Flying

Dream It or Do it!

We take pride in being one of San Diego's sightseeing leaders.

The saying is “if you love what you do, you won’t work a day in your life”. When we are flying, we never feel like we are working. We love flying airplanes! You can get to know us better by reading our individual biographies.

Our pilot team embodies all aspects of aviation. Most of us have worked in multiple aviation fields such as military, corporate, charter, airlines, test and flight instruction. We are seasoned professional aviators.

We are all FAA-certified flight instructors. We carry sightseeing insurance and we all adhere to a strict training and an FAA approved drug-testing policy.


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San Diego Sky Tours

San Diego Sky Tours is a veteran-run aerial tour company motivated by our passion for aviation. All of San Diego Sky Tours sightseeing tours are approved by the FAA.

James (Jim) Kapenas started San Diego Sky Tours in 2009 as part of his friend Ryan's college business plan. They came to Montgomery Field with a single Cessna 206 and a great vision. That vision was to take to the sky people who could usually only see the beautiful San Diego Bay, ocean, and sunset from the ground.

Maverick is a welcomed personality at the Sky Tours vintage hangar

Maverick is a welcomed personality at the Sky Tours vintage hangar

Ryan left to serve as a commissioned officer in the Air Force. I, Erich Moulder became a partner with Jim in 2011 bringing the first Biplane. Why a biplane? Biplanes are unlike any other. Seeing the shape, vintage look and feel, beautiful fabric covering and graceful lines while walking to it brings a feeling of excitement. For the pilots, the fun is inside. The biplanes do not have any automation, so the pilot is in control of everything for the entire flight – we choose are pilots very carefully! For everyone, the ride through the sky is in the open air, there is no better view.

Jim and I both had full-time flying careers but our enthusiasm for the vision helped us wedge into the tour market. We had great success and built our Squadron of pilots, aircraft, and the hangar. We collected pilots from all aspects of aviation. One virtue continued to ring true, the love of flight brings us together. We learned this isn’t just true for pilots; this is why we encourage couples, groups, and teams to come join us.

In 2015, we purchased our 2nd Biplane. The summer of 2015, the Air Combat San Diego syllabus was developed (organized by fighter pilot Colonel Earl "the Pearl" Wederbrook, USMC Retired) and approved by the FAA under Military Experience flights. This new program enabled us to bring the fun of formation flights and the thrill of air combat flights to the public. The response to these programs have been as exciting as the rides.

As a result, we upgraded the original aircraft, bought a third biplane, and gained a nice selection of tours. Our tours now range from the 'Mild' to the 'Wild’.

The pilots are our recipe for success: a superb lineup of tour pilots equals a trail of inspired customers. Check out some of our testimonials from past passengers.

mission  statements

We are on a mission to inspire a love of aviation and to share our aviation expertise with our customers and our community. We are on a mission to provide each customer with a unique and insightful sightseeing tour of the most popular landmarks and tourist destinations. We are on a mission to ensure that each customer has a wonderfully memorable adventure and an increased understanding of aviation.


 
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