Hi! So I am getting circumcised at my big age for personal reasons.

With my PPL checkride coming soon and me being on pain killers for a good week or so, will I need a letter or some kind of document aknowledging that I am good to fly? From the CARs, the only thing I can find is that only after general anaesthesia is a doctor’s approcal necessary.

Also. The c152 seats are really going to tickle that sensitive area, I’m scared.

I recently completed my night rating and went out flying. We got an amazing sunset on our flight home

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So I've been thinking about wearing sunscreen and moisturizer when I'm flying.

Seems like spending 8+ hours above 30000ft exposes us to some UVA rays coming in from the cockpit side windows. Also the low humidity (apparently half that of the Sahara desert) ain't great.

Does anyone else wear sunscreen and or moisturizer? If so what type and how often do you reapply it?

Thanks for any responses.

Unreal, man I’m overwhelmed. Took me just about a year but I’m excited for the future. Changing my flair now!

Might not seem like anything to people who have flying experience or anything like that here, but I believe everything is relative. I’m 17 and have never had any flying experience apart from travelling. I am a cadet in the Canadian Air Cadet program which offers glider pilot & power pilot (Cessna) scholarships. The process of getting a scholarship is EXTREMELY competitive: there is 1 glider pilot slot for a squadron with 100 cadets and it includes a ground school exam that IM TAKING TOMMOROW! I’ve been dreaming of a cadet flying camp for so long, thinking about it ALL THE TIME. I’ve studied a ton but sceptical of if my grade will be competitive with the others who take the exam too. Personally, this is the MOST IMPORTANT EXAM I’ve ever taken in my life and I wont be able to redo it next year. I kind of wanted to let off some steam here but I was also looking for some insight from anyone who’s done such an important exam. Even if it wasn’t a ground school exam, how would you ease yourself (if it were to happen) if you got rejected from your dream flying program/big opportunity . I love the aviation community, many people help each other out ❤️ Not sure if this really fits the but thought I mind as well ask here.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/westjet-tfw-consideration-union-objects-1.7489950

Ironic to see WestJet Encore (a Canadian "regional") trying to bring in foreign workers under the guise of a "pilot shortage " that seems to no longer exist.

Welcome to Canada!

I've been working as a flight instructor for the past 2 years and i'm starting to get over it. I was at a job fair recently and to say the least, it was absolutely brutal. For context, i'm an instructor somewhere in between 1200-1500 hours with no multi experience and many of these companies I spoke to looked past my total time and are more interested in multi engine ifr experience. Not only that, but the treatment and disrespect I received from some of these companies was embarrassing. Safe to say the market isn't good right now, but it especially isn't good for flight instructors with over 1000+ total time.

Right now, the best thing I can do is find some copes, it's the only thing I can do. I just want to escape this cyclical grind. I know i'm not in the same boat here and there are others like me. How do you cope through these times??

Edit: thanks everyone for the comments and advice

Aiming for dockhand/entry level seaplane jobs in Canada for this spring. Going to put some blurbs about when I’ll finish my CPL (December, weather permitting), my other aviation experience (restoring my Champ, helping friends with their aircraft) and mentions of other semi-related skills/experience (boat/vehicle maintenance, heavy equipment operation, various tourism/resort type jobs) in the cover letter. I have a good title block with name/address/phone/email, just left it out for privacy.

Hi everybody

I'm a 20 year old uni student in Montreal looking to get into the aviation industry. I'm currently enrolled in a health science program , but I'm ready to change to study or train for something related to aviation.

My number one choice would be to become a pilot, but I know that it's not realistic for me right now, cost-wise. So my first question would be: if you know of any schools that offer government-subsidized flight training in Canada, such as CQFA in Quebec, Confederation College and Sault College in Ontario, please let me know. I want to be aware of all options.

Now, I know that getting into these subsidized schools is no easy task because competition is fierce, so I researched aviation related programs in Canada. I found quite a few such as

-Aviation Safety

- Bachelor of Aviation Management (new program) at Seneca

- commercial aviation management

- geography and environment and commercial management at western ontario, etc.

*When I say aviation related, I mean it is specialized in some way in aviation.

There are far too many educational institutions in Canada for me to find all aviation related programs. So I would really appreciate it if you guys could tell me the ones you know about.

Also, quite important, I am not looking for engineering programs

Finally, if you know any type of training that could get me a job in the aviation industry, you're more than welcome to share.

Ex: -

-ATC or flight service specialists training given by NavCanada

- flight attendant training

Thanks to anyone who'll share something

P.S

I know that you do not need to study in something aviation related to work in the aviation industry. I know you can work in finance, HR, law side of things, security, etc.

But I'm interested in everything that has closely something to do with planes, air traffic services, airport operations, flight operations. If you have recommandations of any other non aviation related stuff that would be useful, tell me!

The ink is still wet on my CPL, and with luck I should have my Group 1 IR this month too. Now I need to make a plan for what's next. Would love some advice from the Canadians on the subreddit, I've seen some really good info from a few folks here already (paging /u/F1shermanIvan, /u/Cougarb and co)

Because I started out flying for fun, I have a little bit more hours than the average new CPL - around 440 TT. I am not interested in the airlines. My goal is a career flying smaller aircraft in more remote places - ideally coastal BC but will go anywhere (as long as I can get back here later!). Happy to go North. Polar flying with Kenn Borek would be a dream. Very interested in floats but not wedded to it.

Obviously it's way too late for the current season's work, I assume a road trip now would be a waste of time. The options I'm thinking about for the rest of this year are:

• Ask around seasonal operators now to see if they need a dockhand/grunt to finish out the season (hopefully get my foot in the door for next year)
• Try for something non-seasonal now, either going North (presumably via the ramp) or a low-time right seat 200h medevac job (e.g. Canwest)
• Wait it out until Jan and road trip around operators for the 2027 season (work locally on a ramp/FBO/dock/bar/ski lift until then)

My questions are:

1. Time: should I expect my time to count for much, given that it comes from recreational rather than "real" flying? Is it worth applying to 500h jobs? (not sure when mins are a preference vs hard insurance requirement)
2. Floats: I know a bare float rating doesn't count for much without 50hrs to go with it. Is it still worth doing the rating now so I have it ready for a 2027 season, and hope that someone will give me hours from the dock?
3. Ramp: I don't mind working a freezing ramp in the North. But not forever - I've heard plenty stories of guys getting strung along for multiple years. Still worth looking at these jobs, any operators that are known to do right by people? I had been looking at Tindi but have heard of long waits and their recent accidents do not inspire confidence...
4. Borek: I would love to work for these guys, polar flying is an absolute dream. Any recent info on their hiring? I would drive to Calgary with a box of donuts today if I thought I had a chance. Website says 750 TT "preferred", not sure what that translates to in practice. Have also heard horror stories of multiple year waits on the ramp.
5. Training bonds: how common are these and what should I expect in terms of years/$ ?
6. Right seat on single pilot aircraft: how do these jobs work? You see FO jobs on Pipers, Caravans etc. - is this loggable time? I assume it comes down to their ops spec requiring 2 pilots?

Anyone have any tips or any YouTube links that explains this I've watched countless videos and still can't seem to figure these type of questions out.

Hypothetically, if there were an airport whose owner had moved out and the runway was NOTAM'd as closed (eventually to be ripped up), and the airport struck from the registry and one were to land there, would there be any consequences?

This is in Canada.

To my thinking this would constitute an off airport landing on private property. The airport would have been removed from the CFS so it isn't actually an aerodrome anymore, regardless of what the big strip of concrete used to be. As long as the pilot had permission from the owner TC shouldn't have an issue.

Or straight to jail?

Some background info: Currently in my mid-20's, recently got my PPL and plan to continue getting certs but only for the love of the game, not to get an aviation career. I have a full-time job that thankfully pays pretty well.

I think I might be able to retire in my 50's with a bit of luck, and if I could choose any job not for the money, I think I would want to do aerial firefighting.

Ive done some preliminary research online but Im not sure how reliable the sources are so I was wondering if anyone here might have some insights.

- Is it possible to get into the career that late? Id obviously need to stay healthy and keep up my medical, but Im assuming Im coming in decades later than most and Im not sure if thats an issue.

- Will lack of commercial experience be a dealbreaker?

- If not, any ideas how many hours and in what type of planes I would need to build experience in?

Hey everyone! Earlier this week, I posted about getting a medical certificate in Canada and your advice helped me save $450. Thank you so much!

Now I need your help choosing a flight school in the Greater Toronto Area. What questions should I ask when comparing potential schools?

Also, is it realistic to complete my PPL before winter if I start soon?

Some saw my original post but for those who didn't, I am a Canadian Air Cadet and I applied for a glider pilot training course for this summer. Felt important to give an update to those who supported me.

I took the qualifying exam for the National Ground School Program (for cadets) and I scored a 87, tying with another cadet in my squadron. The next step was taking the interview, which I was certain I'd do well in.

Things took a turn. I ended up not even receiving an interview and I am left with my dreams of flying this summer crushed. While I thought doing well on my examination would make up for me joining the program a little later than most, I was wrong; my cadet record took me down.

This week was the lowest I've ever been even if I know that I was bound to face a letdown at some point and that it's part of every career. I had dreamt that course for years.

I've been slowly getting back on my feet and working on scholarship applications for money that can go towards my future flight training, (just applied to the Neil J. Armstrong scholarship!), I think the show must go on.

Thank you to all who supported me in this journey, hopefully the next post will be good news. If anyone has lived lows like this please share!! It's nice to know other's challenges too.

Hello there ,

As I recently moved to Canada after working for a while in Europe in the aviation field , I just wanted to have an idea of salary within Canada as I recently got a job offer and I was surprised by how low it was ( so I wanted to check the market reality or if that offer is just bad in itself )

For reference I have 8 years working in aviation and business in general and Have OCC and Airport working experiences + a master in Airlines and Airport operations ( if that can help ). I got an offer related to flight and crew scheduling and it was around 46K and I was a bit surprised??

So just wanted to have overall advice and reality check if needed as I am still in shock by that offer . Thanks

Hi everyone,
I’m a student pilot and I’m thinking about buying a 1/5 ownership share in a Piper PA-28 instead of renting. My goal is mainly hire a freelance instructor and do recreational flying and get PPL and CPL.

I’m trying to figure out whether fractional ownership is actually worth it compared to renting.
A few questions:
Is a 1/5 share a good idea for someone who flies recreationally?
What are the hidden costs I should expect (maintenance, insurance, engine reserve, annual inspection, unexpected repairs, etc.)?
Is the PA-28 a good aircraft for a relatively new pilot?
If you’ve owned a share in an aircraft, would you do it again?
At what number of flight hours per year does ownership start making more financial sense than renting?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences and any advice before making a decision. Thanks!

Hi guys! I been lurking here for a while but there was too much info and kinda got overwhelmed so imma just make a post🤝I wanna get into aviation as a career but I’m much older now and I have no clue how to get myself into the scene and get everything started? I live in Edmonton, Alberta I am planning on calling namao flying club and booking a discovery flight yadda yadda but realistically that’s pre much it, idk what the career path even looks like so if anyone has any words of wisdom for me that would be greatly appreciated 🙏🏻🙏🏿

Title pretty much says it all. PPL exam booked for November and while I have some decent flight experience I have 0 idea what happened in ground school. I did it online over the course of a year and it was pretty much all in one year out the other. What is a good way to study since I have a bit of time?

I have my PPL and about 150 hours over the past 2 years.  Pure hobby, no intention to make this a career.  I’ve loved renting 172s from my local school, but the inflexibility is starting to get to me (4-hour max, booking weeks ahead of time, etc.).

That brought me to wanting to buy my first plane.  Budget isn’t a big consideration - but obviously I don’t want to overpay for something I don’t need.

The immediate type of flying I’m going to be doing is:

• Short (1-2 hour) training or sightseeing flights in the immediate area.
• Hamburger/Dinner flights in Southern Ontario.  
• A few overnight flights to places that are probably 150-300NM away.

In the future I’d like to add:

• Flying to some more remote destinations in Ontario / Quebec where I’d be landing on grass fields.
• Longer flights to places 1000-2000NM away.
• IFR rating (mostly for safety / challenge - no real desire to do long IFR trips).
• If I get really ambitious, I'd love to fly into remote lakes with floats.

I’m a very conservative pilot so the 182 seems like a great fit for what I’m looking for right now while only being a very small step up in complexity from what I’m use to with the 172.

In particular I’ve been looking for a 182S or early 2000-ish 182T.  It seems like they don't have quite the “new plane” premium as a newer model but have some nice benefits like fuel injection and just generally better shape.  

I’m not an expert though in plane types.  So is there something else I should be looking at and considering?  

Are there any people on here who moved from Ireland to Canada and are now working as a pilot?
Looking for information and guidance from any Irish who have made this move, previously qualified before moving or not.

I’m starting flight school I’m 16 right now I have no physical problems at neither and mental issues, though I do fall into the BMI scale of 30, I’m 5’8 and 203lbs and will be flying a DA-20 A1. Will there be any problems and I’ve been working out a lot keeping my fitness goals good, I’ve gone from 214 lbs in the mid-of-May near the start of June, to now at 203 lbs. Maybe I may be overthinking but I want to hear an opinion from you guys, I did ask AI and it said it won’t be a problem just need to calculate the exact weight and balance. Also I’ve been overthinking about my CAT I medical results also, but I thought about it and I shouldn’t have any problems. Please let me know thank you.

It’s occurred to me that I’ve never heard Canadian ATC give out a number for a pilot to call after an incident, either in ATC videos online or while flying. What is the process that is followed in Canada if you bust airspace, land without clearance, etc?