After building a billion-dollar music business, Chuck Surack is applying the lessons he learned to save an aviation icon. He talks about his passion for flying helicopters, why he decided to buy Enstrom, and the challenge of restarting production. Chuck also offers plenty of tips for growing a business and creating a culture of excellence, with some peeks behind the scenes at Sweetwater. In the Ready to Copy segment, Chuck shares his favorite place to land a helicopter, what he looks for when hiring an employee, and what it was like to work with Stevie Wonder.

SHOW LINKS:

• Enstrom Helicopter: https://enstromhelicopter.com/
• Sweetwater: https://www.sweetwater.com/
• PilotWorkshops Mastery: https://pilotworkshop.com/products/vfr-mastery/

Whether it’s an open cockpit biplane or a brand new Cirrus, Shane Vande Voort says “good stick and rudder skills carry through into every airplane.” He explains why the Cirrus accident record has improved so much, how to teach modern avionics to new pilots, and why systems knowledge still matters. Shane also loves flying with family, so he talks about going up in an open cockpit biplane with his kids and taking a memorable flight to Kitty Hawk with his father in a Cessna 120. In the Ready to Copy segment, Shane shares his advice for taking checkrides, how taildragger flying helps jet pilots, and whether shock cooling is a myth.

SHOW LINKS

• Shane’s articles on Air Facts: https://airfactsjournal.com/author/shanevandevoort/
• Shane’s flight school: https://flyclassicaviation.com
• PilotWorkshops Mastery: https://pilotworkshop.com/products/vfr-mastery/

Few pilots have lived as interesting a life as Martha Lunken: from giving checkrides in DC-3s to teaching Neil Armstrong’s wife to fly, she has met some of aviation’s most colorful characters and flown some of aviation’s most iconic machines. She tells plenty of those fascinating stories in this episode—and shares some controversial opinions along the way. In the Ready to Copy section, Martha talks about what she would do as FAA administrator, flying the Lockheed Lodestar, and life as an accident investigator.

SHOW LINKS:

• Martha on warbirds: https://www.flyingmag.com/pilots-places-pilots-adventures-more-unusual-attitudes-warbirds/
• Martha’s book: https://www.sportys.com/unusual-attitudes-by-martha-lunken-paperback.html
• PilotWorkshops: https://pilotworkshop.com/