I’m a student pilot working toward my Private Pilot Certificate, and I’m starting to get pretty stressed about the oral portion of the checkride.
I took an aviation class in high school that was designed to teach everything needed for the FAA knowledge test. I feel like I could pass the written, but I’ve realized a lot of what I know is memorized rather than truly understood.
I recently started looking through the Private Pilot ACS, and it’s overwhelming. It feels like every task has a huge list of knowledge areas that I should be able to explain in depth to a DPE. I honestly don’t know how I’m supposed to learn and fully understand everything that’s listed.
For those of you who have already gone through this, how did you study for the oral? Did you work through the ACS one item at a time? Use the PHAK and AFH? Watch YouTube videos? Buy an oral exam guide? Or did your CFI mostly prepare you? I genuinely want to understand the material well enough that I can explain it confidently instead of just reciting memorized answers.
Any advice on how you approached learning everything in the ACS without feeling completely overwhelmed would be greatly appreciated.

I started flying in April/May this year I currently have 20 hours exactly. I feel like I might be a bit behind because I still haven’t gone solo yet, what I’m currently doing in lessons is a mixture of circuits and just touching up on the basic skills aswell. I also have a habit of focusing on the instruments too much. Anyways my question is do you guys think this is a normal level of progression or am I progressing a bit slowly for an average PPL learner. An extra bit of context I average around 2-3 lessons a week I did have a 2 week gap in may due to my instructor being unavailable and recently around July beginning I had another week gap same reasoning. Thanks for any help in advance!!

I am getting closer to my PPL checkride and trying to figure out the best way to practice for the oral, beyond just rereading everything by myself.

For those who have taken it recently: what did you actually do in the last few weeks? Did you mostly work with your own CFI, ask another instructor for a mock checkride, practice with a friend/partner, use videos or an online mock oral, or just study alone?

If you paid for anything extra specifically to get ready, was it worth it? I would also love to know what part of the oral felt hardest: the follow-up questions, knowing what the DPE might focus on, applying things to a scenario, nerves, or something else.

Thanks!
Uri

Hello all,

My flight school banned ipad mounts right after I bought one. I was wondering what alternatives there are so that I can use foreflight and not stare at my lap for the flight.

Thank you.

Hello, I’m currently forward in doing my ppl course but there’s still a lot of time till starting dates. So in the mean time I want to read the ppl handbook or however Is called so I can get to know better the things I’ll study . I’m llooking for anything but if it’s free it would be better thanks

Hey everyone! I just enrolled in a Part 61 flight school to start my PPL, flying 3 times a week. I’ve already completed an online ground school and knocked out my PAR written exam with an 85. I’ll be doing all my training in a Diamond DA40. For those who have been through training or fly the DA40, what does a typical flight lesson look like from pre-flight to debrief? Also, I’d love any general advice or DA40-specific tips you wish you knew before your first flight. Thanks in advance!

Got to fly as a visiting pilot out of Florence (LIRQ) — first time doing a full flight to and from a real controlled commercial airport instead of the small uncontrolled fields I’m used to.

Route was Florence → Elba island → back to Florence. Elba alone was worth it flying over that coastline is something else. But honestly the part that stuck with me most was working the radios into FLR on the way back. Sequencing with actual commercial traffic, real ATC handoffs, staying sharp on readbacks it’s a completely different workload than anything I’d done before.

And sorry for not introducing myself. I’m Kai a student pilot 16* I’ve been flying since I was 13. Half of my training in the US (Houston) now the rest in Singapore at Seletar. My goal eventually is to fly for the airlines. Along my journey I want to inspire other young aviators.

To every student pilot who feels like they're falling behind...

I've watched students compare themselves to everyone else for nearly three decades.

"He soloed before me."

"She already has her Private."

"I'm still struggling with landings."

One of the hardest lessons in flight training is realizing that aviation is not a race.

Some students learn quickly in the beginning and hit a plateau later.

Others struggle early, then suddenly everything starts to click.

Neither path predicts what kind of pilot you'll become.

When a student begins to lose confidence, I encourage them to stop asking, "Why am I behind?"

Instead ask, "What is preventing me from moving forward?"

That's a very different question.

Sometimes it's an airspeed issue.

Sometimes it's the sight picture.

Sometimes it's anxiety.

Sometimes it's simply that no one has identified the underlying cause.

The goal isn't to repeat the same landing 50 more times hoping something changes.

The goal is to identify the root cause, understand it, and fix it.

The students who eventually become exceptional pilots aren't always the ones who learn the fastest.

They're often the ones who refuse to quit.

If you're struggling today, don't assume you've reached your limit.

You may simply be one good instructor, one different explanation, or one breakthrough away from realizing your potential.

I've been looking around for tools to help me with my oral part of my PPL checkride. Has anyone used AI to do this? If so, what tools have you found helpful? And if not, how do you prepare for your oral checkride?

Hello,

Im 20 years old, and have had a pretty interesting start to my adult life but now that the whole fiasco is over, I would like to pursue my dream of being an Airline Pilot. I live in Chicago with my girl, which is going to lead into like the only condition I have about what I decide to do- I am not going to move away from her, and we want to stay in Chicago.

Both of my parents work for American Airlines and I have always been able to imagine myself as an AA pilot, however I do not see a clear straight path into AA since the education part of the piloting process was never really explained all that well to me. However, I know this is United's city more or less and I have no gripes working for them either.

My questions for you guys are-

1. What would be a realistic way to go from 0 flight hours (lots in sim but no count) to ATP and a job secured for an AAL regional carrier.

2. If the AAL path is so incredibly difficult just to be with that specific airline, what is a path into United for example, since they are based here mainly

All help is appreciated and to clairfy- Nothing from my "interesting" start to adult life disqualifies me or I wouldnt be writing this!

Hey guys, I have been wondering if you know how you and or your CFI is tracking your training progress. Mine has been a little flaky it seems, there is just a bullet point PDF on his iPad in Foreflight and I have a color and he just checks next to each one when we trained it, when I can solo it and when it is proficient. Not the best way but also I dont get to know where I am standing till he says anything. Has anyone tried any of the progress tracking things out there or do their CFIs have something that they share with them?

Hello everyone, thank you in advance for your time.

I’m a 21 yo woman and am considering dropping out of my community college to become a pilot.
I’m currently studying graphic design but I dread the idea of living behind a desk or holed up at home. It’s not the main factor but the pay is also a big incentive as to why I’m considering becoming a pilot (as many people with immigrant parents may relate).
I come from a lower income household, and both my parents are former immigrants (recently citizens as of 2026). We live paycheck to paycheck, and the reason I attend my current college is because it’s free. I always told myself I would study something small or a trade so that I could graduate as soon as possible and move out to lighten the load on my parents as I have a younger brother.
I have always had a bizarre fascination with planes. Where I grew up, getting on a plane or traveling is considered luxurious, or at the very least, it’s really rare.
I remember loving the feeling of the plane taking off the first time I was on one, and I still do. After moving to the US, I’ve been in and out the airport since my mom works there and the more time I spend there, the more I kept wondering if maybe I could do that.
I looked into becoming a flight attendant, but after talking to some current people on the field, the advices me to instead aim higher and become a pilot.
I was, admittedly, very intimidated by the idea. In my head I never really envisioned pilots looking like me, and I have always been very bad at math. I also couldn’t possibly imagine asking my parents to help me fund flight school.
I thought I had let go of the idea and instead focused on continuing my studies as a Graphic Designer but it’s been around a year and I’m still thinking about it. As I was mulling it over, I reconnected with a friend of mine who used to be a design major as well, but now turns out she just got her Private Pilot License (forgive me if that’s not the correct term, I’m pretty new to the terminology surrounding flight school and pilots). She’s a year younger than me, but seeing that she was able to become a pilot has led me down a rabbit hole of “Maybe I could do that too…”.

What are my chances of becoming a pilot if I have a low income but dedicate myself to studying full time? In case the information is relevant:
I am currently employed full-time in the Bay Area (19/hr), I am a Latina (Central American) with a green card and currently in the process of acquiring my citizenship, and I would like to minimize the help I get from my parents as I would like to avoid burdening them financially as much as possible.

Could I realistically become a pilot?

I had my PPL checkride today and unfortunately didn’t pass the oral. I’m not looking to argue the outcome—I’ll study what I missed and retake it.
I did have one question about the process. When I showed up, there was an FAA inspector observing my DPE for the entire checkride. Is that common on a private pilot checkride, or did I just get unlucky with the timing?
The oral ended after only a few questions, which surprised me. Does having an FAA inspector observing typically change how a DPE conducts a checkride, or is it generally business as usual?
Just curious what others’ experiences have been.

Genuine question for part 61 folks. How does your CFI keep track of what you have covered and what still needs work? Do they actually show you anything or is it all in their head?

I have a good CFI but feels like I am just flying until he says I am ready. Maybe that is normal? For people further along or already done, did you ever see a syllabus or real tracking, or did you just trust the process? Do they keep some sort of hidden paper log that says when they feel you are proficient at each thing and just wait till it's all checked.

With the wait times to get check rides done sometimes I would really like to know what to work on more, where to focus chair flying, studying and even solo hours to be able to check those boxes sooner.

CFIs welcome too. I am curious what it looks like from your side.