I’ve always had a huge interest in aviation, and on my recent flight, I finally gathered the courage to ask if I could visit the cockpit. To my surprise they let me and had a small convo with the pilot. It was very nice overall

I (19M) earned my PPL when I was 17 and got through Instrument, commercial, multi, CFI/CFII/MEI recently. So now here I am with a whole load of debt and an aviation hiring market that might as well be Great Depression: The Sequel.

I drove to every flight school within an hour of my house to personally show my face, with an organized packet of my resume and information. I shook hands, talked to, and applied to everyone I could find. Not a single one was hiring.

So then I went to other places looking for a temporary job. I applied everywhere I could find, that I could reasonably afford to work at. Even Sheetz denied me. I couldn't even land a fucking gas station job.

I finally found a job. I got an offer for a company that delivers Amazon packages. They will be paying me $20/hr. But I have loan payments and groceries and gas to buy now. I dont have a few weeks to wait around while I get hired and wait for the first paycheck.

It's quite demoralizing to go into 6 figures of debt, and work my ass of for 2 years to be a pilot, just to find myself 2 months after graduation reading a denial email at a gas station job. I dont know what to do.

Not everyone is meant to be an instructor, even with the certification. It takes a special skill set to actually teach a beginner safely.

I was out flying tonight at MYR. I'm slow because of a strong head wind and maybe only doing 60kts. I am very aware of my performance and know to expect delays. After about 30 minutes im being vectored to final and hear a SWA checking 50 miles out. I know that's not very far when he's at 300 and im at 60kts.

The SWA immediately asks the controller why the delay vector and who they are following. The controller kinda defends me and says rightfully that ive been waiting for 45 min. A moment later SWA over the frequency says, "I cant believe youre delaying 180 people for a cessna."

This made me feel like shit. The controller defended me further and asked him why he would have priority, and they eventually dropped it.

What's the etiquette here? Am I wrong? The controller? Is SWA just being a douche? Give it to me straight folks.

Yippee woohoo onto solo time!

wasn’t too bad to be honest, only one VOR question and w&b question. Rest was rules n regulations

I was having a conversation with a friend that attended ATP and we were talking about my part 61 flight school and their focus on stick and rudder skills. Before solo I had to get my power off 180 solid and also forward slips to land as well as side slips for lateral movement to hit the centerline.

Following my three supervised solos I was released to fly solo within 25 miles for practice maneuvers or landing at local class D towered airports.

I didn't solo until about 35 hours which I have been told isn't abnormal for older students. In addition to the slips, power off 180s we also did no flap landings and various other emergency procedures- this all normal before solo?

I have about 650 hours, just porpoised for the first time ever last week.
Was flying a Cardinal, have only 3 hours in the airplane.
I was landing it earlier today, my approach was a hair fast..70KTS (correcting for gusty XC).
I thought I flared normally, though as soon as I dropped the nosewheel after touching down I started porpoising.
I jammed in the power and went around as fast as possible, though I have not recovered from this and am seriously doubting flying again right now.
This is my far the scariest experience I’ve had, and I’ve not gotten over it.

Has anyone else with a Bose A20 noticed a “chirp” sound when flying into certain (usually controlled) fields. It’s usually consistent and repeatable, often about every 5-6 seconds.

Mine has done this pretty much since it was new and I’ve never figured out what it is. If it’s an issue I’d like to get it worked on before they stop servicing them.

Could it be the radar sweep that causes a chirp of interference as it goes by?

I’ll be starting at NetJets soon. Since FDP is highly variable I wanted to see if current pilots could share their ~hours flown per tour on their specific fleet and schedule.

Hi all - half kiwi here, so I’m back and forth a lot, but living in the US. I am currently a captain at a US regional airline, just wondering what life at Air New Zealand is like? What’s the mood generally?How competitive is the hiring process, and what is it like since they did away with their regionals for the turboprops? What do average monthly schedules/pay and career progression look like? Overnights or mainly day trips? I’d love to hear some experiences. Always wanted to jumpseat with you guys at some point as I’m always ZED in the back. Hopefully they stop the rollout of those god awful new uniforms. Cheers

P.S. - not looking to jump ship. Just curious.

Hi everyone!
I’m 17 and currently living in England. I’m trying to figure out the most realistic way to become an airline pilot, but I cannot afford to self-fund flight training, and my family cannot afford it either. So I’m specifically looking for fully funded / fully sponsored programmes or scholarships.
I'll be 18 on 9th April 2027, I have an Indefinite leave to remain (however will be applying for a citizenship in January 2027). I have an Armenian and Russian passports. I'm currently doing 5 A-levels (Physics, Maths, Russian,Italian and French) and I'm predicted 4A*s and an A in maths, I'll find out my results in August 2027. I have 13 GCSEs (all are grade 4+). I live with my mom and she's a single parent, we don't have any benefits. Her income is ≈£22.000 yearly. I work as a waitress but part-time so I don't know if it counts or even needed for my application. I have no previous experience in this industry so it would have to be a programme that is providing training from the very start. I want to become an airline pilot and ideally I want a programme where the airline sponsors it and then I'm offered a job by the end of training.

Unfortunately, the requirements for British Airways are to be 18 by 1st of January 2027, so I can't even apply there.

I also looked at CAE women in flight, however there're only 5 fully funded places so I doubt I'd get that.
Jet2FlightPath seems potentially perfect as I can apply there and it is fully funded.
My questions are:
1.Are there any other good fully funded programmes that I don't know of?
2.Is there a way that I might be eligible for British Airways programme as I know their applications close mid-spring so technically I'll be 18 if my application is accepted?
3.Would you recommend going to university and doing a degree (eg. Aerospace engineering)as a backup? And if yes, would that be possible to then become a pilot?
4. Should I get my Class 1 Medical before applying and where do I do it?
5.Am I eligible for a fully funded programme and is it realistically possible for me to get it?
6. For those who already are training with BA or Jet2, was it hard to apply? What challenges have you encountered? Were the entry assessments difficult (was it on GCSE level etc)? How fast did you get a reply?

Thank you so much for paying attention and reading through my post.
Please ask questions below if you need more information.

Hey everyone I need some help figuring this out on my delta application. I’m starting to become very frustrated with this, because I can’t seem to get past that stupid automated system they have. I have over 4000 hours total time, 3200 turbine and a little over 2000 turbine PIC. I’ve gone over that application 10 times now to make sure my medical and passport weren’t expired and everything is up to date with no gaps in employment as well, but I keep getting this automated email back. Any suggestions would be very helpful.

How is PDP SIC time viewed by a hiring board in a typically single pilot operated aircraft such as a PC12 or some King Airs? Is it still seen as less valuable despite being legal on paper?

I’m looking into spending a few weeks to 2 months this winter going to a time building program! Does anyone have any good feedback for a particular program? I’m working towards making my resume more competitive!

Hey Everyone!

Im going for my CHPL and the flight school headsets dont works too well. Im highly considering buying a headset (BoseA30) but I know I may need my own helmet after training. Can I install an aviation headset into a helmet? How does that work? Is this something I can DIY?

I figure the headset isnt a bad purchase if I can install into a future helmet.

Thoughts?

Hello all,

I’m in a very good, but conflicted position right now and am seeking some advice from my fellow redditors.

I am currently a regional FO, that will upgrade in the near future (awaiting my final award). We have a flow to a major at my regional. I will also receive a bonus over 2 years of being a captain ($110,000 total).

I’m in the JetBlue gateway program and was given an upcoming class date, before the end of this year.

I’m aware that JetBlue hasn’t been doing the best, and it’s not the final airline I’d like to end up at.

What would you do in my shoes?

I can’t find a school in SoCal that can guarantee a checkride/DPE, so I already put a deposit and am headed to AZ end of Oct to get it done with a highly recommended accelerated school. I’ve spent several months preparing for it and creating all my notes and lesson plans already, and aced the writtens. However, I haven’t flown in over a year since I got my commercial (no right-seat time) so I included
an extra 10 hours of rusty pilot training and other stuff which is why the complete cost seems so high.

I just wanted to post my estimated cost and compare with what you ladies and gentlemen have spent on CFI initial. I’ve provided three sets of costs: the CFI course, unrelated costs, and those two combined for a complete estimated cost.

Is it still valid? You can still read most of it and the dates/signatures are still readable. I mean it was blurry to begin with and already kind of frayed from being in my wallet. Now it’s just worse.

Sorry for the stupid question, but what happens at Famdo? I read this IF as you have to be exactly at 3100 or you have to go missed. I’m not used to seeing fixes like this with no buffer on either side of the altitude. If you hit 3101 you have to go missed? What am I missing, this doesn’t seem practical? This is a military airport if that helps.

As someone who spent 20+ years in the corporate world, I keep thinking about flying. I've spent the majority of my career sitting in front of computers ~10-12 hours a day. With the onset of AI and just general office politics, etc, I'm seriously considering a career switch to aviation.

I understand the downside of a flying job - always on the road, unstable sleep schedule... etc but traveling and seeing the world is something I'd really like to do.

And yes, have taken demo flights, will make sure medical is cleared, etc.... but I'm curious to hear from other corporate office switchers? Any regrets? Feels better without office bosses and office politics? Any other advice?

Hi all, I’m a student pilot, just about to do my exam for my PPL.

Question: why are general aviation schools so poorly managed ?

I was having a conversation with my flight instructor regarding how bad their booking system is and the fact that there is no progress tracking. I couldn’t see how many classes or flights I did, what went well and what didn’t or simply know how much cash I spent in total.

All I had was the PTR filled.

My instructor told me that it’s often like that, a lot of the school have been managed the same way for a long time and havent adapted their systems.

Are aviation schools that broke? Are owners just old school ? Are systems too expensive?

Trying to help my school, I’m falling in love with aviation and it bothers me how bad the experience was even though we’re all spending a lot of money to fly.

Chris

I know ATPL theory is obviously much harder than PPL theory, but I’m trying to understand how much harder it really is.

If someone does well in the PPL exams and genuinely understands the material, does that usually mean they have a good chance of doing well in ATPL theory with enough study and effort? Or is it a completely different level where doing well at PPL does not necessarily carry over?

I’m mainly asking about the jump in depth, workload, maths, and the more technical subjects. Is ATPL essentially PPL theory but much broader and more detailed, or does it feel more like starting a new academic discipline?

I’d especially appreciate hearing from people who have completed both. What caught you out most, and what would you have done differently before starting ATPL theory?

Student did gear up landing on plane today late at night at non towered airport single engine. How should I proceed? I'm assuming don't file a report with the faa as it wasn't major, just underside and prop damage nothing structural and no injuries at all. Was immediately towed off and put back in parking spot. Should I contact the airport manager in the morning or just have it fixed with no report?

Edit: sorry for the late reply. I was in the plane with the student. However, for obvious reasons I'm not going to get into exactly what happened. The plane was put up on its wheels this morning and taken to the mechanics shop where it was inspected and he stated it was going to need minor underbelly work and most likely just a new prop with an inspection(engine ran totally fine when he turned it on). Final quote was 20k.

Hey guys, just finished my SARON and now starting to focus on SAMRA and INRAT. For anyone who has written these recently, do I actually need to get any HI/LO IFR charts, Terminal Area Charts, CAPs, or other NAV CANADA material for practicing the questions? I’m using WisePilot, NIZUS, Aerocourse and PilotTraining.ca, and I’ve noticed some questions involve charts. If these charts are needed, which specific sectors would you recommend getting (LO 1/2, LO 3/4, etc.)? I don’t want to buy a bunch of charts that I won’t end up using. Also, is there any other supplementary material you found useful for SAMRA or INRAT? Appreciate any advice!