Recorded live at Legends Air Center, Bentonville Municipal Airport (KVBT)

We pulled it off. Forty-six planes, 76 humans, one carbon cub with a suspiciously placed trim switch, and a weather forecast that went from "perfect VFR" to "tornado watch to snowstorm in 24 hours." Episode 172 is the live recording from the Thaden Invasion fly-in — and it did not disappoint.

Ben, Brian, and 1DullGeek filling in for Ted who attempted to get here from Portland via Delta and was defeated by the commercial aviation gods. We called him anyway. He answered!

IN THIS EPISODE:

🛫 The Instrument Rating Spite Train

✈️ The Race to Union City — Ben attempts to bribe a Memphis Center controller via Venmo. The controller provides his Venmo. "Ready to copy."

🛩️ The Convergence Incident — Mark's GPS-autopilot handshake goes sideways mid-flight, resulting in an unannounced formation maneuver.

🌩️ The Forecast Nobody Asked For — Our new friend Bruce, a multi-decade professional meteorologist, delivers a pre-show weather briefing that sends everyone scrambling for early departures. Tornadoes by noon. Snow by evening. Perfect fly-in weather.

📞 We Call Ted — He answers. It's lovely. He didn't miss anything at Game Bird. Those planes are ugly. The formation flights were nothing. (They were incredible. Ted knows.)

🎙️ Community Moments — Keith's story of stepping away from aviation and finding his way back. Captain Todd's first cross-country with his girlfriend (she asked where the car was). The anonymous question about an all-wives episode (immediately shot down). Erica Gilbert, CFII and weather guru, knitting quietly in the back like an aviation safety angel.

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

🏆 Legends Air Center at Bentonville Municipal Airport (KVBT) — Home of the Thaden Invasion and quite possibly the only FBO where you can fish off one end and tour an aerobatic manufacturer off the other.

✈️ Game Aerospace — The manufacturing facility that had our crew high on carbon fiber fumes and ambition. Shoutout to Derek and the team.

📋 Checkmate Aviation — Sponsor of our beautiful lounge space. Barry bought the company by accident (sort of). Custom checklists. Real story.

🎙️ Midlife Pilot Podcast on Patreon — The thing that keeps this ad-free and human. The reason we can afford microphones and index cards (when Ted is here).

🐦 Plane Places Adventures (YouTube) — Check out the channel. Virgil always has something.

🎙️ Airline Pilot Guy Podcast — AJ's co-hosting home. Captain Jeff. Good people. Good aviation.

📘 Helen Thaden — Aviation Pioneer — The namesake of the invasion. Bentonville's own. Look her up if you don't know the name yet.

🌤️ 1800wxbrief.com — FAA Aviation Weather Briefings — For those of you who don't have Bruce's number.

📖 Make Small Corrections by Brian Siskind Essays on flying, legacy, and midlife transformation. Brian's book. Read it.

QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:

"A beef Wellington is just a corn dog from a different socioeconomic background."

DPE, airline pilot, C-130 instructor, and VSL Aviation founder Seth Lake drops in from his car outside a North Little Rock hangar to help pilots get ready for the real thing. He previews his enhanced pre-flight safety seminar happening Saturday morning at Thaden Field — think less checklist theater, more popping cowlings and actually looking at stuff — and breaks down the honest threat picture at a busy uncontrolled airport: why flight following isn't optional, why calling traffic "in sight" is a commitment you'd better mean, and why hope is not an arrival strategy.

Plus: the case against the emergency descent maneuver, what midlife pilots actually have going for them on check rides, a surprise Miller's Ale House field recording, and the Bentonville roundabout that has claimed at least one dignity so far.

Seth's enhanced pre-flight seminar is Saturday at 9AM in the exhibition hall. Register at faasafety.gov for WINGS credit.

See you on the ramp.

Mentioned on the show:

* Nashville Bravo reclassification: https://www.reddit.com/r/nashville/comments/1q6ixd5/bna_to_be_upgraded_to_bravo_airspace/

* Erica's Aerosafe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AeroSafe

* Erica's Aerosafe weather briefing checklist: https://www.gilbertaviation.com/aerosafe

* Aviation Weather Handbook: https://www.faa.gov/regulationspolicies/handbooksmanuals/aviation/faa-h-8083-28a-aviation-weather-handbook

* Charles Taylor master mechanic award: https://www.faasafety.gov/content/mastermechanic/default.aspx

* Airline Pilot Guy: https://airlinepilotguy.com/

* Bob Hoover's aileron roll: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9pvG_ZSnCc

* Seth Lake's VSL ACE guide: https://vslaviation.myshopify.com/products/vsl-ace-guide

* Seth's WINGS/EAA seminar on STCs at ORK (N Little Rock): https://www.faasafety.gov/spans/event_details.aspx?eid=141995&caller=/spans/events/eventlist.aspx

* How to fly an emergency descent: https://www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-fly/aerodynamics/emergency-descent-aerodynamics-how-to-fly-them-safely-high-to-low/

* VBT airspace briefig: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAJldTQ8LhM

* Fayetteville airport: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayetteville_Regional_Airport

* 2025 DCA crash: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Potomac_River_mid-air_collision

* Seth on setting up Foreflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFLxF8uciT8

* Crystal Bridges museum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Bridges_Museum_of_American_Art

* Pinnacle Hills Promenade: https://www.pinnaclehillspromenade.com/en/

* Buffalo National River: https://www.nps.gov/buff/index.htm

* Pinch Hitter course for nonpilots: https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/online-learning/safety-spotlights/pinch-hitter

* Seth/Midlife Pilot Enhanced Preflight WINGS course: https://www.faasafety.gov/SPANS/event_publicregistration.aspx?eid=141537&type=1

* Josh at Free Pilot Training: https://www.youtube.com/c/FreePilotTraining

Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/midlifepilotpodcast

An Information Whiskey edition where Ben loses his Sears and Roebuck HSI in the clouds and flies a partial panel ILS into McCollum like it's just another Tuesday, Brian takes his first solo IFR flight and discovers "the tape hiss of saturation" that nobody tells you about, and Ted goes up in an Arrow where the gear lights have a mind of their own. The Thaden Invasion is 12 days out and the weather looks terrible — which is exactly how we want it.

Listener emails from a student pilot in Frederick and a "chef" who soloed at 53 remind us why we do this, and a five-star review from Scotland teaches us the word "scunnered." Also: a spirited debrief on whether Ben should have declared an emergency, and what the whiskey compass is actually good for.Mentioned on the show:

* Seth Lake's Thaden/VBT arrival notes: https://arflightsafety.com/VBT.html

* FLY OZ VBT Airspace Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAJldTQ8LhM

* Seth's podcast on VBT airspace: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0r3rDFPNyUdYtYEfbVBqyl?si=as-NYQ99R5-F9qgAhSSoig

* WINGS registration for Enhanced Preflight seminar: https://www.faasafety.gov/SPANS/event_publicregistration.aspx?eid=141537&type=1

* Game Aero, gamebird aerobatic plane: https://game.aero/gb1-gamebird/

* Thaden Invasion event page: https://midlifepilotpodcast.com/thadeninvasion

* Air Safety Institute, 178 Seconds to Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7t4IR-3mSo

* Infamous drivers ed scare film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HAv1pfJqgU

* Sandel HSI: https://avweb.com/features_old/sandel-avionics-sn3308-electronic-hsi-efis-becomes-affordable/

* Sandel teardown video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjWIXHL0G1M

* Blairsville Airport - DZJ: https://www.airnav.com/airport/DZJ

* Angel Flights: https://www.angelflightsoars.org/

* SWTEE "sweet tea" arrival: https://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/2602/00469SWTEE.PDF

* OVPEW fix: https://opennav.com/waypoint/US/OVPEW

* RYY's ILS 27 approach: https://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/2602/06424IL27.PDF

* Garmin GPSMAP 296 on Ben's yoke: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/6399/

* MPP's Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Midlife Pilot: https://midlifepilotpodcast.com/#guide

• Patreon: www.patreon.com/midlifepilotpodcast
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