Fly Cool Shit - An Aviation Podcast About Flying Cool Shit

Welcome back! This week we talk about the breaking news of the Reno Air Races announcing that their last year of putting on the races will be in 2023. Very sad and unfortunate news, but also not surprising, unfortunately. We get a bit into sportsman, but we really focus on the excitement of advanced and unlimited this year with it being team selections for unlimited, and WAAC being in the US, so w...

Welcome back! This week we talk about last week's episode that stirred lots of buzz. We received a ton of great feedback and opinions so keep the emails and messages coming! We really focus on the direction of the IAC and the categories. Good discussion and we can certainly see both sides regarding the 2023 sportsman known. It will be really fun to see people fly the sequence and how well it does...

Welcome back! This week we sit down with badass up-and-comer, Angela Rogers. Angela flies several different platforms and is a sportsman competitor. We talk about her journey into aerobatics, how she got started, and where she is now. We get into the 2023 sportsman known and get her thoughts on underpowered airplanes being able to fly them. We also get a lot into the culture of the IAC, chapters,...

Happy Friday! This week the Pit Viper Prince himself graces the podcast stage! We talk about his journey in the Pitts S2B, to owning the Giles G-202, to eventually ordering an MX2 which just so happened to be delivered in its crate, on the day of the recording. This was a really fun one. Alain is a fantastic human being and it was about time we had him on! Thank you to LIFT Aviation! Go buy some s...

TGIF! This week we talk about Mark’s dream of competing, and we get into airplane cultures a little bit. Gamebird and Gamiest seem to be a really welcoming and fun culture. We also talk about buying airplanes to compete in advanced. Ideas like buying an old 300L and modifying it to be more competitive. It was a fun chat! Thank you to LIFT Aviation! Head over to www.liftaviationusa.com and use the...

Welcome back! This week we record on release day because Mark was busy in Southern California doing an Extra checkout. We talk about that, as well as getting into an email sent to 330SC owners regarding the French team needing a plane for WAAC. This sent some ripples through the community and Jeff fills us in. Thank you to LIFT Aviation! Head over to www.liftaviationusa.com and use the promo code...

Welcome back! This week we talk about Jeff’s problem of owning an SC which is commanding super insane prices on the used market right now. Does Jeff sell it and get a Sukhoi SU-31? We talk about holes in the monoplane market space and how those gaps should be filled. We also talked about creating teams within contests to have a little bit of fun. Thanks to LIFT Aviation! Head over to www.liftaviat...

Welcome back! This week, we sit down with a true grassroots performer, RJ Gritter. RJ flies a Decathlon, J-3 Cub AND a Stearman wing walking act at airshows. A man of many hats! We talk grassroots almost right away. We also get into airshow performances, aerobatics, his comedy act, and of course his wing walking act. RJ shares how he got into aerobatics and airshow flying, as well as some future p...

Happy New Year! The boys are back to talk about the year ahead. We get into all kinds of fun topics. We talk about some goals for 2023, and Jeff talks about some specific goals for flying unlimited. We also talk about the Pit Viper Prince, and Pit Viper King duking it out for the crown in their underwear at Nationals this year. We talk airplanes and so much more! Thanks to LIFT Aviation! Head over...

Welcome back! This week we talk about all kinds of random stuff. We get into Mark doing a checkout for a newly formed Extra 300L partnership, Jeff getting a new car and so much more. We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday with your loved ones! Thank you to Lift Aviation! Head over to www.liftaviationusa.com and use the promo code FLYCOOLSHIT for 25% off most items! Go buy a shi...

Welcome back! This week we wrap up our interview with Mikey G. We finish RBAR talk as well as getting into ICAS and airshows, sponsorships, the future of airshows and performers, and so much more! This was a really fun episode and we can’t thank Mike enough for coming on. Thank you to LIFT Aviation! Head over to www.liftaviationusa.com and use the promo code FLYCOOLSHIT at checkout for 25% off mos...

Welcome back! This week we have the best of the best, Michael Goulian back on! We promised to get him back on to talk Red Bull Air Races, and it only took us over a year to do it! The Don is one of the busiest guys in the biz, and he was nice enough to take time out of his day to talk RBAR. Mike dives into the psychological aspects of racing which is an element seldom talked about, and it turned o...

Welcome back! This week, the incredible Rob Holland joins us again to talk about the 2023 knowns, and we go over the 2023 Sportsman known. We then get into ICAS, the ACE program and airshows, Nationals and so much more! This was so much fun having Rob on as always. Thank you to LIFT Aviation! Head over to www.liftaviationusa.com and use the promo code FLYCOOLSHIT at checkout for 25% off your order...

Happy Thanksgiving! This week we sit down on Thanksgiving day to record for you all (you’re welcome!). This week we talk about experimental aircraft, aircraft leasing, and cheaper costs of entry to get into the world of aerobatics. We also talk about Jeff’s LIFT AV1.1 helmet and get an update on his setup after a couple of flights. LIFT Aviation is having a huge Black Friday sale on its website. H...

Better late than never! We never have a dull moment around here. Sorry, we missed you last week but happy Friday! This week we talk about Canadian aerobatics, the coach for the Advanced team, etc., and how they are shaping up to be a serious contender for WAAC. Lots of airplane shuffling right now amongst advanced and unlimited competitors in the U.S. and Canada which is exciting. We then play a g...

Happy Friday! This week Mark and Jeff record on release day. Mark is in New York on a layover and is so close to Jeff, but so far away. We talk about GameFest 2022 which is the first annual GB1 owner get-together. We get into a long discussion on the debate of an NG or GB1 for the casual buyer. Hope you enjoy it! Thank you to LIFT Aviation for the support! Go support them! www.liftaviationusa.com...

Not really ;) Welcome back! This week we talk about the Canadian Advanced Team, and a bit of what is going on with them. We also talk about the US team and what they are doing post-Nationals. We revisit Nationals to talk about Advanced, and how the lower-powered airplanes struggled a bit. We get into a bunch of other random stuff as well. Enjoy! Thank you to LIFT Aviation! Head to www.liftaviation...

Welcome back! This week we have Luke Penner and Ryan Chapman. Luke and Ryan are two kick-ass competitors from Canada. Luke flies an Extra 300L and Ryan flies a Laser with a Staudacher wing. Both are phenomenal pilots and human beings! We all met at this year's Nationals and it was so much fun to watch them fly. We talk about all kinds of fun stuff. Luke just bought an Extra 330SC and was literally...

Welcome back! What a whirlwind! Mark and Jeff are back to reality. Nationals were absolutely fantastic, and I think everyone that put on the event would call it a resounding success. We talk about commentating on the live feed, as well as sitting down with Michael Goulian and David Martin. We talk about the categories a little bit, with a focus on Advanced and Unlimited. We break down the flying,...

Welcome back y’all! Jeff is back from the chaos and we finally have a chance to catch up. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to make it to Nationals and fly Unlimited, so he fills us in on what’s going on. We get into some Nationals talk and break down some of the flying that was kicked off today in Advanced. Hope you enjoy it! Thank you to LIFT Aviation for being such a huge supporter of aerobatics an...

Hey all! Welcome back! We had a couple of weeks of messiness and Jeff couldn’t record, so I wanted to throw a solo podcast out just to update everyone on what is going on and, to shoot the shit a bit. It was weird talking to myself, which is something I only do in the shower… Anyhoo, I ramble on about the Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach this weekend, a recap of the Reno Air Races, and I get in...

Welcome back! This week we have U.S. Advanced Team hopeful, Marco Bouw! Marco flies a hopped-up Laser and is kicking ass. We talk about all kinds of stuff. Marco had a Pitts S1 that he had to bail out of in 2016, so we had to talk about that. Marco has been working super hard training for Nationals, and just finished a camp with Rob Holland. Jeff and Marco get into a fun discussion on walking sequ...

Welcome back! This week we have Alex and Eric on to wrap up Redlands. It was Alex’s first competition in advanced. Alex gives us his breakdown and the challenges faced. Eric wraps up his Redlands results and how he flew. We then get into Nationals, dropping down a category to go for the Advanced team, their top 3 pics, keyboard warriors and so much more! Sorry for the audio quality, Mark’s mic aud...

Welcome back! We missed you guys so much. This week we start tearing into Nationals which is a month out. We talk a bit about the ending of WAC with the free, and some closing thoughts, but Nationals was the focus. We really dive into the Advanced Category by picking some favorites and looking at different aircraft being used. We also look a tad at the Unlimited Category since Petro is competing t...

Welcome back! This week we recap a little bit of WAC and the 4 min free, but we spend most of the time breaking down the Kathy Jaffe contest. Jeff competed in his first unlimited contest and he did a fantastic job! He gives us a detailed breakdown of the prep, buildup, and flights during the contest. It was really fun to hear the breakdown. Hope you all enjoy it! Thank you to LIFT Aviation for the...