Pilot's Discretion from Sporty's

Learning to fly is all about the challenge for YouTube creator Ethan O’Rourke. That meant training in a J-3 Cub with no electrical system and now traveling the country in an Aeronca Chief. Ethan explains the joy of low and slow flights, shares his approach to making memorable aviation films, and describes what it was l

We train mechanics to attack airplanes with tools, but A&P/IA Colleen Sterling says there’s a better way. She shares her advice for using modern tools like engine monitors and borescopes to maintain airplanes on condition instead of by the calendar. She also talks about her fascinating day job, which involves searching

From ATC modernization to the new MOSAIC rule to unleaded avgas, AOPA is involved in all the key issues for pilots. New President Darren Pleasance shares his opinion on each of these topics and explains what role his organization is playing. Darren is a longtime pilot, flying everything from aerobatic airplanes to warb

Breaking the sound barrier isn’t like the movies, and Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg would know: he’s done it both as a Navy F/A-18 fighter pilot and as a test pilot in Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator aircraft. He talks about Boom’s plans for supersonic airline travel, learning to fly an all-new design, and the aer

As the first CEO of Robinson Helicopter not named Robinson, David Smith has combined the company’s old fashioned manufacturing philosophy with a new focus on innovation. He talks about the result of that work, including the launch of the new R88 turbine helicopter and the first flight of a hydrogen-powered Robinson. Da

Jack Long’s urge to explore is stronger than most people: he has flown his Pilatus PC-12 around the world in both directions, over the north and south poles, and completed two dozen Atlantic crossings. But he insists he’s no daredevil, and in this episode he explains his detailed approach to pre-flight planning and his