The Calm Cockpit Podcast

Season 2 Monday Briefing 20   It's that time again! John is in recurrent training for his pilot job and he takes a time out to share with you his top five tips for surviving stressful recurrent training, checkrides, and impactful tests.

What can elite classical musicians teach pilots about performing at their best without sacrificing their health, relationships, or well-being? Drawing on five stories of accomplished musicians and educators, this episode explores why rest is an essential part of preparation, how to stay teachable even at the top of your field, why asking for help is a performance skill, when to stop trying to fix...

Season 2 Monday Briefing 19 Perfectionism can be a powerful motivator, but when the drive to get everything right turns into a need to control every outcome, it can leave us frustrated, overwhelmed, and stuck. In this Monday Briefing, we hear a clip from former Royal Australian Air Force fighter pilot and leadership expert Christian “Boo” Boucousis on the perfection death spiral, the difference be...

Season 2 Episode 21   What can pilots learn from the cockpit about living, leading, and performing at their best? On this episode of The Calm Cockpit, we talk with Christian “Boo” Boucousis about applying the aviator mindset beyond flying. We explore why high performers often struggle with perfectionism, control, and burnout in their personal lives, and how aviation’s emphasis on planning, adaptab...

Season 2 Briefing 18   Zone 2 cardio is everywhere right now—but is it actually worth the hype? In this Monday Briefing, we look at cardio through a different lens: not just for heart health or longevity, but as a practical tool for stress relief, mood support, and mental performance. Drawing on research from Johns Hopkins, a peer-reviewed study on aerobic exercise and mood, and Andrew Huberman’s...

Season 2 Episode 20 Aviation careers rarely follow a straight line. In this episode, corporate pilot and flight instructor John Niehaus shares the unexpected turns in his own aviation journey—from graduating into the 2008 financial crisis and building hours as a CFI, to flying for the airlines, charter operations, and ultimately corporate aviation. Along the way, he learned that adaptability, rela...

Season 2 Monday Briefing 17   In today's busy world, it is easy to forget that one of our daily tasks, is to allow for rest and play. We get caught up in all the things we need to accomplish, and then proceed to lather, rinse, repeat. So consider this your permission to reward yourself with some time off, and we think you will find, your skills, your brain, and your nervous system will thank you.

Season 2 Bonus Episode   Take a few minutes to pause, breathe, and reset with this guided meditation from Avi Gordon, originally featured in Season 2, Episode 19  Whether you’re preparing to fly, coming down after a demanding day, or simply need a moment to reconnect, this short practice offers a chance to step out of the mental noise and return to the present moment.   Links: Avi Gordon Wellness...

Season 2 Episode 19 (corrected issue after 45 min)   What if meditation could function like a simulator for the mind? Meditation teacher, coach, and author Avi Gordon joins us to explore how a simple meditation practice can help pilots train attention, recover from mistakes, regulate emotions, and respond more skillfully when things don’t go according to plan.   From bounced landings and checkride...

Season 2 Bonus Episode Monday Briefing 16 The first days of a new season or school year come with energy and pep. But eventually the enthusiasm wanes, the days blur together, and even another trip around the pattern can start to feel like a grind. This Monday Briefing explores a little side hustle of performance training: intentional things we can listen to that help break up the log jam when we f...

Season 2 Episode 18 (sort of)   As a new school year gets underway, we’re bringing back this conversation about succeeding in aviation training without losing sight of why you started flying. Whether you’re heading back to the classroom, flight school, or pursuing your next rating, these reminders about mindset, pressure, resilience, and finding joy still apply. It originally aired during Season 1...

Season 2 Bonus Episode Monday Briefing 15   As we enter into fall, we start to see a season of change. School starts again, jobs change, people move in and out of our lives. I urge you to take a second, and a breath, and realize that change can be for the good. No matter if it is purposeful, or through circumstance, change can be hard, but it can make you into the next great version of yourself.

Season 2 Episode 17 What happens when a student pilot stops accepting “that’s just the way it is” and starts looking for better solutions? In this episode, you’ll learn how entrepreneur and private pilot DeRonte Craig used his marketing expertise to creatively overcome the financial barriers of flight training, earning his private pilot certificate in just three months. He shares why flying 5–6 da...

Season 2 Bonus Episode Monday Briefing 14 In this Monday Briefing, you’ll discover three books that offer practical insights into managing self-interference, handling pressure and resistance, sharpening attention, and staying present in the cockpit. The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey Learn how to get out of your own way and reduce the mental interference that can undermine performance....

Season 2 Episode 16   Learn how professional pilots manage risk before it becomes a problem. In this episode, you'll discover practical Threat and Error Management (TEM) strategies that can improve your decision-making, reduce workload, and strengthen your safety margins. You'll learn how to identify and trap threats before they escalate, create effective personal minimums, use mental rehearsal to...

Season 2 Bonus Episode Monday Briefing 13   In this week's Monday Brief, discover one of the most memorable lessons ever shared on The Calm Cockpit Podcast: there are only two speeds in aviation—slow and screw up. This deceptively simple philosophy challenges the instinct to rush and demonstrates why deliberate, methodical action leads to greater safety, fewer errors, and often no loss of time at...

Season 2 Episode 15   Summer flying brings unique challenges that go far beyond comfort. In this episode, we explore how heat and dehydration can quietly erode pilot performance, slow reaction time, impair memory, reduc situational awareness, and increase fatigue. Small aircraft cockpits can become significantly hotter than the outside air, placing additional stress on the body and triggering a ph...

Season 2 Bonus Episode Monday Briefing 12 This briefing focuses on daily supplements and digital tools designed to enhance a pilot's mental clarity, physical recovery, and stress management. We all want to study, test, fly, and exercise better, but in today's world we are inundated with influencers telling us this special substance is going to solve all our problems.  Here are some Calm Cockpit su...

Season 2 Episode 14   Grief is an inevitable part of life, but in aviation, it often remains unspoken. Whether it's the sudden loss of a colleague or the death of a loved one, grief can affect focus, decision-making, performance, and well-being in profound ways. In this episode, you'll learn how grief impacts the brain, why healthy compartmentalization is different from emotional suppression, and...

Season 2 Bonus Episode Monday Briefing 11   Your flight bag is full of tools to help you fly safely—but what about the tools that help take care of the pilot? In this Monday Briefing, we share three simple apps we think every pilot should have: Water Llama for staying hydrated, MyFitnessPal for understanding how you're fueling your body and brain, and Insight Timer for managing stress and training...

Season 2 Episode 13   Breathing is one of the few systems in the body that operates automatically while also remaining under conscious control, making it a powerful tool for pilot performance and resilience. This episode explores how breathing influences stress, focus, alertness, recovery, and sleep, and why it serves as a bridge between the demands of the external environment and a pilot’s intern...

Season 2: Bonus Episode Monday Briefing 10   In this Monday Briefing, you'll discover why self-care is not a luxury or a reward for surviving a stressful week, but the foundation of a healthy, resilient, and meaningful life. You'll learn a practical definition of self-care that goes beyond the stereotypes of the wellness industry and focuses instead on the daily routines that provide maintenance o...

Season 2 Episode 12   In this episode we sit down with Chris Anderson, a Designated Pilot Examiner, corporate pilot, and 12-time NAFI Master CFI with more than 23,000 flight hours and over 3,500 practical tests to his credit. Drawing on decades of experience from the examiner’s seat, Chris offers an inside look at one of aviation’s greatest challenges: managing the stress and pressure of the check...

Season 2: Bonus Episode Monday Briefing 9  In this Monday Briefing, we highlight all of the bonus episodes we have compiled for you over the last year and a half of the Calm Cockpit. These episodes are exercises and deeper dives added to our normal show, so that you can use and find them by themselves. We also highlight the efforts of our guests like Sarah Gilbert, Lisa Danahy ( https://createcalm...

Season 2 Episode 11   In this episode we explore the phenomenon known as “the yips” — the sudden breakdown of a deeply mastered skill under pressure. Whether it shows up in the cockpit, on a stage, on the golf course, the yips are not simply a matter of nerves or lack of talent. We unpack how anxiety, perfectionism, and over-control can interfere with procedural memory, causing the thinking brain...