Passive Income Pilots

Insurance may not feel exciting until it becomes the thing protecting everything you’ve built. In this episode, Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson sit down with Rod Zabriskie to unpack the coverage high-income professionals often overlook, from income protection and asset defense to long-term planning and liquidity. For pilots, physicians, business owners, and investors, this conversation offers a timely...

Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson sit down with Trevor Kuresa to unpack the Deferred Sales Trust, a lesser-known strategy for deferring capital gains after selling a business or highly appreciated asset. Trevor explains how the structure works, why it differs from a 1031 exchange or monetized installment sale, and when the costs, timing, and compliance rules make sense. For pilots, real estate investors...

Is your wealth strategy working together or pulling in different directions? Hosts Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson unpack the 10-30-30-30 strategy for balancing cash, 401(k)s, real estate, tax benefits, and passive investments. They explain why liquidity, control, and tax strategy all matter, and how short-term rentals, syndications, oil and gas, and self-storage can fit into a pilot’s portfolio. Plus...

Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson break down one of the most important but often misunderstood parts of real estate investing: the capital stack. They explain how senior debt, mezzanine debt, preferred equity, and common equity shape risk, returns, and who gets paid first. For pilots and high-income professionals evaluating passive income opportunities, this episode offers a practical framework for unde...

Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson welcome back Chris Prefontaine for a practical conversation on active investing, creative deal structures, and using real estate to build capital for future passive income. Built for pilots and high-income professionals, this episode looks at what it takes to move beyond simply writing checks into deals and start understanding how opportunities are created. Chris brings...

What happens when the aviation job market shifts faster than pilots are prepared for? Live from TPNX in Dallas, Tait Duryea sits down with Nik Fialka for a timely look at pilot hiring, airline interviews, and career strategy in a changing aviation market. From major airline hiring trends to the pressure facing Spirit and regional pilots, this episode gives pilots and aviation families a clearer vi...

Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson welcome back Mark Kohler to unpack one of the most misunderstood topics in self-directed IRA investing: UBIT and UDFI. Mark explains how these taxes show up in real estate syndications, why leverage can trigger tax inside an IRA, when C corp blockers may help, and what pilots should watch for on K-1s and 990-T filings. This episode gives high-income professionals a clea...

How much money are you leaving on the table by waiting until tax season to start planning? Hosts Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson talk with Nathan Sosa from Hall CPA to break down the latest tax updates that matter most to pilots and high-income professionals. Get ready to hear practical insights on bonus depreciation, the short-term rental strategy, oil and gas tax benefits, passive real estate losses...

Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson sit down with Jenny Spradling, co-founder of FreeWill, to explore how estate planning can be simpler, faster, and even free. Jenny explains why millions of Americans still lack basic estate documents and how that creates major complications for families. The conversation breaks down probate, wills vs. trusts, and why both are often needed. They also uncover powerful str...

What happens when record debt, rising interest rates, and AI disruption collide in the global economy? Hosts Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson welcome back market veteran Guy Adami to unpack the forces shaping today’s financial markets. From bond yields and inflation to the Buffett Indicator and AI’s impact on jobs, Guy offers a behind-the-scenes look at what professional investors are watching right no...

Hosts Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson sit down with First Officer at Southwest Airlines pilot John Wahrmund to unpack how one listener turned podcast advice into real results. John shares how episode 10 pushed him to buy a short-term rental in Galveston, unlock major tax savings, and rethink how his family builds wealth. This episode highlights intentional investing, knowing your market, using the rig...

Hosts Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson explore one of the most common questions among airline pilots: Should you start a side hustle? Drawing from Ryan’s early experience building income streams during layovers, the hosts share practical ideas pilots can pursue both inside and outside aviation. From consulting and drone photography to aircraft brokerage and real estate investing, they explain how extra...

Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson break down one of the most important retirement decisions pilots face: Traditional vs. Roth IRAs. They explain how taxes impact withdrawals, why required minimum distributions matter, and how poor planning could leave your kids with a massive tax bill. The conversation also explores advanced strategies like Roth conversions, self-directed IRAs, and “Roth chunking” durin...

Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson sit down for a special hosts-only episode to break down where they see the biggest opportunities for 2026. From reshoring trends fueling industrial growth to the demographic wave driving senior living demand, they unpack the macro forces shaping real estate right now. They also explain why falling interest rates, reduced new construction, and renewed capital flows are c...

Hosts Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson welcome former IRS auditor Victoria Boon to cut through the noise around aircraft tax deductions. Learn how bonus depreciation really works, why aircraft are treated differently from real estate, and what the IRS actually looks for during an audit. From Delta bonus taxation to leasebacks, qualified business use, and depreciation recapture, this episode is essentia...

What if the IRS already allows you to write off far more of your real estate, but no one ever showed you how? In today’s episode, Tait Duryae sits down with Gian Pazzia to break down cost segregation in plain English and explain why it remains one of the most powerful tax strategies for real estate investors. Building on last week’s depreciation primer with Hall CPA, this episode covers how cost s...

Tait Duryea is joined by Brandon Hall to break down one of the most misunderstood tools in real estate investing: depreciation. From straight-line depreciation to cost segregation and 100 percent bonus depreciation, this episode explains how so-called “phantom losses” can legally reduce or even eliminate taxable income for pilots and other high earners. They also cover depreciation recapture, comm...

Could life insurance be a better cash-flow tool than a savings account? Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson sit down with Rod Zabriskie from Money Insights Group to break down how high cash value whole life insurance can be used as a powerful cash-flow tool for pilots and investors. They cut through the confusion around “infinite banking” and explain how properly structured policies can improve liquidity,...

Are you paying for a high-powered CPA when your tax situation doesn’t actually require one? In this episode, Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson sit down with CPA Gary Heldt to clarify what smart tax planning really looks like for high-income pilots with relatively simple financial lives. They break down how W-2 earners can optimize taxes without complex businesses, aggressive strategies, or unnecessary f...

Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson sit down with Toby Mathis to unpack one of the most misunderstood topics for high-income pilots: business structure and taxes. They explain when to use sole proprietorships, LLCs, S-corps, and C-corps, how losses and profits flow to your personal return, and why entity choice impacts audit risk and mortgage eligibility. This episode is a practical roadmap for pilots sta...

Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson close out 2025 by pulling back the curtain on how high performers actually plan, execute, and stay intentional across money, business, and family life. From Spartan’s acquisition pace and Turbine’s investor roadmap to family board meetings, goal frameworks, and habit formation, this episode offers a grounded look at what it takes to build momentum year after year. If yo...

What if managing rentals like an institution is the key to higher returns and less stress? Hosts Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson talk with Matthew Whitaker, founder of Evernest, about scaling property management with systems, data, and AI. From HELOC-driven growth to managing 20,000 homes nationwide, this conversation breaks down why professional operations, fraud prevention, and institutional discipl...

Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson sit down with Mat Sorensen of Directed IRA to tackle one of the most common investor questions: Who do you actually trust when investing in alternative assets? The conversation breaks down how to vet operators, assess risk, understand leverage, and use self-directed retirement accounts responsibly. Mat shares real-world insight from seeing thousands of deals flow throug...

Clarity and control for the wealth you’re building. Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson sit down with asset protection expert Adam Kintigh for his third appearance to break down one of the most misunderstood pieces of a pilot’s financial plan: the revocable living trust. Discover how to structure your trust, avoid probate disasters, protect your heirs from creditors, ensure your wealth goes where you inte...

Are you using the exit strategies that actually work in this market? Hosts Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson talk with seasoned investor and author Leka Devatha to pull back the curtain on what’s real and what’s not in flipping, reality TV, and today’s housing market. Get ready to uncover the truth behind her Amazon Prime episode, learn the creative strategies inside her new book Return on Real Estate ,...