This is a podcast for anyone interested in aviation. While it started as a podcast to follow Bill's primary training, it has evolved into a podcast about how all of us can continually improve our flying. This is the audio only feed. The audio podcasts are not necessarily the same content as the video podcasts, so if you want all the content, please check out both. The video feed is mostly available on Youtube, now (inlcuding the back catalog), and you can find it by searching for "Student Pilot Cast" there or use this link: https://www.youtube.com/@studentpilotcast.
Épisodes
SPC099 [BR] The Starting Gun — What MOSAIC Means for Student Pilots
4 nov. 2026 · 17 min
MOSAIC took effect right in the middle of Oshkosh this year. A few months later, here's what actually showed up, what it costs, and what it means if you're learning to fly. This is my AirVenture 2026 industry report, the one I promised you back in Episode 94. I look at two big stories through one…
SPC098 [CS] Hit Record — How to Record Your Cockpit Audio
26 oct. 2026 · 52 min
How do you record your flight lessons? Nick, a listener in Houston, asked me the same question I got in 2009, so I flew with six recorders running at once, then tested five cables on the ground to find out what actually works in 2026. We start with why it matters: in the moment you hear maybe a…
SPC097 [BR] Never Skip the Debrief — Five Questions After Every Flight
17 oct. 2026 · 29 min
Your logbook knows you flew. It has no idea what you learned. In this Briefing Room episode: five questions to ask after every flight (Surprise, Workload, Skill, Decision, and Goal), where the self-debrief came from (FITS and learner-centered grading), and a simple system to capture your goal,…
SPC096 [HS] Logging Is Not Learning — Inside FlyORKA's Feedback Loop
6 oct. 2026 · 24 min
At AirVenture 2026 I sat down with Adriana, founder of FlyORKA, expecting an app demo. I walked away with a line I haven't been able to shake: logging is not learning. Adriana spent her career as a flight test engineer, learning to fly airplanes nobody had flown before. That path led her into…
SPC095 [HS] Pull Early, Pull Often — Inside Cirrus Training
9 sept. 2026 · 53 min
At AirVenture this year I sat down in the Cirrus compound with Eamon Powers, the Director of Cirrus Approach — the man who owns every piece of training content Cirrus produces, for pilots and for mechanics. Twelve or fourteen years ago the fatal accident rate in the Cirrus fleet was, being…
SPC094 [HS] Engine Out - Who Showed Up
9 août 2026 · 59 min
In episode 94 of the Student Pilot Cast, Bill recounts an unplanned start to AirVenture 2026 after the engine in his Jabiru quit over far southeastern Colorado on July 18, forcing an off-airport landing in a cornfield with his son Trey; both were unhurt and the airplane remains repairable with…
SPC093 [HS] Day Four of Days Not Mattering
31 juil. 2026 · 47 min
It's Thursday night at Camp Scholler, day four of days not mattering, and Kent and I sat down with one goal: be smart-asses about a few things we'd seen at AirVenture. So we get into it. Textron had us all convinced this was the year the Pipistrel Panthera would finally get certified under MOSAIC…
SPC092 [HS] Storms, Smoke, and Bladders...Let's Go!
17 juil. 2026 · 12 min
In Episode 92, we join Bill and Trey talking briefly about their upcoming trip to OSH in a light sport aircraft, Lil' Rue. B Get the free Go or No-Go guide: https://studentpilotcast.com/three-questions Get the Friday Flight Brief: https://studentpilotcast.com/flightbrief Links: Hope you enjoy the…
SPC091 [BR] ADM in Three Simple Questions - Or How NOT to Become a Case Study
10 juil. 2026 · 26 min
In Episode 91, Bill teaches a simple aeronautical decision-making framework for go/no-go and continue/divert decisions built around three simple questions: can the airplane do it? Can I do it? And is it legal? He breaks each question into three lenses—aircraft performance/envelopes/condition;…
SPC090 [BTC] A Tragic Past - Changing The Pilots (ATP-CTP)
3 juil. 2026 · 1 h 21
In Episode 90, Beyond the Checkride, Bill and Kent reflect on the 2009 Colgan Air 3407 crash near Buffalo and how it drove regulatory changes including the 1,500-hour rule and the FAA-required ATP Certification Training Program (ATP-CTP). They discuss what ATP-CTP is, how provider and instructor…
SPC089 [CS] Hi - Nice to Meet Rue
26 juin 2026 · 54 min
In Episode 89, we join Bill as he introduces everyone to his airplane, a 2008 Jabiru J230. Come along on a flight with him and he'll tell you all about the plane, but also dive into some of the interesting things from the flight. This is part of the Cockpit Series where we go on a flight together,…
SPC088 [HS] Powered by Human Intelligence, a Discussion with Jason Miller
19 juin 2026 · 51 min
In Episode 88, Bill welcomes Jason Miller, two-time FAA Western Pacific CFI of the Year and founder of The Finer Points, to discuss how his platform evolved into an flight training app that models real-world lessons with briefings, flights, and debriefs across five courses. They talk about uneven…
SPC087 [BTC] Vroom, Vroom or What Does the Turbo Say?
12 juin 2026 · 53 min
In Episode 87, we join Bill and Kent as they discuss forced induction in general aviation, contrasting normally aspirated engines with superchargers, turbochargers, and turbo-normalizers, and explaining how turbos use exhaust-driven turbines and wastegates (automatic, manual—separate or…
SPC086 [BR] Fly. Learn. Repeat. Our New Mission
8 juin 2026 · 19 min
In Episode 86, we join Bill as he relaunches the podcast. Four distinct series, a new look, and more bad puns. I do a Briefing Room episode to launch things back off, and explain how things are changing, how they're staying the same, and what we want to focus on. Get the free Go or No-Go guide:…
SPC#85 - Expanding Your Minimums | Suck Less at Flying
30 juin 2025 · 46 min
In Episode 85, we join Bill and Kent as they talk about how to expand the envelope of your flying. In other words, how to fly good and not suck...or at least get better and reduce your personal minimums. Links: Hope you enjoy the episode and thanks for listening! Visit the SPC website at…
SPC#84 - Just Go
21 juin 2025 · 1 h 00
In Episode 84, we join Bill and Kent again for another Beyond the Checkride segment. In this one we talk about getting out there on the proverbial open road, and going places with GA, in whatever airplane you have access to. Hope you enjoy our discussion on cross country flying and expanding your…
SPC#83 - That Pilotcast Episode with Rob Holland
29 avr. 2025 · 50 min
In Episode 83, we go back to the days of the Pilotcast. Due to the tragic events of the past weekend, we wanted to re-release a Pilotcast Episode from 2018 where Kent, Tiffany, and Bill interview Aerobatic Champion and Airshow start Rob Holland. Rob tragically was killed this in an aviation…
SPC#82 - Making a List and Checking it Twice...or Never.
25 déc. 2024 · 1 h 05
Welcome back SPC listeners and Merry Christmas! In this special Christmas day episode, hosts Bill and Kent delve into the pilot's lifeline – checklists. Episode 82 of the Student Pilot Cast titled 'Making a List and Checking it Twice...or Never' brings forth a comprehensive discussion on the…
SPC#81 - An Evening with Legion Air
18 déc. 2024 · 51 min
In Episode 81 Bill goes on location to interview some of the guys who started a new flight school recently. Legion Air wants to teach people to be the best aviators they can be, so let's find out what makes them tick, what their approach is, and how to turn a large fortune into a small fortune in…
SPC#80 - Back to Part Time
13 déc. 2024 · 1 h 15
In Episode 80 of the Student Pilot Cast we reunite with Nick Smith from Part Time Pilot to discuss the latest developments in his online ground school platform. We explore the addition of new features, such as an IFR ground school and a mobile app, and delve into the challenges of aviation…