Concord is another good option, its about 30 miles from SF, you could
also try Livermore which I am guessing is about 40 miles to the east
and has a very well maintained FBO called attitude aviation. Hayward
is good but has a low pattern altitude in a densely populated area
that makes me nervous. I found Concord to be the best overall because
it has 2 sets of parallel runways with lots of wide open spaces to the
north so an engine failure feels less threatening. Livermore can get
hit by significant crosswinds in the afternoon because it only has one
east-west runway. However I would say based on personal experience
that I found the airplanes maintained by attitude aviation in
Livermore to be in really good, clean condition.

On Dec 21, 8:13 pm, Tom wrote:
Hi guys. I'm new to the Bay Area and looking forward to getting up in
the air.

I'm a private pilot, looking to rent 172s, 182s or equivalents,
possibly building up to slightly bigger things at some point. I'll
probably only fly 5-7 hours a month or so. I'll be living in the city.

Also, I'd like to step up the hours for a month or two while I do my
instrument rating.

I'd love to hear from anyone who lives in the area and has advice on a
few things:

1. The best clubs or schools to rent from. Airport proximity to the
city is important to me.
2. Recommended instructors for an IFR rating.
3. What are conditions generally like for VFR flying in the Bay Area?
4. How's the city tour? I lived in NYC for a while and loved it there.

Finally, if anyone wants to share costs on a short city tour / local
area flight to get me oriented, that would be cool. I'd try to bring
my girlfriend if a 4-seater, so costs would likely be split 3 ways.

Thanks in advance guys,

Tom
PP-ASEL