{"podcast":{"title":"Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News","slug":"aviation-news-talk-pilot-stories-safety-tips-general-aviation-news-582015","podcast_index_feed_id":582015,"rss_url":"https://aviationnewstalk.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://aviationnewstalk.com","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/b/3/c/3/b3c3e1ce0be5cb4e/News_Talk_Album_Headset_art-4_1400.png","author":"Glass Cockpit Publishing","episode_count":423,"summary":"General Aviation news, pilot tips for beginners & experts, interviews, listener questions answered, technical details on G1000 & Perspective glass cockpits & flying GPS approaches. 40 yrs experience flying general aviation aircraft. As an active flight instructor, I bring my daily experiences in the air to this show to help teach pilots and future pilots to fly safely. I'm a Platinum Cirrus CSIP instructor and work with people who are thinking about buying a new or used SR20 or SR22. Go to AviationNewsTalk.com for my contact information, or to click on Listener Questions, which lets you speak into your phone to leave a question you'd like answered on the show.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-05T00:17:21.334538+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/aviation-news-talk-pilot-stories-safety-tips-general-aviation-news-582015"},"episode":{"title":"407 Starting a Flight School with The Flight Academy","slug":"407-starting-a-flight-school-with-the-flight-academy","published_at":"2025-12-12T06:29:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/aviation-news-talk-pilot-stories-safety-tips-general-aviation-news-582015/407-starting-a-flight-school-with-the-flight-academy","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/aviation-news-talk-pilot-stories-safety-tips-general-aviation-news-582015","url":"https://aviationnewstalk.libsyn.com/407-starting-a-flight-school-with-the-flight-academy","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/aviationnewstalk/Episode_407.mp3?dest-id=499762","summary":"Max talks with John Fiscus, co-founder of The Flight Academy, and Director of Operations Jordan Ming to break down how one of the country's most respected Cirrus-focused training organizations was created, expanded, and refined over more than two decades. Whether you're an instructor considering the entrepreneurial leap, a pilot curious about how flight training businesses operate, or someone fascinated by the evolution of modern GA training, this conversation delivers clear, practical insights rooted in real experience. John opens with the origin story behind The Flight Academy—one shaped unexpectedly by the aftermath of 9/11. Before starting the company, John was an instructor and corporate pilot for Cirrus Aircraft, preparing for an airline career. When airline hiring collapsed overnight, he and colleague Luke realized they could not compete with furloughed, highly experienced pilots suddenly entering the market. But they also saw a growing demand: Cirrus owners nationwide needed instructors who truly understood their aircraft. Many local CFIs didn't yet have the expertise or avionics familiarity that early-generation Cirrus owners required. That gap created an opportunity. Instead of opening a traditional flight school with airplanes and an office, John and Luke launched The Flight Academy in 2002 with a completely different model. They owned no airplanes, no local training fleet, and no physical facility. Instead, they traveled around the country teaching owners in their own Cirrus aircraft. This approach dramatically reduced overhead while giving customers access to specialized training. What seemed unconventional at the time turned out to be the ideal way to enter the market, and demand steadily grew. As the business matured, the founders recognized the need for…","meta_description":"Max talks with John Fiscus, co-founder of The Flight Academy, and Director of Operations Jordan Ming to break down how one of the country's most respected…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3237,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/aviation-news-talk-pilot-stories-safety-tips-general-aviation-news-582015/episodes/407-starting-a-flight-school-with-the-flight-academy/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/aviation-news-talk-pilot-stories-safety-tips-general-aviation-news-582015/407-starting-a-flight-school-with-the-flight-academy.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}