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
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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.
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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/
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EP144 - It's Easier to Build an Airplane Than Get My A&P
1DullGeek drops the bombshell that building beats bureaucracy, while keeping his aircraft shortlist more classified than Area 51 (spoiler: Ted's in on the secret). Brian discovers that flying tailwheel means surrendering all control to achieve actual control, and that Cherokee muscle memory doesn't translate to delicate Cessna 140s. Ben's multi-engine journey continues with nose-diving revelations and the humbling realization that "dead foot, dead engine" logic fails spectacularly under pressure.The crew dives deep into Mosaic's game-changing LSRI certification that's about to turn every EAA chapter into inspection central, while insurance companies lurk in the shadows as aviation's true overlords. Plus, why builder-assist programs range from "comprehensive education" to "glorified observation," and Ted casually flexes 45 nautical miles per gallon because apparently his egg runs on good intentions and Pacific Northwest vibes.Mentioned on the show:Tailwheel CFI Ben Lehman, Drift Aviation: https://www.driftaviation.com/XNX, Music City Executive Airport: https://www.musiccityexecutiveairport.com/skywatch.ai, renters insurance on a daily basis: https://www.skywatch.ai/aircraft-renters-insuranceTransair Flight 810, getting the failed engine wrong and landing in the ocean near Hawaii: https://apnews.com/article/plane-ditches-ocean-hawaii-7ec8d9d33b42ec6b7cefe0ea94aa74b7Ted's video, sunset burger flight up the columbia river gorge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8o4es8puSAMark's video, Climbing Thru a Thin Broken Layer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxxULQhMZ5ECanard Boulevard: Mosaic: The Huge Gift from the FAA for Experimental Owners That Nobody Is Talking About: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS9GY_9-t6cMoonies, aka Unification Church: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_ChurchGhost Dog: The Way of the Samurai: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Dog:_The_Way_of_the_SamuraiAng Patriot: https://veloceplanes.com/ang/Porto Risen: https://www.flyrisen.com/TL Sparker: https://tlsportaircraft.com/sparker/Sling TSi: https://slingaircraft.com/aircraft/sling-tsi/Erin & Paul's airplane build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB6X4IZVEXoAviation101 Sling build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8_QRqLhUq0&list=PLZUuXpwtz5yDL3fELSX72zGl6IaTL7usESupport 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.
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1:02:25
EP143 - The IFR Imposters: A False Glide Slope to Aviation Knowledge
What happens when four pilots discuss IFR ground school and nobody really knows what they're talking about? Episode 143 delivers a chaotic journey through aviation acronyms that'll make you question everything.Ben admits he's "a little nervous" before diving into MOCAs vs ROCAs. Brian, suffering through IFR ground school, says his brain "goes cross-eyed" with acronyms like "M-A-A-M-C-A-M-D-A-M-E-A." Ted drops wisdom about aviation's three knowledge levels: "pass the test, throw away that knowledge."The conversation careens from NDB approaches to Shepherd Air debates, with Wendell Geek explaining the gap between training IFR and actual IFR: "you spend most of your time trying to avoid that."Brian perfectly captures the episode: "This is gonna be the worst episode that we've ever done, because we have nobody that knows what they're talking about." He later calls it "a false glide slope" metaphorically.Join the gang for aviation education that's equal parts informative and terrifying, where approach plates are more confusing than figuring out who actually knows what they're talking about.Ben's wisdom: "It's not real IFR until the sweat soaks your checklist.""This has not been sponsored by the FAA."Mentioned on the show:Erica/Aerosafe IFR course: https://www.gilbertaviation.com/ifrMOCA, OROCA: https://www.flight-insight.com/post/mea-moca-oroca-ifr-altitudes-explainedForeflight expected routes: https://support.foreflight.com/hc/en-us/articles/360054089634-What-are-Expected-Routes-in-ForeFlightSheppard Air- test prep software: https://www.sheppardair.com/Garmin G5: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/570665/Garmin GI275: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/719027/CCO - Newnan-Coweta County Airport: https://www.coweta.ga.us/departments-services/departments-a-e/airportMidlife Pilot Podcast: https://midlifepilotpodcast.com/YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@MidlifePilotPodcastPatreon Community: https://www.patreon.com/MidlifePilotPodcastDiscord Community (join via website)Freedom Aviation Network: https://freedomaviationnetwork.org
Welcome to the Midlife Pilot Podcast, where we share the experiences and the challenges of flying in midlife. Whether you're a seasoned pilot, training for private or instrument ratings, or just thinking about getting started in aviation, we like to think of the podcast as your aviation companion, and your weekly dose of aviation inspiration. Hosted by the dynamic trio of Ben, Brian, and Ted - the show is not instruction - it's all about sharing real stories, personal insights, and the pure joy of spreading your wings in midlife.
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