Pilot's Discretion from Sporty's

As a professor, Sidney Dekker has spent his career studying safety processes in industries like healthcare and mining. As a pilot, both for an airline and in his Carbon Cub, he has put those theories into practice. In this thought-provoking episode, you'll hear what he's learned, including: how much risk pilots can actually quantify, why we should study what went right and not just what went wrong, and what it means to drift into failure. You'll also learn about the beat up Cessna 172 he restored, whether autopilots are a positive or negative for safety, whether pilots should read accident reports, and what an "automation surprise" is.  

LINKS:

- Sidney's website: https://sidneydekker.com/

- Drift into Failure: https://www.amazon.com/Drift-into-Failure-Sidney-Dekker/dp/1409422216

- Sporty's Pilot Training+ membership: https://www.sportys.com/sportys-pilot-training-plus.html

When the airplane engine quits over a remote part of Canada, your options are limited. For Tom Comet and his friend, this was just the start of an incredible adventure—one packed with lessons for all pilots. In this riveting episode, he shares how they reacted to their emergency, where they chose to land, and what survival gear made a difference during a long, cold night on a lake. As a UAS pilot and former circus performer, Tom also talks about flying $150,000 drones for TV and creating huge pyrotechnic displays, including the lessons learned about risk management. In the Ready to Copy segment, you'll hear why the Cessna Skymaster is an underrated airplane, tips for learning to ride a unicycle, and why Tom found himself juggling chainsaws.

SHOW LINKS:

- Tom's article at Air Facts: https://airfactsjournal.com/2023/08/my-lake-rescue-in-northern-ontario/

- TomAir YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@tomairtv

- Pilot Training+ membership: https://www.sportys.com/sportys-pilot-training-plus.html

The headlines about eVTOL aircraft are optimistic right now, but veteran aviation reporter Elan Head says there’s a lot of work to be done: "the customers don't really exist." In this episode, she dives deep into the world of advanced air mobility, including the current state of the market, what military applications might look like, and what the drone industry can teach eVTOL companies about FAA certification. Elan is also an experienced helicopter instructor, so she talks about what the industry should learn from the Kobe Bryant crash and why Safety Management Systems are overrated. In the Ready to Copy segment, she tells us her prediction for when eVTOLs will really be flying, the strangest helicopter she’s ever flown, and the best place to visit in Belize.

SHOW LINKS:

- Elan's articles at The Air Current: https://theaircurrent.com/author/elan1073068/

- K-Max helicopter video: https://youtu.be/sev6v6d9bKk

- Sporty's radios: https://sportys.com/radios

More privileges for Sport pilots and more affordable light airplanes—that’s the promise of MOSAIC, a sweeping new proposal from the FAA this summer. Industry expert Dan Johnson has been tracking this reform for years, and he gives us a behind-the-scenes tour in this episode, including which legacy airplanes will now be available for Sport pilots and what new airplane designs might emerge. Dan also talks about timing for the final rule, the LSA safety record, and why ultralights are overlooked. In the Ready to Copy segment, he shares his favorite airplanes from AirVenture 2023, why he loves the AirCam, what he’d change about the FAA.

SHOW LINKS:

Dan’s website: https://bydanjohnson.com/

MOSAIC proposal: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/07/24/2023-14425/modernization-of-special-airworthiness-certification

Sporty’s radios: https://www.sportys.com/avionics-and-radios/aviation-radios.html

The FAA medical is just another check ride and pilots should prepare for it the same way. That's according to Dr. Keith Roxo, an aviation medical examiner and former Top Gun adversary pilot. He shares plenty of practical tips in this episode, including: what to do if you’re unsure of an answer on the application, why some pilots are stuck in medical limbo for over a year, what SODA and CACI mean, and how the FAA is handling mental health issues these days. Keith also talks about flying the F/A-18 and F-16, and how Top Gun taught him the difference between a standard and a technique. In the Ready to Copy segment, you'll hear why color-blindness isn’t a disqualifying condition, whether BasicMed has been successful, and what Keith's favorite aviation movie is.

SHOW LINKS:

- MedXPress simulator: https://wingmanmed.com/medxpress-simulator/

- Avoiding adverse drug interactions: https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/2022-01/Avoiding_Adverse_Drug_Interactions.pdf

- Sporty’s Pilot Training+ membership: https://www.sportys.com/sportys-pilot-training-plus.html 

Tim Decker’s flying career includes almost every segment of aviation, including military, fractional, airline, and even airshows. He applies safety habits from each of these jobs to his flying in his Cirrus SR22, and shares some of those in this episode. He explains the difference between minimum fuel and emergency fuel, when it’s smart to declare an emergency, and why instructors must embrace scenario-based training. He also talks about the concept of factored landing distances and shares how to calculate them in ForeFlight. In the Ready to Copy Segment, Tim tells us what it’s like to land a U-2 in a crosswind, two key lessons he learned from flying airshows, and the key differences between a career as an airline pilot and fractional pilot.

SHOW LINKS:

- FAA guidance on minimum fuel: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/media/atb2012-1.pdf

- U-2 landing video: https://youtu.be/txVHB8k0rTI

- Sporty's Pilot Training+ membership: https://www.sportys.com/sportys-pilot-training-plus.html

Pilots think about accidents all wrong, according to author and retired airline captain Steve Green. In this thought-provoking episode, he explains why you can't predict every accident, why protecting margins is the key to safe flying, and why pilots must have an overarching strategy beyond just following the checklist. He also argues for more detailed systems knowledge and for maintaining two situational awarenesses (one for the pilot and one for the automation). In the Ready to Copy segment, Steve talks about surviving an airplane crash, whether ice bridging is a myth, and what to carry in your survival kit.

LINKS:

Flight simulators boomed in 2020 and have barely slowed down since, but many pilots don’t use all the available tools for flight training. Kevin from PilotEdge has watched it all unfold over the last decade and he explains what flight sims are good for (and what they aren't). He talks about how Microsoft changed the game, whether you can log simulator time, and how virtual ATC plug-ins can make training more realistic. Kevin also created SimVenture, and he describes how pilots can prepare to fly to the world’s busiest airport by talking to real AirVenture controllers during this live online event. In the Ready to Copy segment, he tells us his favorite flight sim airplane, what upgrade he wants to see from sim developers, and whether AI will ever replace human controllers.

SHOW LINKS:

You have to be both realistic and optimistic to run an airline - that's according to retired Alaska Airlines CEO Bill Ayer, an industry veteran and experienced GA pilot. He offers wisdom from his four decades in the airline business, including why safety must be a data-driven activity, where the real pilot shortage is, and how to manage the tradeoffs between efficiency and safety. He also shares leadership lessons, explaining why "hope is not a strategy" when you're running a business and what young people can do to build a career in aviation. In the Ready to Copy segment, Bill tells us his favorite airplane to ride on as a passenger, whether you should drink coffee on an airliner, his opinion of supersonic airliners, and why aviation culture is so welcoming.

SHOW LINKS:

- Alaska Airlines history: https://www.alaskaair.com/content/about-us/history

- Sporty's Pilot Training+ membership: https://www.sportys.com/sportys-pilot-training-plus.html

Designated pilot examiner, kitplane owner, scuba diver, wing walker, world traveler, black belt in taekwondo - NAFI Chair Karen Kalishek has done it all, and she shares the lessons learned along the way in this wide-ranging episode. She explains the worrying trend she is seeing as a DPE, with a rising failure rate and a lack of systems knowledge among applicants. She also talks about the importance of the pilot in command mindset, how to find a good flight instructor, and learning to fly while raising kids. Karen has plenty of stories from her many adventures, including a wing walking class she did to honor a distant relative who first performed in 1918. In the Ready to Copy segment, she talks about circus training on the trapeze, the best places to dive, lessons from Japanese weaponry training, and eating deep fried ants in the Amazon.