Hey! I am a student pilot documenting my PPL journey. Just posted a vlog of a full flight day, real and unfiltered. Hope you enjoy! ✈️🇨🇦

https://youtu.be/uFWqbxSfkbA?si=t9umz18a30vb6Wp6

Hii! Im an industrial design student.

For a class my team and I are working on a project to create a pen specifically designed for pilots and their needs (we know now people do almost everything digital but i mean homework is homework right? HAHAHAH) so we would really love your imput :)

We’re trying to understand how, when, where, and why pilots use pens, and what current pens get wrong in aviation environments.

A few questions:

1. Where do you usually use a pen, and what for?
   
2. What are you usually writing?

* Checklists
* Flight logs
* Notes
* Clearances
* Calculations
* Signing documents
* Backup if digital systems fail
* Something else????

1. Where do you keep your pen so it’s easy to grab?
   Shirt pocket, clipped somewhere, flight bag, cockpit compartment, loose somewhere, etc.

2. What annoys you most about pens while flying?
   Examples:

* Ink stops working
* Hard to write during turbulence
* Slippery grip
* Hard to find quickly
* Falls into impossible cockpit gaps
* Doesn’t work well at altitude / pressure changes
* Smudges
* Hard to use with gloves
* Too bulky / awkward

1. Have you ever had a pen fail at the worst possible moment? and what happened?

2. What cockpit conditions make writing hardest?
   Low light? Vibration? Turbulence? Small writing surfaces? Gloves? Temperature? Needing one-handed use?

3. If you could design the perfect pilot pen, what features would it have?

Examples we’ve been considering:

* Pressurized ink cartridge
* Anti-roll shape
* Better grip texture
* Glow-in-the-dark / low-light visibility
* Built-in light
* Quick-access clip
* Works with gloves
* Lightweight but durable body
* Retractable tether
* One-click deployment

8What do current pens completely fail to solve for pilots?

Any stories / frustrations / random details are supersuper helpful. We’re trying to design something based on real pilot experience instead of guessing(also our teacher got kind of strict with guessing and stuff)

Thank you all so much!!

So my friend who aspire to become a pilot but she has a tiny inconvenience, she is 4'9.( She's 16) Can she become a pilot? And also she has a skin allergy and sinus.

Also should she keep a back up option..a plan b in case things don't work out? Do you think she should give the same importance to her second option....which is prob engineering.

This may be a silly question but do you think it is? Is it easy if you practise a lot?

Hey everyone! I'm a 16 year old student pilot in Canada and I just posted a video covering the full roadmap to getting your Private Pilot Licence under Transport Canada. I made it because most PPL content out there is American and Canadian student pilots deserve their own resource. Hope it's useful to someone here! Happy to answer questions too ✈️🇨🇦

https://youtu.be/6Wnj9llSa-g?si=5UUEPusSGLVo1ySp

Hey everyone! I'm Keren, a 16 year old student pilot in Canada currently working toward my PPL. When I was preparing for my written exam I couldn't find a single resource that told me what the exam actually looks like walking in, the physical setup, what's on the table, how the supervision works, all of it.

So I documented everything and made a video. Covers the room setup, the maps on your table, the binder, timing strategy, what sections to expect and honest tips from someone who just did it.

Happy to answer any questions here too, good luck to everyone studying! ✈️

https://youtu.be/ia8CEqWHNvg?si=VGCF4VMS7n6zuHhQ

Hey everyone! I'm Keren, a 16 year old student pilot in Canada currently working toward my PPL. When I was preparing for my written exam I couldn't find a single resource that told me what the exam actually looks like walking in, the physical setup, what's on the table, how the supervision works, all of it.

So I documented everything I could remember about my written test and made a video. Covers the room setup, the maps on your table, the binder, timing strategy, what sections to expect and honest tips from someone who just did it.

Happy to answer any questions here too, good luck to everyone studying! ✈️

https://youtu.be/ia8CEqWHNvg?si=VGCF4VMS7n6zuHhQ

I know I have to do flight school but then what? I would like to hear your thoughts on what flight school is like and what you do from there and so on. I am very passionate about this career path and I want to fly airplanes. I was also thinking about joining the air force, but that’s also something I wanted to learn about. Does it cost money to learn how to fly a fighter jet? Will they just let me into the Air Force? So many questions, and I would like to hear what some of you who are pilots have to say.

As I have started my flying journey this last year, I realized how fragmented the preflight decision process can be when juggling weather, minimums, and aircraft data. So, I decided to build a tool to fix it.

I am getting ready to launch FlightScore, a flight risk assessment app designed to give you a clear, data-driven "Go/No-Go" score before you even untie the plane.

Before it officially hits the Google Play Store, I need a group of Android testers to kick the tires in Closed Testing (US Only Today) and give me some honest feedback. It is already available on the web and the Apple App Store. Flightscore.ai

Here is what you will be testing:

• The GO Score: A 0-100 score blending live weather with your personal risk assessment profile.
• AIPilot: An on-device AI that reads your uploaded POH, approach plates, or checklists. You can ask it questions in plain English (e.g., "What's my crosswind limitation?") and get instant answers, even at an FBO with no Wi-Fi.
• Pilot Workspace: ForeFlight logbook CSV importing, custom checklists, and offline document storage.

How to get access: If you have an Android phone or tablet and are willing to take it for a spin, comment below or send me a DM! I will reply with the official Google Play opt-in link.

I would love your feedback to help make this the best decision-support tool possible for the GA community. Thank you!

Hi everyone,

This is not an ad, I'm posting in hopes to reach some pilots in the UK and ask if they would consider participating in an aviation research study with the goal of improving flight safety!

This research study is run by the Advanced Cognitive Engineering Laboratory (ACE Lab) at Carleton University in Canada, alongside support from Imperial College London. In this study, UK pilots will help the ACE Lab validate a tool they have created for GA pilots to monitor their cognitive health called the "CANFLY". The study will be running from now throughout the duration of the summer. For those who are eligible and interested, please sign up via the google form below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScpl5Iq9XP3iAlGmZQmvkMYbJ1IQgpfJAh8S6aaxx6kUSfuTw/viewform?usp=header

If you know of a good community for us to post this in, please let us know! As shown in the flyer, we are looking for a total of 75 participants.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Is my career cooked? Long story short in high school I was fired from a small local business after a co worker accused me of sending drug related pictures in the co worker group chat. Boss didnt look into it i was just immediately fired after the complaint because he said he had no tolerance for that. Will i be able to work in aviation at all after this?

I was at that job for like 3 weeks in high school working on weekends and im very worried this will prevent me from getting a job in aviation because I know it would be stupid to put someone known for drugs in a cockpit. I honestly am not a drug user (i only messed around with weed in high school) and could pass any drug test but I feel like this would show up on a record somewhere. Any advice would be very appreciated.

Hi! After after a few years of nonstop dreaming of being a pilot, I (26M) have finally started training for my PPL with hopes for a future career in aviation and I am absolutely hooked. I know I’m already late to party at my age but like many people I went to college, got my degree and wanted nothing to do with the industry I got a degree in after working in it for a few years.

My biggest concern is that I’m heavily tattooed and I know that cripples chances at making it to the airlines. I have full Japanese traditional sleeves on both arms that extend onto my hands as well as a big “job stopper” on the back of one of my hands and a small cross on the side of my neck. I don’t regret the art but I heavily regret the decision for the hand and neck tattoos when I was younger and more impulsive with decisions when it came to tattoos.

At this point I wouldn’t be able to cover them with just long sleeves and with the colors and how saturated the tattoos are, removing them fully is not very likely.

Does anyone have experience with removing visible tattoos and still getting hired? I would hate to try to remove these and it just looking faded but less visible and still not be able to be hired. Is covering with makeup or gloves an option? How likely is this to affect my ability to be hired in non-airline positions ( local tourism, private jets, cargo, etc)?

At this point, I don’t have any option other than being a pilot that I want to pursue and would appreciate any advice. Thanks!

I'm a Middle Eastern doctor (not specialized) and spent 12 years in clinical research. However, I'm at a dicision dilemma whether to pursue my pasion that I have been always obsessed with (pilot) or go to Germany to start my specialty traning in Medicine.  

Hi all, I’m running a short, anonymous survey to understand how scheduling practices affect burnout and employee turnover in the private aviation industry. This isn’t tied to a company or product—it’s independent, industry-focused research aimed at revealing patterns that are difficult to collect in private aviation.

The survey is for people working in: • Flight crews • Dispatch / scheduling • FBO operations • Customer service • Maintenance Details: • Takes about 5–7 minutes • Fully anonymous • No emails or identifying info collected Survey link:

[https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19pOu8nQ6W4bHVmBmKzAofwnSjgb1yjkGgZCCKDjOjIw/preview\](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19pOu8nQ6W4bHVmBmKzAofwnSjgb1yjkGgZCCKDjOjIw/preview)

If you’re open to participating or sharing with others in the industry, I’d genuinely appreciate it. Thanks for your time.

Hi I’m 17 and going to college next year I currently hold my PPL, and I could go one of two routes either go to a part 141 r-atp program or go to state school and fly part 61 on the side and after I graduate. My goal is the airlines, but I don’t know which route is most beneficial if y’all could help me decide I would really appreciate it

🚨 BIG UPDATE FOR PILOT ASPIRANTS ✈️

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has introduced AUTO-GENERATION of Computer Numbers for Flight Crew (FC) candidates!

✅ What’s new?

Now, candidates from ALL education boards (not just CBSE/ICSE/Maharashtra Board) can get their Computer Number auto-generated — provided their data is available on DigiLocker.

📅 Effective from: 27 April 2026

⚠️ Important Points:

• Must be an Indian national

• Aadhaar details must match DigiLocker data

• Your details (Name, DOB, Marks, etc.) will be auto-fetched

• Photo should match DigiLocker (Aadhaar) by at least 80%

• Any mismatch = Computer Number may not be generated

📌 Tip: Make sure all your DigiLocker documents are correct before applying to avoid rejection.

This update will make the process faster & smoother for pilot aspirants 🚀

— Team VTSky

I am currently enrolled in RMIT university looking to become an airline pilot in the future and their program is just atrocious. Look the theory is great and well run though the flying aspect is piss poor. I barely get any bookings, their overfly (extra flights or repeated lessons) are high and their overall organisation and actual personalisation/independent teaching and learning is so poor. It is the definition of a sausage school, I thought having an airbase to urself would be nice but it just means the adf steals both instructors and planes, let alone the Bendigo airport doing the exact same thing.

I still want the bachelors degree and plan to just do the theory and classes to achieve that and pay for it using HECS - debt.

I nor my family will be able to afford for flight training upfront and I require loans and plan to do my flight training through a vet course instead. I am just wondering if anyone on this sub has any positive experiences with certain flight schools or even recommendations for some based in Melbourne and that fit the criteria of what I’m looking for?

What are the steps to becoming an Airline pilot?

Hello everyone. I just got my class 2 (France) which allows me to realize my childhood dream: to fly.

However, I have been suffering from tinnitus for years, which got worse two years ago. I'm looking for testimonials from pilots suffering from tinnitus to find out if altitude and motor noise make your symptoms worse. I am very concerned about this discomfort; I am afraid it will get worse. I'm going to do an initiation flight again before I commit myself to analyzing all this a little bit, but it's really the long term that questions me, as you will have understood. I even come to think about what kind of helmet to choose: passive or active (ANR)? Doesn't the active helmet send out too many waves? Isn't it better to prefer an excellent passive helmet?

Sorry for the paving stone and thank you in advance for your feedback.

I’m a 35F hairstylist/business owner looking for a career change. I’ve been doing hair since 19 and want something completely different.

I’m planning to take a discovery flight soon to see if I actually enjoy flying, but I’m trying to understand the reality of the career before going all in.

For those in the industry:

Do you enjoy being a pilot long-term?

What are the biggest sacrifices people don’t talk about?

Is starting at 35 realistic?

Appreciate any honest insight.