United Aviation “Alphabets” Push Back on New FAA Restrictions

In a June 4th letter from the FAA, a new policy was announced by the FAA aligning the recent Warbird Adventures decision with 91.319 and defining flight instruction as “carrying persons or property for compensation or hire.” This reverses historic FAA guidance and also 8900.1 which defines flight instruction as “educational.”

Students May Be Eligible For Merit-Based Financing

Coast Flight Training has announced a new program designed to help close the aviation skills gap by making flight training more affordable. Through a partnership with Meritize, pilots-in-training will now be eligible for merit-based financing, which can in many cases reward individual borrowers for their past educational and military experiences. "As air travel begins to accelerate and pilot demographics shift, our industry needs to use every tool in its arsenal to expand access to commercial aviation careers—and remove the financial barriers to flight education and training is a critical component of that mission," said Bryan W. Simmons, President of Coast Flight and a former Navy Flight Sc