Instructor marketplace terms.

The marketplace helps you find an instructor, see truthful availability, request a session, and communicate privately once a request is authorised. Instructors are independent service providers. They are not employees, agents, partners or representatives of JD ATLAS LLC.

The Pilot Method does not direct flight operations, provide aircraft, exercise operational control, issue endorsements in its own corporate name, keep an instructor's required records for them, or guarantee that a requested session will be available, accepted, or produce any outcome.

A verified basic instructor listing is free. There is no monthly fee, no subscription, no commission for the basic listing and no paid ranking. Paid online lessons, where offered, have their own price shown before checkout.

Search results are ordered organically. No instructor can pay for placement or for a verification badge.

Every badge states its exact scope and the date it was reviewed. Depending on what was actually checked, a profile may show:

• — Profile owner confirmed — the instructor controls the account and consented to publication.
• — Certificate reviewed — certificate or rating evidence was checked privately against the stated source on that date.
• — Identity reviewed — identity evidence was reviewed privately.
• — Availability updated — the instructor confirmed their availability within the displayed period.

Verification is not FAA endorsement or approval, not employment by The Pilot Method, not a criminal background check, not proof of insurance, and not a guarantee of safety, quality or booking. Only the checks named on a profile were performed.

Certificate numbers, identity documents, home addresses, private email addresses, personal phone numbers, bank details and tax data are never published. They stay in private records visible only to the instructor and to reviewers.

A student chooses a session type, online or an airport, states their goal, experience and a proposed time, and submits a request. The instructor accepts, declines or proposes another time. Until a request is authorised, neither party sees the other's private contact details.

After authorisation, a private thread opens for the two participants. Direct contact details — including any meeting link — are shared inside that thread by mutual consent. Time zones are stored and displayed explicitly so a proposed time cannot be misread.

The Pilot Method's paid lessons are online. When an enabled booking uses the connected Google Calendar/Meet service, a meeting invitation and private join link can be created after the booking requirements are satisfied. Other directory requests may use a meeting link agreed by the participants. Any separately arranged in-person instruction is the independent instructor's service.

• — create and control your own account, and consent to publishing your profile;
• — keep every certificate, rating, currency, medical status where applicable, insurance, authorisation and record required for the service you offer;
• — decide independently whether you, the student, the aircraft, the airport, the weather and the proposed operation are legal and safe;
• — keep your profile, service area and availability accurate; and
• — disclose your fees and your cancellation expectations to the student directly.

When online checkout is available, review the named instructor, session length, time zone, total price and cancellation policy on the booking screen. Stripe processes the payment. A request or payment success page alone does not confirm a lesson: check the booking status and meeting details in your account.

The displayed booking policy applies to that lesson. Course, PDF and Written Prep refund windows do not automatically apply to instructor sessions. Contact us through your booking if a paid lesson cannot be confirmed or provided.

Review the instructor's displayed cancellation policy before booking a paid online lesson. A cancellation request in My Sessions is sent for review; the session stays scheduled until cancellation is confirmed. Submitting the request does not by itself issue a refund. Any refund due is handled under the policy shown for your booking and applicable rights that cannot be waived.

For a directory session arranged separately with an instructor, the standard cancellation or rescheduling window is 24 hours before the start; inside that window, agree the instructor's terms before booking. Payments arranged outside our checkout are handled directly by those participants.

After a session an instructor may record a structured private debrief: objective, topics covered, strengths, gaps, three next actions, resources and an optional follow-up date. A debrief is a study record shared between the two participants. It is not a logbook entry, not an endorsement, and not an FAA training record.

Report unsafe conduct, a false claim, an inaccurate profile or any misuse to fly@pilotmethodaviation.com or through the contact form. We can suspend a listing, request evidence, or remove a profile. Emergencies and suspected regulatory violations should go to the appropriate authority, not to us.

See also the terms of use, the reviews policy and the privacy notice.