Midlife Pilot Podcast

An Information Whiskey edition where Ben loses his Sears and Roebuck HSI in the clouds and flies a partial panel ILS into McCollum like it's just another Tuesday, Brian takes his first solo IFR flight and discovers "the tape hiss of saturation" that nobody tells you about, and Ted goes up in an Arrow where the gear lights have a mind of their own. The Thaden Invasion is 12 days out and the weather looks terrible — which is exactly how we want it.
Listener emails from a student pilot in Frederick and a "chef" who soloed at 53 remind us why we do this, and a five-star review from Scotland teaches us the word "scunnered." Also: a spirited debrief on whether Ben should have declared an emergency, and what the whiskey compass is actually good for.Mentioned on the show:
* Seth Lake's Thaden/VBT arrival notes: https://arflightsafety.com/VBT.html
* FLY OZ VBT Airspace Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAJldTQ8LhM
* Seth's podcast on VBT airspace: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0r3rDFPNyUdYtYEfbVBqyl?si=as-NYQ99R5-F9qgAhSSoig
* WINGS registration for Enhanced Preflight seminar: https://www.faasafety.gov/SPANS/event_publicregistration.aspx?eid=141537&type=1
* Game Aero, gamebird aerobatic plane: https://game.aero/gb1-gamebird/
* Thaden Invasion event page: https://midlifepilotpodcast.com/thadeninvasion
* Air Safety Institute, 178 Seconds to Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7t4IR-3mSo
* Infamous drivers ed scare film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HAv1pfJqgU
* Sandel HSI: https://avweb.com/features_old/sandel-avionics-sn3308-electronic-hsi-efis-becomes-affordable/
* Sandel teardown video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjWIXHL0G1M
* Blairsville Airport - DZJ: https://www.airnav.com/airport/DZJ
* Angel Flights: https://www.angelflightsoars.org/
* SWTEE "sweet tea" arrival: https://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/2602/00469SWTEE.PDF
* OVPEW fix: https://opennav.com/waypoint/US/OVPEW
* RYY's ILS 27 approach: https://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/2602/06424IL27.PDF
* Garmin GPSMAP 296 on Ben's yoke: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/6399/
* MPP's Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Midlife Pilot: https://midlifepilotpodcast.com/#guide
Patreon: www.patreon.com/midlifepilotpodcast
YouTube (Live Monday nights at 8 PM): www.youtube.com/@midlifepilotpodcast
Website (events, merch, blog, and more): www.midlifepilotpodcast.com
Email: [email protected]
Freedom Aviation Network (10% of Patreon donations): www.freedomaviationnetwork.org

Gita Brown came to flying the hard way: through crippling fear, a discovery flight, and one moment where she grabbed the controls and something just flipped. Now she's a student pilot marching toward her checkride, a yoga instructor, a music therapist, and the co-host of the Calm Cockpit Podcast. She also teaches fear-of-flying courses in partnership with Virgin Atlantic, which means she has professionally helped hundreds of people do the thing she herself was terrified to do two years ago. She joined us from a snowbound cabin in Maine, mid-blizzard, fully caffeinated, and ready to explain why your brain is failing you in the cockpit and what you can actually do about it. Spoiler: it starts with electrolytes, ends with meditation, and somewhere in the middle involves not eating grapes.
Mentioned on the show:
* Calm Cockpit Podcast: https://calmcockpit.com/
* MGM - Montgomery Alabama: https://www.airnav.com/airport/MGM
* SISKIND - Time building vs Time HAVING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFw9CpSqwHA
* Lovefly - fear of flying courses: https://www.lovefly.co.uk/
* Seth Lake - VSL Aero: https://vsl.aero/
* Seth Lake's youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAQS8w0x9swAMJRMhLY_P5g
* Fly Oz - gateway to the Ozarks: https://www.flyoz.com/
* LMNT electrolyte drink mix: https://drinklmnt.com/
* Insight Timer app: https://insighttimer.com/
* Baraka (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baraka_(film)
* Koyaanisqatsi (full fiml): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOA_dOrm_Mk
* SISKIND - DO EASY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oqsg-iW3KBw
* Qigong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong
* Koyaanisqatsi, Hopi word for "life out of balance": https://bureauoflinguisticalreality.com/portfolio/koyaanisqatsi/
* The Deep Magic of Daily Consistency: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G6FJQSGW
* Scott Manley - Explaining Why NASA's Starliner Report Is So Bad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L96asfTvJ_A
Midlife Pilot Podcast
Website: midlifepilotpodcast.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@midlifepilotpodcast
Patreon: patreon.com/midlifepilotpodcast

You've watched our Patreon community members sit down with 1DullGeek after their checkrides and lay it all bare — the nerves, the near misses, the lessons learned the hard way. Private, instrument, commercial, glider, ATP. We've heard it all.
This week, one of us is in that chair.
Brian Siskind — your co-host, 800-hour VFR pilot, and the guy who just knocked out five FAA written exams in 32 days — just passed his instrument rating. Ben and Ted give him the questions 1DG usually asks, and the answers are honest. How did he handle the DPE systematically failing his instruments one by one? What happened when the WAAS dropped and he had to revert to LNAV minimums mid-approach? And why did the oral run longer than expected? Brian watched every single one of our community debriefs to prepare for this moment — and now it's his turn to answer the questions.
But the episode doesn't stop there. Jacqui, spouse of RV-10 pilot Ryan K, sent in the most honest and moving voice message we've ever received about what this aviation obsession actually looks like from the other side. And new member John W. — 57 years old, 0.9 hours, and a copy of The Killing Zone in hand — wrote in to say the community convinced him to finally stop watching from the sidelines and go all in.
This is exactly what this community is built for.
Mentioned on the show:
* Piper Apache: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_PA-23
* Louise Thaden: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Thaden
* Erica Gilbert's IFR course: https://www.gilbertaviation.com/ifr
* Gallatin/Music City Airport: https://www.airnav.com/airport/XNX
* Peachtree-Dekalb Airport: https://www.airnav.com/airport/PDK
* Lebanon Airport: https://www.airnav.com/airport/M54
* Pilot's Cafe IFR study guide: https://www.pilotscafe.com/IFR-quick-review-guide/
* ASA Instrument Pilot Oral Exam Guide: https://asa2fly.com/instrument-pilot-oral-exam-guide-eleventh-edition/
* Brian's CFI Ben Lehman: https://www.driftaviation.com/

Episode 167 tackles the challenge of cockpit organization with real solutions from three very different flying setups.
Brian's still battling the conspiracy to prevent his instrument checkride (spoiler: UPS trucks and snow banks are involved), while Ted shares wisdom from his Miata-sized cockpit about 3D-printed organizers, strategic cup holder placement, and why everything needs "ONE home." Ben discovers that big game hunting expos are surprisingly good aviation networking venues.
From Pivot cases and pulse oximeters to the life-or-death importance of proper seatbelt clipping, plus listener feedback that sparks a deeper discussion about test scores and aviation's competitive culture. Because when you're hand-flying an approach in the clouds and ATC changes your clearance, you need to be flying the airplane, not managing your mess.
Features the guys' real-world tips for everything from "hard-wired" Stratus installations to keeping cash hidden in baggage organizers for emergency out-calls. Plus: why Ted went from zero flight hours to helping rewrite aviation regulations in under five years.
Mentioned on the show:
* Dallas Safari Club: https://www.biggame.org/convention/
* Georgia World Congress Center: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_World_Congress_Center
* Nicholas Air: https://www.nicholasair.com/
* ASTM F37 committee: https://www.astm.org/membership-participation/technical-committees/committee-f37
* DPE and educator Seth Lake: https://vsl.aero/
* Seth's ACE guide: https://vslaviation.myshopify.com/
* TL Sparker: https://tlsportaircraft.com/sparker/
* BRS Parachutes: https://brsaerospace.com/
* Ted's "purse", holds the iPad Mini: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FZL4TZP
* Pivot case: https://pivotcase.com/products/a35a
* Calm Cockpit Podcast: https://calmcockpit.com/
* Flyfisherman Lefty Kreh: The Greatest of All Time: https://www.flyfisherman.com/editorial/lefty-greatest-of-all-time/516098

Website: https://midlifepilotpodcast.comPatreon: https://patreon.com/midlifepilotpodcast
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Time to kick back and catch up with the gang in our first "information whiskey" episode of the year. After starting 2026 with our Ultimate Guide series and that marathon session with Dr. Paul Craig, we're taking a breather to hang out, share some flying stories, and tackle your feedback.
Ben kicks things off with a tale of terrible timing - how a flat nose tire and an MD-88 pilot who was "stuck" (but not really stuck) turned a simple night cross-country into an evening of airport ground operations. Meanwhile, Brian's been surviving Nashville's ice apocalypse while grinding through the final stages of instrument training, complete with shoulder harnesses and a healthy dose of reality about how IFR actually works versus how it's taught.
We dive deep into Brian's theory that instrument flying is "interpretive dance" rather than the precise, procedural flying it's marketed to be. Spoiler alert: holds aren't what you think they are, and ATC doesn't care about your perfect entry technique.
Plus, we celebrate some amazing listener accomplishments - from glider add-ons to ice runway landings to solo cross-countries - and address the burning question: do non-flying spouses actually listen to aviation podcasts? (Spoiler: some do, and we want to hear from them!)
Featuring Thaden Invasion updates, washing machine turbulence scales, and why sometimes the best thing to do is just wait 15 minutes for the weather to change.
Mentioned on the show:
* RYY - Cobb/McCollum Field: https://www.airnav.com/airport/RYY
* FAA WINGS program: https://www.faasafety.gov/
* CCO - Coweta County Georgia: https://www.airnav.com/airport/KCCO
* PUJ - Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport: https://www.airnav.com/airport/KPUJ
* Flight Insight, Going Missed on a Circling Approach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJiEuHWF5B8
* Flight Insight, the VOR Flower: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm7XxyzZFh0
* Columbia Cascade 99's winter raffle: https://www.columbiacascade99s.org/store/p/2025-2026-winter-raffle
* IFR6 - accelerated IFR training, Charleston SC: https://ifr6.com/
* TOA - Torrance California: https://www.airnav.com/airport/KOTA
* EP46 - Flying With Your Spouse: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep46-flying-with-your-spouse/id1591463789?i=1000632568750
Visit midlifepilotpodcast.com for more content, merch, and our free Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Midlife Pilot. Support the show and join our community at patreon.com/midlifepilotpodcast - 10% of proceeds support Freedom Aviation Network's anti-trafficking efforts.