I'm a commercial pilot (ASEL, AMEL, Instrument) with 369.5 total hours. My day job is managing a mobile electronics shop in Merced, CA. I'm not flying full time yet. The goal is to get to 700 hours for a Part 135 job, and eventually 1,500 for ATP minimums. That takes money I don't have sitting around.
So I'm building income streams on the side, and using AI automation to do most of the heavy lifting while I'm at work. Here's an honest accounting of where things stand.
The Stack: OpenClaw + Talos
Everything runs through OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent platform that runs on my Mac 24/7. My agent is named Talos. It handles:
- Content creation: Blog posts, SEO optimization, marketing copy
- Code generation: Helps build and maintain my iOS apps
- Market research: Scans for opportunities, analyzes competitors
- Task management: Tracks progress across all projects via Todoist integration
- Cron automation: 20+ scheduled jobs run overnight while I sleep
Talos isn't magic. It's infrastructure. The value comes from having a system that moves projects forward during the hours I can't.
What I'm Building (Honest Status)
KDP Books — Live, First Revenue
Two aviation study guides on Amazon:
- Private Pilot License Workbook: 500+ practice questions, $19.99 print / $9.99 Kindle
- Instrument Rating Workbook: Comprehensive IFR prep, $9.99 Kindle
Total KDP revenue through March 2026: $57.81 from 7 paperback sales across two workbooks. Still small, but the trend is up: 5 units sold in March alone after launching an Amazon Sponsored Products campaign. The books are getting reviews (5.0 stars, 4 reviews on the PPL Workbook), and I have free cheat sheets on Gumroad as lead magnets. AI helped with formatting, keyword optimization, and creating the cheat sheets.
FeedFare — Live on the App Store
An iOS app where you walk to unlock your phone. Set a daily step goal, and your apps stay locked until you hit it. Screen time management through physical activity.
Now live on the App Store as of March 2, 2026. Free with premium IAP. Not generating revenue yet — just launched. AI helped build it, optimize the App Store listing, and generate ASO keywords. The app works. Now it needs to get approved and find users.
Kalshi Weather Bot — Paper Trading
A Python bot that scans Kalshi weather prediction markets every 30 minutes. It compares NOAA and Open-Meteo forecasts to market prices, identifies edges above 15 cents, and sizes positions using Kelly Criterion.
The bot ran paper for 35 days: 217 resolved trades, 76.5% win rate, $1,773 in simulated profit. On March 28, 2026 it went live with a $424 bankroll. Quarter-Kelly sizing, $15 max per position, circuit breaker armed. AI built the scanner, the signal pipeline, and the devil's advocate review layer that challenges every trade thesis before execution.
More Apps in the Pipeline
- Inflection Point: Life strategy game (iOS). Built, needs to be submitted to App Store.
- SpendSlap: CSV spending roaster with AI analysis. Built, needs RevenueCat wired.
- PetFace: AI pet portraits + breed detection. Built, needs Replicate API + RevenueCat.
Notice the pattern: built but not shipped. That's the gap I'm closing right now. AI is great at building. Shipping requires human follow-through on App Store submissions, payment wiring, and marketing.
YouTube — Not Yet Monetized
My YouTube channel documents the journey. AI helps with content planning, script drafts, and thumbnail concepts. It's not generating income yet. I'm treating it as a long-term play and a transparency tool for the Flight Funded experiment.
What AI Actually Does Well
After several months of running this system, here's what genuinely works:
- Overnight work: Talos runs cron jobs at 3am that draft content, back up data, scan markets, and prepare morning briefs. I wake up to a summary of what got done.
- Research at scale: Competitive analysis, niche scouting for KDP, SEO keyword research. Tasks that would take me hours take minutes.
- Code generation: Going from idea to working iOS app in days instead of months. I'm not a developer by training. AI closed that gap.
- Content production: Blog posts, product descriptions, social media drafts. The volume would be impossible solo.
What AI Doesn't Do
- Ship products: Every app still needs manual App Store submission, screenshot creation, payment integration.
- Build an audience: No shortcut for genuine engagement. Reviews, followers, and trust take time.
- Replace judgment: The Kalshi bot has a devil's advocate layer because blindly trusting AI signals with real money is how you go broke.
- Guarantee income: $57.81 in total KDP revenue plus a live Kalshi bot. Still early, but no longer theoretical.
The Math
I need roughly $226,000 in flight time to reach ATP minimums. At a flying club rate of $125/hr (cheaper than flight school), that drops to about $141,000. Every dollar from side income goes into the flight hour fund.
At $57.81 in KDP revenue and a live Kalshi bot, I can afford about 17 seconds of flight time. The trajectory matters more than the current number. FeedFare is live in the App Store with 42 installs, the Kalshi bot is trading real money, and KDP sales are trending up. The math is starting to move.
What's Next
- Ship everything that's built: Inflection Point, SpendSlap, and PetFace all need to get out the door.
- Get KDP reviews: 5+ reviews unlock Amazon Ads. That's the growth lever for book sales.
- Scale the Kalshi bot: Live since March 28. Monitor real-money performance and scale sizing after 50 confirmed trades.
- Build the YouTube habit: Consistent uploads, document the journey, let compound interest work.
- Join a flying club: Cut hourly costs from $200 to $125. That's a 37% reduction in the gap.
I'm tracking every dollar publicly on my Flight Funded dashboard. Real numbers, real time, no spin. If AI-powered side income can fund a pilot career, you'll see it happen there first.
The honest version of this story isn't "AI made me rich." It's "AI gave me leverage I didn't have before, and now I'm trying to turn that leverage into something real." I'll let you know how it goes.