About Me:

Meet Ava, the Pilot Behind Airlines on Autopilot

I’m Ava, also known as @pilot.avabelle, an airline pilot, E175 simulator instructor, and the creator of Airlines on Autopilot. I hold Boeing 737 and Embraer 175/190 type ratings, but my experience teaching and evaluating pilots is what shapes the resources you’ll find here.

Before flying for the airlines, I served as a lead flight instructor and check airman at the University of North Dakota, where I administered 100+ certificate granting checkrides across private, instrument, commercial, and multi-engine training. I also personally trained 40+ students with a 100% oral checkride pass rate.

I’ve been on both sides of the checkride: preparing to take one myself and evaluating other pilots. That perspective is what I bring to Airlines on Autopilot.

Why I Created Airlines on Autopilot

Preparing for a checkride can feel overwhelming. There’s no shortage of information, but knowing what to focus on, how the concepts connect, and how to explain what you’ve learned is a different challenge.

I created AOA to make that process clearer.

My goal isn’t to give you another stack of material to memorize. It’s to help you understand what you’re studying, connect it to real-world flying, and walk into your checkride better prepared to explain your knowledge and apply it.

For flight instructors, that also means having lesson plans that help you organize your teaching, explain concepts clearly, and teach with confidence.

My Path to the Cockpit

Aviation runs in my family, both of my parents, my cousin, and my grandfather are pilots. I earned my private pilot certificate at 17 after soloing at just 11.4 flight hours.

My journey took me to the University of North Dakota, where I double-majored and worked my way from student to flight instructor, lead instructor, and check airman before moving into airline flying and simulator instruction.

Those experiences continue to shape how I approach aviation education: make the information understandable, keep it practical, and help pilots see how it applies beyond the checkride.

Here to Help You Take the Next Step

Whether you’re preparing for your first checkride, adding a rating, or becoming a flight instructor, AOA offers checkride study guides, instructor lesson plans, and AOA Pilot Prep to support your training.

The mission is simple: help you spend less time wondering what to study and more time understanding what matters.

No Fluff. Just What You Need to Pass Your Checkride.