The Bombay Flying Club
- Total aircraft
- 9
- Single-engine
- 8
- Multi-engine
- 1
- Bases
- 2
Where it flies
- Mumbai, MaharashtraJuhu Airport, Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Dhule, MaharashtraDhule Airstrip, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Fleet
DGCA lists 9 aircraft — 8 single-engine and 1 multi-engine.
- Cessna 152
- Cessna 172
- Piper PA-34 Seneca
DGCA approval
- Approval number
- 03/2016
- Valid from
- 5 Nov 2022
- Valid to
- 4 Nov 2027to 2027
- Ownership
- Society
- Serial in DGCA list
- #11
What the DGCA figures tell you
In its favour
- DGCA graded it Category B in the April 2026 ranking.
- DGCA approval runs to November 2027, so renewal is not an immediate question.
Check before you commit
- Just one multi-engine aircraft is listed. Every student needs multi-engine hours, so ask how those slots are scheduled and what happens when that one aeroplane is down.
Every line above restates a figure from DGCA's published documents and says why it matters. Nothing here is our opinion of the school, and none of it measures teaching quality, which no public document reports.
Typical flying weather
The southwest monsoon (Jun–Sep) is the main disruption; the rest of the year is largely stable and flyable, which is why several of the largest FTOs are based here.
This is a broad regional pattern, not a forecast. What actually matters is how many days a year this base can fly — ask the school for its weather-cancelled sortie count.
Contact
Model this school's costAircraft-to-student ratio is the single best predictor of finishing on time, but DGCA does not publish student numbers — the fleet shown here is one half of that sum, and only the school can give you the other. Ask how many aircraft are serviceable today. Last transcribed 27 Jul 2026.
Beyond the DGCA list
Researched by us from the school's own site, Wikipedia and official pages, then dated and cited. This is weaker evidence than the DGCA figures above, and it is free editorial work: no school pays to appear here, and nothing in this section affects ordering, filtering or ranking anywhere on the site.
- Founded
- 1928
- The oldest flying club in India: incorporated on 29 May 1928, with instruction beginning on 13 January 1929.
- J. R. D. Tata, holder of India's first pilot licence, trained here in 1929.
- Lady Dinshaw Petit became the first woman in India to hold a pilot licence through the club.
- Part of the training operation moved to Dhule in 2009, which is why DGCA lists a Dhule base alongside Juhu.
- Wikipedia's aircraft list does not match DGCA's fleet figures for this club. The DGCA numbers shown above are the record; treat any other count as unverified.
In its favour
- The oldest flying club in India, continuously training since 1929.
- Two bases, so training is not wholly dependent on one airfield.
Check before you commit
- Juhu sits inside one of the busiest terminal areas in India, where circuit training competes with commercial traffic for slots. Ask how that affects the hours you can actually fly per week.
- Ask how your 200 hours split between Juhu and Dhule, and where you would live for each part.
Weather at these bases
Juhu is on the Arabian Sea coast, where the southwest monsoon from June to September is at its most intense in the country. Dhule, inland in northern Maharashtra, is drier through the same months.
The Bombay Flying Club is the oldest flying club in India. It was incorporated on 29 May 1928 and began instruction on 13 January 1929. J. R. D. Tata, who held India's first pilot licence, trained here that same year, and Lady Dinshaw Petit became the first woman in India to hold a pilot licence through the club.
That history is genuinely unusual. It is also not, by itself, a reason to train somewhere. The questions that decide your finish date are the same here as anywhere: serviceable aircraft per student, and how many days a year your base can actually fly.
Two bases, and what that means
DGCA lists the club at both Juhu, in Mumbai, and Dhule. Part of the training operation moved to Dhule in 2009. This matters practically, because Juhu sits inside one of the busiest terminal areas in the country, where circuit traffic and airspace congestion eat into training slots, while Dhule is a quieter up-country strip.
A club with two bases can mean the address you enrol at is not the airfield you spend your hours at. Ask directly how your 200 hours split between Juhu and Dhule, and where you will be living for each part.
A note on fleet figures
Wikipedia carries an aircraft list for the club that does not match the DGCA fleet figures shown above. Where a third-party list and DGCA's published document disagree, this directory shows DGCA's numbers and says so, rather than picking whichever is more flattering. Confirm the current serviceable count with the club itself before you commit.
+
Yes. Alongside DGCA-approved pilot training it runs aircraft maintenance engineering and cabin crew programmes, and degree courses affiliated to the University of Mumbai. Check that the course you are enrolling in is the DGCA-approved flying one if a licence is what you are after.