The Student Pilot Cast

Wow.  Brian Terwilliger, the director and producer of the great aviation documentary film One Six Right, has done it again.  This time in a very high quality web vignette about his history and his media ride with the Navy jet demonstration team, the Blue Angels.  I can’t say any more that you won’t get from seeing, so just watch “Flying Full Circle”.

Feel free to watch it here if you’re pressed for time, but if not, do yourself a favor and watch (or download) a higher quality version at Brian’s site.

Hello everyone.  I'm still here, and actually in the middle of producing a new episode...but it's taking longer than expected (it's a good one...lot's of firsts in my training).  I just wanted to let everyone know that there is a new episode on the horizon and I haven't forgotten about you.  I'm working on some other stuff as well.

Also, I just had to tell someone.  I took my first cross country as a licensed pilot this past weekend, as well as my first pax (my wife), and we headed up from the dreadful heat of the Phoenix Valley to the nice cool pines of Show Low (with a stop in Payson).  It was great, and I'll tell you all about it in an episode down the road...but I've gotta say...flying is cool.

 Stay tuned...I'll be releasing in the next day or two (I know...promises, promises).  Stay safe.

Hello, everyone.  Sorry for the long delay.  I have not stopped flying...but I appreciate those of you who have asked or inquired.  In fact, if anything, I have intensified my training.  I'll try to do a quick audio update as well so those of you who don't get on the website will get an update as well...but this will have to do for now.

So...the other news is that I'm at Oshkosh.  I flew in with Kent from the PilotCast, which was very interesting.  This is my first trip to the mecca of general aviation, and I'm hoping to bring some good information to all of you who haven't made it this year.  I've got some really good updates coming for my training, too, but I'm putting those on hold for Air Venture, and will resume those next week.

You can follow me at Oshkosh on twitter (www.twitter.com/billwil) where I am attempting to update what I'm seeing and doing.  I've been seeing some great stuff, and I'll get you all some more information soon.  Stay tuned for more updates.

This is a blog post entry only.  No Episode on this post.

I just wanted to give a quick update on something kind of cool.  A month or so ago, someone from Flight Training magazine contacted me to ask questions about the Student Pilot Cast, my motivations, etc.  Low and behold, it showed up in the magazine in July!  Page 14 if you want to check it out.

I also want to publicly set the record straight with a couple of errors and omissions in the article.  First, while I was explaining some of my motivations, I mentioned some of the other aviation podcasts that I had been listening to that provided inspiration (as well as knowledge and entertainment) to me.  Happily, they made it into the magazine.  Sadly, they omitted two of the ones I mentioned, and they misspelled Will Hawkins’ name.  So, I wanted to “set the record straight” right here, and list the podcasts that I had mentioned in my original statement, along with links to them in case some of you are not listening to them as well.

• The Finer Points – Jason Miller does an absolutely fantastic job of teaching small lessons about flying (he is a CFI, and from what I hear, one I would like to fly with someday).
• Uncontrolled Airspace – Jack, Dave, and Jeb (and guests) do a great job producing a weekly “hangar flying show” where they discuss everything from news to 60 year old “off field landing”.  Good stuff.
• The Pilot Cast – The original “hangar flying show” with Pilot Mike, Pilot Kent, and Pilot Dan.  This was the first podcast I found and started listening to about aviation.  These guys are entertaining.
• The Pilot Flight Pod Log and the Student Pilot Flight Pod Log by Will Hawkins – Very good down to earth stuff.  Will’s student blog, which is done because he is Pilot Will now, I found just before starting mine…and was verification to me that people would want content like this (because I loved listening to his).  Will really hangs it all out there.  His new cast (listed first) is a hangar flying show where every show he has a new guest to talk about flying adventures.
• Airspeed – by Stephen Force (A.K.A. Steve Tupper) does a very cool, radio-like podcast about everything aviation, from flying in an open cockpit to getting a DC-3 type rating to the Blue Angels, and all the way to the “steely-eyed missile men” of the astronaut program.  Always interesting and heartfelt.

In the Flight Training magazine blurb, Airspeed and The Pilot Cast were left out, and they referenced Will Hawkins as Willis, so I just wanted to publicly, in the forum that I have editorial control over, set the record straight.  If you’re not listening to these other casts, by all means, start.  There are some new great ones out there now, too, including The Student Pilot Journal, and VA Student Pilot.  Please leave comments on this post if any of you know of other good ones that you want to share with everyone.

Thanks again for listening.  I’ll try to get another episode out in the next day or two.