Serving Cerritos/Long Beach Airport/10 min via 605
Doc. AHA · Cerritos · Rev. 26.05
Cerritos · Pilot Training
Cerritos Flight School
8 miles south via the 605. 10 minutes to the ramp. The closest full-service flight school to Cerritos.
Cerritos does not have its own airport, but it does not need one. Aces High Aviation at Long Beach Airport is a quick ten-minute drive south on the 605 freeway. Exit at Spring Street or Carson, head west, and you are on Lakewood Blvd at the airport entrance. With 13 aircraft and 15+ instructors, you will never be stuck waiting for a plane. Cerritos residents who want to learn to fly have been making this drive since we opened in 2010.
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Why Cerritos Residents Train Here
Distance · fleet · value
01.
10 Minutes on the 605Exit Spring St or Carson · west to Lakewood Blvd
From the Cerritos Towne Center area, hop on the 605 south. In about eight miles you exit, head west, and turn onto Lakewood Blvd. The school is directly on the airport. From Artesia or the residential streets near Cerritos Park East, the drive is even shorter. Ten to twelve minutes in normal traffic, and you are walking through the door.
Distance
~8 miles
Drive time
10-12 min
Route
605 south to Spring/Carson
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No Nearby Alternatives This Size13 aircraft vs small field operators
The nearest airports to Cerritos with flight training are Fullerton (KFUL) and Los Alamitos (KSLI), both with smaller operations. Long Beach Airport gives you a full-time tower, commercial traffic exposure, and a fleet of nine Cessna 152s, two 172s, a Diamond DA-42 Twin Star, and a Redbird MCX simulator. If you want professional-grade training close to Cerritos, this is it.
C152s
9 (4 IFR-equipped)
C172s
2
DA-42
1
Simulator
Redbird MCX ($90/hr)
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Tower Experience from Day OneClass D, airline traffic, SoCal airspace
Training at a towered airport means you talk to ATC every single flight. You learn to sequence with JetBlue, FedEx, and other commercial operators. By checkride day, busy radio environments feel completely natural. Cerritos students who train at KLGB leave with a level of airspace confidence that non-towered field students have to build later.
Tower
Class D, full-time
Practice areas
Catalina, PV, inland
SoCal weather
300+ VFR days/year
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Training Programs
PPL through CFI
How we quote · Every cost estimate below assumes the realistic US national average of ~70 flight hours for the Private Pilot License, not the FAA minimum of 40 hours. Almost no one finishes at the minimum. We quote what students actually fly so the numbers reflect real-world cost.
Private Pilot LicenseFAA Part 61 · where it all starts
Maneuvers, navigation, radio work, weather theory, and FAA regulations. Cerritos students typically fly three to four times per week. At that pace, most earn their PPL in three to five months.
C152 estimate
$22,035 - $22,455
C172 estimate
$25,535 - $25,955
Full-time
~3 months
Instrument RatingFly through the marine layer
Coastal SoCal weather means the marine layer can ground VFR-only pilots. This rating removes that limitation. We blend sim time ($90/hr) with real instrument approaches into KLGB and surrounding fields.
C152 estimate
$15,750 - $15,950
C172 estimate
$16,975 - $17,175
Full-time
~2 months
Commercial Pilot License250 hours, then the career starts
Time-building in long solo blocks along the coast. Commercial maneuver polish with a dedicated instructor. The 250-hour requirement adds up quickly when you fly five to seven days a week.
A 60–75 minute meeting with the owner. We will discuss your goals, schedule, and budget. Cerritos is a short hop down the 605, so fitting in lessons before or after work is straightforward.
No packages, no monthly fees. You pay per lesson. Fly once a week or five times a week, and adjust whenever your life demands it.
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Financing
Stratus Financial and AOPA financing available. Money-on-account deposits also accepted for students who prefer a prepaid balance.
Cerritos Pilots
Ten minutes to the runway.
From Cerritos to the ramp at Long Beach Airport in about the time it takes to order coffee. Book a free consultation or jump straight to a demo flight.
