u/PodPilotProject

This week Captain Troy Clarke is with us on the podcast talking about an in-flight decompression during fighter lead-in training on the Hawk that resulted in a serious ear injury and ultimately forced him to transition away from fast jets.

Really interesting discussion on aviation physiology, cockpit emergencies, and adapting after a major career setback.

Captain Troy Clarke grew up in a small town with no clear path into aviation, ran out of money after 9/11, and almost quit after a bad landing early on.

Eventually he made it through military flight training and earned his wings only to have a decompression incident shortly after that forced him out of jets entirely.

Troy ended up transitioning to helicopters and flying SAR on the CH-149 Cormorant. Hear his story today!

🎧 http://podpilotproject.transistor.fm/ or wherever you get your podcasts!

Interesting description here of what approaches can look like during wildfire ops.

Smoke thick enough to basically turn day into night, slowing everything down and relying on one pilot on instruments while the other tries to visually pick up the runway.

Not something you really think about until you hear it described.

🎧 http://podpilotproject.transistor.fm/ or wherever you get your podcasts

This one shifts into the instructor side of things at 3 CFFTS and how that translates into real-world operations.

Includes some good insight into flying during wildfire ops where smoke can get thick enough to lose most visual reference - slowing approaches right down and relying heavily on instruments and crew coordination.

Interesting perspective compared to the deployment-heavy parts of the earlier episodes.

🎧 http://podpilotproject.transistor.fm/ or wherever you get your podcasts

RCAF Commander LGen Jamie Speiser-Blanchet explains why we’re in a new phase of global military competition.

Full episode: http://podpilotproject.transistor.fm/ or wherever you get your podcasts

EDIT: Can’t change titles. SPEISER-Blanchet, dang autocorrect.

A massive thank you to this awesome community for all the support over the years. Here’s to another 100 episodes!

Episode 100 of The Pilot Project Podcast features a conversation with RCAF Commander LGen Jamie Speiser-Blanchet.

We cover her path from Griffon pilot to leading the Air Force, along with RCAF modernization, the shift toward a “5th generation” system-of-systems force, and the realities of global competition with China and Russia.

Also touches on recruiting, training, force growth, and her experience witnessing Col Jeremy Hansen’s Artemis II launch.

Hope you all enjoy!

🎧 http://podpilotproject.transistor.fm/ or wherever you get your podcasts

Part 2 of this one focuses on Sea King deployments and what life at sea actually looked like over a few years of sailing.

Covers operating off warships across different regions, the day-to-day rhythm onboard, and some of the more memorable moments that come with it.

Includes a story about intercepting a suspect vessel that pretty quickly confirmed what it was.

🎧 http://podpilotproject.transistor.fm/ or wherever you get your podcasts