Pilots · Build a stable operation
Housing creates capacity, fuel permits recruitment, and assignments turn people into progress. Ranks then reward keeping experienced crews active.
New crew arrive automatically when three conditions are true: you have an open berth, you hold a healthy fuel reserve, and the field is not starving. The population panel shows an arrival ETA only while recruitment is actually moving.
| Need | Assignment | When to add one |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | Refueler | Whenever the fuel margin is thin or new housing is planned. |
| Timber | Airframe Carpenter | When early buildings, gliders, or workshops are waiting on timber. |
| Research | Engineer, then later science roles | Keep at least one source active; add more when technology is the bottleneck. |
| Flight hours | Scout Pilot | When expeditions or frontier work need hours faster than routes provide them. |
| Routes | Pilot | One or more standby Pilots are required before aircraft can launch. |
The Pilot role produces nothing on the ground. It creates a standby pool that aircraft draw from while assigned to routes. If a route says there are not enough Pilots, move crew into the Pilot role or ground another aircraft.
Crew progress from Rookie through Wingman and Veteran to Ace. Active assignments earn experience fastest; idle crew improve slowly. Reaching the experience threshold makes a crew member eligible; you then promote them manually by spending Flight Hours. Wingman, Veteran, and Ace promotions cost 10, 30, and 90 Flight Hours.
Higher ranks strengthen the work that person performs. Route risk also benefits from the average experience of your overall roster, so developing the whole field matters—not only the crew currently airborne.
Instructors, the Flight Academy, specializations, officer posts, and permanent prestige upgrades can accelerate rank growth. Avoid reshuffling everyone constantly when a smaller adjustment will solve the bottleneck.
Morale affects the whole operation, not one department. Buildings, officers, air shows, and events can move it. Treat a sustained morale loss like a production problem; treat a temporary boost as a good time for a planned push.
Flight Training buys run-specific specializations for the major crew families. Choose the branch that addresses this run’s actual constraint. These choices reset at New Horizon, while the Hall of Aces and permanent meta progress remain.