Episode
Find Your Flightline: Josh Blair, AeroSummit 2026, and Warbirds at SUN 'n FUN
- Podcast
- The Future in Flight Podcast
- Published
- May 13, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2072
- Processing state
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Summary
📝 Summary What does it take to build a life in aviation when the path refuses to stay straight? This episode answers that question three different ways. We open with Josh Blair — founder of Blaircraft, A&P/IA mechanic, YouTube creator, and restorer of classic tube-and-fabric aircraft. Josh grew up in the Ohio River Valley, seven minutes from a small-town airport, and spent decades collecting skills across factory floors, heavy maintenance bays, GE Aviation, and a university turbine research lab before walking away from serious money — twice — to get back to the airplanes he loves. His story is about attention to detail, the long way around, and what a $30,000 pay cut looks like when it's actually a values decision. Then we head to Miami, because Aero Summit 2026 is coming — and if you're a student pilot, an aspiring aviator, or someone still figuring out how to fund the dream, this is the event the show is telling you not to miss. Powered by Stratus Financial, Aero Summit brings together flight school owners, CFIs, airline recruiters, FAA insiders, and students under one roof, with a dedicated student and CFI track built specifically for the next generation. We close on the Warbirds Ramp at SUN ‘n FUN 2026, where our friend Vanzell Jenkins — VanzAir — went on assignment and sat down with active military aviators from three branches of the armed forces: an A-10 pilot from the Air Force, a Blackhawk crew chief from the Army's 101st Airborne, and two pilots from the Air Force's First Reconnaissance Squadron — including a U-2 Dragon Lady pilot. Their origin stories are different. Their advice is remarkably consistent: start early, stay with the process, and debrief everything. 🔑 Key Points Josh Blair — Blaircraft Grew up in Clarktown, Ohio — seven minutes from a small-…