Hello all I have my check ride on November 6th I have about 90 hours in a Cessna 172 Mike model when I first started flying almost 2 years ago the plane was all suction gauge except for the Attitude indicator which is a G5. A few months ago the plane was out for a long time getting a Garmin GFC500 autopilot, EDM 830 engine monitor, and a G5 HSI. I have had a couple of multiple month breaks from flying due to one being a left shoulder injury, which prevented me raising my left arm, which is not great for flying lol. And also another break for a while. The new interface were getting installed. One of my instructors other students just took a check ride with the same DPE that I will have. I just got on the phone with him for a couple hours and asked him about everything that they discussed and he gave me a full rundown and I took notes on that. I feel like even with all of my hours. I’m still not great at Soft and short field landings. Does anyone have any tips overall for things that I should 100% know for the oral section and any hacks or things to remember for the flying portion that may have caught you off guard in a check ride?

I'm not sure if it's just this area or what, but whoever writes the weather discussions seems to have such a good time doing it, they're a joy to read. It got me thinking about AI and all the personality and individualism that is lost when people use AI to write and summarize (but that's a whole different discussion).

Anyway I hope the author continues to be for a long time.

Miami Area Forecast Discussion

(More of an observation than a complaint): I’ve noticed over the last few years that flight schools in my area (DMV) are increasingly making it more difficult to rent an aircraft without an instructor. Within the last month, the two flight schools I rent out of have implemented polices like:

•No night flights without permission
•No flights without an instructor without permission from management (we have to fill out a reservation request now via a google form)
•Students flying with instructors have the priority (renters can get booted out so a student can take the plane)
•Must pay a minimum of 1hr of instruction for a mandatory “dispatch” before every flight

These are just to name a few. And look, I get it— renters are more of a liability. These are simply safety policies. But I haven’t been able to find a “renter friendly” place that doesn’t make your life hell just to do a few laps in the pattern. I’ve only been in this industry for ~5 years and I’ve seen some pretty big changes since. I’m just trying to time build without paying ungodly instructor fees.

Flight clubs as well are telling pilots they aren’t interested in letting you in if you are time building. Any idea why this is? Just food for thought.

I also feel this may be related to the rise in 141 flight schools, since it seems like the FAA is trying to phase out part 61.

Took the IRA written yesterday, October 26th which was the date of the new changes the FAA made to the exam (originally for the 27th but the moved it earlier. Was originally scheduled to take it on the 25th to get it done before the update but the testing center had technical issues and I had to reschedule for after. I was worried there would be alot of new questions that weren't on the sheppard test prep and didn't really know what to expect but everything was still pretty much identical. Walked out with a 92%.

As far as new questions, the only thing I saw that was different were the IFR enroute charts which are pulled from current screenshots of active charts (pretty sure these will be regularly updated to stay current). Only got around 5 of those questions but you definitely need to learn how to interpret ifr charts otherwise this will catch you off guard since the figures cant be accessed by the public so test prep softwares like sheppard air wont be able to replicate these questions. On top of that, all of the figures/charts/images are now directly on the screen so there's no need to use the supplement booklet (they still gave me the booklet and markers/pencils but I didn't open it once).

Aside from those chart questions (tho I cant say with 100% certainty since I was only given 65 out off 1000ish questions), everything else was still verbatim to sheppard air question bank. All textual questions were exactly the same. The questions that used figures other than the ifr charts (approach plates, HSI, those arrow and quadrant questions, etc) still used the same figures that are available in the supplement so rote memorization still works although some of them are easier if you just learn how to interpret them (this video will save you on those holding pattern entry questions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkEJUJK52Eo )

Not sure if the FAA plans to continue making updates so that rote memorization wont work anymore, but its 90% good as of now. Hopefully this helps anyone who's stressing over taking the IRA or FII exam this month. In Sheppard Air we trust

Are there any current or former Cape Air Captains who can confirm their position and share their base, realistic monthly pay, and overall Quality of Life? Specifically, how much overtime is available throughout the year, what are local rents like near your base, and what has your overall experience been flying as a Captain there?

I have my PPL checkride coming up, and my DPE assigned a cross-country scenario involving flying three occupants to (KHHR) Hawthorne, picking up a fourth passenger and additional baggage, and continuing to San Diego (KMYF).

After calculating weight and balance in my PA-28-161, I determined that carrying everyone would limit me to approximately 15.5 gallons of usable fuel at maximum gross weight.

My planned second leg would leave me about 8 minutes below my personal minimum of 45-minute fuel reserve. I considered reducing fuel, adding a fuel stop, and changing the routing, but I don’t believe those compromises are justified for a recreational flight.

My preferred PIC decision would be to have the fourth passenger arrange alternate transportation and fly directly to San Diego with the original three occupants.

I’m planning to bring the original scenario’s calculations along with a complete alternative flight plan.

For DPEs or applicants who’ve encountered something similar: Would you consider this good ADM, or would you expect the applicant to fully plan and present the original itinerary regardless of whether they would actually fly it?

I’m not trying to avoid the assignment due to the complexity of the airspace or just by being stubborn. I want to demonstrate that I evaluated it and made a deliberate safety decision.

I have a composite squadron for Civil Air Patrol that meet up at my airport every Tuesday night. I was curious what it takes to volunteer? I have around 150hrs and hold my PPL. I'd love to do something meaningful to build my hours towards a career in aviation instead of just doing a bunch of random cross country flying, but I cannot afford my own aircraft at this time.

Is there an hour requirement to do volunteer flights? Also, do I need a military background?

I would also be very interested in doing Pilots N Paws or Angel Flights, but I have no idea how to get into these non-profits without having my own aircraft.

Thank you so much for any guidance offered.

I've been browsing this sub for a while, and I keep seeing the same advice: train Part 61 and get a degree in something other than aviation. I'm genuinely curious about the reasoning.

From where I'm standing, the university-affiliated Part 141 programs seem to offer a lot. They come with the R-ATP at 1,000 hours, structured training, and direct connections to airlines through pathway programs like Aviate and Propel.
Setting the price tag aside, why do so many people still advise against them?

I'm also wondering if the advice still holds in the current market. From what I'm seeing, not many "off the street" applicants are getting hired right now, which makes the university route look more appealing, not less. Is the Part 61 advice based on a hiring market that doesn't exist anymore?
Not trying to start an argument. I'd really like to hear from people who went either route.

As a private pilot flying purely for pleasure in the UK, would you recommend getting the IMC Rating first and then progressing to a CB-IR, or going straight for the IR?

Also, is it better to get the Night Rating before or after instrument training?

Thanks!

Are there any flight schools that offer introductory flying courses that don’t require flying? I love aviation and am fascinated by planes and the industry in general, but unfortunately am too afraid to ever actually attempt to fly myself (at least for now). Can I still take courses to learn? Thanks!

Results: passed

Scenario: examiner asked me to prepare a scenario of a student pilot and commercial pilot about 5 days before the test. The scenario was teaching a student pilot principles and fundamentals of flight, stalls and spins, performance and w/b + cross country flight planning and how to use to E6B whizz wheel. I was also asked to be prepared to teach a commercial pilot maneuver of the examiners choice (I got 8s on pylons) I was then asked by the examiner to create a plan of action of how to conduct the checkride using the required items of the ACS as well as prepare sample logbook entries for the training flight

Ground: (about 4hrs)
- IACRA and paperwork first
- I then walked the examiner through endorsements I needed to prove I was eligible to take the test and what we should be looking for. Endorsements were pretty straight forward and I had alot of the regs memorized around this but had 61-65k ready if needed along with a tabbed out far aim
- next was walking the DPE through airworthiness. My plane had a lot of STCs so be prepared how to use and read those as well as airworthiness directives and any instructions for continued airworthiness. But overall quick and painless on that part. Remember the altimeter check is only for IFR flight. My plane is used for VFR only so we didn’t have that in the logs
- next was principles of flight (the key is to keep it understandable to the student pilot level yet detailed and correct at the same time to cover all the ACS topics, this lesson is a monster - I used effective communication,found common ground with my simulated student, and used a combination of the phak, whiteboard, videos, and drawings. I was checking for understanding and making it easy for the “student” to understand how to fly the airplane and what was going on to keep them safe (basically always be incorporating the FOIs from the start into real life practicality) (time - about 45 min on this)
- next was weight and balance. Pretty straight forward and asked some questions on stability but no big deal
- after that was xc planning on which I used the paper charts and taught the student how to use the chart - resources for getting symbols as well as how to figure out longitude and latitude cause that’s a question of the ppl written - as well as how to get a weather brief. He had some questions on this to try trip me up but I answered them.
- we talked about runway incursions (keep it simple here to not burn up too much time) and spin recovery, for spin recovery I built upon my principles of flight lesson for my simulated student and showed him a video of a student pilot on YouTube accidentally getting into a spin and what the student did wrong (I saved this for last because it’s hard to explain this without a base understanding of what’s going on aerodynamically). This is where I went the most in depth about the aerodynamics and included things like how a spin happens, adverse yaw, differences in lift and AOA on each wing, and why we use the PARE acronym and emphasized to my “student” that if he flies a different plane look at the POH because spin recovery isn’t the same for each plane. At the end of the day if you stay coordinated and always lower the AOA first you won’t spin. I emphasized to my “student” we don’t use ailerons first if a wing drops and keep the ball in the center.
- finally was the 8s on pylons lesson. I showed the examiner a video of me with meta glasses doing the maneuver and the purpose of it and a whiteboard drawing and the AFH description on it. He had some questions but overall pretty straight forward. Don’t forget common errors here.

Flight portion (1.5): the examiner asked me what my plan was to knock out all the maneuvers of the ACS. For the flight keep it slow and make sure you do everything. Take your time and demonstrate a good example for your student of airmanship.

- soft field takeoff (examiner flew this and I critiqued) - he screwed it up on purpose.
- fundamentals of flight: straight climbs, turns, and descents ( i demoed and examiner flew some of this and I coached him) - he screwed this up on purpose too and I had to coach him
- maneuvering during slow flight, power off stalls, and cross controlled stalls (examiner did slow flight and I coached him) - he screwed it up on purpose by death gripping and getting uncoordinated
- emergency descent and engine failure simulated approach to landing
- 8s on pylons and Turns around a point (examiner flew a turn around a point and I coached him) - he got off his altitude and I coached him
- chandelles and steep turns (I flew both)
- straight and level flight sim instrument - I flew
- soft field landing into a touch and go - then short field landing full stop

Overall a long day but not too bad. I’m overall stoked to have this rating. Onto CFII and then multi

Hi all,

I currently have 244 hours, finishing up my instrument training. Next year my PTO balance at work will increase to 30 days so I am planning on using some of my vacation days for CPL training. Instead of traveling elsewhere for those "accelerated" courses, I am considering schedule multiple lessons everyday for a week with my current Part 61 school and continue practicing until my checkride (no in-house DPE).

Has anyone done something similar? Working full-time 9-5 limits me to weekends because of my other responsibilities, so this way I could focus properly on my training, and maybe do something similar again for CFI.

Thanks!

1/21 CFI
8/18 Multi engine add-on
10/27 MEI (retest after a stupid failure on oral last month)

Going to grab a bottle of cognac tonight, then start saving for CFII, but maybe a seaplane add-on or two should be more fun, no?

Is there a FAR that states differences training is legally required when operating another airplane with the same type rating?

For example: the 757/767, 737 family, C680 (Latitude/Sovereign), G-V/G-550/G-450, or airplanes of same type with different avionics that would preclude differences training.

Outside of the 121/135 environment, is this regulated? Or could one with a C680 type who got it on a Latitude legally just go rip a Sovereign with no further training?

Some people fight for every flying lesson, working hard and paying their own way. Others have everything handed to them and still don’t appreciate the responsibility that comes with teaching others.
The hardest part of getting my licence wasn’t learning to fly—it was dealing with one instructor who treated students like an inconvenience while those students were paying thousands of dollars and putting their trust in them.
When you’re chasing a licence, you often stay quiet because you don’t want to jeopardise your progress. Looking back, that’s exactly why poor instructors get away with it.
Thankfully, licences are earned, not gifted. ✈️

Got the ATM written this week and was wondering what the FAA changed about the written? No more Sheppard air rote memorization? lol, thanks 🙏

Looking for a good DPE (and a gouge if possible) to do my IFR Checkride at or near KLOU. Thanks in advance!

Trying to consider if I should use a broker or not for the sale of my airplane. I’m curious what everybody’s thoughts are on the topic. The broker fee is pretty significant, so debating if it’s worth the price.

Any chance anyone here is an airline cadet brand ambassador and can give me any insight on what that interview looks like? Have one coming up and have just about 0 idea what to expect lol.

Hi everyone, I’ve been recently selected for the December 2026 intake of Air Arabia’s MPL programme and have a few questions for people who have already joined previous batches:
-Is there a specific date by which we must arrive in the UAE before the commencement date?
-Is an iPad provided by the academy or are we expected to purchase our own?
-Are there scheduled holidays or breaks during the two years at the academy? Also what does a typical week look like?

I bought a PA-38 and had to spend some money getting it through annual this year. I don’t fly it much and was wondering if anyone’s had luck leasing or renting out aircraft on rent a plane.com or other sites/groups? I don’t need to make a bunch of money but would like to keep it flying.

I was talking with an owner about lost revenue due to weather/general cancellations and I’m curious how many cancellations you typically have per month and how that affects monthly revenue. Is it mostly weather or just last minute cancellations?

Anyone training in south africa currently , is it safe to train over their considering how cheap its over their . Furthermore i have been this ad from air tec aviation partenered with flysafair and they will provide line training with the airline provided you pay them the type rating and line training fees .

Hey everyone,

I'm a dual US/French citizen who was raised in Europe, and I am currently living in France. I am in the second year of a Master's degree in Data/Digital Marketing, and I'm finishing my EASA PPL here. Coming from the European system, I'm trying to figure out how things work across the Atlantic because my long-term goal is to move back to the US to fly professionally.

Since I'm in Europe, US airline sites (like Delta Propel) keep geo-blocking me or redirecting me to the reservations and customer services pages. I'd like some advice from locals on a few points:

• United Aviate Academy: What do people actually think of UAA as a flight school? (Is it worth it, or do people prefer standard Aviate-partner flight schools instead?)
• American Airlines Cadet Academy: Is the AACA still actively running and accepting cadets smoothly?
• Delta Propel & Other Ab Initio Pathways: How do you enter the Delta Propel pipeline if you aren't attending a US university? Also, what are the current thoughts on other available US ab initio cadet/pathway programs (like Southwest Destination 225° or regional-backed programs)?
• Entry difficulty of US programs: For someone starting from scratch or transferring from EASA, what is the realistic selectivity/difficulty to get accepted into these structured pipelines ?

Any insights, program recommendations, or reality checks would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!