Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicklaus Smith.
Nicklaus, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in a small town in Washington with ambitions that always felt bigger than what was in front of me. I knew from an early age that I wanted more. Inside I knew I wanted to reach the sky, go to space, become an astronaut. So in that process, I became an aerospace engineer and started learning to fly with the dream of becoming an astronaut. From the outside, it was a great path. But internally, I wanted more than a career that looked successful on paper, and as I went through the process of becoming a pilot, I struggled, and overcame many obstacles. But within those obstacles, a lightbulb went off. I realized that everything I learned could help other people.
I knew at that moment, that I wanted to create an easier world, for people to become pilots
When I began flight training, I experienced what so many aspiring pilots experience: the dream is exciting, but the path to get there can be overwhelming. There is an enormous amount of information to learn, the terminology can feel like another language, training is expensive, and every wasted hour or unnecessary expense makes you question whether you can realistically keep going.
I was working, studying, spending money on training, and trying to fit aviation into an already busy life. Traditional in-person ground school didn’t fit the way I needed to learn. And when I looked online for a better solution, I found plenty of information, big name online ground schools, but not the kind of clear, focused roadmap I was looking for.
I remember thinking: If this is frustrating for me, with an aerospace engineering background, how does it feel for someone coming into aviation with none?
That question changed everything.
I studied the other ground schools, took their courses myself, and started identifying where students were being underserved. Then I approached the problem like an engineer: strip away what doesn’t matter, make the complicated understandable, and give students multiple ways to learn and retain the material.
That became Part Time Pilot.
More than seven years later, we’ve helped over 5,000 students move closer to becoming pilots. What started as a solution to a problem I experienced personally has grown into a company with a full-time team, an online ground school, an app, and a community of aspiring pilots across the country.
The part I’m proudest of isn’t simply helping someone pass a test. It’s helping someone who thought, “Maybe I’m not cut out for this,” realize that they are. Sometimes the problem isn’t the student, it’s that no one has given them the right tools or shown them a path that works with their life.
I once thought becoming an astronaut would be the ultimate dream. But along the way, I discovered something meaningful: helping other people believe their dream of flying is actually possible, and giving them the tools to get there.
Now, the goal is to multiply that impact by partnering with flight schools, organizations, and military communities so we can help make aviation more approachable, achievable, and accessible for the next generation of pilots.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. All the struggles I experienced are the reason Part Time Pilot exists today.
When I started flight training, I had an aerospace engineering background. I understood complex technical concepts for a living, so I assumed learning to become a pilot would be straightforward.
It wasn’t.
I ran into the same three things that stop a lot of student pilots: time, money, and the feeling that you’re not progressing fast enough.
I was working full-time while trying to become a pilot. Finding time for in-person ground school, flight lessons, studying and everything else proved to be very difficult. When training wasn’t consistent, I would lose the touch and skill needed to master landings and lessons. And when you have to redo flight lessons, it doesn’t just cost time – it costs money.
That was probably one of the most frustrating parts. Flight training is already expensive. When you walk away from a lesson feeling like you paid to relearn or redo something you you’ve already accomplished before, it starts to wear on you.
I found plenty of resources and big-name ground schools for the content that the FAA already gives us for free, just repackaged, but nothing worked. Nothing helped guide me through the process from start to finish. Nothing existed that could mentor me on how to avoid expensive mistakes.
There were moments I almost quit. And in those moments, I remember feeling how frustrated I was and why the process had to be this difficult.
That was humbling.
I remember thinking, I have a degree in aerospace engineering and I’m struggling with this. What does this experience feel like for someone who has never seen any of this before?
That struggle eventually became the opportunity.
I stopped looking at my frustration as something I had to push through and started looking at it as a problem I could solve. As I learned and mastered the subject, I took other ground school courses. I studied what they did well and where students were being left behind. Then I started building the resource I wished I’d had.
That’s how Part Time Pilot was born.
Building the business brought an entirely new set of struggles. I wasn’t a business owner or an online educator, I was an engineer. I had to learn how to create a course, reach students, build technology, develop an app, market to student pilots, build a team and turn something I believed in into something that could actually support people at scale.
There was no guarantee it would work.
Seven-plus years and more than 5,000 students later, through podcasts, writing a book, and giving out thousands in scholarships to fellow student pilots, those early struggles are still what drive the company.
Because when a student tells us they were overwhelmed, falling behind or starting to wonder whether they were smart enough to become a pilot, I understand that feeling.
Our job isn’t just to help someone pass a written test. It’s to remove as many of the barriers between that person and the cockpit as we can, so a difficult season in their training doesn’t become the reason they give up on a lifelong dream. It’s to help you transform your life while guiding you every step of the way
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Part Time Pilot?
Part Time Pilot is more than an online ground school & test prep course. It’s a full system to take you from zero to pilot, with real integration into flight schools, instructors, and training programs. It is for students online, in the classrom, with integration tools just for instructors.
Most people don’t quit because they aren’t capable. They quit because the path is confusing, expensive, and they’re never quite sure what actually matters.
I built this because I lived that experience myself. So we teach aviation simply: no fluff, just what you need to move forward efficiently and confidently.
You get everything in one place:
● Ground school lessons in written, video or audio format
● 1700+ FAA questions in Practice tests & flashcards
● Offline studying
● Live instruction
● Mobile app
● Scholarships + community support
And that doesn’t include our lifetime access, full money-back guarantee, FAA WINGS Safety credits and AI tools. A combination of features that no other online ground school currently matches.
And for flight schools, universities, and CFIs, we act as a true training partner, not just a supplement. We connect ground training to flight training so instructors can track student progress, identify weak areas early, and ensure students show up prepared. For larger programs, this means more consistency across students, better stage checks, and more efficient use of valuable flight time.
We’re especially proud to be based in San Diego, California, where we’re closely connected to a strong aviation ecosystem that includes flight schools, university programs, and military aviation communities. We’re actively building relationships with schools in the region and beyond to support structured training pipelines and improve student outcomes at scale.
We also see a strong opportunity to support military pilots and service members transitioning or advancing their aviation careers. Whether it’s preparing for civilian certifications, supporting continued education, or helping bridge the gap between military and civilian aviation requirements, Part Time Pilot is designed to make that transition smoother, more structured, and more accessible.
We’re not a content library. We’re the system that helps students and training organizations actually get through aviation training.
Today, over 5,000 students have used Part Time Pilot, and we’ve grown into a full team focused on one goal: helping people and institutions produce better-prepared, more confident pilots.
From “I hope I can do this” → to “I am a pilot.”
That’s what we’re building.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is actually something I’m still working on every day: you don’t have to do everything alone.
My instinct has always been, I’ll figure it out. I’ll solve it. I’ll do it myself. That mindset helped me become an engineer, a pilot and eventually build a business – but I’ve also learned that doing everything yourself isn’t always strength.
Sometimes the stronger decision is finding the right people to walk with you.
I think a lot of student pilots can relate to that. You start learning to fly and suddenly you’re surrounded by information you don’t understand. And when you struggle, you start wondering whether you’re capable of becoming a pilot at all.
Learning doesn’t have to feel impossible. It doesn’t have to be confusing. And struggling doesn’t mean you aren’t capable.
You are.
I’ve learned that the right system can turn something that once felt overwhelming, and the right community can keep you moving when you might have quit on your own.
Having help isn’t a weakness. It’s often the difference between struggling alone and actually succeeding.
That’s something I try to build into Part Time Pilot, but it’s also something I’m continually learning in my own life and business.
The sky can feel far away when you’re standing on the ground looking up. But you can get there. And you don’t have to get there alone. I did it, and so can you.
Pricing:
- Private Pilot Online Ground School – $249.99 for Life
- Sport Pilot Online Ground School – $249.99 for Life
- Instrument Online Ground School – $249.99 for Life
Contact Info:
- Website: https://parttimepilot.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/part.time.pilot/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/part.time.pilot1/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/72595520/admin/dashboard/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/parttimepilot
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@part.time.pilot
