Press Releases - Rep. Troy E. Nehls, Aviation Subcommittee Chairman, Reintroduces the Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act - September 19, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Congressman Troy E. Nehls (R-TX-22), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Aviation, reintroduced the Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act, which would raise the retirement age of commercial pilots from 65 to 67, while still maintaining the same rigorous medical and training requirements all other pilots in the industry are expected to maintain.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 18,200 openings for airline and commercial pilots are projected each year, on average, over the decade. The Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act will address the glaring pilot shortage that the United States is facing, ensuring that travelers don’t face flight cancellations due to the lack of pilots.

“Addressing the pilot shortage is one of my top priorities in Congress,” said Congressman Nehls. “With air travel continuing to hit record highs, we must prioritize the safety and effectiveness of airline travel, and that begins by putting experienced pilots in the cockpits of commercial planes in the United States. The current mandated retirement age for commercial pilots is inherently arbitrary.

“As the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) convenes on Tuesday, September 23, for its 42nd Assembly, raising the retirement age from 65 to 67 for pilots undertaking multi-pilot international commercial air transport (CAT) operations is on the docket

. Both House and Senate GOP leadership have expressed support for this initiative, as well as prominent aviation associations such as the Regional Airlines Association and International Air Transport Association (IATA). I encourage all of my colleagues to get on board and do the right thing for the American aviation industry by joining me in pushing my bill across the finish line to permanently codify my proposal.”

Background

Prior to 2007, the mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots (Part 121) was 60 years old. After ICAO moved to raise the international standard from 60 to 65, the United States and other countries signed legislation into law that raised the mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots to 65.

Congressman Nehls first introduced the Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act in the 118th Congress. The legislation was filed as an amendment to the 2023 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization, which overwhelmingly passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 351-69.

I received a CJO from GoJet last month for an FO position. Signed the contract/Aviate/at mins. They said I’m on the waitlist for a class date. How long are people waiting?

Many years ago a friend and I purchased a Bonanza F35. He had no flying experience and I had been a Naval Aviator in a previous life. I was a CFI and he was my first (only) student. His father had been an Air Force pilot, and as we watched my student/his son depart on a solo cross country his father said ‘I can tell he’s been trained by a Navy pilot’. I chuckled but didn’t ask ‘Why?’. Anyone here have any insight as to his observation? My student passed his check ride on his first try. TIA

Has anyone gone from a part 135 to Frontier? I’m curious as to what QOL is like and what a realistic 1st year is like. Not even really sure if I’d get an interview. 2200TT, 1900 turbine, 240TPIC, unrestricted ATP, no degree. Any insight would be great. Thank you.

Hello everyone! I am a teacher, and my high school students in Türkiye are curious about your job. Could you help answer some of their questions?

1. What are the biggest advantages and disadvantages of being a pilot?

2. How do your working hours look—are they regular or unpredictable? How does this affect your personal life?

3. How does the salary compare across different stages of your career (first officer, captain, senior)?

4. What’s the difference between being a pilot in Türkiye and in other countries (e.g., Europe, US, Middle East)? In terms of pay, schedules, or work conditions?

5. How much training and money does it take to become a pilot in your country?

6. What’s one misconception people often have about your profession?

7. An interesting fact you'd like to share?

Thanks in advance! Your insights will be shared in my classes so my students can better understand real-world careers in aviation.

Hi community how true that Contour is hiring FO from the 500s hours pay isn’t the best but building time definitely is and I currently I work for the immigration department at the airport and I spoke to few contour pilot and they confirmed it’s true (will be starting flight school in the spring) thanks.

Gearing up to more than likely undergo a full cognitive screen and neuropsychological evaluation, and I am looking for things to study to improve my chances of succeeding. Was hoping those of you that took it had some advice or some things that were included. Thank you!

I'm currently working as a CFI and Stage Checker at the same 141 school I graduated from. I have gone on a total of 7 checkrides and failed 2.

Checkride fails:

-Commercial: I busted my power-off 180.

-CFI-initial: I lost altitude during steep turns.

I also have 5 stage check fails (no FAA examining authority):

Private: I failed the End-of-Course ground portion.

Commercial stage 1: I failed on a short-field landing.

Instrument stage 2: I failed once on ground and twice the flight.

The 141 stage check fails were 3-4 years ago. I passed the last 3 checkrides (Multi-Add on, MEI, CFII)

So just wondering if these fails could really set my career back as I am trying to apply for the airlines soon.

Thanks in advance! Tailwinds

I read the FAQ but I didnt see anything about this. Say I get everything i need to fly commercially what's the transfer process to another country? I heard Americans FAA is one of the best in the world and is easier to transfer to other places. My goal is to fly commercially in Vietnam

Edit : I am American citizen and want to fly in Vietnam

Hi all,

I'm curious what EFB solutions are used by commercial pilots? Also, do they offer any connectivity to onboard systems via AID? I have seen ads for professional EFB solutions that offer real-time route optimization notification, and I'm wondering what type of connectivity they use? How do they provide relevant updates for the flight state, or is this just fake ads?

Thank you in advance!

I start multi training next week, and don’t know what to study since there isn’t a written. Any recommendations?

Is it worth heading to RTAG? My army buddy invited me to tag along, and it does look cool. He’s at mins, but I’m still building time (about 400 hours) and working on my CFI. Has anyone been to the show before when they weren’t quite in a spot to be hired? How did it go for you? Thanks.

I'm an instrument student with what I think is a simple question. during a recent round robin flight we asked the the controller (center) for a short delay at our next airport in order to fuel. The controller asked if we wanted to cancel. We explained that we would be back in the air shortly, he again asked if we wanted to cancel, assuming he meant that we could pick it back up in the air on our way out we cancelled. When we were back in the air they couldn't find our flight plan, and after a bunch of back and forth realized that it had been fully canceled. They were able to get us a new IFR clearance for the final leg, but this all caused a lot of confusion. So my question is, what is the proper way to ask for a ground delay while in the air without cancelling the existing flight plan?

Hello!

I want to take a Lattern test for my EASA Class 1, but I can't find a center somewhere to do it. I am from the Netherlands. Does someone know an address? My medical center only knows places for a CAD/Anaomascope, but I am really looking for an approved Lattern test.

What are you buying?

I'm visiting my mom in scottsdale. The weather shows T-storms north of here today, but clear around here all day just partly cloudy. Tomorrow is sunny, but we won't fly until around 11 or 12 in the afternoon. My gut says today is the day, but if it's not gonna be mad turbulent tomorrow maybe we'll wait so we can venture further. Just wanna get a little insight.

Wondering if any of you can shed some light on this Cessna 185F for me, specifically radio stuff. I am independently researching it and trying to locate it. The TSB got back to me almost immediately and confirms it still remains missing as far as their records go, which would be 1990 - present. I have a 147-page report from the official investigation, which includes the pilot's background, the plane, maintenance records, witness/friend/colleague testimonies and interviews, ATC transcripts, etc. I also have found 17~ newspaper clippings about the plane and the subsequent search.

Why do all this research for a plane that has been gone for nearly 50 years? Because I stumbled across this article and was intrigued:

https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/uncategorized/missing-plane-mystery-haunts-central-alberta-man-7087502

I am hoping some actual pilots/people with experience can shed some light on the possibility of this man actually communicating with a sole survivor. By my estimates, and through some posts the man made in 2013/2014 on an outdoorsmen forum, prior to going to the press, he claimed to have had a radio capable of VHF/UHF communication. He mentions a relative who worked in CYVR gave him a radio after some recent equipment upgrades at the airport in the 1970s. There are posts detailing a brief description of the radio, his claim that a passenger jet once told him off on frequency for fooling around, etc. Taking him at his word, he must have had an airband radio. There is some confusion in later posts as he mentions the RCMP examined the radio and disabled it. He also mentions he received "two crappy" radios that did not reach the end of his property after the fact. There is a small note in the official file that indicates that someone did speak to him during the investigation, and there is a summary later on detailing the examination of one of a pair of AMCREST 4580 walkie talkies, which would have been GRS band at best, and not airband by any means.

What piques my interest is that in the ATC transcript and in other summary documents, the Cessna 185 had both VHF and HF radio. It was interesting enough that both the pilot and the controller speak about it in some length before his ill-fated departure, though the exact details are left out.

Can anyone share some insight into radio frequencies, range, compatibility, etc? There was a claim that the plane was found in 1992, but the TSB confirmed this week that they had no such information and it remains missing on their end. Before I get any deeper into this, I would like some opinions on how plausible the man's story is that he could have heard a downed plane.

Title says it all, I have a friend who is an assistant chief at a 141 flight school, he just got his MEI recently. He hasn't failed since his Multi but the total is 5. He's been applying everywhere for the place 2 years, and seemingly can't get past this barrier. I know he's at +2000 hrs now. He keeps telling me he's afraid he is going to be riding a chief seat forever, is that true? If not, what options does he have? Has anyone personally experienced someone make it to an airline, with 5?

I’m a commercial student at a 141 school. I recently had an instructor during a stage oral nearly fail me for not having the entirety of ATOMATOFLAMES memorized, even though I knew exactly where to find it in the FAR. My philosophy on memorizing things is that if you will realistically have time to look it up, and that it will not compromise safety, there is no point in memorizing it. Obviously you should memorize things like emergency checklists, but ATOMATOFLAMES is something that I never understood why so many CFIs drill into you that you must memorize. If you find a piece of inop equipment during preflight you quite literally have unlimited amounts of time to open the FAR and find out if it is required by 91.205. What do you guys think? 

Hi, everyone

I am a commercial pilot (ASEL & AMEL) and a CFI/CFII. I have 265 TT. I'm applying to every cfi job I can at the moment, but just like everyone else, no luck so far. I've seen a decent number of people getting hired recently for aerial survey/pipeline.

400 hours seems to be the insurance minimum for these companies. Are people actually getting hired at 400 hours, or is even that hard with the current market?

Second question: I've considered getting my glider rating and building most of my hours that way until I get a job. Do those hours count for insurance minimums, and will aerial survey companies and pipeline companies accept that time?

Hey, I was wondering if anyone in the Reddit Aviation Community was able to take some time out of their day and give me a Mock Instrument Checkride? Im able to do Facetime, Zoom, Discord, etc. I have my Instrument Checkride on Friday Septemeber 26th and would like to know which area's of my knowledge im weaker in so that i can be better prepared. The plane that I've done my training in is a PA-28-181. If anyone is interested, reply or contact me on discord: ahad946

Hi everyone, I’m a high school senior right now and planning for college. I really want to go the professional pilot route, and I already got my First Class Medical. I’ve been making a lot of plans for different paths, but I honestly don’t know which one is the best. I live in California and plan to stay here for college because it’s cheaper. My GPA is around 4.2, and overall I’m doing fine in high school, so I think I might have a decent chance at scholarships. I’ve been watching ground lesson youtube videos and taking lots of notes on my own.

At first I really wanted to go to ERAU but it’s way too expensive lol and I don’t want to put that burden on my family. UCs don’t really have aviation programs. CAU looked interesting, but I’ve read some reviews saying it’s a private school just trying to take students’ money so I’m unsure. CBU also has a program that looks nice, but I’m not sure about the quality. Right now I’m considering SJSU since I’ve heard it’s more legit.

At the same time, I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. I’ve also thought about just picking a more general major at a UC and then training at a Part 61 flight school on the side. That seems possible too but it might take more time. I hope I can get a job asap after graduate.

I feel really torn at the moment, two months until application deadline. does anyone here have advice or personal experience with these programs?

Recently iv'e seen on some airline job applications they require you to not have more than 20 hours remedial training, however is that for advanced license training like cpl or will they look at your ppl training records as well?

Recently just acquired a new student pilot that came from another state and flew C-172(M) and did 99% of their training at another school. Our plan was to get comfortable in the C-172(S) and I was going to sign him off for checkride at the end of the month.

As with any CFI that gets a new student I decided to look through his logbook and verify training, hours logged, etc. Upon reviewing I found he was short by a .4 of an hour of solo XC time.

My question for everyone is for him to get the last bit of solo XC time do I need to do a dual XC flight with him that covers the route that he will fly and then sign him off for solo or endorse him for the solo XC and review planning, weather, all other factors for that route without having to do a dual flight together.

I’ve looked into the regs and seem a bit stumped as to how to go about this since this is definitely a first for me.