Santa Monica Flyers

We are now accepting applications for our Ground School Series starting in January! Email [email protected] for an application.

Our Group Ground School series will begin in January and is expected to meet once weekly for 16 weeks. Led by Max von Mallinckrodt, a Certified Flight Instructor with over 7 years of flight instruction, more than 10 years of flying experience, and over 3,200 hours flying aircraft from light-sports to commercial airliners. Authorized ground instruction will be logged per 61.105 (Aeronautical Knowledge) by request.

Rates:
✈️ Enrolled Students: $25/hr ($62.50/session) - $1,000 payment in full required.
✈️ Drop-in students (students who are not formally enrolled) - $50/hr ($125/session)

It was a Waypoint Cafe kind of weekend 😋

Right turn at the shoreline approved ;)
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Morning flights 🌅

Say hello to CFI, Daniel! He is currently teaching in the Cessnas, sport cruisers and the decathlon!

Daniel joined us all the way from Nashville, TN 🤠 🎶 🎸 back in November of 2021. “I wanted to work here because the first time I walked in the atmosphere was so inviting and I really wanted to be a part of that, plus working at SMO was really attractive to me especially since it has so much historical significance,” Daniel explains.

His favorite thing about instructing are the students and learning about their different background and stories. “They are from all walks of life and I have made many great friends and learned so much from them, not to mention it’s extremely rewarding to get someone past any plateaus they may be experiencing during training,” said Daniel.

When he’s not instructing, you can find Daniel traveling, biking, cooking, taking his dog to the dogpark, hanging with friends and learning more about flying.

Make sure to say hi next time you see him!

Future pilot, Ryland Williams, enjoys his lesson with CFI Darien

Toyia rocking her lesson in the SR20 with CFI Scotty

Please join us at Santa Monica Flyers for a Memorial service for our beloved friend Christian on Friday, 9/16, at 5pm.
All of us here at SMF are heartbroken, but the process of healing begins with community. Now is the time to come together and grieve our loss.
Thank you to everyone who has written, called and dropped off flowers. Our hearts are with you.

Buckling in for a fun weekend!

Join us on Friday, September 9th at 7pm for our end of summer BBQ!
Food and some drinks will be provided but please BYOB. See you there! 🍔 🌭 ✈️

Please give a warm welcome to Darien, our new CFIS! Darien, an LA local, wanted to become a CFI because he enjoys seeing students progress, and loves meeting new people! As he explains it, “there is no other school like Santa Monica Flyers in all of SoCal”.

When we asked Darien what his favorite lesson to teach is, he said systems. “I am also a car guy and like working on cars and engines, so mechanics and systems really interest me.” Not surprisingly, when he’s not flying, you can find Darien riding motorcycles and playing football.

Book a lesson with Darien today!

Happy National Aviation Day!
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If air conditioning isn’t motivation to get your Cirrus checkout, we don’t know what is! ❄️

Santa Monica Flyers is so proud to be awarded the Most Loved Aviation Business in all of Santa Monica! We were recognized across 40 categories and 50,000 votes. Thank you to all our renters, students and community members who continue to support us and make SMF feel like a family! We are proud to serve you!

Congratulations to Yasemin Ozgurr on her first solo!! ✈️

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Rick Surad for passing his IFR checkride yesterday! Let the fun begin! ☁️
CFI: Scotty

Congratulations to Vincent Liu on his first solo flight! Most pilots would agree this is the most exciting milestone in their aviation journey!
CFI:

Congratulations to Ben Mersereau on his first solo!
CFI: James McKie

Congratulations to Jack Pregler on his first SOLO flight!
CFI: Jorge

Ryan enjoys his Intro Flight with Jorge in the SportCruiser! “Jorge was really nice and his passion for flying and teaching really came through,” says Ryan. “I also really loved that Jorge demonstrated some more advanced maneuvers and really showed the fun side of flying, which I was totally there for. It's been a dream of mine to fly and this class was the perfect intro into that world.” We’re delighted you enjoyed your experience with us, Ryan, and we hope you see you back in the skies soon!

A sight for sore eyes

Cloud surfing ☁️🏄‍♀️

When POTUS is in town

From May Gray to June Gloom. Anybody else ready for some VFR weather?! The good news is, it’s the perfect time to work on your instrument rating!

Congrats to Jose Manriquez on his first solo last week!
CFI: Scotty

Congrats to Darien for passing his Commercial checkride!
CFI: Alden

Sedona in the Mooney! Did someone say “turbocharged”?! Book some time with Scotty in the Mooney and learn how to fly this bad boy! 💥

“Let’s go girls!” 🎶 IFR student Vanessa and CFI Scotty do a flight checkout to Catalina

Congratulations to Alexa Marsh on her first solo!!
CFI: JJ Daniel

Some ‘cirrussly’ good Monday Motivation

Blimp spotting
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Plane spotting on the observation deck

La La Land
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Congrats to Matthew Mayers for passing his PPL!
Happy Passover and Easter Weekend to all!

Dr. Macias and CFI Harrison having some fun in the Cirrus 👍🏼

We’re always chasing sunsets
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Christine enjoying her intro flight in the SR20

The city of dreams

That feeling when you grease the landing 🛬 🧈