Midlife Pilot Podcast

Midlife Pilot Podcast
  • 4.9 (171)
  • Aviation
  • Updated Weekly

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.

  1. 5d ago

    EP195 - I'm Temporarily Delayed, Not Canceled

    Ben, Brian, and Ted declare this one Oops All Feedback (or, as Ben coins it, "oopsitizers"): five tape machine clips plus reviews and community wins. Ben's avionics go pop-pop-pop over Columbus under an occluded front, and the crew lands on static as the likely culprit, with a side of "do you have static wicks?" Mark (1DullGeek) returns with the owner-maintenance addendum: anyone can replace a cylinder, only an A&P can sign it back into service, half the work is reading the maintenance manual, and his torque wrenches visit a calibration lab every year. Tango Hotel plans to fly the entire Mississippi from Lake Itasca to Venice, Louisiana, sandbars included. Ray in Australia asks how to survive "dropping out the bottom of the flight school sausage machine." Dan, almost 60, regroups with a new instructor at a slower pace (spite is very motivating). And Sierra Mike, 59, calls midlife "a fairly optimistic actuarial assumption" and reports that his instrument rating is temporarily delayed, not canceled. Plus: Delta Foxtrot passes his instrument checkride on the first attempt a month before his 66th birthday, Aviator Mo's five-star review orders Ben to stop whining, the non-event event moves to Saturday, September 19 at McCollum Field (RYY) with Elevation Chophouse after, and Brian connects it all to the Center for Land Use Interpretation and the way little airplanes teach you to read the landscape. Tonight's wisdom: learn from the mistakes of others, because you won't live long enough to make them all yourself. Mentioned on the show:Center for Land Use Interpretation: https://clui.org/

  2. Aug 18

    EP194 - "That's Why I Wear the Propeller Hat" - PropHatCat!

    Marcus is a magician, an off-Broadway producer, and an en route controller at Houston Center, which is either an unusual resume or a perfectly logical one. To thousands online he's PropHatCat. He opens with the disclaimer (he doesn't speak for the FAA or NATCA), delivers a verdict on traffic management, and lays out the whole machine: tower to TRACON to center to the Command Center in Virginia, which fixes things with a cleaver and hands down playbook routes that every layer below shaves a little finer, until a controller is staring at a route straight through a thunderstorm and thinking exactly what you're thinking. He also discusses EDCTs, why fog in San Francisco turns into 80 miles in trail, and how to read the arrival demand charts before you plan into a busy field, plus why modernization takes forever at an agency where repaving a parking lot took seven and a half years, why frequency changes are harder than any controller believes until they sit in the right seat, how two American flights ended up with the same number, how accurate Pushing Tin is (very, especially the relationships), and why nobody else makes this kind of content: "they're not dumb enough to do it." Mentioned on the show: * PropHatCat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prophatcat * PropHatCat's merch: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PropHatCat * PropHatCat on Linktree: https://linktr.ee/prophatcat * ATC TMUs: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/foa_html/chap18_section_2.html * EDCT: https://www.aspm.faa.gov/aspmhelp/index/Expect_Departure_Clearance_Times_(EDCT).html * NAS status: https://nasstatus.faa.gov/Arrival demand chart: https://www.fly.faa.gov/aadc/ * ERAM, en route automation modernization: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/technology/eram * PropHatCat flying with Accidental Aviator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GtI-uRIswc * Opposing Bases: Air Traffic Talk: https://www.opposingbases.com/ * FAA Mobile Clearance for GA, announced at Oshkosh: https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-advances-digital-departure-clearances-general-and-business-aviation * Elevation Chophouse and Skybar, McCollum Field: https://www.elevationatlanta.com/ Midlife Pilot Podcast: https://midlifepilotpodcast.com

  3. Aug 11

    EP193 - Getting in the Way of Our A&Ps

    Owner-assisted maintenance, with all four hosts aboard: Ben, Brian, Ted, and Mark (1DullGeek), the show's resident expert, currently apprenticing in his mechanic's shop. What are you actually allowed to touch on your own airplane? The crew walks through 14 CFR 43.3(a), the 31 preventive maintenance items in Part 43 Appendix A(c), and the fine print that says you can change a tire on the rim but not remove the wheel, since that means touching the disc brakes. The sport pilot exception (SLSA only), why the list is not "examples," the Coleal interpretation and what Mike Busch and others have made of it, and the practical wisdom: even when it's legal, do it with your A&P the first time. Plus your aviation-lingo-at-home tape machine submissions from the EP191 ask, and the words of wisdom every procrastinating owner needs: the small problem you delay fixing becomes a major problem at the most remote airport on your trip. Mentioned on the show: Opposing Bases: https://www.opposingbases.com/ Cheese Pilot: https://www.youtube.com/@cheesepilot Gita and the Calm Cockpit Podcast: https://calmcockpit.com/ Mark/1dullgeek's youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@1dullgeek TL Sparker: https://tlsportaircraft.com/sparker/ Arrested Development, Mr. Wendal song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcnPfHS24Pg#t=1m Meat and Three: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_and_three Why can we work on our own aircraft? 43.3(a): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/part-43/section-43.3#p-43.3(a) 43 Appendix A(c): Preventive Maintenance. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-43/appendix-Appendix%20A%20to%20Part%2043#p-Appendix-A-to-Part-43(c) Except for sport pilot, pilots can perform preventive maintenance on owned or operated aircraft. Sport pilots only for SLSA: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/part-43/section-43.3#p-43.3(g) The Coleal Interpretation: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/agc/practice_areas/regulations/interpretations/Data/interps/2009/Coleal-Bombardier%20Learjet_2009_Legal_Interpretation.pdf AOPA: Mike Busch and Savvy on Coleal and maintenance: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/october/pilot/savvy-aviator-preventive-maintenance AOPA: Mike Busch on Coleal and other interpretations: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2023/august/pilot/savvy-maintenance-legal-interpretations GAN: Jamie Beckett on interpretations: https://generalaviationnews.com/2025/08/26/the-rules-mean-what-the-rules-say-or-maybe-not/

  4. Aug 4

    EP192 - I Can't Believe Someone Pays Me to Do This

    Flying, and actually having someone else pay for it. The crew sits down with James Onieal of Raven Career Development: pilot, instructor, type-rated in the King Air, Citation, and Embraer 170/190, veteran of regional, fractional, and FAA flight check flying, and a career coach since 2010 (also a former FAA Sky Cop, but that's a topic for another day). Most aviation career advice is aimed at 22-year-olds; this conversation is for the midlife career changer: what Career 2.0 actually looks like when you're in your prime earning years, how a flight instructor made it to a legacy airline about eighteen months after starting the work, what changes when a 65-year-old airline pilot isn't ready to hang it up, and the question James opens with: what's your dream job? Tape-machine feedback, a review, and listener questions from midlife career changers round it out. Mentioned on the show: James Onieal, Raven Careers: https://ravencareers.com/ Brian's The Long Way, Cohort Bravo starting August 13: https://www.makesmallcorrections.com/ NetJets furloughed pilots in 2010: https://www.cnbc.com/2009/11/05/berkshire-hathaways-netjets-furloughs-495-pilots.html James's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesonieal/ 21.Five podcast: https://www.21fivepodcast.com/

  5. Jul 28

    EP191 - I'm Just Going Where He's Going

    Ben is back from AirVenture and still hearing the Fisk arrival in his sleep. Two holds around the lakes, a push all the way back to Puckaway, and made it in on the third time, following an RV toward the runway: "I'm just going where he's going, and I hope they clear us to land." The full Oshkosh debrief: the campsite, the meetup with the APG crew, BK the Oshkosh controller, and the departure lesson every IFR pilot should hear (no slot before Oshkosh means no slot leaving it). Brian counters with the BUCKHD THREE arrival into Atlanta and a real-time weather call when the bad stuff showed up early. Plus a big announcement: a live show recorded at McCollum Field (RYY), with food at Elevation Chophouse after. Tape machine from Ash (flying_wheelies), a plea for written reviews (the stars are great, write the words too), Ray B joins at the Land-O-Matic level, and Dev Cannon logs an hour milestone flying his Navion home from Oshkosh. Mentioned on the show: RYY - Cobb County/McCollum Field: https://www.airnav.com/airport/RYY Elevation Chophouse: https://www.elevationatlanta.com/ Ascension Aviation, RYY FBO: https://ascensionfbo.com/location/atlanta/ Ash aka flying_wheelies: https://instagram.com/@flying_wheelies Ben on Airplane Pilot Guy 716, part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-jPl9NKqOQ BUCKHD THREE arrival for Atlanta: https://www.flightaware.com/resources/airport/KCCO/STAR/BUKHD+THREE+(RNAV) The Flying Reporter - Oceanic Adventure: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcG48Zvp5uCE Open Source GA - many Oshkosh videos: https://www.youtube.com/@OpenSourceGA/videos

  6. Jul 21

    EP190 - Nothing Like the Real Thing

    This week Ben, Brian, and Ted get into IFR currency: what it actually takes to stay instrument current and ready. Six approaches, holds, tracking and intercepting nav aids, and the clock that never stops running. Foggles versus a safety pilot versus the real thing, why the foggles are "the worst approximation of the instrument experience," and whether an IPC is the smarter move than chasing six approaches every six months. Plus a full tape machine of your voice memos and a whole lot of Oshkosh anticipation. From the tape machine: Ash (flying_wheelies) on flying as a wheelchair pilot and sport pilot in his Paradise P1, and more of your feedback. Mentioned on the show: Brian's THE LONG WAY: https://www.makesmallcorrections.com/ Frequency Change Aviation, Nashville: https://frequencychangeaviation.com/ EP36 with CFI & flight school owner Jeff Ramsey: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep36-cfi-flight-school-owner-jeff-ramsey-on-how-to/id1591463789?i=1000615289723 Ash's Flying Wheelies: https://www.instagram.com/flying_wheelies Paradise P1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_P1_LSA ICP Savannah: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICP_Savannah When Do You Need An IPC (Boldmethod): https://www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-fly/regulations/when-do-you-need-an-ipc-instrument-proficiency-check/ 1DullGeek's "I Can't See the Runway!!": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoIQv7IsfCw

  7. Jul 14

    EP189 - Sport Pilot Extraordinaire

    Sport pilots get treated as lesser pilots. This week the crew takes apart why, and why it does not hold up. The restrictions are real. The skill gap is not. After MOSAIC put Cessna 172s and Cherokees within reach of a sport pilot, the training gap closed on its own. It starts with Rich, a sport pilot in Atlanta who walked into a flight school and got told he had "so much less training." Also this week: listener Christopher H. crossed 500 hours and passed his commercial checkride. Tape-machine messages from Luke Johnson, Sierra Squared, and Chris M. From the community: Echo November Whiskey passed the instrument checkride after "5 reschedulings with 3 DPEs." PapaLima logged a 90-day run for the ages. hakan flew his first border crossing, Germany to Austria. Support the show, join the Discord, grab merch, and send us a message at midlifepilotpodcast.com. If you are enjoying the podcast, leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and we will read it on the air. Mentioned on the show: Brian's THE LONG WAY: https://www.makesmallcorrections.com/ Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic since 1992: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovakia Long Way 'Round, Ewan McGregor: https://www.longway.tv/ Yes, Long Distance Runaround: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La9Me7alNqA Erica's IFR class: https://www.gilbertaviation.com/

  8. Jul 7

    EP188 - Go/No-Go: Honoring Your Minimums When Everyone Else Is Leaving

    Ben's coming back to McCollum with his wife in the right seat and the winds at 340, 18 gusting 28, basically direct crosswind, and he's already named the two north-south runways he'll divert to if he doesn't like it. That's the whole episode in one scene. We dig into go/no-go decisions, built around the Go/No-Go channel where you post a flight before you fly it and let the group reason alongside you. No bravado, no armchair quarterbacking. Brian makes the case that scrubbing a flight you could have made is still a win, because you're teaching your future self the call was sound and next time the conditions could be worse. Erica Gilbert's 1,000-foot ceiling minimum comes up, and the story behind it: three emergency returns after takeoff inside 30 days. We talk through the real question under an IFR deck, which is how much time you want to find a landing spot when the engine quits, not if. The hardest scrubs are the ones 900 miles from home with work in the morning, so grab your meds and your underwear. We also read a remarkable letter from Bruce, a 45-year-old monocular MMA coach who spent two and a half years fighting through medical denials to earn his certificate. Plus accomplishments from Teddy's second Mooney, an M20J flown Texas to Minnesota, and Checkmate Barry's 14-maneuver flight review, the Piston Peasant shirt Ted designed, and a second cohort of Brian's VFR cross-country course after the first sold out. If you can't be a good example, you'll have to be a horrible warning. Mentioned on the show: THE LONG WAY cross-country course: https://www.makesmallcorrections.com/PISTON PEASANT shirt: https://midlifepilotpodcast.printful.me/product/piston-peasant-shirtNew website: https://midlifepilotpodcast.com/I FLEW ALL DAY AND LANDED AT THE SAME AIRPORT shirt: https://midlifepilotpodcast.printful.me/product/i-flew-all-day-and-landed-at-the-same-airport-unisex-classic-teeErica Gilbert's IFR masterclass: https://www.gilbertaviation.com/ifr-course

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4.9
out of 5
171 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Midlife Pilot Podcast
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    194
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Midlife Pilot Podcast
  • Show Website
    Midlife Pilot Podcast

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