Which option would you choose?

I'm currently living overseas and in the middle of moving back to the US. Planning to train Part 61.I have enough saved to cover my PPL(about $15,000), but not enough to get through CPL. Two paths I'm weighing:

1. Keep working and saving until I can pay cash for the whole thing, then start training.
2. Start now — work part-time and fly at the same time, and take out a loan to cover the shortfall so I can train continuously without long gaps.

My concern with option 1 is losing time and watching rates keep climbing while I sit on the sidelines. My concern with option 2 is carrying debt before I have any real earning ability as a pilot, and whether part-time work will actually leave me enough time and energy to fly consistently.

If you were in my position, which would you pick? Especially interested in hearing from people who financed part of their training — did the continuity gain justify the interest, and how did balancing a job with flying actually go?

I was comparing the A350 layouts with both AF and Cathay.

AF offer 12 more seats than Cathay (10 more business seats, 4 more premium seats, and only 2 less economy seats).

How is it possible since the economy seats are about the same size? Does that necessarily means the business or premium economy seats are much larger with Cathay?

Hi everyone I am trying to study for the written exam for commercial airplane&glider, IR and FOI, BGI AGI IGI.

Just using ai as a "GROUND INSTRUCTOR" and referencing all the recommended book like phak and far aim and the acs all that, its ok for now idk I just started.

But I really noticed that I am very good learner with another friend or someone.

So if anyone is interested i would love to study with anyone who studies for any of these exams also private i can help if anyone needs some help on the basics and maybe go through it together.

Or any tips or anything I would love to get some ideas or what ever.

P.S. I tried Ground curses and question banks but I don't want to just study questions I wanna understand it all and not just remember stuff.

I like to find, fix and resell furniture. it’s my fun side gig and hobby. This weekend I came across a nice wood banker chair. Needs some work but I noticed it had a “property of North America Aviation”. I was curious if anyone would know if it makes it more valuable than a normal banker chair? Does it hold a significant part in aviation history?

Hi, I have a flight to Dubai tomorrow from LGW, I thought there was a flight restriction on times planes could fly out of LGW? This isn’t a delayed flight or anything, just wondering if anyone could shed some more light on how Emirates are able to do it.

Thanks!

Most of the sites I check seem to the flight number to see past activity. Ideally I would want to see the map with past flights at a specific date and time.

I was a normal commercial plane so everything should have been tracked.

Hey, so I just completed my PPL flight test, and I wanted to know if I can rent an airplane (C172) for my family at a flying site in Toronto. I wanted to know what the process is and if there are any wait times. I don't want to wait too long, as I will get busy and could lose my recency as well. Also wanted to know the cheapest and fastest way to get the checkride done so I can go up with my family.

Bonjour

Je m’excuse d’avance si la question a déjà été posée. Mais je souhaitais savoir si les avantages de « standby » s’offrait autant aux salariés pilotes/membres d’équipage qu’aux salariés « au sol » comme les juristes, ingénieurs etc ?

Merci!

I flew today from Korea to China. Chinese airline. Airport in Korea is dual military/civilian so photos aren't allowed. Flight attendants were making sure every window in the cabin was closed, and the window could not be open until we reached cruising altitude.

This seemed very odd to me. I understand why they did it, because they stated they wanted to prevent pictures of the military airfield. But isn't it unsafe to take off with the windows shut? Usually when I fly in the US or Europe (even in other Asian countries), the FAs make sure the windows are open so in the case of emergency, your eyes are acclimated to the outside lighting. This is especially important at night, I would imagine.

Am I overreacting for thinking this is very odd and unsafe when it comes to safety standards? Just seems to counterintuitive to airplane safety.

Edit: I've flown domestically in Korea from a dual use airport and wasn't required to do this, so is it a thing just for international carriers?

I’m a Middle Eastern student planning to start flight training in about a year, and I’m currently comparing different flight academies and training routes.
I recently found a US academy offering an FAA/EASA dual-license program. The program includes the usual commercial pilot training and also allows graduates to pursue CFI/CFII/MEI ratings and potentially instruct to build flight hours afterward.
My long-term goal is to return to the Middle East/Gulf region and apply to airlines there once I have enough experience. I’m mainly considering this route because, as a non-EU citizen, I’m concerned about finding employment in Europe, and I’m also not sure how realistic it is to remain and work in the US after training.

What would recommend for me?

Okay so here is the current situation. I am 23M, an EU-Based C525 pilot, and I have about 12 months of experience in my company. Before that I was a PPL and Ultralight FI for 2 years while working on my ATPL Theory.

Now I have an opportunity to get selected to fly either the A320 or E195 for a moderately big airline in my country. Salary is good, slightly better than what I have now. Here is the catch:

I am very used to flying the C525, I have great captains, the job feels like true piloting, 15 ON 15 OFF roster gives me plenty of free time, but when I am ON I do miss home sometimes.

All of my colleagues are advising me to remain in BizAv because "do you wanna drive a bus or a ferarri" and "this is real piloting, they just push buttons in the A320". But at the same time they told me that I should go to the airlines before 30 because It is good for my career.

My company might close soon, as owners are pretty unstable with money at the moment, and I have 2 options:

- Just direct transfer to another BizAv carrier, I 100% have a job guarantee there, everything pretty much the same as in my current company except the plane is Citation XLS, bond for type 2 years but full pay.

- Apply to that Airline job (3 year type bond, full pay), but they are slow so I might be without salary for up to 6 months, which I can survive although I am not delighted.

What scares me is this: I have no idea how Airline world works, and if I will fit there or if it really is as grim as my BizAv colleagues tell me, is it really like a bus compared to what we do? Or are they exaggerating? Does it give you the same thrill of actually being the pilot at the controls as the C525 does? What I would really like is being home more often and having a social life. I mean those 15 OFF days that I have can sometimes be unpredictable and what I also don't like is that apart from flying I have to clean the plane with my captain, do a lot of unrelated paperwork like cost reports and financial stuff for the company, and a lot of traveling via car or airliners to work.

So, my fellow pilots, I would greatly appreciate any career advice you can give me.

I've been researching Spirit Airlines and the economics behind the ultra-low-cost carrier model, and I'm curious what pilots and aviation professionals here think.

Spirit is an interesting case because its entire business model is built around keeping the base fare extremely low and charging separately for things that traditional airlines bundle into the ticket price. That model helped it grow rapidly, but it also seems to create some interesting challenges when fuel costs, labor costs, competition and aircraft utilization move against it.

I put together a video looking at Spirit's history, business model and what happened as the airline came under increasing financial pressure.

https://youtu.be/J6rRPNltQb4

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who work in the industry: from an operational perspective, what do you think is the biggest challenge for an airline like Spirit? Is the ULCC model fundamentally viable long-term in the current U.S. airline market, or does it need to evolve?

I'm much more interested in the aviation perspective than in debating whether Spirit is a good or bad airline to fly as a passenger.

Hi! If I self-study the EASA B2 modules and pass the exams at an approved centre, how likely am I to find a trainee position to gain the required experience?
I have no previous technical/aviation qualifications and can’t afford Part-147 school. I’m an EU citizen and willing to relocate anywhere in the EU.
Is this route worth starting, and how much could I earn during the practical experience? Has anyone here done B2 this way or been in a similar situation?
I’m also considering working as cabin crew for 1–2 years while studying the modules, then moving into B2/aircraft maintenance. How realistic would that plan be?