The Student Pilot Cast

How do you record your flight lessons? Nick, a listener in Houston, asked me the same question I got in 2009, so I flew with six recorders running at once, then tested five cables on the ground to find out what actually works in 2026.We start with why it matters: in the moment you hear maybe a quarter of what your instructor says, and listening back is one of the best debrief tools there is. Then the options: a recording headset like the Lightspeed Delta Zulu, the classic splitter cable into a recorder, 32-bit float recorders like the DJI Mic 2 and Insta360 Mic Pro, a USB-C cable straight into your phone, and recording into a camera. Along the way you'll hear what clipping sounds like, why 32-bit float still isn't foolproof, and how much the cable itself matters.Then the real question: what do you want the recording for? Clean panel audio is perfect for a transcript but sounds sterile, so we also cover a lav mic in your ear cup and recording two tracks for a natural cockpit sound.There's a lot of "listen to this, now this" in this one. If your podcast app shows chapter art, the labels are on screen. The full video is at https://studentpilotcast.com/98.Get the free Go or No-Go guide: https://studentpilotcast.com/three-questionsGet the Friday Flight Brief: https://studentpilotcast.com/flightbriefLinks:Hope you enjoy the episode and thanks for listening! Visit the SPC website at https://studentpilotcast.com. Please keep the feedback coming. You can use the contact form on the website or send email to bill at student pilot cast dot com. The theme song for our episodes is "To Be an Angel" by the band, "Uncle Seth".Legal Notice: Remember, any instruction that you hear in this podcast was meant for the student and only for the situation that they happened to be in at the time. Please do not try to apply anything you see or hear in this episode or any other episode to your own flying. If you have questions about any aspect of your flying, please consult a qualified CFI.Copyright 2008-2026, studentpilotcast.com and Bill Williams

Your logbook knows you flew. It has no idea what you learned. In this Briefing Room episode: five questions to ask after every flight (Surprise, Workload, Skill, Decision, and Goal), where the self-debrief came from (FITS and learner-centered grading), and a simple system to capture your goal, bridge it into your next flight, and close the loop. Leave your answer to question five at studentpilotcast.com/radiocheck.Get the free Go or No-Go guide: https://studentpilotcast.com/three-questionsGet the Friday Flight Brief: https://studentpilotcast.com/flightbriefLinks:Hope you enjoy the episode and thanks for listening! Visit the SPC website at https://studentpilotcast.com. Please keep the feedback coming. You can use the contact form on the website or send email to bill at student pilot cast dot com. The theme song for our episodes is "To Be an Angel" by the band, "Uncle Seth".Legal Notice: Remember, any instruction that you hear in this podcast was meant for the student and only for the situation that they happened to be in at the time. Please do not try to apply anything you see or hear in this episode or any other episode to your own flying. If you have questions about any aspect of your flying, please consult a qualified CFI.Copyright 2008-2026, studentpilotcast.com and Bill Williams

At AirVenture 2026 I sat down with Adriana, founder of FlyORKA, expecting an app demo. I walked away with a line I haven't been able to shake: logging is not learning.Adriana spent her career as a flight test engineer, learning to fly airplanes nobody had flown before. That path led her into gliders, tailwheel, and aerobatics, a pile of soaring records, and years of ab initio instruction. Her whole training philosophy comes down to one idea: we don't learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.We talk about what flight test can teach a student pilot about every lesson: observe with curiosity, record without judging, then share what you found. Adriana tells the story of waiting through all of her primary training for honest feedback, and what she finally heard when it came. And we break down ORKA (Observe, Record, Know yourself, Assess and adjust), a structure for debriefing every flight and making your progress visible to your instructor, your peers, and the people cheering you on from the ground.Not a sponsorship, but Adriana offered listeners 15% off FlyORKA for 12 months with code STUDENTPILOTCAST. She made 50 codes, so it's first come, first served.Fair warning: we lost some audio and video during the recording, so the conversation jumps in a few places. That one's on me.Get the free Go or No-Go guide: https://studentpilotcast.com/three-questionsGet the Friday Flight Brief: https://studentpilotcast.com/flightbriefLinks:Fly ORKA — We log memories—not just flight hoursHope you enjoy the episode and thanks for listening! Visit the SPC website at https://studentpilotcast.com. Please keep the feedback coming. You can use the contact form on the website or send email to bill at student pilot cast dot com. The theme song for our episodes is "To Be an Angel" by the band, "Uncle Seth".Legal Notice: Remember, any instruction that you hear in this podcast was meant for the student and only for the situation that they happened to be in at the time. Please do not try to apply anything you see or hear in this episode or any other episode to your own flying. If you have questions about any aspect of your flying, please consult a qualified CFI.Copyright 2008-2026, studentpilotcast.com and Bill Williams

At AirVenture this year I sat down in the Cirrus compound with Eamon Powers, the Director of Cirrus Approach — the man who owns every piece of training content Cirrus produces, for pilots and for mechanics.Twelve or fourteen years ago the fatal accident rate in the Cirrus fleet was, being generous, unremarkable, and there was a real argument in this industry about whether the parachute was helping at all. That number has moved a long way since. I wanted to know what actually moved it, how they know what moved it, and how much of it the rest of us can steal — because most of you listening aren't flying a Cirrus.What I got was a lot better than a company pitch. Eamon has a PhD in instructional design, an ATP, and an A&P, and he'll be the first to tell you the business card looks a little silly.We get into why every syllabus in America puts the first solo before lesson 20, and why that number is a leftover from World War II. What he calls "time to independence." How you keep a safety briefing from going rote. The CSIP standardization machine. The hardest number in aviation safety — the denominator. And the training nobody ever asks their mechanic about.Get the free Go or No-Go guide: https://studentpilotcast.com/three-questionsGet the Friday Flight Brief: https://studentpilotcast.com/flightbriefLinks:Cirrus trainingCirrus Approach — the training platform, for pilots: https://www.cirrusapproach.com/pilots/Cirrus Approach course catalog: https://learning.cirrusapproach.com/learning-catalogCAPS course — free, open to anyone, you don't have to own or fly a Cirrus:https://learning.cirrusapproach.com/courses/424/overviewMission Ready 2026 Simulator Sessions: https://learning.cirrusapproach.com/courses/821/overviewCirrus Embark — complimentary transition training when you buy a pre-owned Cirrus:https://cirrusaircraft.com/embark/Cirrus Training Network — find a Cirrus Training Center or a CSIP near you:https://cirrusaircraft.com/training-network/Becoming a CSIP (Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot): http://csip.cirrusaircraft.comBecoming a Cirrus Training Center: https://cirrusaircraft.formstack.com/forms/ctc_applicationCirrus flight training overview: https://cirrusaircraft.com/approach/caps-training-course/Also mentionedCOPA — Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association: https://www.cirruspilots.org/Cirrus IQ (the data platform, built on the Garmin GDL 60): https://cirrusaircraft.com/cirrus-iq-faq/TRAC10 — the clean-sheet trainer Cirrus introduced in July 2026:https://cirrusaircraft.com/aircraft/trac10/Student Pilot CastRadio Check — leave me a voicemail: https://studentpilotcast.com/voicemail/The Friday Flight Brief: https://studentpilotcast.com/flightbrief/Three Simple Questions for ADM (free PDF): https://studentpilotcast.com/three-questions/All episodes: https://studentpilotcast.com/episodes/Hope you enjoy the episode and thanks for listening! Visit the SPC website at https://studentpilotcast.com. Please keep the feedback coming. You can use the contact form on the website or send email to bill at student pilot cast dot com. The theme song for our episodes is "To Be an Angel" by the band, "Uncle Seth".Legal Notice: Remember, any instruction that you hear in this podcast was meant for the student and only for the situation that they happened to be in at the time. Please do not try to apply anything you see or hear in this episode or any other episode to your own flying. If you have questions about any aspect of your flying, please consult a qualified CFI.Copyright 2008-2026, studentpilotcast.com and Bill Williams

In episode 94 of the Student Pilot Cast, Bill recounts an unplanned start to AirVenture 2026 after the engine in his Jabiru quit over far southeastern Colorado on July 18, forcing an off-airport landing in a cornfield with his son Trey; both were unhurt and the airplane remains repairable with minor gear damage and an unresolved engine issue. Rather than a debrief, Bill focuses on gratitude for the “rings” of people who helped: Trey’s calm, useful cockpit support; his wife Crystal’s steady response, prayer, and communication with worried family; airline crews relaying the mayday on guard; ATC/FAA personnel tracking him down by phone; local deputies and responders; fire chief Everett and his wife Becky transporting and hosting them; friend Kent flying a Mooney rescue to continue to Oshkosh; and the broader aviation community at Oshkosh that shared support, stories, and connections.This is not the debrief of the emergency...that comes later. This is arguably more important...the human side.Get the free Go or No-Go guide: https://studentpilotcast.com/three-questionsGet the Friday Flight Brief: https://studentpilotcast.com/flightbriefLinks:Hope you enjoy the episode and thanks for listening! Visit the SPC website at https://studentpilotcast.com. Please keep the feedback coming. You can use the contact form on the website or send email to bill at student pilot cast dot com. The theme song for our episodes is "To Be an Angel" by the band, "Uncle Seth".Legal Notice: Remember, any instruction that you hear in this podcast was meant for the student and only for the situation that they happened to be in at the time. Please do not try to apply anything you see or hear in this episode or any other episode to your own flying. If you have questions about any aspect of your flying, please consult a qualified CFI.Copyright 2008-2026, studentpilotcast.com and Bill Williams