1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,040 Hello, I'm Brandon Martini, a commercial pilot and flight instructor. 2 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:10,040 And I'm Carson Vasquez. 3 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:11,800 I'm a private pilot. 4 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:16,080 And you're listening to the Aviation Mentors Podcast sponsored by Stratis Financial. 5 00:00:16,080 --> 00:00:22,180 So buckle up because the aviation mentors are taking off. 6 00:00:22,180 --> 00:00:26,580 Welcome back everybody to another great and fantastic episode of the Aviation Mentors 7 00:00:26,580 --> 00:00:27,640 Podcast. 8 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:32,960 I think we're down to seven days as of when this comes out till Oshkosh, or at least 9 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:34,480 till we leave to Oshkosh. 10 00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:38,080 And I think it's what, 10 days, Carson, before we get to Oshkosh? 11 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,440 Yeah, you get there a little later than I do. 12 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:42,920 I'm going to be there from the 20th on. 13 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:43,920 Oh, wow. 14 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,600 So I get a little bit more Oshkosh time than you. 15 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:47,600 Absolutely. 16 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:48,840 Well, I'm excited for it. 17 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:53,000 I'm sure all of you know we are, especially after the episode that came out two days ago, 18 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:58,600 talking about flying into Oshkosh for the first time, which was pretty fantastic. 19 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:04,760 Today though, we actually have a impromptu podcast recording. 20 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:09,320 And I'm actually in Texas right now visiting my mom and her friends. 21 00:01:09,320 --> 00:01:11,920 And so we decided we want to have her on the podcast. 22 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:16,240 So my mom, Debbie Martini, is our guest today. 23 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:20,400 And we've been talking about having one of our moms on the podcast for a while, Carson, 24 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:21,880 and it finally happened. 25 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,520 Yeah, it's definitely a special guest, right? 26 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,920 I mean, how often do you get to have your mom on your podcast? 27 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:27,920 That's pretty cool. 28 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:28,920 It is fun. 29 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:29,920 So welcome, mom. 30 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:30,920 Thanks so much. 31 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:31,920 Pretty amazing. 32 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:32,920 I'm super excited. 33 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,840 Yeah, you've only been on the receiving end of the podcast for so long. 34 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:37,520 Now you finally get to be on an episode. 35 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:38,520 It's awesome. 36 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:39,800 Thank you for being on with us today. 37 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:40,800 I really appreciate it. 38 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:42,120 It's good to see you. 39 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,040 So the first question that we usually ask is, how did you get into aviation? 40 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:48,080 But you're not quite a pilot, are you? 41 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:50,120 Oh, for sure not. 42 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:51,120 Yes. 43 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:56,680 Instead, we're going to talk about a lot about how you feel with branded flying. 44 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:00,520 So my first question for you is how do you feel when you found out that Brandon wanted 45 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:01,520 to go and become a pilot? 46 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:02,520 What was that like? 47 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:04,160 Well, I have to be honest. 48 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:09,520 At first, I was very, very nervous and I said, absolutely not. 49 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,320 He said, I want flight lessons for Christmas. 50 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:18,800 I want everyone just to give me money or certificates for flight lessons. 51 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:23,160 I said, no, no, no, no, you are way too young. 52 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:25,600 You are not going to go fly a plane. 53 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:27,400 We are not doing that. 54 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:28,400 Okay. 55 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:32,280 Christmas comes along and what does everyone get him? 56 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,680 Money and certificates for a local flight school. 57 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:37,320 I finally just had to give in. 58 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:40,680 He already had the certificates, already had the money ready. 59 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,600 He was going whether I was going to like it or not. 60 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:45,800 And he was of age to go ahead and do it. 61 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,000 So I just had to embrace it. 62 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:49,160 So here we are. 63 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:53,160 By the way, I think I was 24 or 25 or 26 when I did this. 64 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:55,680 So it's not like I was like 14 years old. 65 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,120 And remember one of our first 10 episodes or 15 episodes, whatever it was, I think we're 66 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:00,160 close to 90 now. 67 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,000 So they all kind of blend in for me. 68 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:06,760 But one of our first episodes was an episode, Are You Too Young to Fly? 69 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:08,340 And we had Austin on it. 70 00:03:08,340 --> 00:03:10,840 And Austin was 11 at the time. 71 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:14,560 And we decided that Austin was not too young to fly being his father. 72 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,880 And my mom's saying that I was in my mid to late 20s and I was too young to fly, which 73 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:18,880 is pretty hilarious, actually. 74 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,640 Yeah, but what your father's going to say, what your mom's going to say are two very 75 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:23,640 different things. 76 00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:26,720 I can't imagine that she was very excited for you to fly. 77 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:28,160 You know, that's not something fun. 78 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:30,600 My mom didn't want to let me fly, but she still did. 79 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:31,600 Same thing. 80 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:32,600 Exactly. 81 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:33,600 Yeah. 82 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:35,520 So my turn for the next question. 83 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:39,800 What did you think the first time you ever saw me fly an airplane? 84 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:41,120 I was mesmerized. 85 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,440 I was just, whoa, he is really doing this. 86 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,560 Like he is following his dream. 87 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,400 He was following his passion. 88 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:51,400 It was amazing. 89 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:57,440 I have to say that I was in awe and couldn't believe it, but it was amazing. 90 00:03:57,440 --> 00:03:59,040 And what a journey it's been since. 91 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,080 Yeah, it's definitely been a journey. 92 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:03,840 And I don't know, I'm still kind of in disbelief every time I'm flying an airplane. 93 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:05,520 I'm like, what am I even doing up here? 94 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:06,520 Is this real? 95 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:08,600 Like, where am I at right now? 96 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:09,600 I don't know. 97 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:10,600 Which pill did I take? 98 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:11,600 The blue one or the red one? 99 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:12,600 I'm not really sure. 100 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:13,600 Well, it's definitely a weird feeling. 101 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:18,120 It hits me like once every two or three months where I'm just like, wow, I'm actually a pilot. 102 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:19,120 I could fly an airplane. 103 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,120 And Brann has been flying a lot longer than I have. 104 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:24,200 So I can't imagine that makes you feel either. 105 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:25,200 Exactly. 106 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:29,460 No, just to watch you guys, you guys, I mean, of course, because I'm a mom, you guys are 107 00:04:29,460 --> 00:04:33,920 so young to me and you are up there just living your dream. 108 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:35,400 And it's really amazing. 109 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:36,400 I love it. 110 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:37,400 Yeah. 111 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:40,940 Well, you know better than everyone else that Brann is going to be persistent and figure 112 00:04:40,940 --> 00:04:41,980 out a way to do it. 113 00:04:41,980 --> 00:04:46,240 So seeing him fly has got to be pretty big accomplishment for you. 114 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:48,500 But I'm sure you weren't always that confident in him. 115 00:04:48,500 --> 00:04:53,400 So when he started flying, what were some of your biggest concerns for when he started? 116 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:59,140 Well, I was just I was really nervous that he was up by himself flying. 117 00:04:59,140 --> 00:05:04,840 But then I did kind of know that they always say in an airplane is much safer than down 118 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:06,400 on the street. 119 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:11,200 There's a lot less planes up around you than there are cars on the street. 120 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,960 So that kind of helped me get through that. 121 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:20,000 But I still kind of a little nervous about the clouds. 122 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,160 And I don't know a whole lot about the inside of the plane and all those instruments that 123 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:25,560 you guys all figure out. 124 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:27,160 You guys know what you're doing. 125 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,160 So it still makes me nervous. 126 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:35,380 But I'm 100 percent confident in his abilities that I'm OK with it now for sure. 127 00:05:35,380 --> 00:05:39,280 I'm also pretty confident his abilities, considering I've flown with him so many times. 128 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:42,560 And I got to say, my mom's probably about as confident as you are because she lets me 129 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:43,560 fly with him. 130 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:47,640 So Brandon, you're obviously doing something right for all the moms to trust you. 131 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:48,640 Exactly. 132 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:50,680 No, for sure. 133 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,000 I think that's why whenever I've done demo flights in the past, there's people that just 134 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,520 say I'm only flying with him and I have to somehow convince them to fly with somebody 135 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,560 other than me because I don't have the time to do all those demo flights. 136 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:04,840 So it is nice having having people around that have confidence in my flying. 137 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:08,960 I know it took a long time for me to feel 100 percent confident in my flying. 138 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,980 I know that when I first started out, I think I've talked about this when I first did my 139 00:06:12,980 --> 00:06:19,520 first passengers, which was my son Austin and my sister Ashley and her now husband Andrew. 140 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:24,160 I said, I don't know, looking back at it, I was like, there's no reason I should have 141 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:25,920 taken all of them up in the air. 142 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:28,600 So with that, I'm kind of curious. 143 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:33,120 How did you feel when I took up your daughter, her soon to be husband? 144 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:38,920 Not at the time, but now he is, and your grandson up for their first flight with me behind the 145 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,160 wheel. 146 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:42,320 It was pretty crazy. 147 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:45,280 It was it was a nerve racking feeling. 148 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:49,760 But I again had 100 percent confident in you. 149 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:53,320 I remember the day that you said, I'm going to take you to lunch, mom, I want to go fly 150 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:55,040 you somewhere for lunch. 151 00:06:55,040 --> 00:07:00,120 And I was like, OK, but, you know, trying to let you know that I'm not nervous in the 152 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:01,320 least bit. 153 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:07,320 I get to the airport and I see these little, little tiny planes and I went, oh, so is it 154 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:09,240 that plane over there? 155 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:13,240 And I'm looking at like a 10 passenger plane or something. 156 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:17,840 And you're like, no, it's this little red one right here. 157 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:21,600 I was like, oh, no, but that's old and that's small. 158 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:23,320 We can't go up in that. 159 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:27,800 No, but but I'm trying not to let you know that I'm still nervous because again, you're 160 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:30,680 my son and I 100 percent trust you. 161 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:33,780 And I'm going to let you know that I'm good with this. 162 00:07:33,780 --> 00:07:36,660 So I get in headphones on. 163 00:07:36,660 --> 00:07:40,840 We get ready to go and we fly to San Diego for lunch. 164 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:47,200 And that has to be one of the most memorable times I've ever had with just the two of us 165 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:48,880 flying to go have lunch. 166 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,560 I said we need to do that again. 167 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:59,520 But I saw the passion that that you had now through your eyes by me being up in that sky 168 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:00,520 with you. 169 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:03,700 I was just like, wow, we were flying over the ocean. 170 00:08:03,700 --> 00:08:05,520 It was so beautiful. 171 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:11,520 I saw the confidence you had and I knew this was the right path for you. 172 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:15,040 And I then was not nervous anymore. 173 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:16,040 I'm curious. 174 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,200 So I know we've believe it or not. 175 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:22,160 So I've done a lot of airplane flying, but I think I've only flown with you two times 176 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,280 actually maybe more than that. 177 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:27,400 But two that I remember, I know the first one went to San Diego. 178 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:28,400 Do you know where we went? 179 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:33,520 Did we go to Castle Manchado for Mexican food or do we go to the other place at Palomar 180 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:36,920 with like the blue ceiling and they had like airplanes painted on it? 181 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:37,920 Was that the one we went to? 182 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:38,920 I'm pretty sure it was that one, right? 183 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:39,920 Yes, it was. 184 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:41,880 It was just the airport cafe. 185 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:42,880 Yeah. 186 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,960 So it was that we actually went to Palomar CRQ. 187 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,160 I couldn't remember which one we did, but I was pretty sure it was CRQ. 188 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:51,360 But yeah, we went over there and that's a pretty big airport. 189 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,480 There's a lot of big airplanes flying around. 190 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:59,920 By the way, I think I picked that because it's exactly 50 miles from Riverside or Chino, 191 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:00,920 whatever. 192 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:01,920 No, we took off from Chino that day. 193 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:07,080 It was exactly 50 miles from Chino or might be 52. 194 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:08,500 So it counted as a cross country. 195 00:09:08,500 --> 00:09:11,240 That's the whole reason why I picked it because I didn't have my instrument rating at that 196 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:12,240 time. 197 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:13,480 So it was kind of neat. 198 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:17,920 But actually, I'm going to kind of skip Carson's question because we've kind of answered part 199 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:18,920 of it. 200 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,040 But I'm going to ask a different one. 201 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:26,960 So I did another flight with you and my second flight with her was actually with my sister 202 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:28,400 Kristen as well. 203 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,160 And we went in a twin that I don't know if you know this, but you're going to find out 204 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:33,160 right now. 205 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:35,720 I think I only flew this twin two or three times ever. 206 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:40,400 And it was a Cessna Skymaster and it was a push-puller. 207 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:42,600 I had no business flying it around that much. 208 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:44,320 I barely knew how to fly it. 209 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:45,840 I mean, I really know how to fly it. 210 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:47,920 I mean, it's an airplane, it's an airplane. 211 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:51,840 But I hadn't flown this particular airplane more than a couple, three, four hours at the 212 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:52,840 very most. 213 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:54,280 So how do you feel about that flight? 214 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:59,360 Because I know we flew down to San Diego again, but we went like this round robin circle. 215 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:04,640 And it was super, we went all the way down towards like San Diego airport and we took 216 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:07,840 the coastline all the way up and went over John Wayne and then came back around. 217 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:09,720 How did you feel about that flight? 218 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:11,200 Because that was a little bit different. 219 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,760 We didn't land for lunch or anything, but it was in a way different airplane. 220 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:16,760 By the way, the plane was twice the size. 221 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:17,760 Exactly. 222 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:19,720 No, it was much bigger. 223 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:24,880 I think I felt a little more comfortable in the plane, but not really knowing that you 224 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:27,760 weren't as confident in that plane. 225 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:32,720 But good thing I didn't know that at the time you handled it just like a pro and I would 226 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:35,880 have never even guessed that. 227 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:40,800 And I would put my life and myself back up in any of those planes with you. 228 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:44,560 You have just done an amazing job, amazing journey. 229 00:10:44,560 --> 00:10:48,480 I am so, so proud of what you've accomplished here. 230 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:50,720 Oh, I appreciate that. 231 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:53,740 One other thing in that airplane, I don't know if I told you, I had an emergency landing 232 00:10:53,740 --> 00:10:55,920 in that airplane a couple of months ago. 233 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:58,640 Maybe six months ago, I declared an emergency. 234 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:05,080 I didn't think the front nose gear came down on that exact airplane and I ended up landing 235 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:06,080 it. 236 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:07,400 I actually did a crazy maneuver. 237 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:09,680 Carson, I told you about this one. 238 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:12,480 No, your mom and I are both just waiting for the story. 239 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:13,480 You better start talking. 240 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:17,360 I shouldn't know this. 241 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:20,400 I'm thinking maybe you should have kept this one to yourself. 242 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:21,400 It's okay. 243 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:25,240 I don't tell my mom about things going wrong in the planes either. 244 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:26,240 Don't worry. 245 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:29,400 So, okay, I'll tell the story on the podcast. 246 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:30,480 It's kind of an interesting one. 247 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:35,320 I didn't even have to fill out any paperwork or anything with the FAA, so that was nice. 248 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:38,040 But I did have fire trucks ran and all that stuff actually. 249 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:42,520 Cory, who's a friend of ours who's a CFI, he actually recorded this whole incident. 250 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:43,820 So I have the video. 251 00:11:43,820 --> 00:11:45,000 We can ask Cory for the video. 252 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:46,640 He has a video of me. 253 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:50,160 I don't know if he has any audio on it, but he definitely has a video of me landing the 254 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,960 airplane, which I have to say was pretty good. 255 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:55,960 But you just have to bring that up. 256 00:11:55,960 --> 00:12:00,760 It was a smooth landing because you thought you didn't have a gear, right? 257 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:02,400 So that's why it's such a nice landing. 258 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:03,400 It really was. 259 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:04,400 No. 260 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:07,860 So I took off in the same Skymaster and it was owned by somebody else at this time. 261 00:12:07,860 --> 00:12:12,480 When I flew with you, I owned the airplane and I had it for sale actually. 262 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:14,900 And then I sold the airplane to this gentleman. 263 00:12:14,900 --> 00:12:15,900 He hadn't learned to fly yet. 264 00:12:15,900 --> 00:12:17,280 He wanted to learn how to fly. 265 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,860 So he was actually living in Torrance and he wanted me to bring the airplane to him. 266 00:12:20,860 --> 00:12:23,620 So I said, okay, I'll bring the airplane to you and we'll go learn to fly in Torrance 267 00:12:23,620 --> 00:12:24,620 for the day. 268 00:12:24,620 --> 00:12:26,080 And then I'll just come back in the afternoon. 269 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:27,340 I'll fly it back home. 270 00:12:27,340 --> 00:12:35,280 So I take off and I put the gear up and then the gear warning horn starts blaring. 271 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:36,280 Just like that. 272 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,060 Just as annoying as it sounds to all of our listeners listening to right now. 273 00:12:39,060 --> 00:12:41,800 It was that annoying in the cockpit, right? 274 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:46,480 So the only way I could get it to turn off was to put the gear down. 275 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:51,240 So I put the gear down and of course my lights weren't working on the gear. 276 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:53,160 So I checked the circuit breakers. 277 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:55,280 I did everything you're supposed to do. 278 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:56,600 I pulled the P.O.H. out. 279 00:12:56,600 --> 00:13:02,440 I circled the airport for probably 45 minutes and I just did a holding pattern above the 280 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:03,440 airport. 281 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:04,440 I mean, I didn't have an issue. 282 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:10,680 And then I did a low pass, a slow low pass so the airport could look at my gear. 283 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:14,680 And they said that my main gear, my left, my right gear were fully extended. 284 00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:19,500 And they said my nose gear, I quote, does not appear to be fully extended. 285 00:13:19,500 --> 00:13:22,420 So that made me feel great. 286 00:13:22,420 --> 00:13:26,880 So I ended up flying around in circles for 30, 40 minutes or it could have been 10 minutes 287 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:27,880 for all I know. 288 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:29,960 I mean, it just felt like forever. 289 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:33,360 And then I decided, hey, I want you guys to go get fire trucks. 290 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:39,400 So I told them grab fire trucks and I want fire personnel available for me. 291 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:42,200 And I handled it just in a professional calm manner. 292 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:43,400 But inside I was nervous. 293 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:44,400 I was a little scared. 294 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:49,400 I mean, I was about to land an airplane with no nose gear with a rotating propeller in 295 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,720 front of me, which is not exciting. 296 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,760 So I came up with this plan when I was up there and then I told the tower, hey, I'm 297 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:56,760 ready to land. 298 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:00,480 And my plan was I was going to come in as slow as I could. 299 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:05,840 As soon as my mains touched, I was going to cut the mixture to the front engine while 300 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:10,600 trying to teeter totter the nose of the airplane because it wasn't my airplane. 301 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:12,920 I want to try to save the engine if at all possible. 302 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,920 I know that was probably a crazy thing to even think to do. 303 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:17,580 But I knew I was in control of the airplane. 304 00:14:17,580 --> 00:14:18,660 So I wasn't too nervous. 305 00:14:18,660 --> 00:14:24,320 So I landed on the mains with the nose really high, the tail really low, and I cut the engine. 306 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:28,240 And then I just let the airplane slow down naturally. 307 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:32,000 And then I just I buckled my seatbelt as tight as I could. 308 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:36,360 I turned off the mags as soon as I was ready to let the nose fall down. 309 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:38,960 I cut the mixture and turned off all the fuel. 310 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:42,720 Like I practiced it in the air like four times before I did it. 311 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:45,200 So I knew exactly where my hands had to go. 312 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:46,200 And I cut all the power. 313 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:47,520 I cut everything off. 314 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:48,520 I cut all the mixtures. 315 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:53,840 I cut all the fuel and I let that nose come down and I feel it roll. 316 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:55,800 And I took off my seatbelt. 317 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:57,240 I ran and jumped out of the airplane. 318 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:01,440 By the way, everybody should really see my my hand movements right now because I'm like 319 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:02,440 reenacting it. 320 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:05,600 So you know what the color commentary we need is? 321 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,080 We need the color commentary of your mom's face right now. 322 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:11,600 She's rolling her eyes every time you said it's OK. 323 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:12,600 She looks shocked. 324 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:14,800 She looks like she's about to hit you. 325 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:16,040 She's shaking her head. 326 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:20,000 I'm more scared of Brandon than I am to be in a situation. 327 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:23,160 I mean, this is terrifying situation for him. 328 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:27,880 So I put the airplane down and then my friend who is like the operations manager, his name's 329 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:29,340 Roger. 330 00:15:29,340 --> 00:15:31,940 He comes over because I have a relationship with Roger for years. 331 00:15:31,940 --> 00:15:37,840 He comes over to me with his fire truck and he looks at it and I get away from the airplane 332 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:39,640 and it looks like we're good. 333 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:44,640 And needless to say, there was an issue with the with the wiring or something. 334 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:48,840 I don't remember what the issue was, but the lights did not turn on. 335 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:51,560 Once I put it on the ground, the gear was fully extended. 336 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:57,760 I found out that it doesn't look fully extended in the mirror and it doesn't look fully extended 337 00:15:57,760 --> 00:15:59,200 from the tower. 338 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,740 So it's just because the nose gear on that airplane is so short. 339 00:16:02,740 --> 00:16:06,160 And at this time, I probably have 30 hours in it, but I've just never really noticed 340 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,680 how short the nose landing gear looks from the inside of the airplane when it's fully 341 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:10,980 extended. 342 00:16:10,980 --> 00:16:14,680 Mixed with that gear horn and mixed with the lights not working and mixed with me doing 343 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:18,760 emergency gear procedures, it ended up being a stressful situation. 344 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,200 But end of the day, it ended up working out just fine. 345 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:22,540 I did all my training. 346 00:16:22,540 --> 00:16:27,200 I did all the things that I was supposed to do that you're confident in my abilities with. 347 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:29,720 And now we get to tell this story on a podcast. 348 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:30,720 And I didn't have to do any paperwork. 349 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:33,280 I ended up taxiing the airplane off the runway. 350 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:35,360 Ended up being a fantastic day. 351 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:37,040 And I went about my day after that. 352 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:41,560 I didn't even talk about it, obviously, because Carson's never heard about it. 353 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:42,560 And neither is my mom. 354 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:43,560 So there we go. 355 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,160 It was just another day in the office for me. 356 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:48,880 So how do you feel about that story? 357 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,320 Yeah, that that's nerve wracking for sure. 358 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:57,560 I couldn't even imagine how you must have felt at the time having to go ahead and figure 359 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,480 out a plan, having a game plan. 360 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:01,480 That makes me nervous. 361 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:05,560 But I'm so glad that that it turned out perfect. 362 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:06,560 It turned out better than perfect. 363 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:08,140 The airplane was able to fly again. 364 00:17:08,140 --> 00:17:09,480 That was even better. 365 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:10,560 And it flew again recently. 366 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:11,560 I've seen it flying. 367 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,240 She's going to change her checklist to call your mom. 368 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:17,560 She's going to put down the emergency checklist, by the way. 369 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:18,560 Yeah, on the top of it. 370 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:19,560 For all future incidents. 371 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:30,440 I am every time he flies now, it's it's due the checklist and mommy's on it. 372 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:31,440 By the way, it doesn't matter. 373 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:33,400 It doesn't matter how old you get. 374 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:34,680 It's still still there. 375 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:35,680 It doesn't matter. 376 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,800 Yeah, it's a mother's love and a mother's concern brain. 377 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:39,800 And that's not going away. 378 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:40,800 So I don't think so. 379 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,040 I don't think if I'm 60, it's going to matter. 380 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:46,520 It's not straight from her mouth. 381 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:47,520 There you go. 382 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:48,520 Yeah. 383 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:49,520 Cool. 384 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:52,360 Well, Debbie, thank you so much for being on with us. 385 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:53,780 It's always great to see you. 386 00:17:53,780 --> 00:17:55,760 And it's awesome to have you on the podcast. 387 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:56,760 It's definitely about time. 388 00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:57,760 Yes. 389 00:17:57,760 --> 00:17:58,760 Thank you. 390 00:17:58,760 --> 00:17:59,760 It was super exciting. 391 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:04,440 I was quite nervous, really, when he asked me if I wanted to do this. 392 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:09,160 I was like, I don't know, is this live or can you edit it? 393 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:10,480 But it all worked out great. 394 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:11,480 Loved it. 395 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:13,000 Thank you so much for having me. 396 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:17,720 What's funny is the only person who's messed up on this podcast today was me. 397 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:20,160 And I'm the one who we're going to have to edit out and not her. 398 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:22,360 She messed up at all, which was fantastic. 399 00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:26,200 So by the way, none of you will know that I messed up, of course, because Phil will edit 400 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:27,960 it all out and it'll sound so perfect. 401 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:28,960 But but still. 402 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:33,140 Yeah, we actually we actually make quite a few mistakes. 403 00:18:33,140 --> 00:18:35,080 So it usually happens every once in a while. 404 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:39,800 But you know, Debbie, it's pretty cool that even though you're not a pilot, I'd like to 405 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:43,280 say yet, but I know I know how you feel about it. 406 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:44,280 It's OK. 407 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:45,280 It's not for everybody. 408 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:48,000 And after I've seen Brandon fly, it probably wouldn't be for me either. 409 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:53,480 But it's always great to have another perspective and get the perspective of a parent and the 410 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:58,560 parents concern and trust and the whole journey that you've you've had along with his journey. 411 00:18:58,560 --> 00:18:59,680 It's really awesome to see. 412 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:01,680 So thanks for being on with us. 413 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:03,520 Thank you so much. 414 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:05,240 And thank you, everybody, for listening today. 415 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:11,160 I hope you enjoyed it from my mom's perspective and on seeing everything from her eyes. 416 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:15,080 And just a reminder to everybody out there, there's you should send this episode out to 417 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:18,120 your mom if she's nervous about you learning to fly. 418 00:19:18,120 --> 00:19:24,200 I guarantee that it'll ease some of her nerves for sure, because it's just one of those things 419 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:26,640 that every mother is going to have to go through or father. 420 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:33,040 I mean, I know whenever Austin solos one day, I'm going to be very nervous as well. 421 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:35,580 It's just one of those things that you have to get over as a parent. 422 00:19:35,580 --> 00:19:40,520 So make sure that that you send send this over to your mom, have them listen to it. 423 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:42,080 And that way you can really enjoy it. 424 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:45,160 So thanks again for being on the podcast. 425 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,840 And if anybody listening today would like to reach out to either one of us, you can 426 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:53,840 also reach us at Brandon Aviation Mentors dot com or Carson at Aviation Mentors dot 427 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:54,920 com. 428 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:58,840 And don't forget to come visit us in the Stratus booth coming up in just a few days by the 429 00:19:58,840 --> 00:19:59,840 time you guys hear this. 430 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:01,640 So it's going to be super awesome. 431 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:02,640 We're excited to be there. 432 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,880 We're in the indoor hangars booth 1053 and 1054. 433 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:08,500 So we'll see you guys then. 434 00:20:08,500 --> 00:20:12,400 And as a wrap up for the day, remember, we're here to guide you in your aviation journey. 435 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:14,580 So fly safe and enjoy the ride. 436 00:20:14,580 --> 00:20:15,580 See ya. 437 00:20:15,580 --> 00:20:39,720 Bye.