Explore every episode of the podcast On Centerline
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you know the THREE types of weather reports? | 23 Dec 2025 | 00:18:21 | |
If there is one thing all pilots struggle with UNIVERSALLY, it's WEATHER! Today we discuss the THREE types of weather reports available to us, and try to gain a better understanding of how to compare and contrast these reports to one another to gain the most vivid picture of what the weather is doing for a given flight. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| How to train a Helicopter Pilot - Advanced Endorsements | 13 Sep 2025 | 00:29:43 | |
As a flight instructor not everyone you will be working with are student pilots. There will be times you will have well established and accomplished pilots come to you for additional training, and you will need to know how to best structure their training and how to properly qualify them for their check ride. Today we discuss the experience and endorsements required to train an established helicopter flight instructor for their single-engine airplane add-on. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| IFR Scenario Based Training | 31 May 2025 | 00:36:27 | |
Scenario Based Training has been really pushed to the forefront of how we teach and evaluate pilots in the past decade. Today we are going over some IFR scenarios straight from the ASA Oral Exam Guide that were chosen by YOU. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Wet Vs. Dry Leases - Commercial pilot check ride | 24 May 2025 | 00:17:10 | |
In today's episode, we delve into the world of aircraft leasing and explore the key differences between wet and dry leases, with a focus on how they pertain to commercial pilots. Whether you're preparing for your check ride, or already a working pilot, understanding these leasing options is crucial. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Common Vs. Private Carriage | 17 May 2025 | 00:12:49 | |
In this episode, we dive into the crucial differences between common carriage and private carriage as they pertain to commercial pilots. Understanding these distinctions is essential for your check ride preparation and overall flying career. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass your Commercial Pilot Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 1 - Pilot Qualifications | 10 May 2025 | 00:46:25 | |
We are continuing our ACS breakdown series and expanding it to your commercial oral exam! We start the commercial series today with Pilot Qualifications. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| VDP vs. MAP | 26 Apr 2025 | 00:12:48 | |
Today we are discussing exactly what a Visual Descent Point is and how it is different from the missed approach point. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| 5 Tips for STUDENT Pilots | 19 Apr 2025 | 00:21:35 | |
Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| 5 Tips for Instrument Students | 12 Apr 2025 | 00:19:36 | |
Today we are discussing 5 tips to make you a better instrument pilot and to make your instrument training easier and more effective! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Bad Regulations! | 15 Mar 2025 | 00:16:05 | |
It's no secret that sometimes the FAA just gets things WRONG. Sometimes they just make things confusing. Either way, these errors and ambiguities lead to many pilots mis-interpreting certain rules and requiring lawyers to clarify the FAA's position and intentions through letters of interpretation. Today we discuss two such issues with some very prominent regulations. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Everything you wanted to know about HOLDS! (And more that you didn't.) | 01 Mar 2025 | 00:47:33 | |
Holds can often be the most frustrating parts to students in instrument training. They have a certain complexity that tends to confuse and complicate when combined with all the other skills and items you need to learn in instrument training. However, the reality is they are much easier than most people initially realize, so today we are going to break down holds and holding entries from the technical side all the way to the practical side of things. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| The Approaches Your CFI-I Never Taught You | 15 Feb 2025 | 00:18:29 | |
Even though it's the most widely used approach in the professional flying world, the visual approach is largely overlooked in instrument training. In addition, the contact approach is so seldomly used at all, that most instructors fail to even mention it throughout a students' training. We talk about BOTH today! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Endorsements for Student Pilots | 06 Sep 2025 | 00:49:28 | |
Learning to be an effective flight instructor is hard enough for most people as it is. Add to that all the regulatory requirements and record keeping you have to do and it can become overwhelming for many people! Endorsements are typically one of the things new flight instructors struggle the most with when it comes to the "paperwork" side of being an instructor, and they can also have some of the most severe consequences if you get them wrong! Today we discuss the endorsements needed to get a student pilot from "zero to hero". Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| How to fly on Instruments! | 08 Feb 2025 | 00:39:33 | |
With everything there is to learn in instrument flight training, one of the most difficult things can be learning how to simply control the aircraft! Today we discuss instrument attitude flying and the techniques and methods such as control performance and primary and support that can be utilized to help make control of the aircraft in the instrument environment just as easy as it is in the visual environment! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Is Your CFI Failing You? | 04 Jan 2025 | 00:27:59 | |
There are many ways I see subpar service and quality of training from CFIs, but today we are talking about the abuse I constantly see in one specific area of the experience requirements for the commercial pilot certificate. We will talk about the short-comings that are all too common with these training activities as well as the solutions I have personally developed for my own students. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass your IFR Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 6 - ATC Clearances | 28 Dec 2024 | 00:49:03 | |
Talking with ATC as a student pilot is often one of the most challenging things people face in flight training. Unfortunately it tends to just get more complicated as you get into instrument training, but there are a few key things every pilot can do to make this task a lot easier. Join us today as we discuss ATC clearances and communications. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass your IFR Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 5 - Systems PART 2 | 14 Dec 2024 | 00:37:17 | |
Today we are continuing with systems related to IFR flight. In today's episode we specifically discuss navigation systems, as well as airworthiness for IFR flight. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass your IFR Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 4 - Systems | 07 Dec 2024 | 00:14:47 | |
Today we are diving into systems related to IFR flight. In today's episode we specifically discuss Anti-icing and De-icing systems, as well as Autopilot. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass your IFR Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 3 - Cross-Country Planning | 30 Nov 2024 | 00:57:34 | |
I will start off by saying there is SO MUCH to go over in this portion of the Instrument ACS that I can't possibly fit it all into this one podcast episode. So if there is anything specific YOU want me to cover in a future podcast, please leave a comment and let me know what you want to hear more about! But until then, we continue with our overview of the ACS breakdown with IFR cross country flight planning! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass your IFR Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 2 - Weather | 23 Nov 2024 | 00:50:21 | |
If there is one thing that really separates and instrument pilot from a VFR-only pilot, it's probably their ability to read and decipher the weather! It's often said that a pilot needs to be just as much a weatherman as they are a pilot and that is never truer than when flying IFR. Today we breakdown the things that DPEs will be looking for to gauge your understanding of and risk management in relation to WEATHER! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| IMSAFE. . . and how to USE it! | 16 Nov 2024 | 00:15:11 | |
IMSAFE is one of the first acronyms pilots are taught, but it often doesn't get the attention it really deserves! It's important to understand the real-life stressors and ailments we all deal with as individuals, rather than getting caught up in generalizations or hypotheticals. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. . . EDUCATE? | 09 Nov 2024 | 00:13:19 | |
When it comes to the priorities in the cockpit, we often use the little mnemonic "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate", but as CFIs there is a forth one that gets added into the mix and that is EDUCATE. Today we talk about educating and where in the order of priorities it should fall. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass your IFR Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 1 - Pilot Qualifications | 02 Nov 2024 | 00:32:48 | |
Back by popular demand and for the first time on YouTube. . . We are continuing our ACS breakdown series and expanding it to your IFR oral exam! We start the IFR series today with Pilot Qualifications. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Certificates VS. Ratings - What's the Difference!? | 30 Aug 2025 | 00:18:51 | |
In aviation, communication is critical for safety. Being sloppy with our words can have unintended consequences that can lead to accidents and incidents. So it's imperative we are always using the right words to refer to the right things at the right times. When it comes to the difference between a pilot certificate and a pilot rating, we may not be talking about life and death, but nonetheless we should not only know the difference between the two, but we should be using these terms properly in everyday conversation. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Can you Go Around on a Check Ride? | 26 Oct 2024 | 00:26:10 | |
So many pilots get it in their mind that go-arounds on a check ride are frowned upon, when in reality it's quite the opposite! The other oversight in training is that each specific approach and landing have their own techniques that need to be adhered to. We discuss all of this in this weeks episode! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Narration Vs. Teaching | 19 Oct 2024 | 00:16:06 | |
Today we talk about the differences between narration and actually teaching. Simply saying what you're doing doesn't convey all the information our learners need to know. We need to continue to incorporate the concepts of "what, why and how" into everything we do to help our learners fully embrace and understand the topics of flight training. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| The Normalization of Deviance | 12 Oct 2024 | 00:20:24 | |
The Normalization of Deviance is inherent to human nature, but it is something that we has CFIs and pilots need to do our best to mitigate at all times! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| How to teach as a CFI - The "What, Why, How" Method. | 05 Oct 2024 | 00:15:21 | |
The What, Why, How method is the basic structure I use for teaching almost anything! It's a great model that can be used both in the classroom and in the airplane. If you're an aspiring or current CFI, try this method out when teaching your students and let me know what you think! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Taking Ownership Over Your Flight Training | 28 Sep 2024 | 00:16:48 | |
A great question was brought up by one of my viewers on Youtube about how much ownership should students be taking in their own flight training. Join us today as we discuss the answer to this question and the dynamics between a student and an instructor. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| The Intricacies of the LAZY 8 | 21 Sep 2024 | 00:22:25 | |
The Lazy 8 is not only one of my favorite commercial maneuvers, but is by far the HARDEST maneuver you will ever have to do on a check ride. Today we discuss the intricacies of this maneuver in an effort to help you understand and fly it better in the plane! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| The HARDEST Check Ride | 14 Sep 2024 | 00:32:52 | |
So many people like to ask about what the HARDEST check ride is. . and there really isn't any one right answer to that question. In this episode I give you my take on what the hardest check ride is, and offer helpful tips for any upcoming check ride you may be taking. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| The Best Aviation Acronym! PAVE! | 06 Jun 2024 | 00:25:40 | |
I have always said that the PAVE acronym is the acronym to rule all other acronyms! It doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves, so today I breakdown how I use the PAVE acronym and show you just how useful it can be! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass Your Private Pilot Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 9 - Human Factors | 02 Apr 2024 | 00:37:33 | |
In our final edition of our ACS breakdown for your private pilot oral exam, we are discussing task H, Human Factors. Human factors are one of the most overlooked subjects in training, yet there is a lot to know and consider when evaluating our own airworthiness and fitness to fly. Hopefully after listening to this episode, you'll have a much greater understanding of what we truly need to be attentive to when evaluating ourselves and how to more effectively flight plan to keep us and our passengers safe for each flight. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass Your Private Pilot Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 8 - Operation of Systems | 26 Mar 2024 | 00:42:14 | |
Today we're discussing aircraft SYSTEMS! This is one of the most overlooked and misunderstood subjects in pilot training, but with a little explanation, I think you'll find it's a lot simpler than you might have initially thought. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| CFI Intervention! HOW and WHEN to take control! | 23 Aug 2025 | 00:18:00 | |
Knowing HOW and WHEN to intervene as a flight instructor is one of the hardest things for new CFIs to learn and even harder for any CFI to master. Today we discuss the different types of intervention we can utilize and when we should utilize them. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass Your Private Pilot Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 7 - Performance and Limitations | 19 Feb 2024 | 00:37:13 | |
Performance and limitations is one of the hardest things student pilots tend to struggle with in their initial training. Reading the charts themselves can be challenging enough, but today we are going to dive in to the details that all too often get overlooked completely in this portion of private pilot training. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass Your Private Pilot Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 6 - National Airspace System | 18 Jan 2024 | 01:04:58 | |
NOTE: I misspoke when I made mention of a “minimum elevation figure”. I meant to say “maximum elevation figure”. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass Your Private Pilot Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 5 - Cross-Country Flight Planning | 13 Jan 2024 | 00:51:54 | |
This week we have a little bit longer of an episode but that's simply because there is SO much to cover in VFR Cross country flight planning! Join me as we talk through the Private Pilot ACS Section 1, task D. Cross-Country Flight Planning. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass Your Private Pilot Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 4 - Weather Part 2 | 02 Jan 2024 | 00:38:17 | |
Weather is by far the one subject that all pilots tend to be delinquent in with their knowledge and understanding. Everyone from Private pilots to ATPs have trouble truly grasping weather theory and application to your flight planning. While there is certainly a lot more to talk about, we will start here to today by breaking down the things you need to know for your private pilot check ride when it comes weather! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass Your Private Pilot Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 3 - Weather Part 1 | 21 Dec 2023 | 00:29:19 | |
Weather is by far the one subject that all pilots tend to be delinquent in with their knowledge and understanding. Everyone from Private pilots to ATPs have trouble truly grasping weather theory and application to your flight planning. While there is certainly a lot more to talk about, we will start here to today by breaking down the things you need to know for your private pilot check ride when it comes weather! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass Your Private Pilot Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 2 - Airworthiness | 24 Oct 2023 | 00:34:51 | |
In this series we are going to go through the private pilot ACS with a fine-tooth comb. In each episode we will break down one section of the ACS in detail, so that when your check ride comes around, there won't be a single thing you don't know. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass Your Private Pilot Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown Part 1 - Pilot Qualifications | 17 Oct 2023 | 00:43:33 | |
In this series we are going to go through the private pilot ACS with a fine-tooth comb. In each episode we will break down one section of the ACS in detail, so that when your check ride comes around, there won't be a single thing you don't know. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| What Every Student Pilot should know before their FIRST SOLO | 01 Sep 2023 | 00:32:54 | |
This has been a busy Summer and I've done A LOT of pre-solo checks for student pilots lately. Throughout all these flights, I've seen some patterns developing in the deficiencies these pilots have which really shouldn't be the case for pilots getting ready to fly solo. Join me today as we discuss the things students should know and be able to do prior to their first solo. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| From Student - to Sport Pilot - to Aircraft Owner. Pilot Interview | 18 Jul 2023 | 00:31:25 | |
Today we are talking with a former student of mine - Ted. Ted was my first Sport pilot student and never thought that aviation would have as large of an impact on his life as it has ended up having. We talk with Ted about his journey as a Sport pilot, and the challenges he's faced along the way. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| The 70/50 rule. . .what's all the fuss? Proper Pre-takeoff briefings. | 11 Jul 2023 | 00:30:00 | |
There has been a lot of talk about the 70/50 rule lately and people questioning it's merit. While I do think there is a place for the 70/50 rule in our pre-takeoff briefings, it is not a situation which should arise often and there are many other factors that need to be considered when doing a proper briefing. Today we dive into the departure and abort plan briefings and all the things YOU need to consider to make safe decisions. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Pass your ATP Oral Exam - ACS Breakdown - Aircraft Systems | 26 Jul 2025 | 00:58:07 | |
The ATP check ride is a little different than most other check rides, yet the way we study for it is exactly the same! Join me as I do my own self-study, going through the ATP ACS one line item at a time as I prepare for my own ATP check ride! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Aviation ACRONYMS! Do you know all of these? | 04 Jul 2023 | 00:35:23 | |
I was recently debriefing some pre-solo and mock check ride flights with students and many of them expressed that they had never heard of these acronyms. So I thought it would be helpful to talk about these commonly used acronyms and hopefully they can be incorporated into your own flight training procedures! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| When and HOW to teach a student how to land? | 13 Jun 2023 | 00:27:38 | |
Learning to land is one of the hardest things in flight training. This process is often made more difficult when flight instructors rush into it without establishing the proper baseline fundamentals beforehand. Today I discuss the steps I take BEFORE I ever get to teaching a student how to land, and how I go about the process once a student does get there in their training. Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| Flight Instructor Pet Peeves! | 05 Jun 2023 | 00:27:20 | |
In this episode we're back with Brian discussing some of our pet peeves! Everyone has them, and everyone thinks theirs are legitimate, but lets see if any of our pet peeves carry more merit than others. What do you think? Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||
| The Hardest Thing to Teach a Student | 23 May 2023 | 00:21:36 | |
Today we are discussing the hardest things to teach a student in aviation and we are privileged to have Brian Musson join us for the first of many guest appearances he'll be making. Brian has many years of experience and great insights into the flight training process. He is one of my personal mentors and I'm excited for him to become one of yours as well! Youtube: www.youtube.com/northwestaeronaut | |||