If you’re planning on applying to the airlines, or another flying job that requires you to fly outside of the U.S., you will need an FCC Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit. There is no test, you only need to apply for it and pay $35.
This website has a great description on how to apply for this. Click here to read.
I fly three variants of the Canadair Regional Jet, the smallest one being the CRJ200. I did a lot of asking around and online searching before I decided on the Luggageworks 22″ Aurora New Generation (click link for 360 view). It is plastic, making it lighter to lug up and down the steps (you’d be surprised how often you’re doing this), but also sturdy enough to put up with abuse. I’ve had mine for a year so far and am glad I got it. It has plenty of pockets. If you’re flying the CRJ200 you can’t stuff it too full, but you can definitely stuff it into the tiny overhead bins.
Lots of pilots I fly with have the Stealth luggage as well. It’s the same size, just made with metal instead of plastic. Some say they’ve had it for 10+ years and it’s still going strong.
I personally wanted to carry as few bags as possible, so I got the Stealth Multipurpose Cube (click link for 360 view) which is a cooler/headset carrier/flight bag all in one. Pros are that I have less bags to carry. Cons, it’s heavy enough I don’t like carrying it around by itself, but I rarely go anywhere without my suitcase as well, and the suitcase carries and balances the weight beautifully.
