A silenced insight and a soaring recovery showed me the missing system behind student progress
I wasn’t the only one feeling trapped and taken advantage of.
Sophie, a disciplined athlete. Nick, an engineer. Brayan, a driven entrepreneur.
All highly capable. All learning to fly. All held back. All doubting ourselves.
When determined students are paying $23,000–$30,000 for a Private Pilot Certificate (nearly double what it should cost) and students nationwide take almost twice as long to solo as the FAA requires to earn the entire certificate, it becomes clear: we’re wasting thousands in flight training.
My background is in flight test engineering. Flight test taught me operational efficiency — but more importantly, it taught me to own the process of learning from flights, something completely missing in pilot training.
As a flight test engineer, I found the flight test process highly relevant to flight training. In flight test, you want to build confidence that the new airplane you are putting into service will perform safely, and you want to go about it efficiently given the high cost of flight test. I learned to plan and direct flights with great intention, having clear objectives and flying with cadence to complete those objectives as safely, effectively, and efficiently as possible.
But what came after flying was even more important. As a flight analyst, I was compelled to evaluate test flights in detail, beyond checking boxes, because if we failed to learn from flights, new aircraft could slip into service with flaws, endangering lives, property, and the product reputation.
Then came the day when the flights assigned to me revealed a gap. I could see the new flight control system failing to perform under flight conditions that fell outside my “designated checkboxes.”
Sharing the learnings along with my recommended changes backfired.
I refused to delete my conclusions and recommendations.
I was removed from the program.
Devastated, yes — but more importantly, I walked away with a clarity that reshaped my life. Pilots in training want to learn from every flight. They want to grow from feedback, not bury it. They want to discuss, not isolate. They want to apply what they learn. But few have the environment to help them do it.
So I built the tool I wish existed: a game-based flight training companion that makes learning visible, actionable, and fun. Like having a flight test engineer helping you train efficiently and extract learnings from every flight, the app records your flight, replays it in 3D with data, and transforms it into a living logbook filled with insights. Then it guides you through a loop that mirrors the flight test process:
Set a target → Fly → Recall → Learn → Improve
The same loop that delivers great aircraft to service now adapted to make great pilots.
A loop that builds clarity and sustainable momentum, where every flight becomes shared learning in a fun, non-punitive community of students, instructors, and pilots.
But that isn’t all. I know how daunting it is to navigate an environment that doesn’t serve you, because I was drained by one until I became very ill. Then, I started soaring. I joined men and women who came together to enjoy flying, push themselves forward, and have a blast. And we did have a blast. Adventure became my pathway to wellness — and soaring gave me the camaraderie, challenge, and joy I’d been missing all along. Accidentally, I found a framework that not only strengthened my skills and accelerated my growth as a pilot, but also brought me to a state of flow where you can make the most of the day, the aircraft, and yourself. With 33 soaring records using this framework, it eventually clicked, and I combined it all to build an engine to accelerate growth: a complete system that teaches pilots in training how to learn fast.
“At core, I want more pilots to feel proud of their own learning process, discover how real confidence feels, and surprise themselves with what they’re capable of.”
With FlyORKA, we can end the cycle that keeps students paying without progressing and turn flight hours into confidence that pays off.
I invite you to join us by downloading the FlyORKA app and sharing the news with student pilots, and future pilots.
