I’m wondering about people who took out a giant loan for flight school. How much did you borrow, what was your interest %, how long did it take you to pay it off / how much progress have you made? Also what kind of job are you working to help you pay it off?

Been seeing a lot of stuff about people taking out 6 figure student loans (not just in aviation) and that they’ve been chipping away at it for a decade but haven’t paid it off. Others are saying they’ve accrued enough interest that the loan is now higher than what they started with and they’ve been putting payments towards it for 5+ years.

Are pilots experiencing this once they move past the typical CFI stage and start their big boy jobs?

Should I take a part 91 sr22t gig flying a family. Or do I need more experience. I have the option to go through the sr22 training too. Or do I need more hours and experience?

Recently got a legacy CJO and forgot to include a couple non aviation related jobs from 7-8yrs ago on my application. They were short term temp jobs I worked to pay for ratings. Was reviewing my W2’s when I realized I had totally forgotten I even had them. How much of a stink will the background check company make of it? Should I disclose it to anyone?

I recently got hired at a 135 flying a light business twin jet
Eventual goal is to work at Delta/American
Should I stay and upgrade at the 135 and build the TPIC time or apply to regionals in the next year?

I’ll be flying around 50 hours a month as SIC and the average upgrade time is about 1.5-2years

To the airline pilots, what kind of dress shoes/boots do you wear day to day? Any specific brands that you like best?

I’m this close 🤏 to just enlisting myself into the Air Force because GOOD LORD, I am fighting for my life trying to pursue this dream of becoming a pilot 😭
Everywhere I turn, I feel like I’m hitting another dead end, and I’m constantly having to figure out a different way to navigate around it.
I tried the pathway programs, loan denied (ngl, maybe a blessing in disguise because that’s generational debt right there). I looked into mom-and-pop flight schools, but financially and time-wise, it just doesn’t work for me. I even explored aviation brokerage because I figured if I couldn’t be in the cockpit just yet, at least I could still be around aviation.
Then there’s scholarships. Either I’m not a member of the organization and have to pay dues for months before I’m even eligible, or the requirements are for people who already have their CPL. Meanwhile, I’m over here trying to get my foot in the door. I don’t even have my medical certificate yet (although I’m working on getting that soon).
I swear, I’m not asking for the skies to part and hand me a set of wings, but could something PLEASE work out for once? 😭
I’m just tired. I know this is something I want, and I don’t want to give up on it. I keep researching, applying, reaching out, and finding alternative routes, but sometimes it feels like I’m spending more time trying to figure out HOW to become a pilot than actually getting to fly.
At this point, the Air Force is starting to look like another route worth seriously considering.
I just really, really yearn for the skies and the clouds. I want to fly. That’s it. 🥲

EDIT: Since a few people have asked for more context, I’ll elaborate a bit:
I’m 29F, based in Arizona. I have some college education but no degree, as I had to step away from school due to family circumstances.
I’ve been studying aviation independently. I’ve worked through the PHAK and FAR/AIM. Even though I haven’t been able to get into the cockpit yet(besides the discovery flight), I’m still trying to educate myself and stay familiar with the material.
I currently work odd jobs to make ends meet and help support my parent, who I’m also a caregiver for, along with helping take care of my younger siblings. I’m actively looking for more stable employment, so I’m not just sitting around waiting for something to happen.
Regarding my medical certificate, I haven’t forgotten about it or been avoiding it. It’s primarily been a matter of time management and juggling work and family responsibilities. I’m hoping to get that taken care of soon.
As for why I don’t just go to a mom-and-pop flight school, I HAVE looked into them. The problem is that the quotes I’ve received are still well beyond what I can realistically afford. I don’t have thousands sitting around to put toward flight training, and I can’t financially commit to something without knowing I can sustain it.
I’m not expecting someone to drop a giant money bag in my lap or fund my entire career. I’m trying to find a sustainable way to finance this myself while balancing responsibilities outside of aviation.
I’ve explored pathway programs, private flight schools, scholarships, aviation brokerage, and now even military options. I’m genuinely trying to find a way forward.
Trust me, if money and time weren’t such significant obstacles, I’d probably be spending less time on Reddit explaining myself and more time at the airport 😭
I appreciate genuine advice, suggestions, and hearing from people who’ve had to take unconventional routes into aviation. I’m here because I want to make this happen, not because I’m looking for someone to make it happen for me.

(A pic of one of the planes from UND when I went for a tour)

For rectangular course AFH figure, the turns begin at the end of the rectangular field boundary. Whereas the traffic pattern you dont turn until you are looking back at a 45 degree angle.

I know the rectangular course is replicating traffic pattern, and i want to maintain a constant distance, but should i just start the turn once at the edge of the field boundary, or should it be closer to a standard traffic pattern looking back at a 45?

I’m currently doing the associates degree program at KIWA with CGCC and UND areospace for my instrument rating, primarily for the United aviate cadet program.
However getting my commerical with UND will take a year longer and significantly more money considering I already close to 400 hours and basicly meet the 61 hour requirements for commerical.

So, given today’s current hiring market, would it be better to wait and stick with the UND 141 program for the cadet program or just get my commerical and CFI quicker to build duel given time earlier?

Both seem like good options to me, so its been verify difficult for me to decide

Hi, so this is a bit of a weird question but I’m in my early-mid 20s, I’m an engineering graduate working as a banker. I graduated last year summer and I have been having a difficult time finding something I’m passionate about doing for the rest of my life.

I have always been into aviation and planes including rockets and space since I was a kid. I’ve been trying to apply to engineering positions within these fields but unfortunately no luck yet, it’s also worthy to note that I live in Canada, so the aerospace industry isn’t as big compared to America.

One of my best friends, basically my brother, has been on the mission to become a pilot. He’s been in the game for about 2.5 years and he’s very close to getting his PPL. I’m very proud of him and every time he flies he sends me the pictures of his flight and I am so happy to see the amount of progress he’s done and work hes put in. He deserves everything good in this world.

Like I said I’ve been very lost, confused about my life. The last couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking about taking a discovery flight and see if piloting is a field that maybe I would love to do. Honestly, my best friend inspired me a lot and he shown me a lot about it and it seems something that I at least want to explore. But I don’t want to steal my best friends gig, because piloting is his thing, we all call him captain and he’s known as the pilot within all of our friend groups. I haven’t told him about my thoughts of going into flying.

I guess basically I’m afraid that I will end up wanting to pursue becoming a pilot which will cause my friend to not feel good or think I’m trying to compete with him or something like that. If you’re a pilot or in the process of becoming one, how would you feel if your best friend decided to also pursue flying one day?

Anybody fly a king air or smaller jet and have any luggage tips? Not looking for big bags that work on an airliner.

Hello All,

During my CPL I was flying the Rv-12 due to the large cost savings I was getting from it (130 an hour versus nearly 180 an hour pls fuel surcharges). As a result I learned everything left seat in a different airplane.

Due lack of CFIs at my school who can teach new CFIs, and the Wisco weather coming up, I'm going to the sunbelt and the school I am going to has an all 172 Fleet. I did all training prior to my CPL in a 172. It was about a year since I've flown one.

I went up today to learn a bit, it's a dual G5 172P. I was going through the CPL maneuvers and was having kind of a hard time figuring out slip/skid in maneuvers because of the right seat position. In addition there was limited seat adjustment so outside references were hard.

That in mind if anyone has any advice for teaching in the right seat in the 172s that would be good. For that matter just general transition training to a right seat in any airplane.

Thanks all for help!

Anyone applied for Jazz approach this year or last ? I wonder what is their process for selecting candidates ? I know there’s an exam and an interview.

If you applied and got selected please let me know.
Cheers

Finished flight school this September with all my certs after roughly 12 months and no checkride failures. Im lucky enough to land my dream instructing job down in Florida, starting December 1st.
Wanted to hear from some of the more experienced CFIs on how you guys made the most of your time instructing instead of just counting down the hours to 1,500.
Outside of flying, my plan is to get back into a consistent gym routine, maybe pick up Muay Thai if time allows, and make sure I’m still putting effort into my relationship and enjoying life outside of aviation.
I know instructing will have its ups and downs but I’d rather enjoy the process than spend the next couple of years wishing the time away. For those who’ve been through it what helped you find a good balance and avoid burning out? Anything you wish you’d done differently starting out?
Thanks in advance

I’ve got to write a letter describing i no longer have symptoms from my childhood adhd, anxiety, and extremely mild autism. i’m not medicated, but i haven’t been off it 4 years so i’m not on fast track. i’m worried that my letter will be too long, but there’s a great deal of content to cover for the 3 issues and i was wondering how long others’ statements were? all advice is welcome, i just want a successful start! thank you!

Looking to get my ppl. Thank you

Hi, just had what I thought was a weird interaction with a flight school and curious if I was the one in the wrong here.

I’m currently working with an independent CFI on my PPL, and I asked him if there will be anything wrong with me taking a lesson or two from another instructor when I’m home with my parents for a couple of weeks. Nothing crazy, just some pattern work, really trying to nail landings and don’t wanna take two weeks off if I can avoid it. He said that that would be no problem, and that he would actually encourage it.

I just called a flight school in my hometown, and the owner seemed really confused by the prospect. I explained the situation, and he told me this was not normal, bouncing instructors would just confuse me, and no flight school would agree to take up a student for just one or two lessons knowing they’re not gonna stay because of how much work onboarding new students is.

Was this an odd case, or is it really weird to be asking for just a couple of lessons?

Hey!
I recently got my PPL, flying purely for fun with no career plans :)
How do you keep improving after getting licensed? How do you approach unfamiliar airports? Do you regularly practice maneuvers and emergencies, or fly with an instructor occasionally?
I’m planning to build some PIC experience before eventually getting my IR, mainly to become a safer, better pilot.
Would love to hear your advice!

Anybody here got their PMEL? I’ve been trying to look for posts related to MEL stuff but only see posts about CMEL training. Once I’m done with IR, I’m gonna hop into PMEL because getting a CMEL would be worthless since I can’t get a second class medical. Just wondering if anybody had any thoughts or experiences they’d like to share about their pmel training

CSEL inital, EA-07 Baltimore FSDO (or open to nearby FSDOs)

I have all the requirements, 96% on my written, flying right seat.

I don't really want to drag this out until Spring waiting for a checkride considering I am almost ready, staying proficient would be a big waste of money for 2-3 months. I have heard mixed things about FSDO rides where some people are scared and some people say they'd never take one with a DPE again. I have airline aspirations so I am kind of anxious about unknown quanities fearing a fail on my record, my preferred DPE for IR/PPL is down for medical issues atm.

Anyone have experiences/insights? Especially with the Baltimore FSDO? Or just inspector rides in general?

OR if anyone has DPE recomendations in and around KMTN I would appreciate them.

Thanks!

When I was choosing a flight school, I found a mix of good and bad reviews of Academy of Aviation (AoA), but nothing detailed enough to help me decide. I spent three years at two of their campuses, Gastonia NC (KAKH) and Farmingdale NY (KFRG), so this is the post I wish I’d read.

I’ll keep clear what happened to me, what I saw, and what other people told me. I still have my original contract, the later contracts, and the probation notices.

TL;DR

• I was quoted under $40k from zero to commercial. I ended up paying around $70k (the extra money came from my parents’ savings), got my private and instrument, and ran out of money before finishing my commercial.

• About 200 hours plus a few dozen sim hours over three years.

• International students wear a different colour uniform from domestic students. That’s official policy.

• When my money ran low, staff told me my I-20 would be terminated, on more than one occasion.

• I moved to another school at FRG and finished my commercial in a couple of months.

Getting in

AoA issued my I-20 for an M-1 visa in about a month. I arrived in 2022, while COVID was still affecting everything. There was no orientation and nobody walked me through anything. Nobody explained the SEVIS attendance rules to me, before or after I enrolled. They were one line in the contract. In hindsight, a 20 year old should learn contract reading skills before pursuing anything.

At admissions I was told the Gastonia campus had over 15 aircraft and that my entire training would be finished in a year and also would be allowed to pursue CPT work opportunities. On the ramp, there were actually 2 Cessna 152s. Most international students chose the 152 because it was cheaper, at least until instrument training, when a glass cockpit is nicer.

Money

• The original quote was under $40k from zero to commercial.

• While I was partway through my instrument rating, I ran out of funds. Over the following months I had to make three more large deposits, around $30k extra in total.

• That’s roughly $70k in total, mostly from my family’s savings. By the end I’d used all of it and still didn’t have my commercial.

• I even paid for the required uniform shirts, taken straight out of my training account.

• Sick days, and solo flights cancelled because weather was below personal minimums, were often still charged.

Housing

Before I arrived, I was told housing would be about $500 per person in shared accommodation. When I got there, they said shared rooms weren’t allowed anymore and the price went up. By the time I moved to New York it was around $1,000 a month.

Gastonia housing was close enough to bike to the airport, but there was no transport provided. New York had no student housing available when I arrived, so I rented from private landlords until a spot opened up. The New York house was filthy and never cleaned or maintained by the school. It had rats and pests and far enough to require a car especially during the winters.

Scheduling: once a week vs. twice a day

In Gastonia, flights were booked about a week ahead, and dispatch would just assign you a slot without asking you or your CFI. Sometimes I went a couple of weeks without flying. Most of the time I flew about once a week.

Meanwhile, the accelerated program let domestic students fly twice in the same day. A good friend of mine was a domestic accelerated student. He enrolled a few months after me and had his checkride before mine. I watched it happen.

Domestic students also seemed to get more flexibility on cancellations and rescheduling, especially around checkrides. International students got none.

Green shirts and grey shirts

International students wear green and domestic students wear grey. This is official policy, and I’m told the Peachtree, Georgia campus does the same thing.

I had suggested to the staff that the colours could show the training stage instead, private vs. commercial, rather than immigration status. I was told this was the management’s decision and I could either follow it or leave.

Visa pressure

In my first year, I got a written probation notice saying I wasn’t keeping up with “academic standards.” It didn’t say which ones. I was being held for roughly 20 hours a week on campus (split between ground and flight), but the school wasn’t scheduling me for that many hours. When I pointed out that I had one of the fastest private pilot completions at the branch, they dropped it.

Once my funds started running low, it didn’t stop there. At different times the DSO, the registrar and the Farmingdale branch manager all told me some version of: “You haven’t kept up your end with your hours, you’ve run out of money, so we’re going to terminate your I-20.” They had quoted me under $40k and were now asking for far more. It takes time for a family to come up with that kind of money.

I know a few other international students who lost their status. They either had to leave the country or move to other schools.

When my I-20 expired, I had to extend it and pay the government fees myself. The DSO told me what to do, but I did everything myself. The school must have known my program wouldn’t fit inside one year.

Checks, more checks, and the 15-day rule

AoA has internal policies on top of what the FAA requires:

• Before a checkride you must pass an End of Course check. It’s a couple of hours of flight plus a couple of hours of ground, so over $1,000 each time.

• The End of Course is only valid for about 15 days. DPEs around us were booked at least a month out. If your checkride date came after the 15 days, you redid the End of Course.

• I waited a month or more for every checkride. The 15-day rule alone made me redo the End of Course several times, before counting the ones I was told I’d failed.

• Before every progress check there was a required sim session to get signed off. Even 152 students used a 172 sim.

I can’t prove why the checks were so strict, but here’s what I was told. My own instructor hinted at it. Another CFI later told me that in a staff meeting, management told instructors to “grill” students and ask questions beyond what a checkride would ask. That CFI told me not to blame myself for how I was feeling. Every one of those extra checks gets billed.

Instructors: 5 in total

Some of my instructors were excellent. Others:

• One had anger problems and wouldn’t let me listen to ATC. We both missed a call directed at us and nearly got a pilot deviation. I reported it and nothing happened.

• Another “helped” me land by yanking the controls and caused a tail strike. The manager tried to blame me, but I had reported it right after it happened. That instructor was changed.

• Others left for the airlines, which is normal at any school.

Gastonia vs. Farmingdale

Gastonia felt like family, mostly because of the manager John Healy and the friends I made there. Credit where it’s due, they had a maintenance hangar right on the field, so the 152s weren’t grounded for long.

I moved to Farmingdale around the end of 2022 because an international student there told me the manager was supportive and got students into slots faster. That didn’t turn out to be true.

The Farmingdale branch manager was rude to me from the day I arrived and regularly commented on immigration matters, which is to my understanding is the DSO’s job, not a branch manager’s. I also saw him take on female students himself and give them priority on scheduling. The move cost me friends, the support I had, and a lot of my peace of mind.

To be fair, flying in New York airspace is hard, and it took me time to adjust. That part isn’t AoA’s fault.

The IPC that ended it

By 2025 I was in my commercial training. All the delays had let my instrument currency lapse, so the school required an IPC. That’s normally a single sim session of a couple of hundred dollars, with 6 approaches plus holds and tracking. My instructor kept stalling and didn’t get the 6 approaches done. It stretched to at least three sim sessions and used up the last of my balance.

I’d already complained about two instructors and seen nothing change, so I didn’t bother complaining. I left.

After AoA

I moved to another school. The DSO there handled my SEVIS transfer almost entirely for me once I gave her the documents. Cost, fleet and scheduling were all much better, and I finished my commercial in a couple of months. It felt like family again.

I’m not the only one

Other former students have posted reviews about AoA. In them they describe:

• a small Gastonia fleet shared by a very large student body;

• being promised timelines like a PPL in 90 days, and some students taking over a year;

• unused money not being refunded;

• weather cancellations being turned into billed ground lessons;

• the same End of Course rule and repeated progress checks.

These are their accounts, not mine, but they match what I lived through.

Credit where it’s due

• John Healy and Jon Boyd were good managers. Neither is in that role anymore.

• The on-field maintenance hangar in Gastonia meant short downtime. Shoutout to Fred and Austin who taught me so much about systems and beyond.

• Some instructors were genuinely excellent. You guys know who you are if you are reading this and have my utmost respect.

If you’re an international student considering AoA

1. Get the total cost and the expected timeline in writing. Ask what happens if you go over the quote.

2. Ask exactly how many aircraft are available for your type of training, and how many students share them.

3. Ask how often international students actually fly per week. Ask current students, not admissions.

4. Read the refund terms before you pay anything.

5. Ask how the attendance hours for your visa are scheduled, and who is responsible when the school can’t schedule you.

6. Ask about internal policies: End of Course checks, how long they’re valid, progress checks, sim requirements, and what each one costs.

7. Visit or talk to other schools at the same airport. I finished my commercial in a couple of months somewhere else.

Happy to answer questions in the comments.

Flying boxes is great (until you climb high to clear the weather and that pallet of chip bags starts to sound like popcorn), but sometimes we have other life on board our aircraft to care for. Whether it's humans or horses or another living thing - a rapid cabin descent rate can cause pain and possibly injury to both healthy or sick individuals. It doesn't matter if it is cold and flu season or not, this is something to consider around the year.

What are your considerations for cabin descent on your aircraft that you are flying professionally or for fun, pressurized or non pressurized? Have you had any malfunctions, emergency descents, or other quick descents such as one directed by ATC that required a steeper cabin altitude descent rate? Has the pressure change ever caused trouble for yourself as the pilot?

Flying nonpressurized caravans, I have a goal to maintain 500fpm descent rate or less to prevent possible pain and barotrauma in passengers. Any slower than that and a descent will take forever (such as 10k to sea level after clearing a coastal mountain range). When I have no pax on board or one that I know sitting nearby that I can check in with, I might monitor and do a rapid descent, but with pax on board I do not want to risk causing them severe pain or barotrauma. I often make an earlier departure from cruise with a shallower descent than 500fpm when flying over land without mountains in the way or other problems like an icing/turbulence layer. Occasionally a kid has a hurting ear. The adults usually don't say anything but I always wonder if someone who is sick or had other blocked sinuses silently endured a lot of pain during and/or after the flight.

What are your experiences with managing your cabin altitude descent rates for comfort and safety of the living things on board? The occasional chip bag may be a casualty of the climb and the water bottle might get squished on the descent, but no one wants to hurt a passenger.

I have an interview coming up on Tuesday with Sol Aerial Surveys. From what I’ve been able to find, they seem to be a pretty reputable company with good aircraft, as far as survey goes.

Does anybody have any advice as far as what to expect, anybody who’s worked with them in the past, etc? They have a fleet of C310s and C208s. I have about 150 hours in Twin Cessnas so that at least will be familiar to me.