion as to the progress and skill level of the student pilot. It’s far better to find out that stalls or radio calls need a little help at 15 hours rather than two days before a checkride… Wouldn’t you agree? Also, another benefit of training under Part 141 is the time requirement for Instrument training. If you train Part 61 you’ll need 50 hours of cross-​country pilot-​in-​command time… Which isn’t required in Part 141. I’m not going to bore you all with the details from the FAR… But take a look, and grab a calculator, and do the math!
Another great part about the FAA Part 141 certification, is that the FAA inspects everything! They come inspect the facilities, the maintenance, the instructors, staff, everything, to ensure compliance with the federal regulations. I’m not saying that there aren’t great Part 61 schools out there, but knowing that the FAA has inspected them and given them their stamp of approval gives me a little warm fuzzy.
The school is great, the planes are safe, and the employees are dedicated.

First, the good news about Pinnacle Aviation. They have a fleet of extremely well-​maintained aircraft. They run an very professional flight training program with excellent instructors. Everyone who works there seems genuinely interested in helping you succeed and they are pleasant and knowledgeable.
The cost for aircraft rental is somewhat higher than the competition, but I think you get what you pay for here. The planes are always clean, good looking, and ready to go. And since they don’t do lease-​backs, you know the same planes will always be there. Also, it is very nice that you don’t pay monthly dues to join the «club» and rent aircraft.
The bad news — and this depends entirely on how you look at things — is that they are an FCC Part 141 school. That means that they have a set curriculum with numerous check-​rides designed (among other things) for foreign students who are here on a visa. You will learn to fly, but you will pay much, much more than you would pay for Part 61 training.
If you are not a pilot or a student, this probably makes no sense to you. But trust me – or go look it up – Part 141 is the most expensive way to learn to fly. It’s wonderful training, but you will pay and pay.
Pinnacle will offer Part 61 training, and I took part of my training there under Part 61. The problem is that they still stick to the same curriculum and the same check-​rides, so you still pay through the nose.
So here is the bottom line: Rent your aircraft here. You won’t regret it and won’t mind paying the premium rates.
Get your training elsewhere unless you need to take Part 141 training. The school and the instructors are awesome, but you will pay so much more than you need to.