The Kodiak Blog
Straight-talking articles on hour-building, aircraft rental, simulator training, and the real path from student to professional pilot.
Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, Arizona is one of the most pilot-friendly general aviation airports in the Phoenix metro area. Here is what you need to know before you fly.
Read story SimulatorNot all simulator time counts the same. A plain-language breakdown of FSTD certification levels, which ratings let you log simulator hours, and how combining sim time with rental cuts your costs.
Read story AircraftFor pilots building toward a commercial certificate or airline career, the aircraft you log time in matters. Here is why N701YZ at Kodiak Aviation stands out.
Read story CareerHow many hours do you actually need to go from a private certificate to commercial and ATP? An honest breakdown of the path, the costs, and how Kodiak fits into each phase.
Read story CostOwning a plane sounds appealing until you run the numbers. An honest cost comparison between ownership and renting the SR20 G6 for pilots in the hour-building phase.
Read story Hour BuildingYou do not need to be in a Part 141 program to build the hours you need. Here is how independent hour-building works, who qualifies, and what it costs in the Phoenix area.
Read story Hour BuildingThere is a number tattooed on every serious pilot’s brain: 40 for private, 250 for commercial, 1,500 for ATP. But the hours behind the number are what actually make a pilot.
Read story CurrencyLife gets busy and the gap between flights quietly grows from two weeks to six weeks to three months. You’re still legal on paper — but proficiency tells a different story.
Read story Aircraft RentalThe hourly rate is the first number a pilot asks about — and consistently the least important factor in whether a rental arrangement is actually worth using.
Read story TrainingAviation has had this debate for two decades. Are glass cockpits a revolution that makes flying safer, or do they let foundational stick-and-rudder skills quietly erode?
Read story CareerBetween earning a certificate and flying for a living is a phase of pilot life that rarely makes the highlight reel — and where renting smartly beats rushing into ownership.
Read story MaintenanceMost pilots remember a specific flight when trust in the aircraft clicked into place. Here is why rigorous maintenance changes how — and how well — you fly.
Read story TrainingPilots who rotate through three or four aircraft types in their first hundred hours often progress slower than those who stay with one. Here is why consistency wins.
Read story TrainingEvery pilot has had a flight where the aircraft was the problem — and one where it wasn’t. Modern, well-equipped fleets free up the mental bandwidth that learning demands.
Read story CareerEvery pilot remembers the aircraft they learned in. Access to the right aircraft quietly shapes the kind of pilot you become.
Read story OwnershipAsk an owner why they bought, and the answer starts with freedom. But behind the freedom sits a quieter, constant stress most pilots never mention.
Read story ExperienceThere’s a specific moment every pilot remembers: preflight done, engine running, holding short — and the right seat that held a CFI for every hour you’ve flown is finally empty.
Read story Hour BuildingAsk a student what slows their training and most say weather. But an unreliable aircraft cancels more flights than the Phoenix sky ever will.
Read story IndustryWith a projected shortfall of 141,000 pilots in Europe by 2032, training is shifting — preparing pilots not just to operate a specific aircraft, but to adapt across generations of cockpits.
Read storyReady to log some hours?
Book the SR20 G6 or the simulator and start building quality time today.
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