Updates and corrections

October 25, 2026

• ClarificationSalary guide: the $210,020 BLS median is for the combined airline and commercial pilots group on the BLS page (its pay chart labels that row "aircraft pilots and flight engineers"). The page now shows that label next to the $232,140 airline-pilot and $123,220 commercial-pilot figures so each can be checked against BLS. Salary guide
• CorrectionEMS pilot and salary guides: removed claims about shift pattern, annual flight hours, union language and one employer's benefits and hour minimums that the other employers' pages did not support. The EMS hour table now compares the two employers that publish hour minimums, and states that a helicopter air ambulance pilot in command must hold an instrument rating or an ATP not limited to VFR (14 CFR 135.603). EMS pilot guide
• CorrectionFinancing guide: the Commercial Helicopter Pilot Rating and WINCO scholarships are no longer described as open. Vertical Aviation International's page lists them among 2026 recipients and lists other pilot awards for the 2027 cycle (deadline December 4, 2026). Financing guide
• CorrectionFlight schools guide: removed a claim that approved schools can lower the private pilot minimum from 40 to 35 hours, because the FAA's school page and the current regulation text disagree. The guide now tells readers to ask each school which minimum applies. Flight schools guide
• CorrectionTraining cost and flight schools guides: added that the GI Bill generally cannot pay for a first private pilot certificate at a pilot school (the VA requires an existing private certificate, a second-class medical and a Part 141 or 142 school with a VA-approved program). Training cost guide
• RefreshBLS wage figures updated to May 2025 data, FAA requirements to the eCFR text current as of October 22, 2026, and VA Post-9/11 flight-training cap to the August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027 figure of $17,661.89. Hillsboro Aero Academy prices shown are effective November 1, 2026. Sources
• RefreshRemoved placeholder text and editor's notes from several guides and replaced "coming soon" and "later guide" references with links to the guides that now exist.
• NewAdded employer pay scales, who's hiring, flight school directory, events calendar, glossary, aircraft profiles, career tracks by sector, transition guides, scholarships, career outlook, safety data resource, e-book and newsletter pages. All guides