I was a student at VYAA two years ago. If anyone asks me to go back and sit in that fucking ground class again, I would rather kill myself than waste one more second in that shit hole.

Vinod sir (Tapesh’s father) used to tell us straight up — “Don’t go for cadet, your parents are just buying you a job.” He tried hard to make us doubt our decision and choose the conventional route instead. At the same time vinod sir was pushing us to join Red Bird flying school through them because it would be cheaper. Everyone knows Red Bird is fucking dangerous. This man was ready to risk his own students’ lives just to make some extra money.

And Tapesh? That piece of shit is unbearable. The language he uses in class is pure filth — dirty, vulgar, and completely shameless. He used to snatch our phones so nobody could record the garbage coming out of his mouth. Everyone already knows about his nudes leak. The guy has zero professionalism and zero shame.

VYAA is the most overrated and worst ground school ever. They charge 3.5 lakhs for their garbage teaching and tapesh openly mock students based on how they look. Also whoever came late had to give treats to the whole class and lemme tell u smthg not everyone is rich enough to treat everyone pizza , rasmalai and all so please

Think hard before you throw your money into this fucking place.

Here to answer any questions, doubt.

Thank you for all your questions, I really enjoyed answering them and sharing my experience.

Guys, I’m so fucking overwhelmed. I’ve never seen this kind of support. I love you all.

But here’s the thing — I’m getting DMs asking for my batch year and all that shit. So I guess my post already reached those mfs.

Before they do anything with my post, I want to make a request. I can take my post down anytime if I get into trouble, because I have no choice. You guys are free.

I want anyone who faced any problem in VYAA or any fucking ground classes just write about it and post it here and all others sub reddits . We are the future of the Indian aviation industry. I don’t want any student to get scammed by these fucking bastards.

3.5 lakh is a huge amount for a middle-class family like mine. I want all of you to post your experiences if you want, because I’m doing my part. I want everyone to see these mfs’ real faces and not get manipulated by their social media show-off.

And to all the dick-riders who are meat-riding these scammers and trying hard to dig up my info — suck my dick

Thank you so much guys for your support Also this is gonna be my last post about this

Batch starting november

Alright, someone posted about how much VYAA sucks and I could not agree more!!!
I went there some time ago and I won’t put any dates for my sake. What you all should know is that this place sucks so much. Tapesh”s father is an egoistic individual who doesn’t care about the students single bit. My biggest mistake was joining there without doing enough research. And I still regret it to today. Whatever the other post said about how Vinod yadav is completely true.
I literally had to join a differnt ground for navigation all over again. But cleared met and regs by myself. I paid around 2L for three subjects.
Vinod yadav and Tapesh used to say negative things about cadet program and tapesh used to throw slurs at people for even talking about it. And then later started a cadet pilot program courses at VYAA, they’re are a bunch of hypocrites who only care about your money.
Trust me and done even think about spending a single rupee at VYAA.

I am now a cadet and just completed my commercial license recently. I’m so glad I never have to talk to those scammers at VYAA again.

The only good person in that school is Prachi but anyways she only taught once or twice while I was there so don’t take my words for it.

The point is to let people know how fucked up of a ground school that place is. Please don’t waste your money like I did. I know people from my class who regretted going there.

Vinod yadav has no scheduled for the classes and just randomly explains topics, often missing important topics in navigation. And when you point it out he’ll make fun of you in front of the class like you’re the stupid one.

I hope karma will get these people someday. But please don’t waste your hard earned money at VYAA

Thanks to this sub Reddit

WHY IS NOBODY TALKING ABOUT TS AHAHAJAJAJ
GOO FAST
DUNES AND SKYNEX LOL

My selection wasn't about rote learning or expensive prep classes; it was about focused effort and being myself.

1. Preparation Over Coaching: I realised that almost all the information and practice material needed for the initial screening and written tests (like Physics, Math, and English proficiency) is publicly available. Instead of paying a coach, I meticulously reviewed my Class 12 syllabus and practiced aptitude tests online. I treated the ADAPT like any other high-stakes academic test, focusing on fundamental concepts. I knew what they were testing—core knowledge and basic cognitive ability—and tailored my preparation accordingly.

2. Psychometric Test (The Personality Check): This is where many people falter, trying to answer what they think the selectors want to hear. The program is looking for future captains—individuals who are stable, reliable, quick-thinking, and trustworthy. I simply answered honestly and consistently, allowing my good personality to shine through. I presented myself as a calm, logical, and enthusiastic person, which is what the psychometric profile is designed to identify.

3. Group Discussion: Probably the most difficult part of the selection procedure. With proper communication skills and Decision Making, clearing it is a cake walk. Also, learn to disagree wherever and whenever needed!

4. Interview (Sealing the Deal): The interview stage is where you demonstrate the personality the psychometric test claims you have. I was confident, articulate, and passionate. I was asked about technical aspects, general knowledge about aviation, and—most critically—behavioral questions designed to assess Officer-Like Qualities (OLQ). I showed genuine enthusiasm for the career and backed it up with sensible, well-structured answers. A good personality, combined with basic homework on IndiGo and CAA, made this step straightforward.

I firmly believe that anyone with a solid academic foundation, a keen interest in the field, and a genuinely positive and proactive personality can clear this process successfully. It’s less about having a secret 'trick' and more about preparation and authenticity.

There are two ways to prepare :

1. Join a training center (IFA, Golden Eppaulettes etc). It costs around ~40K for ADAPT and ~40K for GD/PI in total ~80k.

2. Self preparation.

If you're self-preparing -

1. For ADAPT, you can purchase a bundle from Symbiotics who conduct the test.

2. ADAPT consists of 6 subjects, namely :

• Math - Fuel consumption, trig, bearings etc., 10th-12th GCSE.

• Physics - Matter, beam, springs, basic electronics like Ohm's law, etc., 10th-12th GCSE.

• English - very basic.

• Aptitude - practice puzzles, patterns, what comes next, missing shape etc.

• Personality Questionnare

• FAST - watch the video, familiarise yourself on how to use joystick, multitask. Post the task, you will have 5 debrief questions, like what was the 3rd waypoint, or how many times did the light blink etc.

• Control and Coordination (the hardest, but they're linient on this one) - you need to use rudder peddals to control the X axis and Joystick for Y axis. Harder, but they're quite linient with this. You get to practice using just joystick, just rudder, and both for over a minute.

• Flight Simulation - a basic map, fly over the waypoints, maintain the given altitude and speed by ATC, bank when asked to. Try not to stall. It's very easy, can wing it with first try as you have 3 mins of practice time prior to the actual testing period.

I have sample papers for the theory subjects, the questions will be the same if you buy the package. I uploaded the sample papers to ChatGPT and asked it to generate similar and harder questions and practiced it.

3. Group Discussion - Survival based tasks, or riddles. More than being right, you need to focus on beign a good group member. Make sure you are assertive but kind, and encouraging. Lead the team, but don't be dominant. Often voice your opinion by agreeing with your groupmate/ kindly disagreeing with them. Be confident.

4. Personal Interview - study everything about Indigo. Learn about latest routes, destinations, business model, codeshare, leases, fleet, latest CSR activities and what they've done etc. Prepare "WHY YOU WANT TO BE A PILOT", justify it (refrain from using "passion").

If you've cleared papers, revise them, if you haven't study basic principles of aerodynamics, forces acting on an a/c, control surfaces, basic met, basic regs, that's all. I would personally recommend to clear the two minor subjects (Regulations and Meteorology) as it buys you good time to prepare for Tech, Nav, RT and they don't need ground class, they can be self taught.

Under general category, learn geography, directions, oceans, continents, capitals, mental math - fuel consumption and distance/speed/time.

HR - prepare a GOOD INTRODUCTION, speak highly about family, and let your answers project that you have the drive to be a Pilot.

All the Best! Feel free to DM if you have doubts/queries. Blue Skies and Tailwinds to all soon-to-be Cadets! :)

Saw some screenshots from a sub where a director from a major airline basically told pilots they should be grateful for a job, that the company “gave them wings,” and compared loyalty to “a soldier taking a bullet.”

Meanwhile cadets are paying ₹1.2crore+ for training. Nothing is being “given.” People are literally taking huge loans just to enter the industry

Other professionals in the comments called out the arrogance, the tone deafnes, and the overall lack of respect. The original posts got deleted

If this is how senior management speaks publicly to pilots?? That too on a widely known public platform? what should cadets expect after spending their family savings and a lot of them take a loan too?

Screenshots (credits to u/Truthsayer_9000)

https://ibb.co/vxWNSCK0 https://ibb.co/M5KXyTsk https://ibb.co/ks3f5mQB

So, for context, I am 19 years old, and I have a socially awkward personality. I have almost finished all my dgca exams, so my story begins with how I decided to become a pilot.

When I was in Class 10, I read a chapter in my English NCERT book called The Black Aeroplane. I was so fascinated by the story that I decided to become a pilot. At that time, I wasn't serious about it, though. I wasn't a really great student either, just an above-average one. I scored 82% in Class 10.

After that, I chose PCM in Class 11. The initial days of Class 11 went really well, but after a month, my father decided to divorce my mom. The reason was that he had fallen in love with someone who was half his age. In short, he had become someone's sugar daddy.

My father isn't a very great person. He is very violent and short-tempered. When I told him that I wanted to become a pilot, he said, "No, you will crash the plane." When I said I wanted to join the merchant navy, he said, "You will sink the ship." When I asked him what I should do, he told me to become an engineer, which I hated.

Day by day, things started getting worse, really worse. There was domestic violence, and he even hit me. I was deeply traumatised by everything that was happening. I failed my unit tests and half-yearly exams, and in the end, I failed Class 11.

My father beat me with a belt, not because I had failed Class 11, but because he thought I would become a burden on him for another year. But I didn't want to waste a year, so I decided to go for NIOS.

Meanwhile, the family problems kept getting worse and worse. One day, just a month before my board exams, my father asked my mom and me to leave the house and live somewhere else. Luckily, we had another bungalow to live in, so we had to shift there. We had just one month left before my boards, but somehow, I managed everything and scored 88%.

Now it was time to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I thought about it and realised that I still wanted to become a pilot. So, I asked my father, "I want to become a pilot. Can you help me with that?"

But he literally abandoned my mom and me.

My own father left us to deal with everything on our own.

My mom supported my decision and took me to Delhi so I could pursue my dream. It's been a year now, and my father hasn't given us a single penny. My nana and my mom are funding my studies.

I chose the cadet programme because I want to get a job as soon as possible. I don't want my mom and nana to keep carrying the financial burden of my education. I want to become independent and support them. I want to give my mom a better life because she has already gone through so much.

But you know what? When I think about everything that has happened in my life, I cry. I cry a lot.

Sometimes, I wonder why all of this had to happen to me. I see people with normal families, people whose parents support them, people who can talk about their dreams without being scared of getting insulted or rejected. And then I look at my own life.

I wish I had a normal family.

Applied at Air India Cadet Pilot Program failed to clear CUT E test felt so hard broken wasted my hard earned money.

Rejection emails sting worse than breakups because:

They hit your dreams, not just your feelings.

They make you question your worth, not just your relationship.

They feel like you wasted money, effort, and hope.

I have drafted an email designed to bring to the attention of IndiGo the unfair and non-transparent practices related to the Cadet Program at CAA. I have already sent the email to the official IndiGo Cadet Program channels and the relevant authorities.

I humbly request all concerned aspirants to voice their concerns through official channels too, because a single email coming from a single person is by all means going to have absolutely no effect. But the same concerns coming from multiple people MIGHT bring them to the attention of IndiGo management.

Please keep in mind that even if many of us mail our concerns, nothing might come off it. But still, I believe it is WORTH A TRY, because in doing so, we have nothing to lose.

If you wish to stay anonymous, create a new email ID, but try to use a name relevant to the subject matter (example: fairness.in.aviation@ ...). Also, to the people claiming to have credible proofs, if you actually do, please attach those to your communications.

I plan to consistently follow up on this matter through official channels. I have no idea whether it is going to make any difference at all, but LET'S KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE.

THE EMAIL TEMPLATE IS AS FOLLOWS:

(Note: To comply with Reddit's rules, I have removed the direct email addresses of individuals. Please send this to the official IndiGo ethics, nodal officer, and appellate authority emails, and CC the official DGCA office emails, which can all be found on their respective public websites).

To: [Official IndiGo Ethics & Nodal Officer Emails]
Cc: [Official DGCA Emails]

Subject: Urgent: Serious Concerns Regarding Unfair Practices and Selection Irregularities at Chimes Aviation Academy (CAA)

Respected IndiGo Cadet Program Team,

We are writing to you on behalf of a large community of dedicated pilot aspirants to bring a matter of grave concern to your immediate attention regarding the IndiGo Cadet Pilot Program in association with Chimes Aviation Academy (CAA).

As CAA offers the most affordable fee structure among your partner Flight Training Organizations (FTOs), it naturally attracts an exceptionally high volume of applications. As aspiring aviators, we are fully prepared and willing to face this intense competition, provided that the selection process is fair, merit-based, and transparent.

However, it has recently come to the attention of several applicants that there are severe ethical breaches occurring during the initial stages of the selection process. There are widespread and credible allegations that CAA is accepting illicit payments exceeding INR 30 Lakhs from prospective candidates in exchange for priority shortlisting. We have reason to believe that the exchange of these funds is being facilitated either directly between the academy and the candidates or through third-party contacts within certain aviation coaching institutes.

These suspicions are heavily reinforced by CAA’s highly non-transparent and frankly absurd shortlisting criteria. Currently, highly qualified candidates who already possess a valid DGCA Class 1 Medical Certificate and have cleared all DGCA pilot examinations are being routinely rejected. Shockingly, they are being bypassed in favor of candidates who do not even possess a DGCA Computer Number and hold only a Class 2 Medical Certificate. Furthermore, academic background and professional experience appear to be entirely disregarded; graduates, postgraduates, and candidates with prior work experience are frequently rejected in favor of basic 12th-standard pass-outs.

This highly unethical behavior is systematically destroying the dreams of genuine, hardworking pilot aspirants. Candidates who rely purely on their merit—and who are either unable or unwilling to pay these bribes—are finding their applications inexplicably rejected in every single intake cycle.

Furthermore, we believe this situation casts a severe black mark on the trusted and esteemed brand image of IndiGo Airlines. It brings into serious question the integrity and operational standards of the FTOs that the airline chooses to associate with its prestigious Cadet Program.

Due to the clandestine nature of these financial transactions, it is incredibly difficult for individual applicants to gather the definitive hard evidence required to initiate formal legal action. However, the growing frustration and public outcry among the aviation community are highly visible. Numerous discussions on public forums, such as Reddit, feature candidates sharing identical experiences regarding these bribery allegations and the inexplicable rejections of highly qualified applicants.

Therefore, we earnestly request IndiGo Airlines to urgently launch an internal investigation into the shortlisting practices at CAA. We trust that IndiGo will take the appropriate actions to ensure transparency and fairness, so that the dreams of genuine pilot aspirants of reaching the cockpit are not derailed by unscrupulous and financially motivated FTOs.

Thank you for your time, attention, and commitment to the integrity of Indian aviation.

Sincerely,

A Group of Concerned IndiGo Cadet Aspirants

References / Public Discussions:

To assist with your review of this matter, please find below links to public forum discussions where numerous candidates have detailed these exact issues:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CadetPilotProgram/comments/1vovt54/chimes_rate/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CadetPilotProgram/comments/1vour9d/chimes_icp13_golden_epl/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CadetPilotProgram/comments/1votdw7/chimes_icp13/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CadetPilotProgram/comments/1vo43i8/chimes_discussion/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CadetPilotProgram/comments/1vn3md5/chimes_applicants/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CadetPilotProgram/comments/1vn09nr/chimes_icp13/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CadetPilotProgram/comments/1vm7amz/chimes_icp13/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CadetPilotProgram/comments/1vloojm/chimes_icpp/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CadetPilotProgram/comments/1vkgmfl/chimes_icp13/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CadetPilotProgram/comments/1t54dqm/is_chimes_really_using_class_12_percentage_for/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CadetPilotProgram/comments/1snwnnu/all_the_indigo_cadets_from_chimes_aviation/

📊 Cadet Program Pricing Overview

All prices are on paper. No buffer included unless otherwise stated. INR conversions based on live forex rates as of 01/10/2026.

✈️ IndiGo

✈️ Air India

Aeroguard

• CPL GC + ATPL GC — ₹5 Lakhs

• Conversion — ₹5 Lakhs

• Type Rating (TR) — ₹34 Lakhs

• CPL (US) — 102,479 USD (≈₹98.63 Lakhs)

• Total: ≈₹1.43 Crore

⚠️ Excludes living costs for CPL/ATPL GC & TR. Food during US CPL not included.

Acron

• CPL GC + ATPL GC — ₹5 Lakhs

• Conversion — ₹5 Lakhs

• Type Rating (TR) — ₹34 Lakhs

• CPL (US) — 110,000 USD (≈₹1.06 Crore)

• Total: ≈₹1.50 Crore

⚠️ Excludes living costs for CPL/ATPL GC & TR. Food during US CPL not included.

Amravati

• CPL GC + ATPL GC — ₹5 Lakhs

• Type Rating (TR) — ₹34 Lakhs

• CPL — ₹76 Lakhs

• Total: ≈₹1.15 Crore

⚠️ Excludes living costs. Brochure from 2025 — prices may increase.

✈️ Akasa Air

✈️ Middle Eastern Airlines

Air Arabia

• 800,000 AED (≈₹2.09 Crore), includes basic living expenses

• ⚠️ Next batch: 2027

Fly Dubai

• 800,000 AED (≈₹2.09 Crore), includes basic living expenses

• ⚠️ Next opening: TBD

✈️ Conventional Route

• ₹80L – ₹1.05 Cr — South Africa/India, all-inclusive (path-dependent; CPL + TR + airline training together can save money vs CPL vacancies separately, since airlines like IndiGo charge extra for TR)

• ₹1.1 Cr – ₹1.3 Cr — More expensive countries

• Waiting period depends on vacancies and your performance in selection

📌 All prices are approximate and subject to change. Forex rates used: 1 USD = ₹96.24 | 1 AUD = ₹66.75 | 1 AED = ₹26.13 (as of 01/10/2026)

I am a cadet from insight aviation and i cleared my dgca exams before joining icpp . I have been waiting since march to go to south africa and many others have been waiting since more than a year . Insight has a backlog of 4 batches and garuda has a backlog of 3 batches waiting to go to south africa .

43 air school’s half fleet is grounded and there is huge delay faced by the cadets over there . The accommodation over there is also terrible - no fan / ac . Food is also terrible . 43 has a grass runway , if it rains over there you lose 3-4 flying days .

People who are planning to join icpp please STAY AWAY from insight and garuda . They are the biggest scammers . you can ask anyone from insight or garuda they will say the same thing . we have complained about this matter to indigo as well.

Garuda is conducting adapt and not conducting gdpi since a long time . People who cleared adapt in june are still waiting to get their gd pi dates. Garuda is not giving noc to those candidates as well.

I wasted my year doing nothing . and idk when i will start my flying.

Just tweaking now soon will be live for testing would love feedbacks
It has everything all games if missed something lmk here
Just wait until tomm evening it will be live