Group 3 Aviation

Best flight EVER. coming from a retired Flight Attendant that says alot. CLAUDIA AND PETER made the experience for my daughters 21^st birthday a very enjoyable, fun and safe flight. One I know I will never forget. I highly recommend going on a flight with these guys. especially first timers. Thank you guys for a wonderful memory my daughter and i will cherish always. You deserve ********stars. A.P.

This is a top notch operation, run very professionally. I know them well and have flown with them many times. I recommend them highly. I notice the one bad review by Jeisy G.
Jeisy, block times don’t get refunds. You buy a block and get a substantial discount as a result. It is not your money any more, you have bought helicopter and instruction time. If you didn’t want the discount and wanted to pay by the flight, then you could have done that. Call around to find out… this is the industry standard. It’s like buying a gym membership and then asking for your money back because you didn’t work out. Unfair would have been if the company went out of business and you couldn’t fly. That happened to me. You made a deal and because you want to back out of it, you’re trying to punish the business. Not cool.

I love the GROUP3 exelent adventure prices are just perfect pilot was do profational thank you

The reason I am giving Group 3 Aviation one star is because of the low quality customer service when it comes to issuing refunds. In fact, I wish Unilocal had zero stars because a one star is still not bad enough.
This review will only be about the refund, because when it comes to flying, Rick is a pretty amazing pilot.
It all started when I took an intro class back in 2012 and I loved it. I was very hooked on actually trying out flying school for which I saved money. Around June 2013 I decided to put $ 1,500.00 as block payment for pilot school and I was able to do 4 hours of actual flying with Rick. However, shortly after that my parents decided to move to Florida and I went along with their plan and moved with the rest of my family.
I was able to come back to California during Christmas time and passed by the office to talk my situation. I was not able to take any more flying classes because I lived in another state, and I wanted to withdraw whatever money was left from block payment. I figured that if I was not going to be able to take those lessons in Los Angeles, I would be able to easily get my money back. Their answer was that I had to talk to the owner because the staff couldn’t do those type of transactions.
After many calls, I was able to talk to Peter in February, when he then stated that he could NOT issue the refund because «the economy was not as in good shape» and all that he could do is recommend me to fly the remaining hours. I told him that I was not able to do that because I was not living in L. A anymore. Then, he told me to call after tax season because Group 3 didn’t have the possibility to issue any kind of refund at the time due to the economy and such.
You would think that it is understandable, but when you see it from another perspective; isn’t that money mine to begin with? I put a block payment, it is supposed to be there and not be used for anything else. Why do I have to wait until the economy gets better when I deposited $ 1,500.00 and it is supposed to be my money?
Long story short, I decided to give them a chance and wait until tax season was over. Now I have been calling for 2 weeks and the staff tells me that Peter will call me over and over again. Today, with my last bit of hope that I would be able to communicate with him, turns out he left on a trip to Alaska. I was told I had to wait until Saturday or even Monday.
This is the first time I actually write a review on Unilocal,I like to resolve things calmly without being victim of retaliation but I can’t handle this anymore. It’s frustrating to call all the time like a beggar for my own money and to see no hope of a friendly solution. At this rate I think I will get to withdraw my money when I turn 40, or maybe the economy blooms during the next decade and they decide that the money is now available. On the bright side, I might actually get a call from Peter after this.

On Valentine’s Day, my boyfriend was driving me to a surprise. What an amazing wonderful surprise it was! A romantic night helicopter ride going along the beach, through downtown seeing all the pretty lights. My boyfriend knows me so well, he knows that I love having a beautiful view and what better view than from a helicopter. He also knows I love going to the beach so he even took me over the beach.
Peter was a such a wonderful pilot and person, along Claudia who was very hospitable and sweet. When we got to the place, they had chocolate covered strawberries, cupcakes, cheese, crackers and other snacks ready for us. So beautifully decorated. They also had a rose for me and champagne for both of us. Everything was perfect from beginning to end. When we flew by the Santa Monica Pier, the Ferris wheel even had a heart light up in the middle.
Then, we passed by downtown where we wanted to just land on one of the helipad and get a drink somewhere. This didn’t happen, maybe next time. When we were over our house, Peter was so kind to slow down so the people in our house could see us. He even orbited over the house so we could wave hi to them. It was so much fun.
The whole experience was absolutely amazing! I want to come back to do a day time helicopter tour. I can’t wait!!! Thank you so very much, Peter and Claudia!!! You two made this a very memorable Valentines.

Years ago I gave myself a birthday present of a Test Flight at Group 3 Aviation.
Everyone I talked to was polite, professional, knowledgeable and helpful.
It was Mother’s Day when I finally was able to schedule and got a great pilot, Rick.
My favorite moment before the flight was reading the safety guides, «if the pilot lands the helicopter on a hill, do not exit to the rear of the helicopter, because helicopter blades are expensive.»
OK maybe you might not find that funny but I did.
I had a such a blast!
My Pilot, Rick was fun and funny and knowledgeable.
He asked where I wanted to go and although flying over my apartment seemed fun he had an idea I might prefer checking out Hollywood and the Beach and I agreed.
I was nervous at first but Rick put me at ease with the charm and skill of a true professional.
We flew over the Hollywood Sign and even did a flyby over Tom Cruise’s house and the Playboy Mansion.
It was such an interesting feeling, being in this little helicopter (Schweizer 300CBi) and the sensation of controlling something in a 360 degree environment.
You can go forward and be facing sideways or ANY ways…
Very interesting sensation after being «grounded» traveling in a linear fashion in a car for most of my travels.
When we got back after this amazing flight, Rick said, «OK now you get to Hover!»
This meant I would have the pedals and and the stick which seemed to be an interesting idea, fraught with danger and peril.
My response was, «are you sure? I don’t want to break anything or flip this thing and make you sick.»
Rick cracked up and said if i could make him sick he’d pay me.
I don’t think he was expecting me to make him laugh like that but it was a great way to end an awesome day!
My Hover was about 15 seconds of pure joy which I will remember forever!
… and no I didn’t break anything and everyone kept their breakfast…
Many Thanks to Group 3 Aviation and Rick!

My boyfriend and I took the «Hollywood and the Beach» tour and it couldn’t have been more amazing! From the moment we walked in, Group 3 Aviation was outstanding! We were greeted by Claudia, one of the owners, who explained the tour and what we would be seeing. She was friendly, funny, and professional. It was obvious that she knew what she was talking about and took great pride in making sure our trip was exactly what we wanted.
The next step was meeting our pilot, Ara. He was wonderful! He was extremely funny and cracked jokes that helped me feel at ease. He went over the pre-​flight safety checklist and explained everything in detail. By the time he was done, I felt relaxed and ready to go. He asked if we had any questions and answered them all with patience.
Next, we walked out to the helicopter. Maybe it is because I have never ridden in one, but the closer we got to the helicopter, the more excited I became!!! Ara walked us around the helicopter and answered all of my boyfriend’s technical questions about how the helicopter actually works. Then, it was time to get in and take off!
The flight itself was unbelievable!!! I have lived in So. Cal. my whole life. I love living here and thought I appreciated all it has to offer. However, when I was in the air, I felt an even greater appreciation for it. Everything was BEAUTIFUL!!! The ocean to our right, mountains to the left, UCLA underneath, and Malibu pier straight ahead… Where else can you see all of that AT THE SAME TIME?! Ara was extremely knowledgeable and funny! He knew so much about all that we were flying over from the homes, to the sites, to the freeways, even about the Metro Rail! If we wanted to know what something was, he knew the answer and had an interesting fact to go along with it! It was evident that he had been flying for quite awhile and took the time to get to know the area!
Thank you Group 3 Aviation for the most amazing day ever!!! I will definitely be back!!!

To put it in one word… AMAZING!
I booked the grand tour fly and dine package and it lived up to the expectations. Our adventure first started at 94^th Aero Squadron where my girlfriend and I had a pre — flight cocktail at the bar. From there, we were chauffeured to the flightline to begin our flight. Our pilot, Tom, was very knowledgeable in the landmarks within LA and showed us Van Nuys, Malibu, Venice, Downtown LA, and Hollywood. The helicopter ride was very smooth and communicating with each other was very easy through the headsets. I highly recommend during this tour at least once in your life. Much better view of the city compared to sitting in traffic on the 405.

These guys are freaking amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a more professional, fun, and friendly experience!
Best pilots ever, and the owners and staff are really super cool people as well.
If you have even an inkling that you’d like to try flying, this is the place to be!
I researched around 8 – 10 different flight centers around the Los Angeles area, and I can say with no reservations that this one is the best.

Group 3 Aviation has a wonderful operation and great staff. My brother and his girlfriend did their «Dine and Fly» tour last year, and could not stop talking about it, so I decided to take my own girlfriend this year on their Valentine’s Day sunset flight over Los Angeles. It was amazing, we both had a great time. A very beautiful and unique experience. Our pilot, Ara (probably misspelled, sorry) was great… funny and informative. Claudia was excellent in helping me get the whole thing set up and made it very easy. The rest of the staff and pilots seemed so excited and wanted to know how our tour went and stayed to chat with us afterward. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to take that special someone or even a friend on an adventure you’ll never forget. Thanks Group 3 Aviation. :)

Great service by great people! Unilocal wasnt around when I took a tour by Group 3 Aviation but if it was I would’ve raved about them back then! Peter from Group 3 flew me and my date around Los Angeles and over the ocean, it was such a cool experience. I cant wait to go back and take another tour, this time with my wife.

I have wanted to fly helicopters as long as I can remember… but am not independently wealthy, so have always figured it was just a dream.
Imagine my surprise when my fiancée surprised me with the best birthday gift ever… an hour of helicopter flight instruction with Group 3 Aviation.
We headed to Group 3 for a 4:00 departure. (Sunset flight– woot)! We were greeted by my flight instructor, Ross. Ross gave me a brief ground-​school lesson while we waited for our helicopter to return from the person who had a lesson before me.
Once our helicopter arrived, Ross and I walked out and completed a thorough pre-​flight inspection of the aircraft. He walked me through what he was doing and why he was doing it. After he inspected something, he invited me to do the same.
Once the helicopter was pre-​flighted and refueled, Ross gave me an introduction to the gauges and flight controls. He explained that there were three controls, told me what each one did, and said that once we were airborne and away from the airport, he would demonstrate a maneuver with the controls, we would do one together, and then he would «unlock» the controls (one at a time) so I could do them solo (while he supervised).
We departed from Van Nuys, followed the 101 toward Calabasas, headed out to Malibu, down to Santa Monica, over Westwood, and back. Every step of the way Ross explained what we were doing, why we were doing it, and encouraged me to fly the helicopter.
We got back between five and ten minutes before my hour was up, so Ross asked if I wanted to practice hovering the helicopter. We worked on keeping the aircraft level, rotational turns, and ascending and descending.
Ross was wonderful to work with and I can’t recommend him or Group 3 highly enough! If I had the means, I would be taking lessons toward completing my helicopter pilot’s license.

We had a great experience on a helicopter tour of LA. The staff couldn’t have been nicer and the pilot Tom was great. They’re flexible, friendly and professional. The helicopter was awesome and it’s an experience you’ll never forget.