Midlife Pilot Podcast

• EP149 - Information Whiskey: Why Does This Plane Smell Like Grandpa?

  It's Information Whiskey time - the crew's monthly no-format format where they "chew the fat" and see what happens. Brian accidentally became a Cherokee salesman at an air show ("I turn around, there's basically a queue forming"), Ben's on a night-flying mission to 1,500 hours, and Ted's been landing on Oregon beaches and flying 4,000 feet in ground effect. The guys also get serious about planning the Spring 2026 fly-in.In this episode:Brian's weekend: Muscle Shoals barbecue diplomacy ("if you come back with barbecue sandwiches and hot dogs...that goes a long way"), becoming an unwitting static display, and escaping a TFR with one minute to spareThe accidental GA ambassador: helping kids sit in the plane until "I realized this is not good"Ben's race to 100 hours of night time: "Turn on your lights. If you don't like it, turn your lights back off"Ted gives midlife eagle flights, lands at Boeing Field, and masters the art of the 4,000-foot ground effect taxiRyan K's thoughtful case for returning to Tango 82 for the spring fly-inFlying wisdom:"Night IFR is one of the best arguments for a parachute system""Learning to fly: horizon is steady, but your confidence isn't"On night engine failures: "Choose a place to land, turn on your lights. If you don't like it, turn your lights back off"Important announcement: If you have fly-in location suggestions, send them NOW. Brian's sounding the alarm.Mentioned on the Show:Bunyan's Barbecue - Muscle Shoals, AL (MSL)Luke's Landing: Flying to the Best Hot Dog - Luke's video about Bunyan's2I0 Madisonville Airport - Wings Over Western Kentucky locationWings Over Western Kentucky Air ShowMusic City STOL - Oct 10-11, XNX Gallatin, TNT82 - Gillespie County Airport - Fredericksburg, TXHangar Hotel at T82 - Previous fly-in locationKentucky Lake/Lake Cumberland Regional Airport - Potential fly-in location2I3 Rough River Airport - Kentucky fly-in optionBlue Grass Airport (LEX) - Lexington, Kentucky optionCali Beach (S16) - Oregon coast beach landing stripCheckMate Aviation - Barry's checklist company (1 year anniversary!)MyAeroGlass - Tim/Banjo Pilot's METAR displaysGilbert Aviation - Erica Gilbert's IFR trainingFAA Color Vision Testing Flowchart - Recent changes discussedFreedom Aviation Network - Anti-human trafficking effortsSupport the Show:Join the Patreon community for Discord access, exclusive content, and check ride debriefs: Patreon.com/MidlifePilotPodcastVisit MidlifePilotPodcast.com for merch, feedback, and discount codesURGENT: Send fly-in location suggestions to [email protected] us a 5-star review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe and catch us live most Monday nights at 8 PM ET: youtube.com/@midlifepilotpodcast10% of Patreon proceeds support Freedom Aviation Network's anti-human trafficking efforts

  --------  

  59:42

  --------

  59:42
• EP148 - Camping on Mount Stupid: A Love Letter to Infrequent Flyers

  Listener Chris C sparked this week's conversation with a thoughtful question about infrequent flying: "I have to think there's a whole class of pilots out there like me who just don't get up in the air very often... how I'll probably be camping on Mount Stupid for years at my current rate of flying." The crew dives deep into proficiency, imposter syndrome, and why flying once a month doesn't make you any less of a pilot.In this episode:Chris C's honest take on being an infrequent flyer and what it means for skills, risk assessment, and confidenceBrian's insight: "You're not somebody that's rusty. You're somebody that is consciously, willfully not flying a lot, but flying a little"Why "there are millions of people in this country that don't have a pilot license at all—so you're flying more than them"Ben confesses to his wrong-runway landing in Florida: "I turned all the blood left my face"Strut collapses, coyote wrangling, and why the instrument written is "just a hazing"Bonus wisdom: "VFR flying is like break dancing. IFR flying is like cotillion." Also: Don't write "oops, landed wrong runway" in your logbook.Thanks to Chris C for the episode inspiration and for reminding us that thoughtful, safety-conscious flying matters way more than your Hobbs meter.Mentioned on the Show:List of Class B airports - WikipediaList of Class C airports with traffic volume - WikipediaSheppard Air - Written test prepTriple Tree Fly-In - Sep 22-28, SC00 Spartanburg, SCMusic City STOL - Oct 10-11, XNX Gallatin, TNSwift National Fly-In - Oct 1-5, MMI Athens, TNCheckMate Aviation - Barry's aviation businessThe in person (online) guided IFR course Brian is taking is from our friend of the show CFII Erica Gilbert, and you can sign up here: https://www.gilbertaviation.com/ifrSupport the Show:Join the Patreon community for Discord access, exclusive content, and check ride debriefs: Patreon.com/MidlifePilotPodcastVisit MidlifePilotPodcast.com for merch, feedback, and all things Midlife Pilot PodcastLeave us a 5-star reviewSubscribe and catch us live most Monday nights at 8 PM ET on YouTube: youtube.com/@midlifepilotpodcast10% of Patreon proceeds support Freedom Aviation Network's anti-human trafficking effortswww.freedomaviationnetwork.org

  --------  

  57:51

  --------

  57:51
• EP147 - Trip, Fall, Succeed: Chip Away at Your Next Rating

  The crew tackles the midlife aviation dilemma: wanting that next rating but lacking time for full commitment. The hosts share Brian's "Trip Fall Succeed method" - making progress through small steps instead of diving headfirst into training.Ben returns from Europe unable to eat American pasta again and explains how multi-engine training feels like "standing in front of a cliff" until it becomes "a little bit of a slope." His dedication includes yoga training just to reach emergency gear handles: "I'm surprised I haven't thrown my back out yet."Brian shares his instrument training breakthrough on flying holds: "just draw the heading inbound to the fix and make the least insane turn" - apparently the secret nobody teaches. Ted discovers rental planes lack coffee makers while relearning carburetor heat exists.The key message: you don't need full commitment to make progress. "Point yourself in that direction and start chipping away" through reading, finding safety pilots, or just "planting seedlings of learning" in your brain during downtime.As friend of the show ATP CFII Nathan Ballard proves: "It took me 27 years to go from commercial to CFI. We are all on our own pace."Plus the debut of Midlife Pilot Confessional featuring anonymous "avionics errors.""Steam gauges because sometimes your best friend is a needle with a twitch."Mentioned on the show:* Moontown Airport Alabama: https://www.moontownairport.com/* CFII Ben Lehman, Drift Aviation: https://www.driftaviation.com/* Sandwich Illinois private airport: https://www.airnav.com/airport/IS65* The Dunning-Kreuger effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect* Ted's Alvord Desert video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKIK0CiVnrM* CNI Cherokee County, Canton Georgia: https://www.airnav.com/airport/CNI * Triple Tree fly-in, Sep 22-28, SC00 Spartanburg, SC: https://tta.aero/ttfi/* Music City STOL, Oct 10-11, XNX Gallatin Tenn: https://nationalstol.com/musiccity/* Swift fly-in, Oct 1-5, MMI Athens Tenn: https://swiftmuseumfoundation.org/2025-swift-national-fly-in-october-1st-5th-preregistration-form/* Atlanta Mayors' 5k on an ATL runway: https://runsignup.com/Race/Donate/GA/CollegePark/Mayors5Konthe5thRunway* Atlanta airport cemetery (on the runway): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/flat-rock-and-hart-cemeteries* Erica's IFR ground school class: https://www.gilbertaviation.com/ifr* dwhonan's aviation photography: https://www.instagram.com/dwhonan/Join the Midlife Pilot Podcast community, get merch, and more at www.midlifepilotpodcast.com

  --------  

  1:05:36

  --------

  1:05:36
• EP146 - The Third Rail of Aviation Discussion

  1DullGeek takes the hot seat to defend his controversial lean-of-peak flying technique that left Brian "smiling and nodding while trying to keep up." Using full throttle and mixture control for power management breaks more than just Lord Alpha Juliet's brain - it challenges decades of conventional wisdom. The crew dives deep into the psychology of finding and keeping good A&Ps, from owner-assisted annuals to the art of setting ground rules before work begins. Ted shares desert camping adventures complete with ground effect experimentation, Brian celebrates his first successful tailwheel flight review, and everyone agrees that partnerships come with built-in mechanics (the real MVP move).Mentioned on the show:* EP100 in West Virginia with OG Chris: https://midlifepilotpodcast.com/blog/remembering-episode-100-a-very-special-non-event* Mike Busch, Time and Materials: https://www.savvyaviation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Savvy_2023-12_time-and-materials.pdf* Ask the A&Ps: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/podcasts/podcasts/ask-the-a-and-ps* Savvy Aviation: https://www.savvyaviation.com/Support the Show: Join the best midlife pilot community and support the podcast on Patreon, browse our aviation merch collection, send us your feedback, and connect with fellow pilots at https://midlifepilotpodcast.com. We're grateful for your support in making this the positive aviation community we all love to be part of.

  --------  

  57:03

  --------

  57:03
• EP145 - Information Whiskey: Life, Spotted Cow, and Plane Jinxes

  Episode 145 brings you "information whiskey" - the crew's loose, conversational format where they step back from their "really tightly wound formatted structure" to catch up on life, flying, and everything in between.Ben confesses to being a "plane jinx" after his multi-engine training gets derailed by yet another 100-hour inspection, while Brian plans an epic desert trip from Nashville to New Orleans to Marfa because "if I don't have something on the horizon to look forward to, I'm just a shell of a human being." Ted shares his Palouse flying video and recalls his motorcycling adventures from "above the Arctic circle" to "below the equator."The highlight of the episode is Brian's glowing review of Wendell Geek's masterful Fisk arrival video, calling it "the first thing I've seen where it actually made me want to fly Fisk" and praising its non-linear storytelling approach. Mark reveals he accidentally rendered over his original footage and had to rebuild the entire video from scratch.The conversation meanders through STOL competitions ("if I had your plane, I would be doing that"), insurance implications of MOSAIC rules, and the crew's ongoing battle with aging aircraft and cars. Ben gets his thrills with a massive forward slip through Atlanta's Delta airspace, while Brian contemplates whether anyone wants to rebuild a 4AGE motor in a 1985 Toyota MR2.As Ted notes about midlife priorities: "We chose this not because it was easy, but because we thought it was easy" - the same mindset that drives both flying and life decisions at this stage.Ben's wisdom: "Cleared for the approach means it's time to make math panic look graceful."Mentioned on the show:Music City STOL: https://nationalstol.com/musiccity/XNX - Music City Executive Airport: https://www.airnav.com/airport/KXNXPiperzilla: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1418719012179295Ted's "Palouse Is My Happy Place" vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhD9hx-XvIITailwheel CFI Ben: https://www.instagram.com/flyyywithben/RYY - Cobb County: https://www.airnav.com/airport/KRYYMGE - Dobbins ARB: https://www.airnav.com/airport/kmgeMark/1dullgeek's Oshkosh arrival vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIWmgdiTDj8Ted's Oshkosh arrival vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91smAolmRpICheckride debriefs and Killing Zone Konversationz: https://www.patreon.com/collection/1238009Midlife Pilot Podcast: https://midlifepilotpodcast.com/YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@MidlifePilotPodcastPatreon Community: https://www.patreon.com/MidlifePilotPodcastFreedom Aviation Network: https://freedomaviation.network/

  --------  

  51:50

  --------

  51:50

More Leisure podcasts

Trending Leisure podcasts

About Midlife Pilot Podcast