Flying Clubs / California
Flying Clubs in California
Last updated September 3, 2026
A flying club is a group of pilots who share planes, so flying costs much less. In California, a club is one of the cheapest ways to build hours toward 1,500.
California snapshot
- Flying clubs tracked
- 87
- Major areas
- Concord, Upland, San Diego, Mojave, El Cajon, Van Nuys
- Membership
- 81 non-equity, 2 equity, 4 not stated
- Clubs with published rates
- 17 of 87
- Median hourly (wet)
- $125/hr
Counts reflect clubs FlyTo1500 has verified against each club's own website. Rates and membership terms change — always confirm current figures with the club.
Map and list of flying clubs in California
Each club below links to its own website where one is on file — we don't have a public site for every club. Cost figures appear where the club publishes them, with the date last checked and a source link; a club with no published rates still appears — just without a cost block.
184 Flying Club, Inc.
Non-equityConcord · KCCR — Buchanan Field
- Buy-in
- $2,500
- Monthly dues
- $85
Rates as of Sep 2026source
A&E Flying Club
Non-equityHawthorne · KHHR — Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne Municipal
Aero Association of Caltech (AACIT)
Non-equityPasadena · KEMT — San Gabriel Valley Airport
AeroFlyte of Pomona, Inc
Non-equityUpland · KCCB — Cable Airport
Air-Spacers Flying Club
Non-equitySanta Monica · KSMO — Santa Monica Municipal Airport
- Hourly (dry)
- $145/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Aircrafters French Valley Inc.
Non-equityMurrieta · F70 — French Valley Airport
Alameda Aero Club
Non-equityOakland · KOAK — Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport
- Hourly (wet)
- $155/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Alameda Flying Club, Inc.
Non-equityRichmond · KHWD — Hayward Exec Airport
Alto Vista Flying Club
Non-equityCupertino · KSJC — Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport
Armed Forces Aero Club
Non-equitySan Diego · KMYF — Montgomery-Gibbs Exec Airport
ASB Flyers Inc.
Non-equityMojave · KMHV — Mojave Air & Space Port/Rutan Field
Associated Glider Clubs of Southern California
Non-equityJACUMBA · L78 — Jacumba Airport
Baja Flyers
Non-equityEl Cajon · KSEE — Gillespie Field
Bay Area Soaring Associates
Non-equityHollister · KCVH — Hollister Municipal Airport
- Buy-in
- $450
- Monthly dues
- $100
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Beech Flyers
Non-equityVAN NUYS · KVNY — Van Nuys Airport
- Hourly (dry)
- $200/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Carbon Flyers
Non-equitySAN JOSE · KSJC — Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport
Central Coast Flyers
Non-equitySan Luis Obispo · KSBP — San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport
- Hourly (wet)
- $90/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Central Valley Aviation Association
Non-equityFRESNO · KFCH — Fresno Chandler Exec Airport
Channel City Flyers
Non-equitySanta Barbara · KSBA — Santa Barbara Municipal Airport
Clear Lake Flying Club In Formation
Non-equityLakeport · 1O2 — Lampson Field
Cypress Soaring Glider Club
Non-equityHemet · KHMT — Hemet-Ryan Airport
- Buy-in
- $600
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Delta Flying Club
Non-equityLODI · O20 — Kingdon Airpark
Destinations Flight Club, LLC
Non-equityCarlsbad · KCRQ — Mc Clellan-Palomar Airport
Fallbrook Aero Club
Non-equityFallbrook · L18 — Fallbrook Community Airpark
Feet Wet Flying Club
Non-equityPortola Valley · KHWD — Hayward Exec Airport
Flying Particles, Inc.
Non-equityLivermore · KLVK — Livermore Municipal Airport
- Buy-in
- $2,500
- Monthly dues
- $95
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Flying Twenty, Inc
Non-equitySAN JOSE · KRHV — Reid-Hillview of Santa Clara County Airport
Flying Veterans Club, Inc.
Non-equityBelmont · KSQL — San Carlos Airport
- Monthly dues
- $225
- Hourly (wet)
- $128/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Golden State Flying Club
San Diego/El Cajon
Golden Wings Flying Club
Non-equitySan Diego · KMYF — Montgomery-Gibbs Exec Airport
Grand Flying Club
Non-equityREDDING · KRDD — Redding Regional Airport
Half Moon Bay Flying Club
Non-equityHalf Moon Bay · KHAF — Half Moon Bay Airport
Happy Bottom Flying Club
Non-equityMojave · KWJF — General Wm J Fox Airfield
Hemacinto Valley Flying Club, Inc.
Non-equityHemet · KHMT — Hemet-Ryan Airport
- Hourly (wet)
- $90/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Junior Aviators
Non-equityFullerton · KFUL — Fullerton Municipal Airport
L35 Flyers LLC
Non-equityBig Bear · L35 — Big Bear City Airport
Low Flying Angels
Non-equityMather · KMHR — Sacramento Mather Airport
Madera County Aircrafters
Non-equityMadera · KMAE — Madera Municipal Airport
- Buy-in
- $1,000
- Monthly dues
- $100
Rates as of Sep 2026source
NorCal Flight Club, Inc.
Non-equityVACAVILLE · KVCB — Nut Tree Airport
Northern California Soaring Association
Non-equitySan Francisco · C83 — Byron Airport
- Buy-in
- $1,355
Rates as of Sep 2026source
ORANGE COUNTY FLYERS, INC
Non-equityLAGUNA NIGUEL · KSNA — John Wayne/Orange County Airport
- Buy-in
- $750
- Monthly dues
- $110
- Hourly (dry)
- $125/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Oxnard Aero Flying Club, Inc.
Non-equityOxnard · KOXR — Oxnard Airport
Pacific Coast Flyers
Non-equityCarlsbad · F70 — French Valley Airport
- Buy-in
- $85
- Monthly dues
- $49
- Hourly (wet)
- $250/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Pacific Gold Aviation Association
Non-equityLincoln · KLHM — Lincoln Regional/Karl Harder Field
Palm Springs Aviators - Flying Club
Non-equityPalm Springs · KPSP — Palm Springs International Airport
Pirate Aviation, LLC
Non-equityEl Cajon · KSEE — Gillespie Field
Redlands Flying Club
Non-equityRedlands · KREI — Redlands Municipal Airport
RI Flying Club
Non-equityFULLERTON · KFUL — Fullerton Municipal Airport
River City Flying Club, Inc
Non-equitySacramento · KSAC — Sacramento Exec Airport
Riverside Pilots Flying Club, Inc
Non-equityRiverside · KRAL — Riverside Airport
- Buy-in
- $3,000
- Monthly dues
- $230
- Hourly (wet)
- $95/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Santa Barbara Flying Club
Non-equitySanta Barbara · KSBA — Santa Barbara Municipal Airport
Seagull Flying Club
Non-equitySan Jose · KSJC — Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport
Shearline Aero
Non-equityEL MIRAGE · 0CL1 — Krey Field
SideSlip Aviation
Non-equityUpland · KCCB — Cable Airport
Sky Knights Flight Club
Non-equityCamarillo · KCMA — Camarillo Airport
Skycombers Flying Club Inc.
Non-equityPacoima · KWHP — Whiteman Airport
- Hourly (wet)
- $125/hr
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Smoke Eagles
Non-equityFullerton · KFUL — Fullerton Municipal Airport
- Buy-in
- $4,150
Rates as of Sep 2026source
Sundance Flying Club
Palo Alto
Sunrise Flying Club
Non-equityLODI · O20 — Kingdon Airpark
Tahoe Flying Club, Inc.
Non-equityTruckee · KTRK — Truckee-Tahoe Airport
Tulare Flying Club
Non-equityExeter · KPTV — Porterville Municipal Airport
Unusual Attitudes
Non-equityLos Angeles · KLGB — Long Beach (Daugherty Field)
Valley Pilots Flying Club Inc.
Non-equityConcord · KCCR — Buchanan Field
Ventura County Flying Club
Non-equityCamarillo · KCMA — Camarillo Airport
Vintage Flyers, Inc.
Non-equityNapa · KAPC — Napa County Airport
West Valley Flying Club
Palo Alto
What a club costs vs. renting from an FBO
A flying club spreads an aircraft's fixed costs — hangar, insurance, annual, reserves — across its members, so the hourly rate is usually lower than renting the same airplane from an FBO. You pay for that lower rate with a one-time buy-in and monthly dues. The break-even is simple: the more hours you fly, the more a club beats rental. For a pilot grinding from 200 toward 1,500 hours, that adds up fast.
Across the 7 California clubs that publish a wet hourly rate, the median is about $125/hr — typically well below FBO rental for a comparable aircraft.
Insurance minimums low-time pilots run into
The most common surprise for newer pilots isn't price — it's the club's insurance. Policies often set a minimum total time, a dual checkout, or a recent-experience requirement before you can fly solo or carry passengers, and complex or high-performance aircraft carry higher minimums. Clubs that welcome student and low-time members are flagged on this page; when a club doesn't say, ask what its insurance requires at your hour level before you pay a buy-in.
Equity vs. non-equity: which fits a time-builder
- Non-equity clubs charge dues for access without an ownership stake — lower up-front commitment and easy to leave, which suits a pilot passing through on the way to 1,500 hours.
- Equity clubs sell you a share of the aircraft; the buy-in is larger but often refundable when you leave, and it can be cheaper per hour if you're staying put for years.
- For most hour-builders, a non-equity club (or an equity club with a modest, refundable buy-in) is the lower-risk choice — you're optimizing for cheap hours now, not long-term ownership.
Can you build commercial time in a club?
Building time for your own logbook — pilot-in-command, cross-country, night — is exactly what clubs are for, and it counts toward the 1,500 hours an ATP requires. Flying for compensation is different: most clubs operate strictly non-commercial under Part 91 and prohibit using the aircraft for hire, and their insurance usually says the same. If your plan is to get paid to fly, a club builds the hours cheaply but isn't where you'll earn them. Before joining, ask: what are the insurance minimums, are there scheduling or currency rules that limit how fast you can build, and is any for-hire or time-building-for-others use restricted?
Building toward 1,500 hours in California?
A club gets you flying cheaply — the next step is getting paid to fly. FlyTo1500 tracks 89 low-time, hour-building employers in California.
See low-time pilot jobs in CaliforniaFlying clubs in other states
Sources
Each club's details are verified against, and link to, the club's own website (its listing here cites that page). Club discovery draws on the AOPA Flying Club Finder among other public directories. The 1,500-hour ATP requirement is set by the FAA.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a flying club cost in California?+
It varies by club and aircraft. Most clubs charge a one-time buy-in (refundable in equity clubs), monthly dues, and an hourly rate — often "wet" (fuel included). Among California clubs that publish a wet rate, the median is roughly $125/hr.
Are flying clubs cheaper than renting in California?+
Usually, if you fly enough. Members share the fixed costs of the aircraft, so the hourly rate is typically lower than an FBO's — the buy-in and dues are what you pay for that lower rate. The more you fly toward 1,500 hours, the more the math favors a club.
Can I build hours toward 1,500 in a flying club?+
Yes. Pilot-in-command and cross-country time you log in a club counts toward the 1,500 needed for an ATP (14 CFR § 61.159 — ATP aeronautical experience (airplane)). Clubs are one of the cheapest ways to build that time — though flying for compensation is a separate thing (see below).
Do flying clubs in California accept student or low-time pilots?+
Many do, but not all — some set an hours or checkout minimum for insurance reasons. Where a club states that it welcomes student or low-time members, this page flags it; otherwise ask the club directly before joining.
How many flying clubs are in California?+
FlyTo1500 currently tracks 87 verified flying clubs in California, each confirmed against the club's own website. It's not exhaustive — if your club is missing, you can submit it.
Ready to get paid to fly?
A club builds your hours cheaply. When you're ready to earn them, FlyTo1500 matches live low-time pilot jobs to your logbook — hours, certificates, and goals.
See the jobs I qualify forCancel anytime · Apply directly with employers