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Flight training at South Bay Aviation

Torrance, CA · Rates partly published

No instructor rate. South Bay publishes rates for all 2 of its airplanes and nothing for instruction, so there is no total on this page.

Checked September 13, 2026 against South Bay Aviation site.

Based at
Zamperini Field(TOA)
FAA part
Not stated on their site
Trains
PPL
Phone
310-791-5454
Website
southbayaviation.com

What is published

South Bay's own figures

Checked September 13, 2026 · Source

South Bay Aviation published aircraft rates
AircraftPublished rateNotes
1979 Cessna 152 (N4785B)$149.95/hrFuel basis not stated.
2004 Cessna 172SP (N379TA)2003$199.95/hrN433FR, a 1997 172SP, and N571SP, a 2000 172SP, are the same rate. Each tail carries its figure on its own page rather than the one cited below.

Airframe built 2003. Years of manufacture from the FAA aircraft registry, read October 21, 2026.

Each aircraft carries an hourly figure on its own fleet card with no wet or dry wording. The instructor is not priced.

Why there is no total

An estimate needs an instructor rate.

A training total is hours multiplied by rates. With instruction unpriced there is nothing to multiply, and we will not fill the gap with a plausible number: every figure on this site carries a link that shows it today.

  • Instructor rateMissing from their site

    Instruction is the second biggest line on a training bill, after the airplane.

What to compare their answer against

Not South Bay's rates. The middle of what 65 California schools charge, to hold your phone quote against.

Trainer, medianWhat the airplane costsRange $95 to $269 per hour.
$160
Instruction, medianWhat the instructor costsAcross 65 schools with published rates.
$80

From the schools here that publish full rate cards, the same sample behind the Flight Training Cost Report. South Bay is not in it.

Paying for it

Two ways to pay for it.

Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left. Neither figure assumes anything about you: one is what our scholarship directory holds, the other is what the lenders publish.

Money you keepScholarships you could apply for50 open to anyone, plus 1 in California. Top awards reach $22,200.
51
Money you pay backLenders that fund flight trainingSix lenders, compared on the limits and rates they publish. That is what is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
6
See scholarshipsCompare lenders

What to ask

What to ask when you call

The marked ones are what South Bay's site never answers. The rest are what turns an hourly rate into a real bill.

310-791-5454

  1. What do you charge per hour for flight instruction, and is ground instruction billed at the same rate?Missing from their site

    This is the number that is missing from the site. Ground is often billed separately and at a different rate.

  2. Does the instructor rate change for the Instrument, Commercial, or CFI, or is it flat across everything?Missing from their site

    Plenty of schools charge more for advanced instruction. A flat rate quoted for the Private can climb later.

  3. Do the published aircraft rates include fuel, or is fuel billed separately?

    The site does not say, and it is the difference between two rates that look identical and are not.

  4. What does the instructor cost, and are the aircraft rates wet?Missing from their site

    Three airplanes are priced and neither the instructor nor the fuel basis is stated.

  5. Do you offer block rates or prepay discounts, and what is the refund policy if I stop partway?

    Block discounts are common and rarely published. The refund terms matter more than the discount.

  6. What do you charge for the written test, the checkride, and the examiner's fee?

    The DPE fee alone runs $800 to $1,200 in most of the country and is almost never in a quoted hourly rate.

  7. How many trainers and how many full-time instructors do you have right now?

    Availability decides your pace, and pace decides your total more than the hourly rate does.

Called them? Send us what they said.

Send the number over and South Bay Aviation gets a full listing with an estimate, marked as sourced by phone on the date you called.

Send what they told you

In the app

Track your training at South Bay.

South Bay Aviation is in the PilotBound app. Choose South Bay when you set up and enter the rates it gives you; the app prices your training on them and tracks every flight you log against the projection.

Download on the App Store

Nearby schools

3 other schools fly from Zamperini Field.

All of them publish something, so you can compare before you call. TOA is the identifier to give when you ask.

Every school in the state

65 California schools publish a full rate card.

Each one has an estimate built on its own published rates. Listed alphabetically, because ordering them by price would be a ranking this page is not making.

All California flight schools

Sources

That the school exists
South Bay Aviation siteChecked September 13, 2026
The rates above
South Bay Aviation aircraft page, Cessna 152 N4785BChecked September 13, 2026

Are you South Bay Aviation? Send your rate card and this becomes a full listing with an estimate, free. Or have it removed.

This page says one thing is not stated on your site. Send us where it is published and it shows here instead.

  • What instruction costs per hourSend it

PilotBound is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by South Bay Aviation. School names are used only to identify the school. Rates shown are the school's own published figures with the date we checked them. This page carries no PilotBound estimate, because the school does not publish enough for one. Disclaimer & removal policy.

Other California flight schools.

All California flight schools →All Torrance flight schools →

Plan the money before you commit.

A program price only makes sense next to what each rating costs on its own, what scholarships exist, and what borrowing actually looks like.

What each rating costs

Per-rating ranges, with the fees most quotes leave out.

Scholarships first

Verified flight training scholarships. Every scholarship dollar is a dollar you never finance.

If you borrow

Compare lenders and see the real monthly payment before you sign.