Pilots Say What?

What does it actually take to go from flight school student to airline captain? Tanner shares his journey from starting flight training at Thrust Flight to becoming a professional airline pilot, including the challenges of earning his ratings, building flight hours, joining an airline cadet program, and transitioning from a CFI to flying commercial jets.

Can pilots go to therapy without risking their FAA medical certificate? Mental health in aviation has been a difficult topic for years, and many pilots still hesitate to seek help. In Episode 132 of Pilots Say What?, Zach sits down with Dr. Abigail Powell, also known as The Aviation Therapist, to discuss mental health in aviation, FAA medical concerns, checkride anxiety, and the psychological chal...

Can someone who's afraid of flying actually become a pilot? In this episode of Pilots Say What?, Zach sits down with Thrust Flight student Troy Kirk to talk about his unexpected journey into aviation. After pursuing hockey and graduating from Purdue University, Troy decided to follow a completely different career path.

In this episode of Pilots Say What?, we sit down with aerobatic national champion and Thrust Flight aerobatic instructor Kurt Richmond to talk about what aerobatic flying can actually teach a pilot.

Becoming a CFI requires a completely different mindset than being a flight student. In this episode, we sit down with a Thrust Flight student who recently completed her CFI training to talk about learning to fly from the right seat, preparing for the CFI checkride, and making the transition from student to instructor.

Landon Haynes started flight training part-time while finishing high school and beginning college. After spending about nine months earning his Private Pilot License, he realized he wanted to take aviation seriously and move through his ratings faster.

In this episode of Pilots Say What?, Ashley and Cheyenne look back on their paths into aviation and talk about why they didn’t start flying sooner. From college degrees and working as a flight attendant to finally taking the leap into flight training, they share why starting later may have actually helped them succeed.

Can you use VA benefits for flight training? In this episode of Pilots Say What?, we sit down with Thrust Flight’s Tracy Copeland to break down how veterans may be able to use their benefits toward flight training.

Between aircraft availability, maintenance cancellations, instructor availability, finances, and inconsistent flying, nearly a year went by without earning his Private Pilot Certificate. In this episode of Pilots Say What?, Amin talks about why he eventually switched to Part 141 flight training, what changed once he had a structured training environment, and why he wishes he had made the move soon...

Falling behind in flight school can make you question whether you’re cut out for it at all. In this episode of Pilots Say What, Matthew talks about struggling through private pilot training, failing stage checks, watching classmates move ahead, and learning how to stop comparing his progress to everyone else.

Zach sits down with new Thrust Flight CFI Guy Bassett to talk about what actually changes when you go from being the student to being the instructor. Guy shares what surprised him most about teaching, the added responsibility of being the safety net in the airplane, how he manages different students, and what he’s learning during his first few weeks as a CFI. They also get into instrument training...

Caleb went from working at Apple to completely changing careers and becoming a flight instructor at Thrust Flight. In this episode of Pilots Say What, Caleb talks about what pushed him toward aviation, completing his flight training in 13 months, getting hired as a CFI, and the challenges that come with accelerated flight training. He also shares advice on staying motivated, avoiding comparisons w...

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...

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.

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.

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 conf...

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.

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.

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, me...

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.

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.

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.

In this episode of Pilots Say What, we sit down with Joe Johnson, an active American Airlines 777 Captain, check airman, DPE, and founder of the Ashton Johnson Memorial CloudDancer Scholarship. Joe shares what he has learned from decades in aviation, including what student pilots often get wrong during checkrides, why nerves can lead to bad decisions, and how pilots should handle high-pressure mom...

Halley Bowers didn’t grow up around aviation. She was a first-generation pilot, originally pursuing college and marketing, until one discovery flight changed the direction of her life. In this episode of Pilots Say What, Halley shares how she went from testing the waters at a Part 61 flight school to moving seven hours away from home to continue her training at Thrust Flight. She talks about the t...

Connor Emmett spent years chasing baseball at a high level, playing through college and eventually professionally in Detroit, Missoula, Montana, and Colorado Springs. But after stepping away from pro baseball, he realized he was still looking for a new challenge, a stronger sense of purpose, and a career path that pushed him to grow. In this episode of Pilots Say What?, Connor shares how he went f...