In-Flight Announcement: A short pause

Hey everyone! We'll be taking a short pause in releasing episodes while we deal with some circumstances outside of our control. Rest assured we will be back up and running ASAP with the same great content you expect from us! Cheers!

What is it like to help save a life? What does it take to hoist a SARTech onto a ship in rough seas, at night, in a storm? Why is it so important to treat aviation like a team sport?

Paul has flown search and rescue out of Goose Bay, Labrador and Greenwood, Nova Scotia. He has conducted many rescues and SAR missions, and has had to learn some tough lessons along the line. Now, he's learning to instruct helicopter pilots to get their wings at 3CFFTS in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

You can't save them all. Sometimes a mission outcome will not be what you want. Sometimes you'll be terrified of the conditions. Hear about all these things and many more on this latest episode of The Pilot Project Podcast.

Links to stories that Paul has been involved in:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/yarmouth-county-canoeist-body-found-1.5876353
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/military-helicopter-grand-manan-1.6745475
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-naufrage-fisherman-search-1.5143017
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/search-for-villa-de-pitanxo-crew-continues-1.6353419
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/missing-fisher-canso-nova-scotia-search-jrcc-coast-guard-1.6383442
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/air-force-helicopter-bear-1.5744778

What is it like to airdrop cargo into a Forward Operating Base in the middle of a firefight? How does it feel to find out you're going to an active warzone? What is it like to regularly be exposed to rocket attacks? What's it like to attend dozens of repatriation ceremonies?

For Mike, all these things became part of normal life as he went through his 7 tours in Afghanistan. Mike has flown cargo all around the world, has instructed students (including me!) to get their wings in the RCAF, and taught instructors how to do their jobs. Mike has definitely been there and done that.

Mike will share his adventures in Afghanistan as well as his struggles to process those experiences; he'll tell us about how Remembrance Day has changed for him over the years as a result of his time in Afghanistan, and much more in this episode of The Pilot Project Podcast. 

What do the Advance and Safety Pilots do for the Snowbirds? What is the tryout process like? What does it feel like to eject, and how do you come back from the tragedy of losing a friend and teammate?

Rich Macdougall has flown NORAD and air refueling missions around the globe as a Tanker Commander on the CC-130H Hercules. Later, after instructing on the CT-156 Harvard II, he decided to give his lifelong dream a shot and became a member of the Snowbirds. 

However, during Op Inspiration in 2020, tragedy struck as Rich took off from Kamloops BC, when a bird strike occurred and an ejection became necessary; resulting in severe injuries for Rich and the death of his friend Jenn Casey. Rich will tell us about his experiences that day, his injuries and recovery, his return to the Snowbirds and much more in this episode of The Pilot Project Podcast.

What was it like to deploy with the Canadian Helicopter Force Afghanistan (CHFA)? What is it like when your door gunners engage the enemy, or to be shot at while flying in a firefight? What do you do when your helicopter gets shot up and you still have to make it to a safe place to land? 

Greg has been a Tac Hel instructor, and deployed early in his career to fight in Afghanistan with CHFA; flying nearly 600 combat hours in many sorties. 

Greg will share his adventures and his struggles in Afghanistan plus much more on this episode of The Pilot Project Podcast.

Did you know the third Friday of every September is Military Family Appreciation Day? What is it like to be a spouse or partner with someone in the RCAF? What are the challenges? What are the things that make it great? What advice would a spouse give to a new pilot to help them have a successful family life?

What is it like if your new husband deploys? What about when you have a newborn, or you're pregnant? We will explore all these challenges and more as we sit down with 4 spouses to hear about the RCAF homefront on this episode of The Pilot Project Podcast.

This week on The Pilot Project Podcast, we’ll explore the events surrounding September 11 as viewed through the eyes of three air traffic controllers who were on duty on or following that day. Each provides a unique perspective.

What was it like for a Canadian military controller working in New York at the time? What about a civilian controller working in Gander, a town of 9000 that took on 6000 stranded passengers? How did an isolated NORAD detachment in Inuvik respond to the changing situation?

We will hear these stories and more in this week’s episode of The Pilot Project Podcast.

What does it feel like to instruct the next generation of RCAF pilots? What about flying on the Snowbirds? How can vulnerability lead to new learning opportunities? Blake has flown the CT-156 Harvard, the CT-155 Hawk, been an instructor at 2CFFTS, flew with the Snowbird demonstration team for several seasons and now recently completed his training on helicopters to go fly the CH-149 Cormorant.

Blake will talk about his methods for succeeding and thriving while you’re in flight training, his area of expertise.  We’ll learn about how getting comfortable with being uncomfortable can help you deal with your mistakes and much more on this latest episode of The Pilot Project Podcast.

What are the paths you can take to join the RCAF as a pilot? How much time will you have to serve? What are the eyesight requirements for a pilot? What can you do to make yourself an attractive applicant? Paul has flown the CP-140M Aurora and most recently been posted to Canadian Forces Recruiting Group in Borden, Ontario. There he became extremely well-versed in the ins and outs of recruiting; and gained a passion for helping applicants to succeed.

Paul will talk about his advice for successfully joining the RCAF as a pilot, answer the questions kindly supplied by listeners and the Canadian Forces Subreddit and much more on this latest episode of The Pilot Project Podcast.

What does it take to land a helicopter on a pitching ship deck at night in bad weather? How do you come back from tragedy and the loss of good friends? Corey has flown the Cyclone around the world from the decks of Royal Canadian Naval ships. He also instructs the helicopter course at 3CFFTS in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. 

Corey will talk about his experiences flying the Cyclone and his journey to recovery after the Stalker 22 crash. He’ll talk about why growth happens on those dark and stormy nights when your NVGs fail and much more on this latest episode of The Pilot Project Podcast.