A Place Piece · Riverside Municipal, KRAL
A field with a tower, a runway, and the airspace to grow into.
Class D, 5,401 feet of runway, the complete training fleet, both Part 61 and the only Part 141 syllabus the academy runs. The Riverside ramp is where most career-track students base their training, and where the multi-engine work lives.
6951 Flight Road, Suite 106, Riverside, CA 92504 · 951·590·3572
Riverside Municipal sits on the south bank of the Santa Ana River, an industrial-edge field at 819 feet MSL, single runway 09/27 at 5,401 feet of asphalt. The tower works from 0700 to 2100 local. After the tower closes, the airport returns to CTAF and the students who train here learn both environments at the same address. The ILS to Runway 9 is the instrument student's daily exercise. The Class B shelves above belong to Ontario, ten miles north, and LAX, fifty miles west.
About the airport
- Class D tower. Radio communication with a real controller from day one.
- 5,401-foot runway. Comfortable margin for all training aircraft including the Beechcraft Duchess.
- GPS/RNAV and ILS approaches. Runway 09 has a full ILS, ideal for instrument training.
- Class B transition to Ontario (KONT) 10 NM north, LAX 50 NM west.
- March ARB (KRIV) Class C 5 NM southeast, military airspace exposure.
Airspace within 30 NM
What career-track students see in any professional cockpit:
- Class B: Ontario (KONT), Los Angeles (KLAX)
- Class C: March ARB (KRIV)
- Class D: Riverside (KRAL), Chino (KCNO), Corona (KAJO), Long Beach (KLGB), Fullerton (KFUL)
- Class G practice areas south and east
- Special use: R-2515 at Edwards AFB, W-289 over the Pacific
Cross-country students routinely fly to San Diego (KSAN), Catalina (KAVX), Palm Springs (KPSP), and Big Bear (KL35).
KRAL works tower hours and CTAF, same field, same day. Students learn both environments without changing airports.
On Tower vs CTAF
Training at Riverside
Part 141 structured training
Riverside is our Part 141 facility. FAA-approved structured syllabus with formal stage checks. Lower hour minimums (35 hours PPL, 190 hours commercial) versus Part 61's 40 and 250. Eligible for VA benefits and the GI Bill subject to current VA approval.
Right choice if you are using GI Bill benefits, on an accelerated career timeline, or funded by an employer or sponsor requiring structured programs.
Part 61 flexible training
Most Riverside students train Part 61. Same FAA Airman Certification Standards. Your pace.
Every program available at Riverside
Including the ones not offered at Redlands:
- Private Pilot (Part 61 or 141)
- Instrument Rating (Part 61 or 141)
- Commercial Pilot (Part 61 or 141)
- Multi-Engine Rating, Beechcraft Duchess
- CFI / CFII / MEI, including MEI
- Airline Transport Pilot checkride prep
- Career Track (Zero to Hero)
- High Performance & Complex, Piper Arrow
- High Altitude Endorsement available (Redlands primary)
Fleet at Riverside
The complete fleet: Cessna 152, Cessna 172, Piper Warrior, Piper Cherokee Arrow (PA-28R), Beechcraft Duchess (BE-76) for multi-engine, plus a Redbird simulator for instrument and multi-engine emergency procedures.
Who trains here
- Career-track students. PPL through CFI. Multi-engine is here. Most students aiming at the airlines do the bulk of their training out of KRAL.
- Working adults. 45 minutes from most of Orange County, the Inland Empire, and southwestern LA County. Reasonable for evening and weekend training.
- Out-of-area students. Accelerated PPL students relocate to Riverside for 30 to 90 days. We can help with referrals to local short-term housing.
Getting here
- Orange County: 35 to 50 minutes via the 91 or 55
- Los Angeles: 50 to 75 minutes via the 60 or 91
- San Bernardino / Redlands: 25 to 35 minutes via the 215 / 10
- Palm Springs: 60 to 75 minutes via the 10
- San Diego: 75 to 90 minutes via the 15
A typical training day
A pre-solo PPL student arriving for a mid-morning lesson. Arrive fifteen minutes before scheduled. Brief with your instructor for fifteen to twenty minutes on objectives, weather, NOTAMs. Walk to the ramp, preflight, call clearance delivery if needed, taxi to run-up. Depart to the southeast practice area (Lake Mathews, Cleveland National Forest foothills) for maneuvers, or to Corona (KAJO) or Chino (KCNO) for pattern work.
Most lessons run 1.5 to 2.0 hours block, giving 1.0 to 1.5 hours flight. Total time at the airport including brief, fly, and debrief: about 2.5 hours. Instrument students often depart on a filed IFR clearance for approach work at nearby fields. Commercial students run longer cross-countries to Bakersfield (KBFL), Palm Springs (KPSP), or San Luis Obispo (KSBP).
Discovery flights from KRAL
Forty-five to sixty minutes in the left seat with a CFI. Routes our students enjoy most:
- Catalina Island (KAVX), over-water, mountain landing, the iconic SoCal flight
- Disneyland airspace boundary, the Class D shelf at John Wayne, park from 2,500 feet
- Hollywood Sign / Griffith Park, VFR transition through LA Class B
- Dana Point / Pacific coastline, south to the coast, return via Cleveland NF
Book a Discovery Flight from Riverside → See training programs