Pilot's Discretion from Sporty's
Sep 8, 2026 · 48 min · 13 segments
Professional pilot and podcast host Justin Siems says aviation is “a welcoming community that feels like it's not.” He explains why, based on his experience interviewing nearly 400 pilots. Justin also…
What do you think general aviation should do as an industry to convert curious flight students into active lifelong pilots? There's talk about the dropout rate, which sometimes has very specific causes, whether it's the flight school itself or finances or other things.
But just in terms of how we present ourselves as an industry, because this is something you do all the time.
This is your podcast, right, of introducing people who've never flown to what aviation can be all about.
I think people get so- Just dialed in to whether I'm gonna adhere to a 141 school, I'm gonna get my ratings as fast as possible, I'm gonna make it to a regional airline.
They're so focused on the track that they lose sight on how the progress is going, and they lose sight on, "I'm flying a 172.
Like, I wasn't flying this two months ago." Like I, I previously I was, you know, doing whatever job, engineering or, uh, I mean, I've interviewed everyone, like lawyers, I've interviewed doctors, I've interviewed them.
Like, they weren't happy at their job, and they looked at flying, and they used to just stare in the air and just look at planes, and just remembering that this is fun.
And I think it would be great if flight schools, especially fast-track flight schools, they could just schedule a fun flight.
You know you can go pretty much wherever you want." [laughs] Now, there's some caveats to that, uh, whether you should go somewhere, like I don't think you should go to Charlotte and go try to do touch-and-goes.
I think there needs to be more understanding that we do this for fun, and there's the, there's a real chance that this is the last time you're ever gonna fly small planes again.
They, you know, they, they put in the time, they put in the work, they fly the 172, then they go to the 206, and then they get twin time, then they get turbine time.
And understanding that this is really fun and getting to do that is, is very, very rare.
So I think flight schools, they n- need to worry less about, you know, the airline track and focus more on, we want pilots for life, whether they're gonna go to the airlines or just fly GA.
Uh, 'cause I do fear that we are losing the love of aviation and kind of that, like, freedom of flight, and everything's just either airlines or nothing.
You are preaching to the choir on this one, but, uh, I'll just, I'll just echo everything you said there.
What do you think general aviation should do as an industry to convert curious flight students into active lifelong pilots? There's talk about the dropout rate, which sometimes has very specific causes, whether it's the flight school itself or finances or other things.
But just in terms of how we present ourselves as an industry, because this is something you do all the time.
This is your podcast, right, of introducing people who've never flown to what aviation can be all about.
I think people get so- Just dialed in to whether I'm gonna adhere to a 141 school, I'm gonna get my ratings as fast as possible, I'm gonna make it to a regional airline.
They're so focused on the track that they lose sight on how the progress is going, and they lose sight on, "I'm flying a 172.
Like, I wasn't flying this two months ago." Like I, I previously I was, you know, doing whatever job, engineering or, uh, I mean, I've interviewed everyone, like lawyers, I've interviewed doctors, I've interviewed them.
Like, they weren't happy at their job, and they looked at flying, and they used to just stare in the air and just look at planes, and just remembering that this is fun.
And I think it would be great if flight schools, especially fast-track flight schools, they could just schedule a fun flight.
You know you can go pretty much wherever you want." [laughs] Now, there's some caveats to that, uh, whether you should go somewhere, like I don't think you should go to Charlotte and go try to do touch-and-goes.
I think there needs to be more understanding that we do this for fun, and there's the, there's a real chance that this is the last time you're ever gonna fly small planes again.
They, you know, they, they put in the time, they put in the work, they fly the 172, then they go to the 206, and then they get twin time, then they get turbine time.
And understanding that this is really fun and getting to do that is, is very, very rare.
So I think flight schools, they n- need to worry less about, you know, the airline track and focus more on, we want pilots for life, whether they're gonna go to the airlines or just fly GA.
Uh, 'cause I do fear that we are losing the love of aviation and kind of that, like, freedom of flight, and everything's just either airlines or nothing.
You are preaching to the choir on this one, but, uh, I'll just, I'll just echo everything you said there.
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