SPC Episodes
Find all of the episodes and information here at the PODCAST subdomain: https://podcast.studentpilotcast.com.
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How do you record your flight lessons? Nick, a listener in Houston, asked me the same question I got in 2009, so I flew with six recorders running at once, then tested five cables on the ground to find out what actually works in 2026.We start with why it matters: in the moment you hear...
Your logbook knows you flew. It has no idea what you learned. In this Briefing Room episode: five questions to ask after every flight (Surprise, Workload, Skill, Decision, and Goal), where the self-debrief came from (FITS and learner-centered grading), and a simple system to capture your goal, bridge it into your next flight, and close...
At AirVenture 2026 I sat down with Adriana, founder of FlyORKA, expecting an app demo. I walked away with a line I haven’t been able to shake: logging is not learning. Adriana spent her career as a flight test engineer, learning to fly airplanes nobody had flown before. That path led her into gliders, tailwheel,...
At AirVenture this year I sat down in the Cirrus compound with Eamon Powers, the Director of Cirrus Approach — the man who owns every piece of training content Cirrus produces, for pilots and for mechanics. Twelve or fourteen years ago the fatal accident rate in the Cirrus fleet was, being generous, unremarkable, and there...
In episode 94 of the Student Pilot Cast, Bill recounts an unplanned start to AirVenture 2026 after the engine in his Jabiru quit over far southeastern Colorado on July 18, forcing an off-airport landing in a cornfield with his son Trey; both were unhurt and the airplane remains repairable with minor gear damage and an...
It’s Thursday night at Camp Scholler, day four of days not mattering, and Kent and I sat down with one goal: be smart-asses about a few things we’d seen at AirVenture. So we get into it. Textron had us all convinced this was the year the Pipistrel Panthera would finally get certified under MOSAIC —...
In Episode 92, we join Bill and Trey talking briefly about their upcoming trip to OSH in a light sport aircraft, Lil’ Rue. B Get the free Go or No-Go guide: https://studentpilotcast.com/three-questions Get the Friday Flight Brief: https://studentpilotcast.com/flightbrief Links: Hope you enjoy the episode and thanks for listening! Visit the SPC website at https://studentpilotcast.com. Please...
In Episode 91, Bill teaches a simple aeronautical decision-making framework for go/no-go and continue/divert decisions built around three simple questions: can the airplane do it? Can I do it? And is it legal? He breaks each question into three lenses—aircraft performance/envelopes/condition; pilot proficiency/physiology/capability under pressure; and legal airworthiness/mission-specific regs/paperwork—highlighting how pilots can miss risks or...
In Episode 90, Beyond the Checkride, Bill and Kent reflect on the 2009 Colgan Air 3407 crash near Buffalo and how it drove regulatory changes including the 1,500-hour rule and the FAA-required ATP Certification Training Program (ATP-CTP). They discuss what ATP-CTP is, how provider and instructor quality can vary, and what Kent experienced taking it...
In Episode 89, we join Bill as he introduces everyone to his airplane, a 2008 Jabiru J230. Come along on a flight with him and he’ll tell you all about the plane, but also dive into some of the interesting things from the flight. This is part of the Cockpit Series where we go on...