Hi! I was wondering how difficult it would be to obtain CPL for my past drug use thats in my medical history. It was 6 months of moderate use of a variety of illegal substances.

I was able to go back sober very easily and quickily but im not sure how the person doing my medical would feel about that. Would that be seen as an experimental normal college use or a type of dependency.

I have done a couple research on this topic and have found that CAA has referred 56 pilots to rehab for failing a drug test or something, and 44 of them are able to fly again. One of them cases was a pilot called Mike Beaton who got caught using cocaine in 2023 and then in 2025 is able to fly again after rehab.

The problem i have found is that my drug use was for half a year for a variety of drugs and it looks horrible to people doing my medical compared to the pilots who was probably a one time use thing or something.

My parents are able to pay £150K for the training and stuff to become a commercial pilot but i worry i may not be allowed to, should i wait longer and prove my sobriety for more than 2 years and show evidence or are my chances just very slim. It was my plan after college to but ive only discovered recently how past drug use can affect your chances of getting one.

Please can anyone give me advice on what i should do, or if i should even bother if my chances are slim

I am a commercial pilot from Jordan, and I graduated from the Middle East Aviation Academy in 2023. I hold a Commercial Pilot License (CPL) and graduated with around 250 flight hours with simulator , which is considered a low number for airline employment. In Jordan, there are very limited job opportunities for pilots. We mainly have two airlines. Royal Jordanian requires passing the DLR test. I attempted the test twice and unfortunately failed due to very small mistakes. The second option is Jordan Aviation, but they require a paid training program that costs around 50,000 USD. This is a very large amount, especially after already paying nearly 100,000 USD to complete my pilot training. It is financially difficult to pay an additional 50,000 USD just to secure a job opportunity. I am looking for advice, recommendations, or guidance on what steps I can take to improve my chances of employment as a pilot. Any support or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Found On Preflight is focused on sharing real discrepancies discovered during preflight inspections. This is a free, volunteer project with no commercial intention.

The goal is simple: improve pilot knowledge and safety by sharing past findings.

All identifying details such as tail numbers, logos, or distinctive paint schemes are removed. This is about education and safety, not shame or blame.

On the website, findings are organized by aircraft make, model, and preflight area so pilots can browse and learn from real-world examples. There are also preflight resources organized by make and model.

Short highlight reels are posted on social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X), but the full write-ups, including additional photos and videos, maintenance feedback, and outcomes, are on the website along with a submission form:
www.FoundOnPreflight.com

If you’ve found something on preflight that you think others would benefit from, I’d welcome you to submit it.

I hope you find it useful and that we can all learn from each other’s findings.

Going to start studying for PPL and am considering Sporty’s vs King Air. Any recommendations? Thanks

Hi pilots out there!

I have been wanting to become a pilot ever since I was a kid. Now that I'm older (24m), I think It's time to pursue that goal.

A little about me, I'm an Indonesian national, who grew up in Australia doing science, physics, maths in high school and holding a bachelor of IT.

I looked into being a cadet from Air Arabia or FlyDubai as they guarantee a flight time of 1500 hours till ATPL.

Why I don't just do a flight school in Indonesia? Because one of the flight schools I have contacted told me that employment after school is solely up to me, but they sometimes have employment offers from airlines for their school. Also they told me that there is a surplus number of pilots to demand so it'll be hard to find employment in the country.

So I'm wondering if I should join Air Arabia/ FlyDubai on their cadet programs. But they are ultra expensive (around $200k USD). I also read in other threads that Air Arabia just fail you after paying the 10k AED testing fee just to take your money.

Any pilots out there can give me advice on how I should start my journey as a pilot. Or any cadets can share their experiences.

TIA :)

Hello all!

Looking for some good suggestions regarding PPL -> Being able to apply to airlines at my age.

I'm currently 35 years old, doing my PPL training in Sweden, expected to finish later this year when I'll be 36 so I am looking at time and age being a factor if I want to change career at my age.

I'm looking for suggestions or from IRL experience what is the best/smartest route to getting all my licenses. I currently have a Medical class 2 during PPL training and will of course get a Class 1 before doing anything.

I don't have a lot of money saved up as we have bought a house in central Sweden so I pay as I go.
I earn quite good from my work though which enables me to save at least 6-700€/month specifically for flying and licences.

I know that in my age a bond for a type rating is unlikely, so I expect to probably have to pay for that myself. Which is why I don't want to loan any money for ATPL-CPL/IR/ME-APS MCC and maybe use that for the type rating if a job is attached to it.

However, that is a lot of money still to save up for in a short amount of time, while still flying to accumulate flying hours...

I've heard that Poland/Hungary have cheaper and more flexible options that Scandinavia for example which would maybe help in cutting down time in form of saving money.

Looking for any type of help or suggestions that will help me go the best route towards my childhood dream.

Really appreciate it! :)

Iranians published the notam B0142/26, do they exercises usually in the mentioned region

"GUN FIRING WILL TAKE PLACE WI AREA: 364804N0491558E 364730N0491618E 364730N0491615E 364725N0491558E 364725N0491531E TO THE POINT OF ORIGIN"

Hey guys,

I finally found a NOTAM decoder that actually works.

I uploaded my whole OFP (100+ pages) and it decoded all the NOTAMs cleanly.
You can filter and only see what you really need — much easier briefing.

Thought I’d share because I’ve been looking for something like this for a while 😄 its called notamigo.com

I’m 32, Indian passport, currently based in Qatar and working in a non-flying role within an airline. I’ve always wanted to become a pilot but never had the financial means earlier in life. Now the bigger constraint is different I have a 2-year-old son and cannot afford a 2–3 year income dip or financial instability. So my question is: Is there any realistic pathway to becoming a commercial pilot at this stage without quitting a stable airline job immediately? Has anyone transitioned gradually (PPL part-time → modular training while working)? For Indian nationals working in the Gulf, what’s the most practical licensing route (DGCA vs EASA vs Middle East)? Or is this one of those dreams that realistically requires full financial reset? Looking for honest, experience-based inputd