Pilot to Pilot

Pilot to Pilot Magazine — Volume 002 is out now. Get yours at pilottopilothq.com/mag
Sponsors — please support the people who support the show: • Avemco Insurance — Save 5% as a Pilot to Pilot listener. Call (888) 635-4297 or visit avemco.com/4297-owner (owners) or avemco.com/4297-non-owner (non-owners) • Textron Aviation — Built for lifelong aviators. Plan your next chapter at txtav.com/stepup • Garmin — Plan, file, fly, log with the Garmin Pilot app • Allworth Airline Advisors — Register for their latest webinar at allworthfinancial.com/justin • Learn the Finer Points — Save 10% off your first year at learnthefinerpoints.com/justin. https://allworthfinancial.com/airlines/lp/runway-for-retirement-webinar?utm_campaign=airlines+-+more+runway+for+retirement?lmls=Partner+Channel&lmld=Pilot+to+Pilot&ad_version=Social
Some people are drawn to the sky. Others are forged there.
Rob “Scratch” Mitchell grew up surrounded by aviation legend — his grandfather flew Spitfires over occupied Europe, his father patrolled Cold War skies in a Royal Canadian Air Force jet. By the time Scratch sat down to choose his own path, there was never really a question. He wanted to fly fighters. He wanted to be the best. And through relentless focus, iron discipline, and a willingness to outwork everyone around him, that’s exactly what he became.
In this episode of the Pilot to Pilot Podcast, Scratch takes us from the crucible of Canadian military pilot training — where attrition rates hovered near 50% — through the unforgiving world of F-18 tactical flying, into the bright lights of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, where he eventually led the team as commanding officer. Along the way, he opens up about the fatal accident that occurred on his watch during his very first airshow weekend as team lead, and what it taught him about leadership, humanity, and what it truly means to hold a team together when the world falls apart.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
How Scratch finished number one in his pilot training class to guarantee a fighter slot — and why second place wasn’t an option
The story behind his callsign, involving a French tanker, the wrong basket technique, and a very expensive canopy
What 95 airshows in a single season does to a team — and to a marriage
The moment during the Snowbirds’ first airshow of the season when his wingman was lost, and how Scratch led nine pilots back to earth when the world had just gone silent
Why ego has no place in the debrief room — even when you’re debriefing your commanding officer
The civilian world’s hardest lesson for a fighter pilot: sometimes skill and effort aren’t enough, and luck is a variable you cannot control
His pivot from the cockpit to the camera — and why aviation storytelling was always the through line
Whether you fly airliners, light aircraft, or simply love the world above the clouds, this is an episode about what it means to commit completely — to a mission, to a team, and to yourself.

Pilot to Pilot Magazine — Volume 002 is out now. Get yours at pilottopilothq.com/mag
Sponsors — please support the people who support the show: • Avemco Insurance — Save 5% as a Pilot to Pilot listener. Call (888) 635-4297 or visit avemco.com/4297-owner (owners) or avemco.com/4297-non-owner (non-owners) • Textron Aviation — Built for lifelong aviators. Plan your next chapter at txtav.com/stepup • Garmin — Plan, file, fly, log with the Garmin Pilot app • Allworth Airline Advisors — Register for their latest webinar at allworthfinancial.com/justin • Learn the Finer Points — Save 10% off your first year at learnthefinerpoints.com/justin. You plan for everything when you fly. But have you planned for life after the cockpit? Download the free guide from Allworth Airline Advisors https://allworthairline.com/justin.
His uncle flew F-18s in the Marines before becoming a UPS MD-11 captain. His dad plays organ. His twin sister teaches choir in Texas. And David spent the better part of a decade as a professional tuba player before a global pandemic, a family hotel, and one YouTube rabbit hole set him on an entirely different flight path. In this episode, David traces every step of a career change that most people would have talked themselves out of — the 141 versus 61 debate, the flight school that felt like family, the stage check that became his most memorable moment as a CFI, and the three-to-five-minute orchestra audition that taught him everything he needed to know about showing up prepared. His advice is simple, honest, and hard-won: don't chase the end goal. Just be the best version of wherever you are right now.

Pilot to Pilot Magazine — Volume 002 is out now. Get yours at pilottopilothq.com/mag
Sponsors — please support the people who support the show: • Avemco Insurance — Save 5% as a Pilot to Pilot listener. Call (888) 635-4297 or visit avemco.com/4297-owner (owners) or avemco.com/4297-non-owner (non-owners) • Textron Aviation — Built for lifelong aviators. Plan your next chapter at txtav.com/stepup • Garmin — Plan, file, fly, log with the Garmin Pilot app • Allworth Airline Advisors — Register for their latest webinar at allworthfinancial.com/justin • Learn the Finer Points — Save 10% off your first year at learnthefinerpoints.com/justin. https://allworthfinancial.com/airlines/lp/runway-for-retirement-webinar?utm_campaign=airlines+-+more+runway+for+retirement?lmls=Partner+Channel&lmld=Pilot+to+Pilot&ad_version=Social
Canadian pilot Mike Andrews has never taken the direct route — and that's exactly what makes his story worth hearing. Growing up in Southern Ontario, Mike got his start through Canada's Air Cadet program, earning a glider license at 16 and a private pilot license at 17 before nearly going the Canadian Armed Forces fighter pilot route. A heart murmur medical delay, a backpacking trip to New Zealand, and a hard reset later, he found himself building a flight school from scratch on Vancouver Island with one airplane and a jacket that said "ask me about flying."
Now based on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Mike is one of Canada's leading instructors on the Pipistrel Velis Electro — the country's first electric aircraft approved for primary flight training — and he's about to embark on a brand new chapter as a bird dog pilot doing aerial wildfire fighting in BC's rugged mountain terrain.
In this episode, Justin and Mike dig into the Canadian pilot training system, what it's actually like to fly and teach in an electric airplane, the unique aviation culture of the Pacific Northwest coast, and what draws a variety-hungry pilot to a career where low-level mountain flying meets public service. Plus — Mike shares what it was like to nearly make it into Canadian fighter pilot selection before a three-day paperwork deadline changed everything.

Topics Covered:
Canada's Air Cadet program and glider scholarships
Canadian vs. American pilot training and instructor rating systems
Flying the Pipistrel Velis Electro — Canada's first electric flight trainer
Electric aviation: where it works today and where it's headed
Aerial wildfire fighting and the bird dog role
Building a sub-base flight school on Vancouver Island from the ground up
The TBM 960's "Home Safe" emergency automation features
Why variety — not the airlines — has driven Mike's entire career

Pilot to Pilot Magazine — Volume 002 is out now. Get yours at pilottopilothq.com/mag
Sponsors — please support the people who support the show: • Avemco Insurance — Save 5% as a Pilot to Pilot listener. Call (888) 635-4297 or visit avemco.com/4297-owner (owners) or avemco.com/4297-non-owner (non-owners) • Textron Aviation — Built for lifelong aviators. Plan your next chapter at txtav.com/stepup • Garmin — Plan, file, fly, log with the Garmin Pilot app • Allworth Airline Advisors — Register for their latest webinar at allworthfinancial.com/justin • Learn the Finer Points — Save 10% off your first year at learnthefinerpoints.com/justin. https://allworthfinancial.com/airlines/lp/runway-for-retirement-webinar?utm_campaign=airlines+-+more+runway+for+retirement?lmls=Partner+Channel&lmld=Pilot+to+Pilot&ad_version=Social
Marci Veronie is the Senior Vice President of AVEMCO Insurance, and she's one of the most fascinating people in aviation — not because she's a pilot, but because she's spent nearly four decades watching what happens when things go wrong. Landings. Taxiing. Overconfident airline pilots in light sport aircraft. She's seen it all, and she's got the data to back it up.
In this episode, Marci opens up about her wildly unexpected path from a Pittsburgh girl chasing a paralegal certificate to becoming the first non-pilot sales underwriter at AVEMCO — and eventually SVP. She talks about the calls she dreads taking on Monday mornings, what separates a superior pilot from a scary one, and why 60% of pilots are leaving real money on the table every single year.
She also gets candid about being a woman in a male-dominated industry for decades, her work with Women in Aviation International, and what it actually takes to build a 39-year career at one company.
Whether you fly a J-3 Cub or a 737, this episode will change how you think about risk, training, and what it means to truly be a safe pilot.\
Happy Flying,
Justin

Spirit Airlines officially ceased operations on May 2 at 3am, and in this episode Justin sits down with Jim Higgins, Professor of Aviation at the University of North Dakota, to unpack what happened and what comes next.
They dig into the chain of events that brought one of the country's most recognizable low-cost carriers to a halt — from a business model under pressure, to two Chapter 11 reorganizations, to the spike in oil prices that finally pushed Spirit past the point of recovery. Jim breaks down why the federal bailout package fell apart, why no other airline stepped in to acquire Spirit despite multiple asks, and how $9 billion in debt made a merger virtually impossible.
The conversation also turns to the roughly 2,000 Spirit pilots now entering an already active hiring market. Justin and Jim talk through how the majors are likely to respond, what this means for regional pilots and pilots holding CJOs, and why Spirit aviators have a strong reputation among hiring departments across the industry. They also cover the resources available through ALPA, the importance of leaning on the aviation community, and the often-overlooked mental health side of losing a job you loved.
Whether you're a Spirit pilot, a regional pilot watching the hiring landscape shift, or simply someone trying to make sense of what just happened to a 34-year-old airline with an impeccable safety record, this episode offers context, perspective, and a reminder that the industry takes care of its own.
If you know a Spirit pilot, reach out. A letter of recommendation, a connection, or just a conversation can go a long way.