Ready For Takeoff - Turn Your Aviation Passion Into A Career

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RFT 052: Jerry Yellin, Last WWII Mission Pilot Oct 31, 2016

Show notes

Captain Jerry Yellin enlisted in the Army Air Corps on his 18th birthday, two months after the Pearl Harbor attack. He became a fighter pilot, flying P-40s, P-47s and P-51s. He flew 19 ultra-long P-51 missions from Iwo Jima to Japan on bomber escort and interdiction missions, and was the last pilot in WWII to engage in aerial combat.

Following the war, he suffered from undiagnosed PTSD for 30 years, until ultimately finding a cure through Transcendental Meditation.

In 1982, he reluctantly went to Japan on a business trip and fell in love with the country and people he had hated for 40 years. In his book Of Wars and Weddings he recounts his transformation and the marriage of his son to the daughter of a Japanese fighter pilot, and how the two enemies became family.

He has now authored four books, with one translated into Japanese. His website is www.captainjerryyellin.com. At 92 years of age, he now travels around the world, speaking about his journey.

RFT 051: Airline Pilot/Author Patrick Smith Oct 24, 2016

Show notes

Patrick Smith is an active airline pilot, air travel blogger and author. His Ask the Pilot column, ran regularly in the online magazine Salon.com from 2002 until 2012.

He has appeared on over 200 radio and television outlets, including PBS, Discovery Channel, CNN, the BBC and National Public Radio. His work is regularly cited in print publications worldwide. He was voted one of the “25 Best Bloggers of 2013” by TIME magazine.

Patrick took his first flying lesson at age fourteen. His first job with an airline came in 1990, when he was hired as a copilot on 15-passenger turboprops earning $850 a month. He has since flown cargo and passenger jets on both domestic and intercontinental routes.

His book Cockpit Confidential is a wry, thoughtful, and at times provocative look into the confounding world of commercial air travel, with a behind-the-scenes look at the strange and misunderstood business of commercial aviation. More than just a book about flying, its subject is everything and everything about the grand theater of air travel, from airport architecture to terrorism to the colors and cultures of the world’s airlines.

Patrick travels extensively in his spare time and has visited more than seventy countries. He lives near Boston.

RFT 050: World's Oldest Pilot Ernie Smith Oct 17, 2016

Show notes

The Guinness Foundation has declared 98-year old Ernie Smith as the oldest living active pilot in the world, and you would never guess his age by talking to him. In this podcast, we had a short, but very interesting, conversation with Ernie about how he got his start in flying, his current flying schedule, and why he prefers to fly right at dawn.

RFT 049: Aviation Photographer Brandy Forstie Oct 10, 2016

Show notes

A chance offer of an assignment to photograph an airplane propelled Brandy Forstie into the aviation photography business. She now photographs interiors and exteriors of business aircraft, and also provides other image services to corporate clients, including portraits and facility photographs. Brandy is based in Atlanta, but travels frequently to serve clients at their locations. Her stunning images are available for viewing on her website at www.aviationphotoservices.com.

RFT 048: Warbird/Airline Pilot Donna Miller Oct 03, 2016

Show notes

Donna Miller learned to fly in South Korea while working as a civilian for the Air Force. She flew general aviation in Europe while working for Jeppesen in the Frankfurt office, then transferred to Jeppesen in Denver and helped Elrey Jeppesen catalog his memorabilia. He gave her a piece of fabric from the original Wright Flyer, and she had it made into a necklace that Eileen Collins took to space when they docked with MIR.

She had the honor of flying Neil Armstrong to Kitty Hawk for the centennial of flight celebration in 2003. She gave the necklace to one of the pilots who did the recreation flight, so it went from Kitty Hawk to space and back to Kitty Hawk 100 years later.

She also had the honor of knowing Louie Zamperini very well for the last 8 years of his life and traveled with him on several occasions to speaking engagements.

In addition to her job as an airline pilot, she also flies WWII bombers (B-17, B-24, B-25) for the Collings Foundation.

RFT 047: Pied Piper of fighter Pilot Music Dick Jonas Sep 26, 2016

Show notes

Dick Jonas served four years as an infantryman in the Georgia Army National Guard while attending Valdosta State College. He graduated in 1965 with a BS degree in Physics and Math. He entered the Air Force and received his commission through Officer Training School. In 22 years service he flew 3,000 jet fighter hours in the F-4 and the F-16. During 125 missions in Vietnam he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal with 12 clusters. He recorded his first albums of military ballads in 1969, after returning from Vietnam. He retired from the Air Force in 1986 as a Lieutenant Colonel, and became an Aerospace Science Instructor in the Air Force Junior ROTC program.

RFT 046: Airline Pilot Guy Host Captain Nick Sep 19, 2016

Show notes

Nick Anderson, perhaps better known as the Old.Pilot is the oldest of the Airline Pilot Guy Podcast crew and not too far from retirement after a flying career that started in the ‘60s. Brought up in England and from an aviation family, he began flying in the wood and canvas, open cockpit gliders of the Air Training Corps. He started his professional career in the military, the Royal Air Force. He completed jet training on the Jet Provost, Folland Gnat and the Hawker Hunter before getting into the awesome McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom, eventually becoming a Qualified Weapons Instructor. His military career moved around a bit and he spent a while as a fast jet QFI on the BAe Hawk before taking up a post with the Royal Australian Air Force on the F18 Hornet. Back with the RAF he completed his time on the BAe Tornado F3.

Captain Nick is now an international Captain on the A-340 with a UK airline referred to as "Acme Red". Hi is also an accomplished photographer.

RFT 045: Fighter Pilot/Motivational Speaker Colonel Dick Toliver Sep 12, 2016

Show notes

Dick is a protégé of the famed Tuskegee Airmen and was mentored, trained, and commissioned under their tutelage. He is a graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School at Nellis AFB, NV and completed two tours in Southeast Asia with 446 combat missions. He also held key roles in advanced research, development, and testing of tactical fighter aircraft. Later he directed the testing and evaluation of other weapon systems for the Department of Defense and allied military programs. Dick held key staff positions and commanded a number of units in several major commands of the Air Force. His duty assignments included bases throughout the United States, Southeast Asia, Europe, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf. He is a Command Pilot with 4,000 flying hours in the F-4, F-15, F-16, OT-37, O-2, T-33, and several civilian aircraft. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Air Medal with 27 Oak Leaf Clusters. Dick retired from the United States Air Force March 1, 1989 after 26 years of distinguished service.

RFT 044: John and Martha King Sep 05, 2016

Show notes

John and Martha King have trained more than half of all pilots seeking pilot certificates over the past 40 years, with over 98 percent passing their written exams on the first attempt. They have won numerous awards and possess every FAA airman certificate available to civilian pilots. In this podcast, they discuss their aviation journey , which includes an around-the-world flight in their Falcon 10 aircraft, and their piloting of the Fuji Film airship. Throughout the podcast their passion for aviation shines through. They are strong supporters of aviation education and risk mitigation.

RFT 043: Emergency Evacuation Aug 29, 2016

Show notes

Worldwide, there have been 13 airline emergency evacuations so far this year. Although it's unlikely you will need to evacuate from an airliner you're traveling on, it is prudent to always be prepared for an event that could be catastrophic if not performed correctly. In this podcast we discuss airline evacuation procedures and steps you can take to prepare yourself for the unlikely event.

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