208. How Should Pilots Compete After Spirit's Shutdown?

Dylan recovers from the orthopedic nightmare of flying Frontier, while Max discovers the ultimate FO jackpot: getting paired with a check airman and paid to stay home. The guys also talk NBAA distractions, pilot uniform crimes, and some surprisingly useful sleep tips. In the Mailbag, they tackle trust and communication in pilot relationships, the value of a CFII, and whether a 700-hour pilot can break into part-time contract flying. In Flight Advice, a military pilot faces a big decision: stay in two extra years for a Global 6500 type rating with minimal flight time, or get out and start building a civilian aviation career. Show Notes 0:00 Intro 4:02 Max's Musings & NBAA-BACE 10:29 Aviation News & Pilot Fashion 19:22 Protocols for Sleep 23:58 Comments & Reviews 31:58 Mailbag 49:03 Flight Advice Our Sponsors Tim Pope, CFP® — Tim is both a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and a pilot. His practice specializes in aviation professionals and aviation 401k plans, helping clients pursue their financial goals by defining them, optimizing resources, and monitoring progress. Click here to learn more. Also check out The Pilot's Portfolio Podcast. Advanced Aircrew Academy — Enables flight operations to fulfill their training needs in the most efficient and affordable way—anywhere, at any time. They provide high-quality training for professional pilots, flight attendants, flight coordinators, maintenance, and line service teams, all delivered via a world-class online system. Click here to learn more. Raven Careers — Helping your career take flight. Raven Careers supports professional pilots with resume prep, interview strategy, and long-term career planning. Whether you're a CFI eyeing your first regional, a captain debating your upgrade path, or a legacy hopeful refining your application, their one-on-one coaching and insider knowledge give you a real advantage. Click here to learn more. The AirComp Calculator™ is business aviation's only online compensation analysis system. It can provide precise compensation ranges for 14 business aviation positions in six aircraft classes at over 50 locations throughout the United States in seconds. Click here to learn more. Vaerus Jet Sales — Vaerus means right, true, and real. Buy or sell an aircraft the right way, with a true partner to make your dream of flight real. Connect with Brooks at Vaerus Jet Sales or learn more about their DC-3 Referral Program. Harvey Watt — Offers the only true Loss of Medical License Insurance available to individuals and small groups. Because Harvey Watt manages most airlines' plans, they can assist you in identifying the right coverage to supplement your airline's plan. Many buy coverage to supplement the loss of retirement benefits while grounded. Click here to learn more. VSL ACE Guide — Your all-in-one pilot training resource. Includes the most up-to-date Airman Certification Standards (ACS) and Practical Test Standards (PTS) for Private, Instrument, Commercial, ATP, CFI, and CFII. 21.Five listeners get a discount on the guide—click here to learn more. ProPilotWorld.com — The premier information and networking resource for professional pilots. Click here to learn more.

Doug Taylor, Co-Founder and CEO of Avtopia, joins Dylan and Max to pull back the curtain on aircraft maintenance, AOG headaches, and what mechanics wish pilots understood about keeping airplanes flying. With 35 years of maintenance experience, Doug shares practical insights on writing better squawks, working with maintenance teams, navigating parts shortages, and avoiding the mistakes that make an already stressful AOG even worse. From MELs and elusive "cannot duplicate" discrepancies to Gulfstream maintenance nightmares, the A&P shortage, and AI-powered troubleshooting, the conversation covers plenty of familiar territory for anyone who's ever watched a perfectly good trip unravel at the service center. Join us for an entertaining look at the other side of aviation maintenance, and subscribe to 21.Five for more conversations from the professional pilot world.

Max goes back to basics in recurrent training, Ted checks in from his increasingly fortified garage, and the guys dig into the FAA's move away from single-pilot exemptions on legacy Citations. The Mailbag keeps the pilot-marriage conversation going with listener strategies for trust, communication, and life on the road. For Flight Advice, Ben asks how to consolidate paper, Garmin Pilot, and MyFlightbook records before starting his first Part 135/fractional flying job, leading to a discussion about owning your data, backups, and keeping a clean interview-ready logbook. Show Notes 0:00 Intro 3:34 Captain Stabbing 5:36 Special Phone Call 22:01 FAA News 31:26 SR-71 Rumor 36:20 Reviews & Comments 38:17 Mailbag 52:06 Flight Advice Our Sponsors Tim Pope, CFP® — Tim is both a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and a pilot. His practice specializes in aviation professionals and aviation 401k plans, helping clients pursue their financial goals by defining them, optimizing resources, and monitoring progress. Click here to learn more. Also check out The Pilot's Portfolio Podcast. Advanced Aircrew Academy — Enables flight operations to fulfill their training needs in the most efficient and affordable way—anywhere, at any time. They provide high-quality training for professional pilots, flight attendants, flight coordinators, maintenance, and line service teams, all delivered via a world-class online system. Click here to learn more. Raven Careers — Helping your career take flight. Raven Careers supports professional pilots with resume prep, interview strategy, and long-term career planning. Whether you're a CFI eyeing your first regional, a captain debating your upgrade path, or a legacy hopeful refining your application, their one-on-one coaching and insider knowledge give you a real advantage. Click here to learn more. The AirComp Calculator™ is business aviation's only online compensation analysis system. It can provide precise compensation ranges for 14 business aviation positions in six aircraft classes at over 50 locations throughout the United States in seconds. Click here to learn more. Vaerus Jet Sales — Vaerus means right, true, and real. Buy or sell an aircraft the right way, with a true partner to make your dream of flight real. Connect with Brooks at Vaerus Jet Sales or learn more about their DC-3 Referral Program. Harvey Watt — Offers the only true Loss of Medical License Insurance available to individuals and small groups. Because Harvey Watt manages most airlines' plans, they can assist you in identifying the right coverage to supplement your airline's plan. Many buy coverage to supplement the loss of retirement benefits while grounded. Click here to learn more. VSL ACE Guide — Your all-in-one pilot training resource. Includes the most up-to-date Airman Certification Standards (ACS) and Practical Test Standards (PTS) for Private, Instrument, Commercial, ATP, CFI, and CFII. 21.Five listeners get a discount on the guide—click here to learn more. ProPilotWorld.com — The premier information and networking resource for professional pilots. Click here to learn more.

Tim Pope of 360 Aviation Advisors joins Dylan and Max to talk open enrollment, year-end financial planning, and one of the biggest career decisions pilots eventually face: when to upgrade. For professional pilots, the numbers matter—but so do schedule, seniority, reserve, weekends off, and the quality-of-life calculus that never fits neatly into a spreadsheet. They dig into disability coverage, estate planning, 401(k) and Roth strategies, AI-generated financial questions, and whether captain pay is worth trading away a senior FO schedule. Listen in and subscribe for more conversations built around the decisions professional pilots actually have to make. Tim Pope, CFP® — Tim is both a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and a pilot. His practice specializes in aviation professionals and aviation 401k plans, helping clients pursue their financial goals by defining them, optimizing resources, and monitoring progress. Click here to learn more. Also check out The Pilot's Portfolio Podcast. Show Notes 0:00 Intro 3:48 Benefit Season & Estate Plans 7:37 Health & Year-End Targets 16:57 AI in Financial Planning & Tax Check In 24:13 Quality of Life vs Money 35:47 Airplane Purchase Spreadsheet 39:19 When to Work With Tim

This week we ditch the usual format and go full storytime, starting with Max's annual Idaho backcountry mission involving Cub flying, pack rafts, mechanical drama, questionable fuel logistics, hungry foxes, and one extremely unwelcome skunk. Dylan counters with a 24-hour Anchorage layover full of 747s, floatplanes, bush planes, F Street Station, and some proper Alaska aviation sightseeing. Then he brings Gavin along in the right seat of the CJ2 for a father-son run to Roswell, complete with copilot duties and UFO tourism. Mailbag and Flight Advice will be back next episode. Show Notes 0:00 Intro 5:37 Max's Trip To Idaho 31:39 45 Ranch & Night Visitor 43:43 Plans to Return? 52:12 Dylan's Alaskan Adventure 58:00 New Favorite Copilot