Brian is hiding from CMA Fest, Ben is back from the British Virgin Islands, and Ted has finally sprung the Egg from a two-month annual. Time for an Information Whiskey episode.

Brian gets back in the air after his exam binge with a visit to Full Stop Aviation at Union City, where he meets a 1,000 horsepower Reno racer, then executes a strategic family airstrike to the Virginia mountains and reports that Lucy's autopilot vertical hold now sounds like logging into America Online before giving up entirely. Listener feedback from Chris H. sparks a debate on whether heavy dual time before the private checkride is a red flag or just life happening. Community accomplishments include a PIN code for the DC FRZ, a 9,000 foot density altitude wake turbulence encounter, ten Young Eagles in one day, an LSRM-I sign-off, and fresh grief for everyone hand jamming a Garmin 430 in actual.

Then things go deeper. Brian unpacks his new video "Trip. Fall. Succeed." and the photograph he took of a family at Huntsville Executive just two days before they were lost in the Montana Aztec accident. It's a thoughtful look at how aviation talks about tragedy, and how Ron Horton's challenge to become instructors gives all of this weight and purpose.

Plus: episode 200 hits this fall, and the crew wants your votes for a very special non-event event at a no-place place. Hudson Corridor? New Orleans? A Denny's in Topeka? Send votes to [email protected]

Tonight's bit of wisdom: "Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm."

Mentioned on the show:

UCY - Union City:https://www.airnav.com/airport/UCY

Full Stop Aviation at UCY:https://fs-aviation.com/

Luke's Landing:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrpUYt-M4Qosktmet7Jnfg

FlightChops video, going to UCY - Have You Ever Truly Experienced "Severe Turbulence"?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUrGSFulrwI

TUPJ - Lettsome International, British Virgin Islands:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrance_B._Lettsome_International_Airport

EP182 - DPE Ron Horton Part 1:https://open.spotify.com/episode/5yl5pJ0rvFXpg5nxNL7xTw?si=1XbAa1HlQKmC5oP5Xfaghw

I was today years old:https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-was-today-years-old

FLARE Bourbon distillery:https://www.flarebourbon.com/home

Checkmate Barry using the Icarus electronic foggles:https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2026-04-27/training-icarus-device-inoculates-against-iimc

Redbird AATD (simulators):https://simulators.redbirdflight.com/

Brian's new YouTube video, The Midlife Way: Trip. Fall. Succeed:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCim9wvwmO0

Blancolirio video about the family flying the Aztec:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7kT0_Jns0Q

Brian's video on monetizing tragedy, The Economics of Exploitation. Aviation's YouTube Problem:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129nlBPpVAI

Jim Morrison, No One Gets Out Of Here Alive:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_One_Here_Gets_Out_Alive

NEW, New Orleans Lakefront Airport terminal building:https://lakefrontairport.com/about/

Connect with the show:

Everything Midlife Pilot Podcast:https://midlifepilotpodcast.com

Patreon and Discord:https://patreon.com/midlifepilotpodcast

Live on YouTube Mondays 8 PM Eastern:https://youtube.com/@midlifepilotpodcast

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