Pilots Say What?

Pilots Say What?

by Thrust Flight

Careers Aviation

Season 1

Ep. 121: How a Thrust Flight CFI Became an Airline Captain

Lan returned to aviation after spending 13 years away from flying, completed his CFI training at Thrust Flight, and later became a flight instructor at the school. Today, he is flying for SkyWest Airlines and making the transition from first officer to captain. In this episode, Lan shares what it takes to go from instructing in a Piper Archer to flying a regional jet, how he overcame checkride and airline training failures, and why community is so important throughout flight training. He also explains what future airline pilots should expect when moving from student to CFI, first officer, and eventually captain.

Ep. 120: The Flight Student Everyone Wanted on the Podcast

Brock went from working 90-hour weeks as a band director to completing his professional pilot training in roughly nine months. Along the way, he became the student other Thrust Flight students turned to for tutoring, encouragement, and help understanding difficult aviation concepts.

Ep. 119: How a Childhood Love of Aviation Became a Lifelong Career

Melanie Hill joins us from Australia to discuss how Air Cadets helped launch her lifelong aviation journey, the wide range of careers available throughout the industry, and why exposing young people to aviation matters. She also shares how her experience inspired her middle-grade aviation novel, Jett Cooper, and what parents can do when their child begins showing an interest in flight.

Ep 118: What Your Flight Instructor Wants You To Know

In this episode of Pilots Say What?, Halley Bowers is back, this time, we’re going beyond her story and getting into practical flight training advice from her first few months as a CFI. Halley shares what she has learned from teaching instrument and commercial students, why backseating can be one of the most underrated tools in flight training, how students can handle critiques without losing confidence, and what CFIs are really watching as students progress through their ratings.

Ep. 117: What Future Airline Pilots Should Do Long Before 1,500 Hours

Julie Cable recently joined Thrust Flight as our Career Services Liaison, helping students and CFIs better understand what comes after flight training. In this episode of Pilots Say What?, Julie shares her experience from Delta, American Airlines, and airline hiring to explain what future airline pilots should be thinking about long before they hit 1,500 hours.

Ep. 116: Why Mesa AZ Is Built for Flight Training

In this episode of Pilots Say What?, Zach sits down with Andrew Sowers at Thrust Flight’s Mesa location on Falcon Field Airport to talk about training in Arizona, the advantages of flying in the Phoenix area, and what it’s like going through an accelerated Zero Time to Airline program. Andrew shares why Arizona’s weather, terrain, and flying environment make Mesa such a unique place to train.

Ep 115: President-Nominated NTSB Member Reveals What Pilots Learn From Crashes

In this episode of Pilots Say What?, we sit down with John Duluth, a board member at the National Transportation Safety Board, retired American Airlines pilot, former 787 captain, and former Air Force C-130 pilot. John explains what the NTSB really does, how it differs from the FAA, and why accident reports can be one of the most valuable learning tools for student pilots, CFIs, airline pilots, mechanics, and anyone pursuing a career in aviation.

Ep. 114: Flying the Embraer 175 as an Envoy First Officer

Will Garrison started at Thrust Flight with zero time, worked his way through flight training, became a CFI, later became an Assistant Chief Instructor, joined the Envoy cadet program, and now flies the Embraer 175 as a First Officer at Envoy.

Ep. 113: The Part of Flight Training Nobody Warns You About

In this episode of Pilots Say What, Tim sits down with Zach to talk about what it was really like starting flight training from zero time, moving across the country, taking on the financial risk, and learning how to handle the pressure that comes with becoming a pilot.

Ep. 112: He Pushed Through Flight Training Setbacks

In this episode of Pilots Say What, Zach sits down with Jackson, a brand-new CFI at Thrust Flight, to talk about his path from Part 61 training, medical delays, and the uncertainty of whether aviation would actually work out, all the way to finishing his ratings and becoming a flight instructor.

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