When Aidan was climbing in Afghanistan last fall, his climbing partner Dylan Taylor mentioned he had written a story about a Kenn Borek Air flight he was on in Antarctica a few years ago. He sent us the piece and included some great photos. Together, they provide a nice introduction to what it’s like to fly a Twin Otter over the coldest, driest, and windiest continent on the planet.
Travis Tinsey is an aircraft salesman for Africair, selling single-engine piston aircraft to customers in East Africa. Hear about the path that took him from flying bush planes and corporate jets to a sales position, and what aircraft sales really involves. If you’re looking for advice about finding adventure in an aviation career, you’ll love this interview.
If you’ve ever wondered what transoceanic ferry flying entails, here’s a nice introduction. Piper PA46 training specialist Dick Rochfort shot some great videos on one of his ferry flights across the North Atlantic. The entire series will take you about 90 minutes to watch … a small fraction of the time Dick spent sitting in the cockpit on the actual trip.
Times have changed in the skies above bush Alaska. As the culture changes, do experienced pilots need to conform? It’s a controversial question worth pondering.
Ask Clearwater Air Chief Pilot Stan Churches what he thinks of the Commander 690 and he’ll tell you it’s “a pilot’s airplane” that’s uniquely qualified for certain missions. See why in this 37-minute video walkthrough, shot as Stan prepared to depart Nome for a seal survey over the Bering Sea.
An update on Aidan’s unexpected adventure in Afghanistan due to visa issues, filmed while he was still working things out in Kabul last month.
One of the perks of seeking out oddball pilots to interview is that we get to meet some really great people. Unfortunately, we lose some of them. Aidan reflects on the short time he spent with McCall Aviation pilot Dan Wilson.
By definition, any flying job that was only held by 93 pilots is an oddball job. While there’s obviously nobody hiring pilots to fly the SR-71 “Blackbird” these days, we’ve found some great videos that will show you what you missed out on.
In our first interactive Q&A call just for Oddball Pilot members, Aidan and a few guys from Era Alaska provide perspectives on getting your first job flying in Alaska if you’re a low-time pilot. How many hours do you really need? What do you put on a resume? When’s the best time to apply? The conversation went so well we’ll be doing more of these!
Aidan’s been stuck in Afghanistan for a month due to visa issues. Before that adventure, he recorded this update video … after climbing a 6,000-meter peak in the Pamir range.
