Guides
Guides to the hobby
Where the cards come from, how to get them, and how not to ruin them.
What are Pilot Trading Cards?
Free cards that airline pilots hand out, and they show the airplane, not the pilot. What's on them, what they're worth, and every airline, airport and maker that has them.
How to start collecting Pilot Trading Cards
Delta printed the first one in 2003 for the retirement of its MD-11, and meant it as a one-off. Which airlines run programs now, how they differ, when to ask a pilot, and what the cards are worth.
How to store and protect your cards
Most collections are not damaged by accidents. They are damaged by years of small avoidable mistakes. Humidity, UV, skin oils, and why most binder pages are made of exactly the wrong plastic.
How to judge the condition of a card
There is no PSA for these cards and the hobby never agreed on a vocabulary. The five levels, where they came from, the one line between worn and damaged, and how to judge a card in about five seconds.
How hard is a card to get?
Nobody publishes print runs and age alone does not answer it, so we asked the collectors. How difficulty is voted on, what actually makes a card scarce, and why a trade needs it.
What is a Pilot Trading Card variant?
The same card, printed again with something changed. What usually differs, what is not a variant, and how to tell which one you are holding.