Pilot to Pilot – Details, episodes & analysis

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What does it take to walk away from a two-decade law enforcement career — including 13 years on SWAT — and start over as a pilot? Josh Schirard did exactly that, and in this episode he breaks down every step of the journey.

Josh is now a corporate pilot flying Hawker 800s and Lear 60s, a professional skydiver with the REMAX Skydive team, and the author of the upcoming book Burn Your Boats. He's also one of the most thoughtful guests we've had on the show when it comes to the mindset side of aviation.

In this episode we talk about:

• How skydiving pulled him back into aviation after years away
• His ATP flight training experience — the good, the hard, and what he'd do differently
• How SWAT-level decision-making and crew resource management overlap more than you'd think
• Building flight time as a jump pilot and why he skipped the CFI route
• How he landed his first corporate gig through pure networking
• Whether the airlines are in his future — and why he keeps his options open
• His philosophy on personal minimums, comfort zones, and why you need to push the gap between the two

Whether you're thinking about a career change into aviation, grinding through your ratings, or already flying professionally and wondering what's next — this episode is for you.

Happy Flying, 
Justin

Most pilots dream of smooth 10,000-foot runways.

Tyler Flagg trained to land a 30,000-pound aircraft on a 25-foot dirt strip… in total darkness.

After 9/11 changed his life trajectory, Tyler went from zero aviation background to flying Special Operations missions around the globe. With minimal information and maximum responsibility, he deployed into multiple combat theaters — moving elite teams into places most people will never see on a map.

In this episode:

1. The unconventional path into Air Force Special Ops
2. What it feels like to deploy with barely 250 flight hours
3. Flying through Saharan fuel-risk zones and Pacific icing
4. The culture differences inside military aviation
5. Why humility matters more than ego in elite units
6. Building a company after walking away from a “dream job”

This one is raw, honest, and packed with perspective.

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Podcast Title:

Building the Ultimate Flight Simulator: Inside Microsoft Flight Sim 2024 with Jorg Neumann & Sebastian Wloch

Podcast Description:

Join host Justin Seams as he sits down with Jorg Neumann (Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator) and Sebastian Wloch (CEO of Asobo Studio) for an in-depth look at one of aviation's most influential training tools. Discover how Microsoft Flight Simulator has evolved since its 2020 release, with groundbreaking additions like career mode, wake turbulence simulation, and photorealistic graphics that even fool experienced pilots.

In this episode, Jorg and Sebastian share behind-the-scenes stories about:

• Working with real test pilots from Boom Supersonic, Red Bull Air Race, and Boeing
• The painstaking process of achieving 99.9% realism in atmospheric lighting
• Simulating complex airport ground operations with thousands of moving parts
• How Flight Simulator inspires the next generation of pilots (an estimated 50% of all pilots started with the sim!)
• Partnerships with manufacturers like Boeing for virtual airplane training programs
• The future of flight simulation as a legitimate pilot training tool

Whether you're a seasoned pilot, aspiring aviator, or passionate sim enthusiast, this conversation reveals the incredible dedication and innovation behind the game that continues to spark the aviation bug in millions worldwide.