EP149 - Information Whiskey: Why Does This Plane Smell Like Grandpa?

It's Information Whiskey time - the crew's monthly no-format format where they "chew the fat" and see what happens. Brian accidentally became a Cherokee salesman at an air show ("I turn around, there's basically a queue forming"), Ben's on a night-flying mission to 1,500 hours, and Ted's been landing on Oregon beaches and flying 4,000 feet in ground effect. The guys also get serious about planning the Spring 2026 fly-in.In this episode:Brian's weekend: Muscle Shoals barbecue diplomacy ("if you come back with barbecue sandwiches and hot dogs...that goes a long way"), becoming an unwitting static display, and escaping a TFR with one minute to spareThe accidental GA ambassador: helping kids sit in the plane until "I realized this is not good"Ben's race to 100 hours of night time: "Turn on your lights. If you don't like it, turn your lights back off"Ted gives midlife eagle flights, lands at Boeing Field, and masters the art of the 4,000-foot ground effect taxiRyan K's thoughtful case for returning to Tango 82 for the spring fly-inFlying wisdom:"Night IFR is one of the best arguments for a parachute system""Learning to fly: horizon is steady, but your confidence isn't"On night engine failures: "Choose a place to land, turn on your lights. If you don't like it, turn your lights back off"Important announcement: If you have fly-in location suggestions, send them NOW. Brian's sounding the alarm.Mentioned on the Show:Bunyan's Barbecue - Muscle Shoals, AL (MSL)Luke's Landing: Flying to the Best Hot Dog - Luke's video about Bunyan's2I0 Madisonville Airport - Wings Over Western Kentucky locationWings Over Western Kentucky Air ShowMusic City STOL - Oct 10-11, XNX Gallatin, TNT82 - Gillespie County Airport - Fredericksburg, TXHangar Hotel at T82 - Previous fly-in locationKentucky Lake/Lake Cumberland Regional Airport - Potential fly-in location2I3 Rough River Airport - Kentucky fly-in optionBlue Grass Airport (LEX) - Lexington, Kentucky optionCali Beach (S16) - Oregon coast beach landing stripCheckMate Aviation - Barry's checklist company (1 year anniversary!)MyAeroGlass - Tim/Banjo Pilot's METAR displaysGilbert Aviation - Erica Gilbert's IFR trainingFAA Color Vision Testing Flowchart - Recent changes discussedFreedom Aviation Network - Anti-human trafficking effortsSupport the Show:Join the Patreon community for Discord access, exclusive content, and check ride debriefs: Patreon.com/MidlifePilotPodcastVisit MidlifePilotPodcast.com for merch, feedback, and discount codesURGENT: Send fly-in location suggestions to [email protected] us a 5-star review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe and catch us live most Monday nights at 8 PM ET: youtube.com/@midlifepilotpodcast10% of Patreon proceeds support Freedom Aviation Network's anti-human trafficking efforts