In this episode of the Pilot Podcast, Captain Dennis Spence continues to reflect on his exciting career, from light aircraf, High Performance Aerobatics to landing not only Boeing 737's but Boeing 747'a into Rand Airport,South Africa's oldest airport with a very narrow runway. He takes us through the planning, how this was achieved and more importantly his vision for South African and global aviation, and what needs to be done to ensure the continued success of the aviation sector. This and more up next on the Pilot Podcast.

Aviation.Unfiltered

In this episode a legend in South African aviation , Captain Dennis Spence, shares his journey on how he began his aviation joinery his love for cars, flying various aircraft types throughout his career and touches on his career at South African Airways.

Dennis is known as the founder of the Good Year Eagles Aerobatics team, is a qualified Type Rating Instructor and designated flight examiner, he also commanded a variety of commercial jet transport aircraft both narrow and wide body and has sat numerous interview panels, in addition to this he also services all his own aircraft and is refund for being part of the flight deck team that landed the famous Boeing 747 "Lebombo" at the historic Rand Airport

Check out part one here on the Pilot Podcast. Aviation.Unfiltered.

In Part 2 of our conversation with Ryan Mitton, we explore his experience training in the Air Force, the journey to earning his pilot wings, and how military training shapes the mindset and discipline of professional aviators.

Ryan also shares the story behind Sky Learner, his online learning platform designed to support PPL and ATPL students in the UK, and how modern digital tools are helping student pilots navigate aviation theory and training more effectively.

An insightful discussion on pilot development, training standards, and the future of aviation education.

In this episode of the Pilot Podcast were speaking Ryan Mitton a Major in the South African Airforce and director and co-founder of SkyLearner a Belfast based UK Aviation Training Organisations specialising in the LAPL,PPL and Airline Pilot Transport License ground schools. In part one of this series Ryan talks about how he became interested in the South African Airforce , the section process to join this organisation, the obstacles he faced in trying to pass selection and ultimately his success of achieving one of his life goals in obtaining his wings.

The Pilot Podcast

Aviation. Unfilterd.

In this Episode Kelly shares some insight into what it take to be able to make that Go-No Go decision , setting hard rules to protect against operational pressures and the challenges she faced in her career and how exactly she overcome those to get her very first break in aviation.

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Aviation. Unfiltered.

In this episode of the Pilot Podcast, Kelly Jane McCauley shares her experiences growing up in a family passionate about all things aviation, how a chance encounter with an aircraft owner opened up a whole new chapter in her life, her very unique and the value of pursuing every opportunity to advance you career.

The Pilot Podcast

Aviation.Unfiltered

Episode 2 Part -2 of The Pilot Podcast, we continue the story behind building and operating a small charter business — and the realities that come with it. We also look at what happens

when things go wrong, handling a gear up landing in the Cessna 414, meeting your favourite Top Gear/Grand your trio, Daven getting detained in South Sudan and his relocation abroad to take up a direct entry Captain role with his new operator.

This episode is about decision-making, trade-offs, and understanding when to scale, pivot, or exit.

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Aviation. Unfiltered.

In this episode of The Pilot Podcast, we unpack the realities of starting out in aviation when the job market is tight and options are limited.

Daven Van Heerden unpacks being unemployed with low hours, knocking on doors and weighing up instructing versus opportunity, to the thinking that led to buying an aircraft, forming a charter company, and identifying viable regional routes — this is an honest look at how aviation careers and businesses actually begin.

This is not a highlight reel.
It’s the part of aviation most people never talk about.

🎙️ The Pilot Podcast
Aviation. Unfiltered.