Santa Monica Aviation, Santa Monica

The fleet of Cessna aircraft at Santa Monica Aviation escort passengers to the skies for everything from training runs to aerial tours over LA. Students eyeing their pilot's license get their wings wet on a Discovery Flight, which places them alongside a Certified Flight Instructor for hands-on instruction and coves everything from picture-perfect take-offs to landing without training wheels. Casual flyers, meanwhile, can sign up for a LA Landmark tour, which flies high over famous sites such as the Hollywood Sign and the Getty Museum, or the Coastline Tour, which follows the sand southward over Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Long Beach Harbor.