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Air Combat USA
Category: Education Specialty Schools Flight Instruction Flight Instruction
3815 W Commonwealth AveFullerton, CA 92833
(714) 525-7590
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 8 am - 5 pm
6 reviews for Air Combat USA
6 reviews in English
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Review from Lesley C.
Laguna Hills, CA
1/14/2012
What is the perfect gift for a man? No, what is the ultimate first anniversary gift for an amazing husband who has given me everything in life? My husband and I just had our first anniversary and I wanted to come up with a unique, special gift that reflected our relationship. Surf lessons? Nah, I'm having way too much fun watching him getting his butt kicked by waves while we try to learn ourselves. A new backpack or camping gear? Still not good enough. I wanted a different kind of present altogether: an experiential gift! I closed my eyes and imagined him scouring the skies in a real military aircraft, engaging in aerial combat, and returning to base VICTORIOUS! As a wife, I was capable of making my husband's greatest dreams of being a fighter pilot come true with Air Combat USA. The price tag on the "Top Gun" experience offered by Air Combat USA in Fullerton is about $1,300, but the experience is priceless. It was a worthy gift, symbolic of our first adventure-filled year together.
An amazing experience for anyone interested in aerobatic flight, dog fighting, speed, g-forces, racing, roller coasters, etc!
You can see my full review at http://lesleycarter.wo... -
Review from Brandon S.
Newport Beach, CA
9/14/2011
An amazing experience for anyone interested in aerobatic flight, dog fighting, speed, g-forces, racing, roller coasters, etc!
My wife bought me this amazing gift for my birthday. I had been wanting to fly Air Combat USA ever since I head about it years ago.
Words cannot explain what an amazing experience I had. I've suggested Air Combat USA to every guy I know as "one thing to do before you die".
Every single minute from the classroom schooling to the final landing was 100% A+ entertainment.
Be aware, you have a high chance of getting air sick (bags available within close reach on board) unless you love this kind of stuff!
A+++++++++++++++++++++
You have no idea what you're missing- NO, a video game is nothing like a REAL airplane!
Note- It sounds like c.p. from Long Beach (see negative post below) has some sort of personal beef with Air Combat that needs to be settled outside of Yelp. -
Review from Bill O.
Half Moon Bay, CA
7/25/2011
I was given "Fighter Pilot for a Day" by my wonderful wife for my b-day, and FINALLY got down to Fullerton to do the experience.
Arriving at the Fullerton Airport, I found the directions were incredibly accurate, and ACUSA was easy to find. Strolling into their "lobby" (a modified hanger), I saw a comfortable setup...lots of tables to kick back, and a rather cool Extra 300 aircraft (NOT the craft we would be flying, turns out). Going into the actual waiting room, I met one of the owners, who immediately had me fill out paperwork (meaning, waiver) and offered me a cold bottle of water. After completion, I was suited up in a real flight suit (a certain part of my body was glad to see that the suits came in "long" as well as "regular"....so my voice would stay the same). I later met my wingman/opponent, and after a very detailed briefing, we received our mae wests, helment, and parachute, did some photo ops next to our planes (SIAI Marchetti SF-260's), go in, strapped in, and we roared down the runway to become fighter pilots!
We flew in formation to Palos Verdes, and headed out over the Catalina Channel. On the way, we practiced a few things, such as targeting, firing...and oh yeah...flying - 'cause we WERE the guys flying the plane (go figure). After a couple of practice runs, the dogfighting commenced!
Let me assure you...if you aren't a roller coaster fan (which I most assuredly am), this is SO not for you. We were twisting, inverting, diving, the works....all instantaneously....the whole goal was to get the other guy in your site and pull the trigger, whatever it took. The instructors had said in the briefing that how aggressive we wanted to be was up to us - and the plane would handle far more than we could. We easily hit four g's, and I was fine...at 5 g's, I saw black...for more than a few seconds, turns out (still won the dogfight though).
:-)
My wingman/opponent, alas, remarked in the briefing that he was NOT much of a roller coaster fan...and I'm afraid he didn't have nearly as good of a time as I did (that, and he did get shot repeatedly).
:-)
After an hour, my severely wounded wingman (having been shot down over and over and over) and I headed back to airbase. My job on the way back was to fly in formation. I learned quickly that the world is FAR FAR safer knowing that I am not a pilot. I mean, I know it was my first time and all, but DAMN that was as tough as the actual dogfighting (in a finesse way, vs raw testosterone, though).
Upon return, we changed out of our drenched flight suits and watched a video of the action.
This was definitely as close to the real thing as you can get, and was incredibly intense. Not for everyone, but definitely I had a great time.
The ONLY ding...the marketing kit clearly states you'll take home a DVD of your experience...and what you take home is a MiniDV tape. For me, this was a minor issue, as I have a complete video editing system...but for the average person, this would be an incredibly annoying issue, trying to find someone to dupe that to a DVD, adding the appropriate music. Just a nit.
Just a note to "c.p.", the instructor complaining about FP for a Day - so I can see where the activity might be a bit of a nuisance...but your statements go far beyond that - if it were as serious as you insinuate, one would think that their safety record would reflect it, and that the FAA would have been involved long ago. Not really defending ACUSA, just making a point. -
Review from matt g.
Aliso Viejo, CA
1/13/2012
One of the best experiences I've ever had. This was a birthday surprise for me that turned out to be a very exciting and thrilling experience. Air Combat USA has a very friendly staff and Michael who was our pilot was the greatest guy!!!! I absolutely recommend this to every one who enjoys a little crazy in their life...
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Review from c p.
Long Beach, CA
9/25/2008
Unfortunately as a flight instructor I have to deal with this operation on a regular basis as I am training flight students in the same airspace that Air Combat USA uses. Anytime they are maneuvering in the practice area that is commonly used by local pilots the level of safety degrades to an unacceptable level. Their pilots refuse to use standard radio and communication protocols which in turn makes it unsafe, and downright dangerous for themselves, their clients, and those of us sharing the airspace with them. They put everybody at a much higher risk of suffering a midair collision over the open ocean, which would almost certainly resulting in death for all involved.
I would strongly encourage anybody considering this type of activity to look elsewhere to find a more reputable and safer operation. -
Review from David V.
Pasadena, CA
7/11/2009
My younger brother and I have a history of purchasing, building, acquiring, etc out of the ordinary X-mas gifts for each other. For Christmas last year, my younger brother signed me up for a 1 day session at Air Combat USA. Without a doubt, the experience was one of the most fun and thrilling I've ever had. If you seek thrills like sky diving, riding motorcycles, driving sports car, etc, I highly recommend signing up for their one day session.
My brother is a US Naval Aviator and I have no personal flying experience. Anyway, he really wanted me to experience flying a high performance military aircraft, so he started researching businesses that provide such services. He contacted several businesses and was most impressed with the Air Combat USA pilots.
The business is run extremely professionally, but low key and casual. I arrived and walked into their hanger and was greeted by two pilots, the owner (an ex-military pilot and engineer), and the man I was scheduled to dog fight (a butcher from Scotland). Anyway, we chatted casually for 10 minutes or so, then spend about an hour discussing flight dynamics and safety. After suiting up, we waited for an FAA inspector to complete the inspection of several of their aircraft (which passed easily, based on the post inspection conversation I observed...like I said, it's a casual place).
We took off from Fullerton and flew out off the coast. Once we reached acrobatic airspace, my instructor started letting me control the plane. We performed so basic lead and follow maneuvers with the other aircraft, then had two practice dog fight. I can't even begin to explain the thrill one feels when pulling 5 or so G's while performing vertical loops and chasing and shooting down (simulated of course) your opponent. Following the first dog fight, we had 3 open dog fights, each lasting 5 to 10 minutes. I won 2/3 (hooray for me:)...).
There are two minor downsides. Expect to vomit (their record is 8 times). I was fine during the dog fights, because I was so focused on the experience; however, I puked a few times during level flight immediately after dog fighting. Anyway, there are barf bags in each plane and the pilot shuts off video which you loose your lunch...
Speaking of video, after you're back on the ground, you will receive a tape of the entire flight. It's just the flight footage from inside the plane (still really cool to watch), but you'll have to edit it yourself and add "Highway to the Danger Zone" type background music, if you want to impress your friends.
