The Pilot Network Podcast

Today we are joined by Shane Platt, COO of Airline Apps. Many of us want to peak behind the curtain of Airline Apps to see what happened to the mountain of resumes and applications for the various airlines. Shane is a former Marine pilot who now works for a major airline, and on the show today, we sit down to answer all your unanswered questions about the world of Airline Apps. 

You may know Tait from The Passive Income Pilot Podcast, TPNx, or TPN in general. He is all things real estate, financial guru, and airline pilot extraordinaire. He is on the show today to give us some updates on the market, what he is doing with his company, and what’s going on in the world of real estate. Neither of us are professional financial consultant, so use this episode as a starting point to making your financial decisions. 

In This Episode

• 4:15 - 2023 update on Tait’s business, Turbine Capital 
• 6:40 - What is real estate syndication? 
• 13:27 - Making your own luck in the world of investments 
• 26:07 - Why waiting for the crash to buy is a terrible idea (and what you should do instead) 
• 29:21 - An overview of the current real estate market 
• 37:00 - The current state of small business and retail 
• 41:50 - Real estate vs. passive income investments 

Today’s guest is once again Dr. Keith Roxo of Wingman Med. He has been on the show before, but today we are talking specifically about pilot mental health. We discuss how the FAA views mental health and some of the pitfalls related to insurance and unraveling childhood diagnoses and PTSD. 

This episode is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as legal or medical advice. 

In This Episode:

• 2:45 - The FAA's view of mental health in pilots 
• 7:23 - The mental health readiness checklist for pilots 
• 8:42 - What makes a mental health appointment reportable 
• 15:30 - Finding the right mental health professional 
• 18:02 - Why you should get yourself a direct primary care physician 
• 26:12 - What you need to know about a PTSD diagnosis as a pilot 
• 31:48 - How to handle a childhood diagnosis 
• 40:40 - When a mental health struggle can be considered a disorder 

Grace Wilson is a pilot recruiter from Piedmont Airlines, and they joined us live at TPNx in April. The cadet programs are often overlooked by pilots who are retiring from the military. But the program at Piedmont Airlines is certainly worth checking out, especially if you want to get your foot in the door of commercial aviation. So Grace shares more about the cadet program at Piedmont and some of her career in aviation. 

Captain KP Kirpatrick has served at United Airlines in several different capacities. Before joining United, he served active duty in the airforce. KP gives us the goods on the current state of the industry and how to ready yourself for the meets and greets with the airlines. 

Listen to this to prepare yourself for TPNx this week in Orlando! 

Timestamps

• 3:55 - KP’s background and career 
• 6:10 - Inside the Aviate Academy and the Aviate program 
• 10:45 - The current state of the aviation industry and predictions for the future 
• 16:12 - United’s typical hiring timeline 
• 22:34 - Interview prep that United wants to see 

Resources

Delta Air Lines will be at TPNx on April 21 and 22nd, so on the episode today, captain Ashish Naran is joining us for a TPNx preview. Ashish is a pilot recruiter with Delta, and he has held a few different positions with the company. Listen to this episode if you are interested in catching up with Delta at TPNx. We will be sharing everything you need to know about Delta Air Lines, its hiring process, and how you can prepare yourself to stand out.

Timestamps

• 2:45 - The current and future state of Delta Air Lines 
• 6:46 - Hiring plans that Delta has for the rest of the year 
• 7:41 - What to expect when you sign up for a timeslot with Delta 
• 10:40 - Inside Delta’s unique hiring process 
• 12:11 - How to prepare for an interview with Delta 
• 15:23 - A typical hiring timeline with Delta 
• 18:21 - Minimum requirements to become a Delta pilot and how to stand out 

Resources

Scott is the VP of flight ops for Avelo Air. They are a small startup airline, and they have a lot to offer pilots as employees and crew members. You will be able to catch up with Scott and Avelo at TPNx this year. 

This episode is for anyone who wants to prep for an interview with Avelo Air. Make sure you listen all the way to the end of the episode for some solid tips on getting into the airline industry. 

2:34 - Scott’s background and how he became a founder of an airline 

5:46 - How to start an airline in a nutshell 

8:44 - Some of the stats and info on Avelo Air 

16:58 - Avelo’s timeline from a qualifying application to a training date (it’s pretty fast) 

19:15 - What Avelo likes to see in their applicants 

30:17 - Minimum qualifications to be considered by Avelo 

Dr. Keith Roxo is the commercial Operations Director with Wingman Med. If you hold or hope to hold an FAA Medical, they are here to help you. Keith was on the show just about a year ago, so go back and check out that episode if you haven’t heard it before. 

In the show today, Keith and Joe talk about navigating the VA disability process and accessing your true VA disability benefits without putting your FAA Medical at risk. We also do some scenario training to equip pilots to seek their needed medical attention and maintain their FAA Medical. 

Nothing discussed today is legal or medical advice, this is for informational purposes only. 

5:47 - How your VA disability claim could compromise your FAA Medical 

9:00 - How to navigate the VA disability and the FAA Medical to maximize both 

14:52 - Common missteps in VA disability claims 

25:35 - Being proactive with your medical care without compromising your FAA Medical 

35:05 - Bridging the gap between your primary medical provider and your FAA doctor 

40:00 - Hashing out potential scenarios 

It has been a little bit, but we are back. Adam is back after a lot of family time, work time, and recovery time. Matt has also been extremely busy. But we have still taken the time to think about what we see for TPN in the future and our first new correspondent.

Adam shares some of those plans and the upcoming episode topics today. He also talks about new hires going directly to the left seat at some major airlines.

Tait Duryea from Turbine Capital is an airman, CEO, real estate investment guru, and all-around good dude. He will be at TPNX to share his knowledge, and he is gracing us with his presence on the podcast this week. You are guaranteed to have a good time listening to Tait talk and you will also learn some valuable lessons.

Tait wants to teach you everything you need to know about setting yourself and your family up for financial wellbeing. So Adam and Tait are sitting down to talk all things real estate investment for pilots.

In This Episode 

• 9:48 - Discovering passion and purpose in real estate as a pilot
• 19:26 - The basics of real estate investing through money partners
• 32:41 - The current state of the real estate market and what you need to know if you are looking to invest
• 45:31 - What you need to know about small rentals and rehabbing properties
• 56:29 - Best place to start for anyone interested in getting into real estate investing

Resources Mentioned

Medical issues are a constant threat to a pilot’s profession. So today we have Keith Roxo from Wingmen Med on the show. Keith is a board-certified aerospace medicine physician who started his career in the military as a pilot. Wingmen Med’s goal is to keep you flying whenever possible. They are pilots helping pilots from a place of understanding and experience. This episode is all of the things you need to know about your medicals as you transition from the military to the commercial airlines.

4:33 - things to consider when transitioning from military-medical to commercial medical

7:50 - how does VA disability affect your FAA Medical?

10:54 - how to handle if you discover you have made a mistake on your FAA Medical?

12:15 - three possible outcomes from your AME

19:24 - the difference between a military flight surgeon and an FAA doctor

26:44 - finding an AME who can help with drugs/alcohol or mental health complications

31:33 - doctor-patient confidentiality with Wingmen Med

35:55 - how to handle minor injuries or illnesses that go away quickly

38:39 - FAA Medical concerns for pilots over the age of 40

Transitioning from the military to the airlines is much more than just changing your uniform one day.

If you are making a transition from the military to the airlines, then this is going to be a useful episode for you. Marc Himelhoch wrote a best-selling book, Cockpit2Cockpit that illustrates a 30,000-foot view of what to expect during your transition from military to airline.

They have turned the best-selling book into an e-learning course to continue to serve pilots who are joining the rapidly-changing airline industry.

Dan McCalister worked as an airforce pilot for many years and struggled to make his transition to the airlines. When he did land that airline job, he started working as an interview coach for other pilots. He realized that military aviators need a resource that maps out that roadmap towards the next phase of their career.

In this episode, we talk about the new course, what you can expect to learn from it, and who will benefit most from it. We also share some tips for pilots looking to get their first position at an airline.

In This Episode

6:19 - A preview and breakdown of the new course

11:37 - At what point in your military career should you take the course

15:05 - How to prepare for a job fair

21:36 - Social media tips for the job hunt

This part of the series is about everything that happens once you get into the swing of your schedule. You will start to hit a few forks in the road during your early airline career. The first fork in the road will be whether or not to upgrade.

So in this lecture, we are diving into the reasons why you may or may not choose to climb the seniority ladder at your new airline job.

The hiring wave is back! There is a shortage of pilots as the airlines are a year behind in hiring, so we want to talk about letters of recommendation in this episode. We personally get asked for a lot of letters of recommendation, and TPN originally started because of our own struggle asking for recommendations.

5:30 - Our personal experiences and approach asking for letters of recommendation

14:46 - The one critical thing to say to someone when asking for a letter of recommendation

17:16 - How many letters of recommendation should you get for your airline application?

20:16 - What the airlines really care about in your letters of recommendation

26:11 - The best piece of advice we can give on letters of recommendation

Resources

foreflight.com/tpn

Charlie Venema is the founder of CheckedAndSet, a great resource for any pilots who are currently applying for jobs. In the episode we talk about letters of recommendation, references, and how to make sure you application is air tight before hitting that final submit button.

We thought this episode would be relevant because 18 months into the pandemic, every airline is hiring like gangbusters, so there is a lot of opportunity for any pilots who are looking to begin their career or shift into the commercial airline space. So if you are caught off guard with this hiring wave and you don’t have everything to go yet to apply for your dream job, then this episode will be a great listen for you as you are checking all the boxes on your applications.

8:05 - The ins and outs of references and recommendations on airline applications

17:08 - Who should you ask when looking for professional recommendations?

21:23 - Can someone be a reference and a recommendation?

27:51 - How to get an advantage before your application is even published

29:30 - What happens after you submit your application to an airline? (hint, you’re not finished yet!)

Connect with us 

In this episode, we are talking about how you can become an author, so you can tell your aviation stories. This can help us all become better pilots and preserve the fascinating history of aviation. After everything that has happened over the last year, many of us have stories to share. Listen to this episode to learn how you can carry on the history of aviation and make a few bucks while doing so.

6:03 - What inspired Nick to write a book about aviation

12:07 - The process that Nick followed to write his book

18:08 - Reasons why you might share your story through writing a book

23:32 - Ways to get your book published

27:43 - Finding the time to write an entire book while balancing a full-time job and life

38:19 - Can you get rich from being an author?

45:52 - The stories we all hope to hear from the Pilot Network

59:51 - Why professional flying is for everybody

Links

Evey Cormican from VTR is here with us today. This is going to be a fun podcast episode because we will be talking about tech and entrepreneurship through the lens of aviation. Evey is a Boeing 767 Captain with a major US based airline, is a B757/767 instructor, and has served as the Vice Chairman of her pilot union training committee. After going back to school for her MBA, she founded VTR: A company which uses virtual reality to train airline pilots. We talk with Evey about how VR significantly improves the quality of training for airline pilots, the gear needed for someone to get started using VR training, and opportunities to get involved with her project. Listen to learn about the future of training for commercial pilots.

4:25 - How VR can significantly improve airline pilot training

5:18 - “Today’s pilots deserve today’s technology.” - Evey Cormican

9:11 - The gear that is required to create a high-quality VR experience

13:53 - Potential challenges to implementing VR training into airline pilot training

18:30 - How VR will take traditional flight simulators to the next level

24:30 - Who is the target customer for this software? Where can you expect to find this in training programs?

27:10 - How you can get involved with a market research opportunity

Links

Matt and Adam are both here, and we have something to get off our chests. It has been a rough 16 months and we are currently in an intense recovery in the airline industry. Some of you may be looking to get into the airline industry at this time, so this episode is about 10 things to work on if you want to fly for the airlines, regardless of what stage you are in your career.

34:43 Recap

We are with Jeff Nielsen from the Airline Pilot Guy Podcast. Jeff was interested in being a pilot from a really young age, and he realized that the people that got hired in large airlines usually came from the military. He didn’t want to do that, so he studied engineering and business at Georgia Tech (and that didn’t work out). He studied Aviation Management at Auburn and ended up joining the military. He currently flies at a large airline where he has been employed for 32 years.

In this episode, we talk about Jeff's perspective on the events of 2020 after a long career of witnessing the ups and downs of the aviation industry, career advice for aspiring pilots, and how he built his side hustle through the Airline Pilot Guy.

12:34 - Jeff’s perspective on how the last year in aviation compares to past events

22:07 - Why you should consider flying for the military if you need a job right now

25:07 - Tips for the kind of education and experience to seek out if you want to be a pilot

28:03 - How Jeff created his side hustle with Airline Pilot Guy

37:26 - Jeff’s plans for the future and what he is going to do in his retirement

Links

Dave Jesurun is an entrepreneur, former air force, and owner of High Country Air Service, an aviation services form. They are like a "turnkey flight department" for people who own airplanes (or who would like to) but are not qualified to operate them. They have the plans to also add a charter service to the business.

Private aviation is outside the normal career path for our average listener, so if you are about to exit the military or you are considering a career change, you might find this episode interesting. We talk about the Skillbridge Internship, which is a 6 month program that helps active military members gain some experience flying private airplanes.

• 5:36 - The difference between part 121, 91, and 135
• 9:51 - The Skillbridge Internship and how they help military members transition into the next stage of their careers
• 14:16 - How military experience sets you up for success in the private aviation field
• 17:33 - The airplanes Dave works with at High Country Air Service
• 19:37 - What are the advantages of the internship and who is eligible? We also share directions on how to apply.

Contact us for more information on the SkillBridge program:

Pete Larabee is joining us today. to talk about the DoD Skillbridge Program. On TPN, we like to talk about programs that are lesser known that can help pilots with their careers. Pete was in the program when he was transitioning from active duty to the next part of his pilot career, so he is on the show to share his experience.

The Skillbridge Program allows you to do an internship in the last 6 months of your military career in any field you want to help with your transition into your career after the military.

5:47 - The process of signing up for the Skillbridge Program

6:04 - Caveats that you need to know before signing up for the Skillbridge Program

8:20 - Keeping your benefits as you do the Skillbridge Program

12:00 - The upcoming hiring wave that pilots can look forward to in the future

Contact Pete on Facebook or TPN

Jack Hersch, author of Dangers of Automation in Airlines: Accidents Will Happen. Jack is not an airline pilot, but he is a student of automation and the science of human factors. Jack started as a writer with his book Death March Escape, sharing his father's story of escaping the concentration camps. He is a self-proclaimed airplane nut, so when the MAX crashes happened, he took it upon himself to investigate and report what really happened to those planes. It turns out it was an issue with automation.

• 2:25 - "On the wrong day with the wrong bit of automation going bad, could run into a problem."
• 3:21 - Conclusions Jack came to while writing his book - issues he found with automation in commercial airlines
• 9:40 - What is automation culture and how does company culture or world culture influence some of the accidents investigated in the book?
• 15:54 - "At the end of the day, the question isn't is automation bettor or is hand-flying better. It's about having situational awareness."
• 18:28 - How automation would apply to single-pilot or no-pilot operations in commercial or cargo aircraft
• 31:12 - "I wrote the book not to be a guidepost but to show what could happen in various scenarios."

Links