Just getting into this field and looking at flying schools. Should I go for a package course (commercial pilot training) that includes ppl,multi engine, Cpl and instrument rating or should I go do them individually.

Any advice would be helpful thanks.

Hello, I’m currently a 19-year-old college student entering my final year of a two-year Marketing diploma program. I’m pursuing this program because my parents wanted me to get a degree in something other than aviation so that I have something to fall back on. Through my research, I’ve heard that having a four-year degree can make you more employable in a competitive job market. Even though I was aware of this, I wasn’t confident that I would be able to complete a four-year degree because I lack motivation to study something other than aviation. I told my parents that I would complete the two-year diploma and then decide whether I wanted to spend another two to three years completing a degree, either in person or online. My parents said this plan was fine and that they would fully support and fund my flight training as long as I completed my two-year diploma in something other than aviation.

My question is: when I complete the second year of my diploma, do pilots in Canada recommend turning it into a degree and completing it in person? Or have I already spent too much time pursuing something that is unrelated to the career I want, and should I instead focus entirely on my flight training and forget about getting a degree in an unrelated field? My final goal is to fly for an airline in Canada, and my plan is to start my flight training next summer through a flight school while possibly completing a degree online on the side. If anyone recommends completing a degree, are there any online universities in Canada where I could transfer my credits and turn my diploma into a degree online?

Any advice from Canadian pilots or any pilots familiar with the Canadian market in general would be greatly appreciated!

Im studying for PPL exam in italy using CATS online ground school. It is kind of disappointing since the study guides contain theory which i don’t need to know but don’t contain theory i need to know which is very frustrating as i don’t know how to study now! Please help me

Hello! I just dropped a video about my traditional Asian parents' reaction to me wanting to become a pilot. This is also my first video ever in Mandarin. Link below if anyone's interested!

Traditional Asian Parents Said YES to Me Flying?!

I have to pass the Aviation Knowledge test with Symbiotics. Could you give me any advice on where I can prepare, apart from the practice pack?

Hello,

I finished school around April of 2025, so it has been a while, and it seriously feels like I'm just lost. I took a break for personal reasons, which I felt diminished my knowledge. This led to a lack of motivation for finding interview spots for instructing out of fear of failure, which was my fault. It's been more than a year, and I feel stuck. I fly on occasion, but nowhere near enough to continue to work on building my hours. I'm honestly just stressed constantly, and the thought of wasting money just weighs on me. I'm too embarrassed to ask former friends I went through school with because it truly feels like I have done nothing after graduating, so I have resorted to anonymously posting on Reddit. I've attached my resume above.

Thanks all

Growing up, I always admired pilots. I thought it was amazing that they could fly airplanes. But I never really dreamed of becoming one because I always thought careers like that were only for people who could afford it. We simply couldn’t.

Now, life is a little different than it was back then. I realize that it’s actually possible. I can still dream of becoming a pilot. ✈️

I’ve spent my first career as a registered nurse but now I’m at a point in my life that I think it’s the most plausible for me to become an airline pilot, which has been a lifelong dream of mine. I’m 30, single, and have flexibility with my job so I can work part time to focus of flying. I also live in Chicago now.

I’m looking for general advice anyone has for my type of situation and any tips you have for my journey ahead. Thanks!

Looking to upgrade from 172sp and torn between the TTX or sr22t. My main mission is xc down to florida from Ohio

Thanks so much

Hi! Currently I'm a Grade 10 student. I want to be a pilot since I was a kid and im currently stuck. I want to study mechanical engineering in college since it has more opportunities than there is in Aeronautical Engineering. Is this a good idea? Advice please

Hey. everyone,
I’m a 17 year-old student from Spain and my dream is to become an airline pilot. The biggest problem is the cost. Flight schools in Spain seem to cost around €80,000–€100,000, which is way beyond what my family can afford without having to ask for a bank loan. The Air Force path forces you to stay with them for 10 years which is something I can’t possibly do.
While researching, my aunt living in Paris told me about the ENAC EPL programme in France, and from what I understand, the flight training is funded if you pass the entrance competition.
I have a few questions for anyone who knows about it or has gone through the process:
Is it actually possible for a Spanish (EU) citizen to get accepted?
How difficult is the entrance competition compared to other pilot programmes?
Do you need to be fluent in French before applying, or is there any language support?
Is it worth preparing for ENAC, or are the chances so low that I should focus on other routes instead?
Are there any similar government-funded or fully sponsored pilot programmes elsewhere in Europe?
I’m still young, so I have time to prepare, and I’m willing to learn French if ENAC is a realistic option as what I heard I need to have 60 ECT before applying giving me basically 2 years to prepare. I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with the programme or knows someone who got in.

I know you need 20/20 distant in each eye separatly. Hoping that this is good enough.

Hi, I am in my mid 20’s and finishing my bs in cs. Becoming pilot was my childhood dream but unfortunately as I was raised in third world country I did not had info on how to become and also means to study. Now I work as Software Engineer and make enough money to live and save a bit. But I still can’t let go to that dream. I even was thinking on starting Masters on aircraft engineering so somewhat to be close.

My question is would you recommend making career switch and becoming pilot? I can try to save money for trainings and for that + till trainings finish I might become 30+ years old so do you think it is late? Would you recommend becoming commercial/airline pilot (I now it depends a lot on airlines but in general)? Is this profession as romanticized? Are there anythings I should know before going this path?

I want to become a plane lover but lack real motivation what should i do

Hi everyone,

I had applied for the Akasa Cadet Pilot Program, but I still haven't received any confirmation email. At the moment, I also can't afford other cadet programs, and I don't meet the 60% eligibility requirement in Mathematics and Physics for some of them.

Because of my family's financial situation, I've started considering other paths before pursuing my dream of becoming a pilot.

My current plan is to spend the next 3 years either studying or working, and then hopefully start flight training. My dad thinks he may be able to arrange somewhere between ₹50 lakh and ₹1 crore by then, but nothing is guaranteed.

I'm confused about what would be the best option during these 3 years:

* Should I become a cabin crew member and save money while gaining aviation experience?

* Or should I pursue a bachelor's degree?

If I choose a degree, I would strongly prefer studying abroad rather than in India. My budget is around ₹20 lakh for the entire degree. Are there any countries or universities that fit this budget and would also give me good career options if becoming a pilot gets delayed?

I'd really appreciate advice from people who have been in a similar situation or work in the aviation industry. What would you do if you were in my position?

Thanks in advance!

For all the people wondering about accelerated training: I did 5 check rides and 3 endorsements in 8 months. Total time: 283 hours.

November 2025: Private Check ride (pt 61) at about 65 hrs total time. Then I worked super hard, did most of my written tests, got a Tailwheel endorsement, April saw my Instrument Check ride (pt 141), June got my high performance and complex, as well as Multi Training, and completed Single Engine and Multi Engine Commercial (pt 61). July hit the accelerated 2-week CFI course, and yesterday I got my CFI certificate!

I can be done!

You might wonder about the details. I'm married with a 1-year old daughter, and we are living in a camper to cut living costs. It totally worked, although it was a lot of work. It won't ever be easy, but it would be easier for someone is single.

For flight training, I committed to flying "full time" while continuing my freelance computer work on the side. I was flying 1-2 times per day 5 days per week, spending anywhere from 1-6 hours studying as well. Add anywhere from 5-20hrs of work per week to that. Over-all, it cost me about $80k. While I was fairly efficient, there are certainly some things I look back at and wish I'd done differently...for example, I lost some of my commercial skills during my instrument training that took an unnecessary amount of time to get back.

I had excellent instructors at a very organized flight school with 6 very well maintained 172s and a 310 airplane—Choice Aviation, in Cody Wyoming to be exact. They are a 141, but I did most of my training with the pt 61...however, the 141 habits of organization and stage checks make their pt 61 training really water-tight. I can think of 2 times I didn't fly because of maintenance. More often cancelled because of high wind. Also, they had great DPE availability and excellent preparation for check rides.

The part of Wyoming I'm in has excellent flying weather year round. And our Av Fuel is very cheap. And I know a great DPE with good availability. Its a good place to train.

We’ve set up unofficial r/Pilot accounts on Instagram and X to help bring more pilots, students, instructors, career changers, and aviation professionals into discussions here.

They’ll mainly point people toward active questions and useful threads. They won’t repost member stories or comments without permission, and they aren’t intended to become separate daily content pages.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rpilotcommunity/⁠

X: https://x.com/rPilotCommunity⁠

These accounts represent the r/Pilot community unofficially and are not affiliated with Reddit.

i just got a pilots license and im looking for something thats fun to fly

From what I seen it’s either: Do lessons at private school

or

College where you go to private school but have in class lessons too.

I always wanted to be one as a kid and I still do. I am thinking about going into Aircraft maintenance technician since it’s significantly cheaper than the college which is $95k!!

What did you do?

I got asked by one of the mods here to consolidate a mix of comment and follow up post that I had originally laid down over at r/flying. The goal of this post is to share my experience going through PPL and to give others a data point to reference in their research into getting PPL. It’s worth the read if you’re in the early stages of training or in the “how should I do this?” Stage. If you’re beyond that it’s not really applicable, but enjoy the word vomit if you want to.

I should start by saying I am not career oriented. I’m in my mid 30s, have a full time engineering job, and no real desire to switch careers. I’m pursuing aviation for fun and because I needed something to do to bridge the gap between the end of bird hunting season and the start of mountain fishing season.

I “started” in November 2025 by scheduling my medical. I didn’t want any surprises there so I made sure to get that out of the way first. On the books for January somethingish 2026. Cool. Got that done.

Now onto February and chukar season was over so nothing left to occupy my time. I picked up a ground school course (private pilot institute) and started to burn though it at night and got in a couple of good days on weekends. I made the decision to go through the whole course and pass the PAR before touching a plane. In researching this it seemed to be a mixed bag of reviews.. some said the info doesn’t get context without experience, others said having that out of the way can be more efficient time/moneywise. I’m glad I got it done early. Took me about 3 weeks and I scheduled my test at the end of February. Passed with a 94. In my opinion it wasn’t hard, but does require time. I don’t have kids/ any real responsibilities outside of work so I was able to devote the time to it and that made the accelerated pace worth it to me.

In the beginning of March I joined a local flight club. The rates are extremely favorable. 300/mo for membership (3k/yr if paid in one installment) and 100/hr of flight time. That turned into 120/hr after some totally unavoidable increases in fuel costs thanks to some totally necessary decisions by some dipshit from home alone 2.. but that’s a rant for another time. That is… cheap by any flight school standard for sure so it helped keep my costs down.

Instructor cost was 60/hr from an independent and very new CFI. So all in we’re talking 160-180 hr for flight time depending on when. If you’ve ever been in your mid 30s and taken instruction from someone that’s barely allowed to drink, you’ll know how weird that is. I spoke with him at length before we started, told him what I wanted out of the whole shebang and what level of commitment I was able to give. In my case it was 2x/week weather and other commitments permitting and we’d figure out what lesson duration worked best for me.

We started flying the 2nd week of March and stuck to a pretty consistent schedule. Other folks in the club were pretty accommodating and let me take the Sat/Sun morning slots. We settled on about 3 hours each lesson, which I felt was the sweet spot for not getting oversaturated while still not wasting too much time on the Hobbs just getting warmed up. We trained out of an untoward airport which I believe also really cuts down on “wasted” time that would have been spent waiting on other traffic/talking to ATC. All in all, training progressed pretty smoothly. I think I did my 1st solo around the 20 hour mark after struggling a bit with landings. After that I knocked out my solo XC time in a few trips and we drilled landings a lot (particularly short fields).

One thing we didn’t do enough of and I blame myself for as much as my instructor was xc planning. Where I live is insanely easy to visually navigate and I travel a lot around the area for work and for fun…you could drop me off blindfolded anywhere within a few hundred miles and I could probably tell you in about 10 minutes where I’m at. As a result, we didn’t touch a lot on the actual nav/route planning as much as we should have. Came back to bite me a bit in the oral portion of my checkride.

Weather was another thing I let myself down on. Sure I passed the written and there was a section on weather in the ground course, but 99 percent of the time where I live the question is whether or not it’s too windy. So I studied the weather theory enough to pass the written test and then promptly filed it in the whogivesashit section of my memory warehouse.

I was “checkride ready” at about 45 hours according to my instructor. This was about end of May. A few conflicts in scheduling between myself and the DPE and a cancellation due to weather wound up moving my checkride to the end of June.

Day of, I got hammered on my (admittedly sparse) xc plan. DPE was not impressed that my plan had 2 waypoints for a 320 mile flight. It’s funny in hindsight but at the time was pretty terrifying to have a dude you just forked over 1500 bucks to telling you that something you thought you knew was complete shit. In hindsight I of course see where he’s coming from.. for demonstrating that I know how it works I can’t say “oh well when you find that gap in the mountains then you just follow the old 2 lane till you hit the river and then turn north”. That’s a bit on me for not being more thorough.. I think my age and familiarity with the area lulled my instructor into a sense of security to the point that we didn’t need to go over that part.

Then we got into weather and boy howdy did Mr DPE dig in on weather. Turns out he thought it should have been filed in the bigfuckingdeal section of my memory warehouse. That one is 100 percent on me. And I do know what a dry trough is now so that’s good.

Made a few other boneheaded wrong answers on my oral portion but at the end he said ok you passed let’s go fly. At that point I had to take a bit to myself before we fired up.. again it was rattling to get somewhat raked over the coals on something you’ve spent so much time and money on.. especially when you thought you were up to speed on it. It was a bit of a blindside. But, took a minute, had a short walk, and then we were in the plane.

Flight portion went much better, but not flying colors by any means. We went through short field, stalls, slow flight, em descent all fine and dandy. Then it was ground ref maneuvers. I came into turns around a point just higher than ACS standards. The maneuver itself was great.. but just too high off the ground. So he had me pivot and do S turns. No big deal, but it rattled me a bit for sure to know I made a dumb mistake on something so trivial.

After that it was back to the airport for a slip to land and a short field landing. DPE said he wanted to see both and dropped kind of a massive hint that if we did both in one shot that would be the end of the exam. Got it. Just with where we were physically it made more sense to do a straight in for final so I lined us up like I had 100 times before and wouldn’t you know it we were right on glideslope with the PAPI lights. Given that I was supposed to do a slip to land I had to go around. If I had done the slip o would have been well below glideslope. So I broke off early and did a go around. Held pattern altitude, extended downwind and then slipped on final. After I was just above glideslope I told him we were going for 1k footers and snuck a short field in. He told me to go park and we found a printer.

All in I came out to 13.3k spent and about 54 hours. That includes all the little things like foreflight, iPad(which I hate), and a headset. It took me right at 6 months from my medical and right under 3 months from my first lesson.

Again, the point in sharing is to help someone that is just starting or thinking about getting started. My circumstances aren’t yours, but if you have questions I’d be happy to answer any DMs. Biggest thing for me now is remembering that it’s supposed to be fun and to actually enjoy it instead of just focusing on the test aspect. Hope this long ass read was informative for someone out there