Real flying stories, told pilot to pilot.
Pilot to Pilot pairs easy banter with practical aviation stories from people flying, training, managing events, and working around aircraft. The conversations move quickly from origin stories into real decisions: schools, ratings, corporate jobs, bush flying, air traffic control, and hard-earned judgment.
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Pilot to Pilot is a conversational aviation interview show with a strong preference for real paths over polished mythology. It starts loose, then gets down to the question pilots always ask each other: how did this actually happen? The show spends a lot of time on career pivots, training choices, early jobs, and the tradeoffs that shape a flying life. That gives it a practical backbone. A guest like Josh can talk through moving from SWAT into corporate aviation and the intensity of a structured training program. Tyler Flagg brings the perspective of special operations flying, where a new region can mean language barriers, new terrain, and new lessons in fuel management. Trent Palmer’s appearance pushes into the emotional side of risk, including engine trouble, emergency calls, and the strain those moments put on family. Chancy Arnold’s story adds the second-career banner tow angle from San Diego. Gene Conrad widens the frame to aviation events, Sun and Fun, AirVenture, costs, planning, and what it takes to run a major gathering. Ariel Johnson’s conversation looks at early corporate flying, Part 91 and 135 differences, client-facing work, and the constant pull of airline seniority. The air traffic control episode brings pilots into the controller’s chair, where terminology, screens, radio calls, and close calls carry a different weight. The show is brisk but not overproduced. It leaves in enough asides, jokes, sponsor reads, and magazine updates to feel like part of a pilot community rather than a studio product. That looseness is part of its identity. At its strongest, the show gives listeners the informal version of advice that usually happens beside an aircraft, after a flight, or at an aviation event. It does not pretend every job is perfect. Corporate flying can mean bags, clients, and odd tasks. Fast training can be effective and still wrong for some people. Bush flying can be beautiful and frightening in the same story. Military and special operations flying can sound impressive while still coming down to fatigue, terrain, communication, and judgment. Pilot to Pilot works best for listeners who enjoy aviation ambition with the rough edges left in.
Made for: For student pilots, working pilots, aviation career-changers, and serious enthusiasts who want candid stories about training, jobs, aircraft, and judgment. It also fits listeners who enjoy informal shop talk with enough technical detail to feel useful.
What sets it apart: The show stands out by letting aviation people explain the messy middle of their path, not just the milestone at the end. It mixes hangar-style warmth with practical details about training pace, corporate work, ATC, bush flying, events, and emergencies.
Pilot to Pilot Podcast is your go-to destination for aviation inspiration, insight, and real talk from the cockpit and beyond. Pilot to Pilot aims to support all pilots who fly from students to professionals and recreational flyers. The show includes genuine discussions with pilots who work in all aviation sectors including airline captains and bush pilots to share their experiences of flying. Join our worldwide pilot community through subscription to track your flying aspirations with other aviation enthusiasts.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Candid pilot interviews turn career routes, operational hazards and training choices into practical knowledge for aviation enthusiasts.
Pilot to Pilot treats aviation as a collection of working lives, with Justin asking guests to explain the decisions behind the flying. Conversations move among military experience, recreational bush flying, air traffic control and career training, while keeping technical detail…
A near miss comes within 0.19 miles, and suddenly your armchair flying feels very awake.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A career-change aviation story becomes a candid, practical look at pace, pressure, and fit in pilot training.
Pilot to Pilot turns a career-change aviation story into a grounded look at training pace, preparation, and fit. The guest came to ATP with his written exams already complete, including private pilot, instrument, and commercial work, which helped him move through the program…
A grounded look at how special operations flying turns unfamiliar places into hard-earned lessons.
Tyler Flagg's account of roughly 14 years as an Air Force special operations pilot is most compelling when it stays with the work behind the missions: learning each area of responsibility, managing fuel over the Sahara, and reading harsh Pacific weather.
A candid aviation conversation about fear, close calls, and returning to the cockpit.
Trent Palmer's conversation frames flying less as spectacle than as a test of judgment after an engine quit and the next flight made every choice feel newly exposed.
A candid look at corporate aviation, Part 91 and Part 135 work, and the duties that continue beyond the cockpit.
Ariel Johnson offers an independent instructor's view of corporate aviation, drawing on her double-I and MEI credentials and experience owning a Piper Cherokee. She weighs a possible move from Part 91 flying to the added structure, procedures, and benefits of Part 135 work.
A first day on frequency turns ATC pressure into a vivid, human story.
Pilot to Pilot's 350th episode looks at air traffic control from the moment training stops feeling theoretical and a new controller is suddenly speaking to real aircraft.
Caroline Blaze Jensen connects check rides, failure, teamwork, and resilience to the demanding life of an aviation professional.
Pilot to Pilot frames Caroline Blaze Jensen's military aviation story around a practical pressure point: how a pilot keeps performing after a check ride, a failure, or a weak area makes the gap visible.
A candid discussion of managing financial stress while pursuing a career in the cockpit.
Financial pressure can weigh on a flying career long before the destination feels close. This episode makes a convincing case for keeping that strain manageable, linking loans to the early years when a major-airline job can seem impossibly distant.
Aviation safety talk that plays like ground school.
Working pilots retrace the road from discovery flight onward.
Pilot Katy McKee discusses her path to becoming a pilot with zero debt.
Host Justin Seams interviews retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel Caroline Blaze Jensen, a former F-16 and Thunderbird pilot.
CEO of Cirrus discusses innovation and investment in new aircraft on the Pilot to Pilot podcast.
Josh Sherrard says he flies Hawker 800s and Lear 60s as a corporate pilot, and Justin Seams frames him as a former SWAT officer who moved into aviation.
Tyler Flagg says September 11th in Jersey City pushed him from a theater family background toward West Point, the Air Force Academy, and an ROTC pilot slot he pursued with very little research.
Justin Seams interviews Trent Palmer on Pilot to Pilot episode 354, and the conversation centers on Trent's path from RC aircraft and drone work into recreational bush flying.
Banner tow pilot Chancy Arnold discusses his second career in aviation, transitioning from law enforcement to flying the San Diego coastline.
Gene Conrad, president of the Aerospace Center for Excellence, discusses running Sun 'n Fun, comparing it to Oshkosh's AirVenture, and shares insights on event costs, planning, and personal enjoyment.
Ariel Johnson tells Justin Seams how she went from a 172 in the family to flying a Citation CJ series, teaching as an independent CFI, and logging a jet type at about 800 hours.
On his first day training, Marcus watched a VFR aircraft miss a commuter airplane by 0.19 miles and 100 feet.
CEO of Cirrus discusses innovation and investment in new aircraft on the Pilot to Pilot podcast.
Justin Seams announces the Garmin G3000 Prime flight deck, highlighting its connectivity, customization, automation, and safety features after a visit to Garmin headquarters.
Jason Miller, a career CFI, shares insights on becoming a private pilot, covering training, resources, and technology.
This episode guides aspiring pilots through the process of becoming a student pilot, from initial steps to first solo.