Pilot to Pilot

E362: A Career Changer's Road from Orchestra Halls to the Airlines

Pilot to Pilot Magazine — Volume 002 is out now. Get yours at pilottopilothq.com/mag [https://www.pilottopilothq.com/mag] Sponsors — please support the people who support the show: • Avemco Insurance — Save 5% as a Pilot to Pilot listener. Call (888) 635-4297 or visit avemco.com/4297-owner [https://www.avemco.com/products/owner/owner?partner=4297pilottopilot] (owners) or avemco.com/4297-non-owner [https://www.avemco.com/products/renter?partner=4297pilottopilot] (non-owners) • Textron Aviation — Built for lifelong aviators. Plan your next chapter at txtav.com/stepup [https://txtav.com/stepup] • Garmin — Plan, file, fly, log with the Garmin Pilot app • Allworth Airline Advisors — Register for their latest webinar at allworthfinancial.com/justin [https://allworthfinancial.com/airlines/lp/runway-for-retirement-webinar?utm_campaign=airlines+-+more+runway+for+retirement%3Flmls=Partner+Channel&lmld=Pilot+to+Pilot] • Learn the Finer Points — Save 10% off your first year at learnthefinerpoints.com/justin [https://www.learnthefinerpoints.com/ground-school/p/justin]. You plan for everything when you fly. But have you planned for life after the cockpit? Download the free guide from Allworth Airline Advisors https://allworthairline.com/justin [https://allworthairline.com/justin]. His uncle flew F-18s in the Marines before becoming a UPS MD-11 captain. His dad plays organ. His twin sister teaches choir in Texas. And David spent the better part of a decade as a professional tuba player before a global pandemic, a family hotel, and one YouTube rabbit hole set him on an entirely different flight path. In this episode, David traces every step of a career change that most people would have talked themselves out of — the 141 versus 61 debate, the flight school that felt like family, the stage check that became his most memorable moment as a CFI, and the three-to-five-minute orchestra audition that taught him everything he needed to know about showing up prepared. His advice is simple, honest, and hard-won: don't chase the end goal. Just be the best version of wherever you are right now.

E361: Electric Planes, Forest Fires & Vancouver Island: A Canadian Pilot's Unconventional Path

Pilot to Pilot Magazine — Volume 002 is out now. Get yours at pilottopilothq.com/mag [https://www.pilottopilothq.com/mag] Sponsors — please support the people who support the show: • Avemco Insurance — Save 5% as a Pilot to Pilot listener. Call (888) 635-4297 or visit avemco.com/4297-owner [https://www.avemco.com/products/owner/owner?partner=4297pilottopilot] (owners) or avemco.com/4297-non-owner [https://www.avemco.com/products/renter?partner=4297pilottopilot] (non-owners) • Textron Aviation — Built for lifelong aviators. Plan your next chapter at txtav.com/stepup [https://txtav.com/stepup] • Garmin — Plan, file, fly, log with the Garmin Pilot app • Allworth Airline Advisors — Register for their latest webinar at allworthfinancial.com/justin [https://allworthfinancial.com/airlines/lp/runway-for-retirement-webinar?utm_campaign=airlines+-+more+runway+for+retirement%3Flmls=Partner+Channel&lmld=Pilot+to+Pilot] • Learn the Finer Points — Save 10% off your first year at learnthefinerpoints.com/justin [https://www.learnthefinerpoints.com/ground-school/p/justin]. https://allworthfinancial.com/airlines/lp/runway-for-retirement-webinar?utm_campaign=airlines+-+more+runway+for+retirement?lmls=Partner+Channel&lmld=Pilot+to+Pilot&ad_version=Social [https://allworthfinancial.com/airlines/lp/runway-for-retirement-webinar?utm_campaign=airlines+-+more+runway+for+retirement?lmls=Partner+Channel&lmld=Pilot+to+Pilot&ad_version=Social] Canadian pilot Mike Andrews has never taken the direct route — and that's exactly what makes his story worth hearing. Growing up in Southern Ontario, Mike got his start through Canada's Air Cadet program, earning a glider license at 16 and a private pilot license at 17 before nearly going the Canadian Armed Forces fighter pilot route. A heart murmur medical delay, a backpacking trip to New Zealand, and a hard reset later, he found himself building a flight school from scratch on Vancouver Island with one airplane and a jacket that said "ask me about flying." Now based on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Mike is one of Canada's leading instructors on the Pipistrel Velis Electro — the country's first electric aircraft approved for primary flight training — and he's about to embark on a brand new chapter as a bird dog pilot doing aerial wildfire fighting in BC's rugged mountain terrain. In this episode, Justin and Mike dig into the Canadian pilot training system, what it's actually like to fly and teach in an electric airplane, the unique aviation culture of the Pacific Northwest coast, and what draws a variety-hungry pilot to a career where low-level mountain flying meets public service. Plus — Mike shares what it was like to nearly make it into Canadian fighter pilot selection before a three-day paperwork deadline changed everything. Topics Covered: * Canada's Air Cadet program and glider scholarships * Canadian vs. American pilot training and instructor rating systems * Flying the Pipistrel Velis Electro — Canada's first electric flight trainer * Electric aviation: where it works today and where it's headed * Aerial wildfire fighting and the bird dog role * Building a sub-base flight school on Vancouver Island from the ground up * The TBM 960's "Home Safe" emergency automation features * Why variety — not the airlines — has driven Mike's entire career

E360: No Pilot's License, No Problem: How Marci Veronie Climbed to the Top of Aviation Without Ever Leaving the Ground

Pilot to Pilot Magazine — Volume 002 is out now. Get yours at pilottopilothq.com/mag [https://www.pilottopilothq.com/mag] Sponsors — please support the people who support the show: • Avemco Insurance — Save 5% as a Pilot to Pilot listener. Call (888) 635-4297 or visit avemco.com/4297-owner [https://www.avemco.com/products/owner/owner?partner=4297pilottopilot] (owners) or avemco.com/4297-non-owner [https://www.avemco.com/products/renter?partner=4297pilottopilot] (non-owners) • Textron Aviation — Built for lifelong aviators. Plan your next chapter at txtav.com/stepup [https://txtav.com/stepup] • Garmin — Plan, file, fly, log with the Garmin Pilot app • Allworth Airline Advisors — Register for their latest webinar at allworthfinancial.com/justin [https://allworthfinancial.com/airlines/lp/runway-for-retirement-webinar?utm_campaign=airlines+-+more+runway+for+retirement%3Flmls=Partner+Channel&lmld=Pilot+to+Pilot] • Learn the Finer Points — Save 10% off your first year at learnthefinerpoints.com/justin [https://www.learnthefinerpoints.com/ground-school/p/justin]. https://allworthfinancial.com/airlines/lp/runway-for-retirement-webinar?utm_campaign=airlines+-+more+runway+for+retirement?lmls=Partner+Channel&lmld=Pilot+to+Pilot&ad_version=Social [https://allworthfinancial.com/airlines/lp/runway-for-retirement-webinar?utm_campaign=airlines+-+more+runway+for+retirement?lmls=Partner+Channel&lmld=Pilot+to+Pilot&ad_version=Social] Marci Veronie is the Senior Vice President of AVEMCO Insurance, and she's one of the most fascinating people in aviation — not because she's a pilot, but because she's spent nearly four decades watching what happens when things go wrong. Landings. Taxiing. Overconfident airline pilots in light sport aircraft. She's seen it all, and she's got the data to back it up. In this episode, Marci opens up about her wildly unexpected path from a Pittsburgh girl chasing a paralegal certificate to becoming the first non-pilot sales underwriter at AVEMCO — and eventually SVP. She talks about the calls she dreads taking on Monday mornings, what separates a superior pilot from a scary one, and why 60% of pilots are leaving real money on the table every single year. She also gets candid about being a woman in a male-dominated industry for decades, her work with Women in Aviation International, and what it actually takes to build a 39-year career at one company. Whether you fly a J-3 Cub or a 737, this episode will change how you think about risk, training, and what it means to truly be a safe pilot.\ Happy Flying, Justin

E359: The End of Spirit Airlines: What Happened, What's Next, and What It Means for Pilots

Spirit Airlines officially ceased operations on May 2 at 3am, and in this episode Justin sits down with Jim Higgins, Professor of Aviation at the University of North Dakota, to unpack what happened and what comes next. They dig into the chain of events that brought one of the country's most recognizable low-cost carriers to a halt — from a business model under pressure, to two Chapter 11 reorganizations, to the spike in oil prices that finally pushed Spirit past the point of recovery. Jim breaks down why the federal bailout package fell apart, why no other airline stepped in to acquire Spirit despite multiple asks, and how $9 billion in debt made a merger virtually impossible. The conversation also turns to the roughly 2,000 Spirit pilots now entering an already active hiring market. Justin and Jim talk through how the majors are likely to respond, what this means for regional pilots and pilots holding CJOs, and why Spirit aviators have a strong reputation among hiring departments across the industry. They also cover the resources available through ALPA, the importance of leaning on the aviation community, and the often-overlooked mental health side of losing a job you loved. Whether you're a Spirit pilot, a regional pilot watching the hiring landscape shift, or simply someone trying to make sense of what just happened to a 34-year-old airline with an impeccable safety record, this episode offers context, perspective, and a reminder that the industry takes care of its own. If you know a Spirit pilot, reach out. A letter of recommendation, a connection, or just a conversation can go a long way.

E358: Spirit Going Under? United-American Rumors & 2026 Pilot Hiring Forecast — Jim Higgins Returns

🎙️ Pilot to Pilot Magazine — Volume 002 is out now. Get yours at pilottopilothq.com/mag [https://www.pilottopilothq.com/mag] Sponsors — please support the people who support the show: • Avemco Insurance — Save 5% as a Pilot to Pilot listener. Call (888) 635-4297 or visit avemco.com/4297-owner [https://www.avemco.com/products/owner/owner?partner=4297pilottopilot] (owners) or avemco.com/4297-non-owner [https://www.avemco.com/products/renter?partner=4297pilottopilot] (non-owners) • Textron Aviation — Built for lifelong aviators. Plan your next chapter at txtav.com/stepup [https://txtav.com/stepup] • Garmin — Plan, file, fly, log with the Garmin Pilot app • Allworth Airline Advisors — Register for their latest webinar at allworthfinancial.com/justin [https://allworthfinancial.com/airlines/lp/runway-for-retirement-webinar?utm_campaign=airlines+-+more+runway+for+retirement%3Flmls=Partner+Channel&lmld=Pilot+to+Pilot] • Learn the Finer Points — Save 10% off your first year at learnthefinerpoints.com/justin  [https://www.learnthefinerpoints.com/ground-school/p/justin] State of the Industry! Spirit's on the brink, Scott Kirby is publicly floating a United–American merger, and the entire airline industry feels like it's holding its breath. Welcome to silly season. Jim Higgins, professor of aviation at the University of North Dakota and former MEC chair, returns to the Pilot to Pilot Podcast to break down everything happening across the majors right now — and what could happen next. In this episode, Justin and Jim dig into: • Where pilot hiring actually stands in 2026 (and the FAPA numbers that tell the real story) • What verbiage in earnings calls and press releases signals trouble before furloughs hit • Fuel prices, the Strait of Hormuz, and how a war on the other side of the world hits your paycheck • The Spirit situation and what bankruptcy vs. liquidation would actually mean • The United–JetBlue rumors — and whether "merging with American" was a smokescreen • Seniority list integration, ALPA merger protocols, and why Southwest hired an M&A law firm • What Delta, Alaska, and Southwest would HAVE to do if a United mega-merger goes through • The Allegiant–Sun Country deal nobody's talking about • Could Delta go international by buying foreign carriers outright? Drop a comment with YOUR merger prediction. We'll be wrong together.