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By: Brandon Cheung, President, The Pilots Collective When we started The Pilots Collective, it wasn’t about building another aviation organization — it was about building a community . One rooted in honesty, mentorship, and a shared love for flying. A place where instructors, students, and aircraft owners could come together to learn, grow, and make aviation better for everyone. Over the past few months, we’ve taken real steps forward. We’ve hosted hangar hangouts, built part

Every pilot starts somewhere. Maybe it was a discovery flight that lit a spark, or maybe it was a career goal that seemed within reach. But somewhere along the way, the line between passion  and progress  starts to blur. There’s the pilot who looks at every flight as another number in the logbook just a stepping stone toward the next job, the next type rating, the next paycheck. And then there’s the pilot who shows up because they can’t imagine not flying . The one who stays

The Advanced Qualification Program (AQP)  is an FAA-approved training system designed to prepare airline pilots using a data-driven and scenario-based approach. Rather than following a rigid checklist of maneuvers, AQP tailors training to real-world performance and airline-specific operations. It emphasizes Crew Resource Management (CRM) , decision-making , and line-oriented flying  to ensure pilots are ready for the realities of commercial aviation. AQP is broken into severa

Aviation safety wasn’t built overnight — it was forged through decades of trial, tragedy, and innovation. From early wooden aircraft to today’s advanced jets, every accident and breakthrough has shaped the way we fly. This post explores how events like Tenerife, United 173, and Colgan Air 3407 transformed aviation from a risky adventure into the safest way to travel, and how the industry continues learning to protect the skies of tomorrow.

Introduction: A New Threat in the Skies In 1915, during World War I, the German Air Service introduced a revolutionary aircraft—the...

When the 1500-hour rule was put in place after the Colgan Air Flight 3407 accident, it was marketed as a major safety improvement. The...

Imagine a world where airplanes chug along at the leisurely pace of propeller-driven birds, crossing oceans in days rather than hours....

From Experiment to Weapon Only a decade after the Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903, airplanes were no longer just scientific...

This past weekend we hosted another Hangar Hangout, and while the turnout was smaller than usual with about ten people, the atmosphere...

Pilots Collective Safety Series Topic: Thunderstorms Avoidance, Awareness, and Decision-Making Author: Pilots Collective Safety Team Why...

When people talk about the birth of modern aviation, the conversation almost always circles back to one machine: the Wright Flyer I. On...

As we gear up for our second hangar flyout this Saturday, our instructor team dedicated this past weekend to laying the groundwork for...

Pilots Collective Safety Short – September 2025 Safe traffic pattern operations are one of the cornerstones of general aviation safety....

On a foggy afternoon in March 1977, the world witnessed the deadliest accident in aviation history. Two Boeing 747 jumbo jets collided on...

Becoming a flight instructor before stepping into the broader workforce provides far more than just a way to log flight hours. It’s a...

Charles Lindbergh, often called the "Lone Eagle," is one of the most iconic figures in aviation history. His daring solo transatlantic...

Runway Incursions: Awareness and Avoidance Pilots Collective Safety Short – August 2025 At Pilots Collective, safety is more than a...

A Historic Moment at Kitty Hawk On a windy stretch of sand in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, two bicycle mechanics from Ohio—Orville and...

The Pilots Collective’s first Hangar Hangout brought together 22 aviators for an afternoon of conversation, connection, and community at Prescott’s Zulu Avionics Hangar. From structured dialogue on training reform to casual networking at The Wren House, the event sparked momentum toward a more passionate and collaborative future in aviation.