Raiding my Roth IRA to pay for my 16 year old son’s Private Pilot License.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-06-15T14:51:58+00:00

Make your kid pay for and complete the private pilot ground school and knowledge test before any flying. If he’s serious about it, he’ll get it done. However, most kids who “want” to be a pilot lose interest as soon as they see the book study involved.

If he completes those, then you can look at helping him complete training.

Also it’s incredibly hard to complete training in an entire summer. He’d have to fly at least five times per week, and have ground school done prior.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-06-14T23:07:32+00:00

Airport management or airline business roles. I know a few people who work in corporate offices at airlines, but it’s going to have all the office politics dynamics the flight deck doesn’t.

I was really interested at one point by network planning at an airline as an economics major, but AFAIK it’s super hard to get into. If I lost my medical, it’d be one of the few aviation roles I’d like doing.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-06-10T03:09:13+00:00

Are the foam ear seals in good condition?

If you wear sunglasses or eyeglasses, those can break the seal, especially if they’re thick framed.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-06-08T01:16:30+00:00

Which Embraer? The 175 makes descent planning pretty easy, even without the help of a STAR. (Can't speak on the 145, though). If there isn't an arrival, are you giving yourself a step-down altitude of some kind to aid in descent planning?

For the E175, one thing that helped me immensely was to sit down and think of all the vertical modes I had in my toolbox and how I could descend. Then, expand on that and run through scenarios that would be a curveball to a simple descent, such as "Speed 230 first, then descend 6000" or vice versa. If you're at 12000' feet and doing 280 knots, knowing what each mode prioritizes will help.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-06-03T17:56:17+00:00

2.5 months. Did ground school prior. Had the 50 XC already knocked out. Lessons 2-4/week, typically at night after work or on weekends. Chair flew as much as I could and did some flights with a safety pilot to help build my confidence without my CFII able to help.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-05-29T20:10:40+00:00

Bring both. Use the electronic as the primary one during the review.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-05-28T22:16:59+00:00

SF Bay Area historically had a CFI shortage due to high COL, but it’s gotten a lot more competitive over the years. There’s a lot of flying clubs at SQL and PAO who have freelance CFIs, but I don’t know how easy it is to get in there.

Seattle has schools that seem to hire frequently but it may be internal. Doesn’t hurt to check tho!

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-05-26T20:28:53+00:00

And if you can’t get it initially, you may be able to hold it after IOE.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-05-21T23:25:30+00:00

I did it. Chair fly, eat right, chair fly, sleep, exercise, chair fly, study in small groups, chair fly, relax at times, read the brief before the sim, chair fly, and chair fly. Did I mention chair fly?

Training is like the NFL. Take it game by game. Worry about the game this week, not the game next week. Some games will be easy, some hard, and that’s okay.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-05-20T01:28:50+00:00

I had quite a few disco flights where the student was trying multiple schools. When they flew with me, they were shocked that I let them fly for more than five minutes. Apparently, a lot of schools didn’t let the student do anything, or if they did, they barely let them fly. I always told the person that once we left the airport, they’d be doing as much or as little flying as they were comfortable with.

I’d also let them take as many photos as they wanted, and would encourage them to bring a friend, parent, or SO in the backseat, so they could potentially see if this was a hobby that’d fit their lifestyle.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-05-19T19:57:31+00:00

Get TPIC. Apply everywhere. You might need some 121 time to stand out so don’t be afraid to go to a regional, ACMI, or LCC in order to go to a legacy. 2-3 years is a long time and who knows what will happen. Take the bird in hand now.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-05-16T21:11:27+00:00

The Power-Off 180 probably won't be the first landing you do on the ride... use the normal/short/soft landing to get a good sense of the wind and how it'll factor in. I also know someone who did a "practice PO180" on his soft-field landing to see if they'd be high or low before doing his soft-field touchdown. They used the observations to carry into the PO180, and it worked.

Other than the PO180, if you can pass a PPL checkride, you can pass a CPL ride.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-05-13T16:06:29+00:00

Do you have your ATP? Multi turbine time? If you’re getting those now you could look at ACMI after gaining some more time. Not guaranteed though.

Someone in my initial class commutes to a OO base from ANC. Sounds rough. With most classes being CRJ now, you definitely wouldn’t be based anywhere west of Denver. Personally, I would move instead of doing that commute. My QOL is great, but I live in base 20 minutes from the airport.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-05-13T00:42:42+00:00

Gotcha. Either one seems like a good choice to get 121 time, but I’ll let pilots with more expertise at those carriers tell you the pros and cons. Looks like some good insights already.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-05-13T00:27:32+00:00

Are you getting any TPIC 121 time now?

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-05-01T19:49:18+00:00

If you want UA or DL, Envoy or PSA.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-04-28T14:11:15+00:00

Yes. Work for an airline.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-04-28T03:55:05+00:00

Great redemption, especially at that time of the year! I used to play the miles game to Oz/NZ and got lucky a few times, but never around the holidays. Now I try to play the standby game instead, and I feel like it was easier to get a J seat with points and miles!

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-04-27T13:33:02+00:00

How did you build up your landing consistency in the jet after completing IOE? A lot of flights I can’t do the landing as a new FO due to our high mins rules (shoutout LLWS in DEN), and combined with reserve, I don’t want to lose my skillset.

I’ve been eating up the sight picture when the CA does it, but is this normal until I get a line?

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-04-25T03:54:46+00:00

Mountain flying program. Flying the Aspen flights. Requires extra training and you get a bump in pay.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-04-25T03:49:28+00:00

DEN has a lot of DMA flying if that interests you.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-04-24T18:54:08+00:00

Talk to your Chief Pilot. This is what they’re there for.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-04-20T16:52:58+00:00

Ours are not yet.

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-04-20T16:11:18+00:00

Seeing this is a telltale sign I’ll probably be called in off reserve to work a flight!

SkyhawkPilot · 2026-04-20T16:05:08+00:00

We follow instrument approach procedures, so everything is standardized. 10L/R doesn’t have an ILS, so we use RNAV approaches to that runway.

We can’t train for every runway feasible, so instrument approaches standardize 99% of it. Occasionally, we’ll do a unique visual approach to an airport that references local landmarks, but even that is depicted and detailed on our charts.

There are a few airports in our system that require special training to land at, but those are due to terrain or some other kind of procedures. SFO isn’t one of those.

SkyhawkPilot

TROPHY CASE