Distractions in flight can be a life-threatening issue. It’s not just the rise in use of cell phones, iPads and GoPros in flight. There are other ways that distractions can creep in and eventually affect the safety of your flight. On Episode 52 we’re going to touch on some of these pilot distractions as a reminder to us all, and also talk about distractions we face overall in flight training.

Andrew Bowman flies for American Airlines, but began his career in the Air Force Reserves. It’s a fitting conversation as today is Veteran’s Day! Andrew shares how flying the C-17 has taken him all over the world and eventually led to the opportunity for an interview with American Airlines. He shares practical advice for anyone exploring the military or civilian career route, and demystifies some of the questions that we all have when riding in a commercial airliner.

It’s no secret that flight training is very expensive. We know that the majority of you, like us, work hard to pay for your training. You may actually work multiple jobs, use your savings, or obtain a loan to finance your training. There is another option that could supplement your flight training costs, and that is an aviation scholarship. On today’s episode we’ll lay out some facts about scholarships, where to find them, and tips on preparing a scholarship application.

Kerri Ballard is a pilot who’s worn many hats in her career: flight instructor, fire bomber, world champion skier, and captain for Alaska Airlines. Like many pilots who’ve gone before us, and even some we’re lucky enough to call mentors and inspirations, the more we get to know Kerri, the more “cool factor” she has. Kerri’s humble heart and expertise is a draw for any young pilot that’s lucky enough to meet her. We’re thrilled for her to share part of her story on this week’s episode.

Fueling your own aircraft is actually a simple process that many student pilots learn early in their training. But if you’re like us and trained at a field where others handled fueling for you, it can be a little intimidating the first time you taxi up to a fuel pump and do it yourself. On today’s episode we’re going to walk through the steps of fueling properly and safely

On last week’s episode we shared some of our initial thoughts and reactions one day after passing our instrument rating check rides. Today, we’re diving deeper into how we prepared for that day beginning with ground school, on to our flight training, then the practical test itself. Whatever level of flight training you’re at, we hope this episode gives some practical tips how to successfully progress through the process. Fly with aloha!

We’ve been absent from the podcast this month, and with good reason. Our focus had to turn to studying and flying getting ready for our instrument check rides, which were yesterday. On today’s episode we’ll give a brief overview of how we approached our instrument training from ground school to check ride prep. We’ll break it down into more detail in future episodes, but as for now, we just wanted to share the good news and initial thoughts. Fly with aloha!

Whatever you want to call them… confessions, regrets or lessons learned. These are six of the regrets we’ve seen in ourselves as student pilots and with others in flight training over the last few years. Episode 45 shares personal stories from past and current flight training and some of the things we wish we could do over, or do better.

When a potential student pilot begins to seriously explore the thought of flight training, it leaves a lot of questions for their significant other. Isn’t this dangerous? How much is it going to cost? How will it affect our family? Today we welcome Neil and Lauren Greenhaw of Bentonville, AR. Neil is waiting to start flight training, and Lauren shares some of her honest uneasiness, but also excitement about the idea.

Are you struggling with getting the overall picture of the American airspace system? Fly Maui’s Chief Flight Instructor Ovick Kar joins us on Episode 43 to share his “airspace story.” It’s a simple overview that may just help you when preparing for the next written exam or practical test. Get ready to take some notes! Aloha!