About Us

✈ The story behind the blog

Aviation, explained by someone living it

A CPL student pilot's honest take on training, regulations, accidents, and everything the aviation world rarely talks about plainly.

The first time I held the controls of an aircraft solo — no instructor on the right seat, just me and the radio and about 1,500 feet of air beneath the wheels — I realised that aviation has an honesty problem. The industry talks about its beauty constantly. It barely talks about its complexity.

That gap is why AviationDesk exists. I'm Aditya Kulkarni, a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) student currently in the cross-country and advanced training phase of my flying programme in India. I started this blog because the resources I needed as a beginner — real explanations, honest salary numbers, actual DGCA process walkthroughs — were scattered, outdated, or written by people who hadn't sat in a cockpit in years.

Current status

CPL Student, India

Training stage

Cross-countries & advanced

Regulator

DGCA (India)

Blog focus

India & USA pilot training

What AviationDesk covers

Not just another aviation information site

Most aviation content online is either deeply technical (written for people already in the industry) or surface-level clickbait (written for people who just watched a YouTube documentary). AviationDesk sits deliberately in the middle: rigorous enough to be useful, plain enough to be readable.

• CPL and cadet training in India — real costs, real timelines
• Pilot training in the USA — FAA licensing, flight schools, visa routes
• Aviation accident analysis — what actually went wrong, and why
• How aviation systems work — ATC, airspace, IFR, meteorology
• DGCA processes — eGCA portal, medical standards, exam breakdowns
• Honest career guidance — salaries, bonds, airline cadet programs

"Aviation can feel overwhelming from the outside. Once you break it down, it's one of the most logical and fascinating systems humans have ever built."

Why this perspective matters

Written from inside the process, not above it

I research everything I publish — cross-referencing DGCA circulars, ICAO annexes, AAI publications, and AAIB accident reports. But what separates AviationDesk from a Wikipedia summary is that I'm going through the same processes I write about. When I explain the eGCA portal, it's because I've navigated it. When I break down CPL training costs, it's because I'm paying them.

This blog is also a record of my own learning. Some posts are things I figured out the hard way and wished someone had explained clearly. Others are deep dives into topics I became obsessed with — accident analysis, ATC structure, the economics of airline hiring. The goal is always the same: leave the reader knowing something real, not just something vague.

A note on accuracy: Every article on AviationDesk is researched carefully and fact-checked against official sources where possible. That said, aviation regulations, airline policies, and training costs change frequently. This blog is for informational and educational purposes — always verify critical decisions (training enrolment, medical eligibility, licensing requirements) directly with DGCA, your flying school, or a qualified aviation professional.

Let's learn together

Whether you're an aspiring pilot, an aviation enthusiast, or someone who just wants to understand how the sky actually works — you're in the right place.

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