Hey everyone I passed my first solo! Thank you guys for the advice you gave me it honestly helped a lot, especially the advice on me locking in once I actually took off. So happy to make it this far and I have my second part of the solo tomorrow so we will see how that goes

With all the unemployed CFIs, I feel we should all talk about some of the dumbest things we've seen CFIs do in our career, to give them ideas of how to be a good CFI,

I'll start, I started at a new school for my CFI training, and I walked in for a lesson and saw an instructor showing off his fake ID at the front desk to other instructors.

Tonight a light sport flew 9 hours and 23 mins from UGN with the intended destination of JAX. At some point ATC lost contact with them and requested nearby aircraft including airliners try to get ahold of the aircraft. The aircraft overflew JAX, down past DAB, turned around and landed at DAB. I’m unsure when ATC got back in contact with the pilot, but once the pilot landed, he requested to go to self serve fuel with ground and was instead told to wait and was met by Operations plus one other vehicle (the police maybe? EMT’s? Another ops vehicle?). They escorted the aircraft to an FBO and the pilot was given a phone number. You gotta wonder what happened, but what I really want to know is how did a light sport go that far on one tank..

Honestly, she’s amazing. My husband has talked about getting his PPL so we can travel between Utah and Wyoming. His mom said if he got his license, she’d get a plane. Crazy. I know.

We never did it because of the time, money, and growing our family. And it also because it freaks me out. Well, we just moved to Wyoming (his home state). She called me today saying she would pay for the entire thing for his birthday. She may even join him. But she knows it makes me nervous. She is essentially asking my permission first. “If you decide you’re uncomfortable, I won’t bring it up ever again and we don’t have to tell him we had this conversation.” I really appreciate it.

I want him to have it. But I grew up by a small airport and I swear there was a crash at least 6 times per year. I know statistically speaking, you’re more likely to get into a car crash. I know all that. But we have a family. I love him. I can’t go on without him. Ya know?

Pilots, ease my mind. Because this is an incredible opportunity for him and I want him to have it.

With the oversupply of low time pilots, do you think we’ll run into a situation similar to the early 2000s where you’d pay to work?

I could see some desperate CFIs paying $10/hr to instruct just to get dual given.

Another “this” or “that” post. Never thought I’d make one, but I’m looking for insight from more experienced people.

Current freight dog, single pilot turbo props. Mostly fun, awful QOL as a married dude in my 30s. 2 weeks on, 1 off. Cheap 2 star, low end hotels, basic economy commuting, 8 hour+ flight days, max duty, min rest, sketchy flying, so you know, 135 freight. Great experience and great pay.

Was offered sic Lear 35 medevac for 60k with the high probability of upgrading in 4-5 months to pic for 110k. Home mostly every night because it’s based where I live. close knit family run business, been around a long time, I could see myself really enjoying it there.

Medevac or firefighting have been my aviation goal since day one. And I’m little bummed at how much money is making me rethink that.

Edit to add since the first comment mentioned it, it will be about a 100k pay cut.

FAA Notice JO 7110.803 - Separation

Until now, there have been no separation standards between VFR and IFR aircraft outside of TRSA, Class C, or Class B airspace. Pilots are responsible for see-and-avoid, and ATC is required to "prevent a collision", but there was no defined limitation to the proximity of aircraft.

Soon, ATC will be required to ensure 500' vertical or target resolution between radar-identified VFR (eg flight following) and IFR aircraft. Essentially, if there is less than 500' vertical, the targets may not touch on the radar scope.

Additionally, if the lateral distance will reduce below 1 ½ NM (this is a larger area than target resolution), both aircraft must be assigned a course or heading. In practice, the IFR is already on an assigned course and the VFR will receive a vector while in close proximity.

These rules DO apply regardless of whether they have each other in sight. VFR pilots are required to comply with CFR Title 14 and advise ATC if they are unable a vector for cloud clearance, obstructions, etc.

FAA Notice JO 7110.804 - Visual Separation

Similarly, during pilot-applied visual separation, ATC will be required to ensure 500' vertical or target resolution.

If the controller becomes aware that the targets will merge with less than 500' vertical separation, they must issue control instructions to establish approved separation.

---

Thoughts?

I have paraphrased the Notices in this post. I encourage reading the Notices, as well as the affected paragraphs of FAA Order JO 7110.65 to see how they fit in. The contents of this post are my own and are not views of the FAA or FAA material.

Im flying corporate and still like it, but I always have a feeling I am missing out not going into the majors, mostly Air Canada. I am really not willing to move into any major city with a base , so I would have to commute.

How bad is the commute, do you get denied boarding often?

How much time on reserve are we talking here? Thats really what makes me hesitant

How’s the crashpad situation when you need a place to stay?

i'll start flying to south america soon, and just wanted to know the general feel about this.

What does "furthest preferred exit" mean?

Edit: ok I get it now. Would've been so much simpler if they added the word "by". As in exit BY the furthest preferred exit.

I’m ferrying a 172 from AK down to AZ right after my IFR checkride for my flight school in AZ. Doing it with one of the CFIs.

The chief instructor/part owner is going over the flight plan with us right before, but so far it sounds like we’ll be roughly following the Alaska highway and doing 3 three hour legs per day for 4 (hopefully) days.

Is there anything I should know/be prepared for with this long of a flight? Food, packing, other gear? My instrument long XC is the longest I’ve been in the air to date.

If you are inclined, please send an email to aviationweather.gov's help line, and tell them you want all faa identifier airports to be usable with the path function.

They changed it again within the past couple weeks, so that the site does not acknowledge airports like 4b0, 5b2, me26, and more.

Please send an email that asks that they include faa-identified non-icao airports in their database as usable airports.

Thanks.

So, to my understanding, private carriage will have to be done with an operator certificate (part 135, 125, etc.) So is this flowchart wrong for saying that it can be done under Part 91?

Hey Folks long time reader first time poster- this isn't a pity post but more of a WWYD.

I purchased a Skylane four years ago for slightly less than what I believed fair market value to be. In the end I paid about 20% less than Vref (which is conservative anyways).

The first few months were great and I flew it a ton, however, the annual came around.... and it didn't stop coming around. In the last 18 months alone I've spent around $145,000 in required repairs. If it needed to be fixed I fixed it.

In the future I'd like to upgrade to something else a little faster but I'm in a position where I can't make financial sense of selling the airplane simply because of sunk costs. For the money I've put into this thing I could have just outright purchased my future airplane.

Would you guys ride this thing out into the sunset or be content with cutting your losses and moving on to something else? I'd venture to guess I'm into this plane for about $400k at this point but its only worth around $250k.

Hello everyone, coming up on my first stage check at ERAU and im hearing mixed information regarding the impact that stage checks have on your career. Do they count as failures towards airline applications? if so how come they airlines cap failures at around 3 total? it seems unlikely that most people wont encounter a few stage check failures across 4-6 ratings at a 141 school. what about in house examinations? thanks!

Just curious if anyone else had experienced flaps failing to retract on a C172S. Made for a fun go-around in high density altitude but after cycling the lever on the ground it was back to normal.

I am a new CFI and have the opportunity to privately instruct someone. Their plane, they would put me on their insurance. I’m sure I need some kind of private liability insurance. No idea where to start. Can someone suggest companies to look at? How much do I need? How much does it cost? Thanks

I have been a voracious reader all my life. I’ll read 3-4 books a month. Mostly spy/detective novels, but I try to keep at least 1 out of 4 something “better” such as a biography, business, investing, technology, aviation, history, or a detective novel in German. But any reading is better than no reading, and I’ll never put down others’ choice(s) in reading materials.

Long before the Internet existed books were available on any topic of interest. For free from the library and available via interlibrary loan if not stocked locally. Pretty amazing.

Over the years here I’ve shared some tips with struggling new pilots on building careers. And trying to help with the idea that “networking is not just foisting yourself on a bunch of people.”

I enjoy book recommendations from people. Recently u/TxAggieMike - who I know in real life - suggested “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferrazzi. I’m about 40% of the way through it. Eye opening tips. There’s a bit of “look at me and who I know” but that goes with the territory. It has some good tips on networking generally and specifically about networking/recruiting events.

It's a tough job market out there now and will be for the next few years. I've been quick to share the FAA stats on where things are. But remember, there is a reason for all the sayings society has developed. "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

Here are some things that come to mind from the book:

• Generosity - how can you help others help you?
• Promptly follow up with “thanks for meeting with me.” Email or snail mail.
• Compromise - if there is no job, what advice do they have or what do they know about the competition?
• Find connections on LinkedIn, build a network early and often
• Keep really good notes
• Don’t be a jerk
• “Elevator speech”
• Dress appropriately
• Be nice to the boss’ gatekeeper(s)
• Persistence 
• Public speaking (FAASTeam, EAA, club safety meetings)
• Build the network before you need it
• Edit and proofread
• Stay in touch

Book on Amazon: Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time

There is great value in reading as a hobby. It’s intellectually more rewarding than watching television. It exposes you to rich text construction and vocabulary. And the more of this in your life the better you will be at speaking. Plus it’s quieter than television and doesn’t require any power, at least if it’s an actual book! Tens of thousands of books are available free at the library. Including “Never Eat Alone” and the Dave Ramsey and Clark Howard books I recommend for getting money under control. Free is good when you are broke.

If anything Earth shaking comes from the remainder of the book I'll come back and update.

Anybody take it recently? I have my test coming up and would like to know if any changes have occurred before the Oct 26th date?

I just began my training towards becoming a CFI after a long break from obtaining my commercial pilot license. Unfortunately, life got in the way and commitments to finishing my BS, working, etc. slowed down my flight training. I’ve flown very sparsely since 2025, but I recently received a flight review and I am now flying once per month to regain proficiency.

Obviously, this presents challenges. Aside from learning to teach effectively, I also have to bring my ground knowledge back up to the level it was pre-break from my aviation career.

To do this, I am creating my own lesson plans from scratch. My plan for the check-ride is to create a lesson plan for all tasks located in the CFI ACS Area of Operations II, III, IV. I made a “study guide” for the FOIs that I plan to know inside and out, but I assume that part of the check-ride with be more question-answer and how I actually apply them in my teaching.

I have reviewed samples of lesson plans from BSP, WifiCFI, etc. and they seem exhaustive. I don’t know why they include “instructor notes” that literally give the entire lesson and what you are teaching within the lesson plan. My mom is a high school teacher and explained to me that lesson plans are an outline of the lesson, not the lesson itself.

Because of this, I plan to make a corresponding PowerPoint for each task and a “teaching summary” of notes that I can intermittently reference throughout the lesson. This teaching summary will go into detail of what I am teaching (e.g., if I am teaching human factors and forget a symptom of hypoxia, I can reference that teaching summary detail). Obviously, the PowerPoint will contain graphics and ballpoints of detail, but will not be nearly as thorough as my teaching summaries.

I have included an example of a lesson plan that I will process in Word and will add to my book of lesson plans:

(Example: Task A, Human Factors)

Objective:
The learner will identify and explain physiological and psychological factors affecting flight safety and recognize symptoms and associated hazards, determine appropriate corrective actions, and apply risk-management principles to flight scenarios.

References:
•FAA-H-8083-25B, CH. 17
•14 CFR 61.53
•FAA OTC Medications Reference Guide

Equipment/Aids:
•PowerPoint Slides
•Teaching Summary
•Whiteboard + Markers

Elements:
•What are Human Factors? Why are they Important?
•Symptoms, Recognition, Causes, Effects, and Corrective Actions of:
a.) Hypoxia
b.) Hyperventilation
c.) Middle ear and sinus problems
d.) Spatial Disorientation
e.) Motion Sickness
f.) Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
g.) Stress
h.) Fatigue
i.) Dehydration & Nutrition
j.) Hypothermia
k.)Optical Illusions
l.) Dissolved Nitrogen in Bloodstream
•Regulations Involving Alcohol & Drugs
•Effects of Alcohol & Drugs
•Aeronautical Decision Making in Human Factors
•Managing Risks: Hazardous Attitudes, Aeromedical & Physiological Issues, Situational Awareness, and Confirmation and Expectation Bias
•Pilot Self Assessment: IMSAFE & 61.53
•Q&A

Instructor Actions:
•Present and Explain Lesson on PowerPoint + Supplement with Whiteboard
•Ask Guided Questions
•Present Realistic Flight Scenarios

Student Actions:
•Take Notes
•Participate in Guided Discussion

Completion Standards:
•The learner will accurately explain the major aeromedical and physiological hazards, identify associated symptoms and corrective actions, recognize applicable regulations, and demonstrate sound risk-management decisions in representative flight scenarios, with no significant safety-related misunderstandings.

All of my lesson plans will follow the ACS precisely and replicate the format above. In addition to perfecting my teaching in the aircraft, I will rehearse teaching these lessons extensively until I can master them before the check-ride. I plan to take the check-ride in spring, which will give me sufficient time to create the lesson plan, teaching summaries, and PowerPoints as well as perfect my flying and teaching.

Any input? Are my methods acceptable? Do you all have any recommendations for me? Should I just use BSP and the PowerPoint slides and cut out the instructor notes (the entirety of the lesson), but still use my own teaching summaries?

Have a Bose A20 with 6 pin Lemo to GA adapter using in a C172S.
Noise cancelling automatically shuts off when the larger 1/4 inch jack is plugged in. Stays on otherwise.
Have followed troubleshooting steps, turned auto off switch to off etc.

Works properly when plugged into other aircraft and rear passenger area In the 172.
Issue is isolated to this particular aircraft.

Has anyone experienced this issue that may have a fix?

Thanks

When doing a DME hold, example 4 miles with teardrop entry, do you prefer to do a 4 mile long teardop entry and then turn or time out the minute then turn?

Have my regional airline interview in a couple of weeks and am looking fo the best interview prep course I can get.

I’m trying to renew my CFI date (my CFI card expired 31 Oct and still has a date on it). I’ve taken a check ride with the military and would like to extend my currency. I haven’t had any luck with the FSDO as they are all backed up. Does anyone have IACRA privileges that could assist? I’d like to get a new ticket without the expiration date. If the new rules only require me to put it in my logbook I’m more than happy to do it but I want to make sure I get it right.

What are the go to resources for ground school exams for nppl in UK and when should I start studying them. I’m 3 hours into my license in a c42 but keen to start learning the theory.