Amateur
Become an Airline Pilot
Join the Zero Time to Airline Program

Download our Proven Checkride Checklists Now

Join our newsletter and download our exclusive, never-before-shared checklists for private, instrument, and commercial checkrides to ensure you’re fully prepared for success.

Checkride Checklists

Amateur [ 100% SIMPLE ]

The professional asks: What has been done before? The amateur asks: What is possible?

The tragedy of adulthood is the slow murder of the amateur within us. Around age twenty-five, something cruel happens. We learn to ask: Will this pay the bills? Will this look good on a resume? Will this impress my father? We replace the question Do I love this? with Is this useful? Amateur

That is the power of the amateur. The word itself comes from the Latin amare —to love. An amateur is not someone unskilled; an amateur is someone who does something for the love of it, not for a paycheck or a credential. The professional asks: What has been done before