flyingcheesehead
Taxi to Parking
Hi everyone,
As promised, here is the review of the four aviation podcasts I've found: 7600 On Air, The Pilotcast, General Aviation Weekly, and Fly With Me. All are available through the iTunes Music Store for free.
The Pilotcast
Number of episodes available: 2
Average length: One minute
Frequency: Unknown
This one is hardly even off the ground. Two intro episodes of about a minute each. Not even worth looking at... Yet.
7600 On Air
Number of episodes: 7
Average length: 26 minutes
Frequency: Every week or two, irregular.
7600 On Air is a series of interviews by a 25-year old pilot. The concept is good - He interviews a different person each episode and concentrates on safety and learning new things. Unfortunately, that's about all I can say about it that's good. Some of his interviewees seem to have problems understanding his questions so they answer a different question but he never goes back to get them to answer the one he actually asked in the first place. He also doesn't have very good skill at interviewing. There are a lot of awkward pauses, "um"s, and the like. Finally, sound quality is awful. It sounds like he's recording onto a really bad mini-tape recorder in his bathroom. Whatever he's using to record the phone conversations actually sounds better except for the 3rd episode, where it sounds like a really bad cell phone connection or something, almost not even understandable. There are also bad cuts. He needs better recording equipment and he needs to spend more time editing and preparing for interviews as well. If they weren't talking about flying I would have turned it off.
General Aviation Weekly
Number of episodes: 1 (released Monday 8-1)
Average length: 30 minutes
Frequency: Presumably, weekly.
GA Weekly seems to be another interview-based program, but it's hard to tell for sure with only one episode out so far. While it's done much better than 7600 On Air, it had many of the same problems but not quite as bad. Sound quality and editing were merely "OK" (and the interview was not done over the phone). The one episode was an interview with a UND aviation student and they mostly talked about the UND program. Interesting, but I didn't really learn a whole lot. Hopefully these guys will also move towards a focus on safety and/or learning about different parts of the aviation world.
Fly With Me
Number of episodes: 7
Average length: 20-25 minutes
Frequency: Approximately every 2-3 weeks or so.
Now this is what an aviation podcast should be! It's done by a "pilot for a major US Airline" and is filled with flying stories from pilots and flight attendants, cockpit conversation, and commentary. Each episode seems to have a different concentration, so it's not just random stories - They are well-designed segments. Sound quality is excellent. Editing is also excellent, with smooth cuts and short interludes. There's usually some music, and the ending of each episode is quite fitting. The episode (#5) about retirement is particularly good. I dare you not to have a lump in your throat, a tear in your eye, as well as a big grin, some laughs, and maybe a "woohoo!" after that one.
Don't listen to it first, though! All of the episodes are excellent, that one is exceptional. Five stars, or however many I can give out. This podcast is everything that the others aren't.
Every one of you should go download iTunes if you don't already have it, get on the store, and subscribe to Fly With Me. If you have an iPod, you can put it on there and listen to it on the way to work in your car or something. Beats the heck out of the morning news. Too bad they don't release it more often.
As promised, here is the review of the four aviation podcasts I've found: 7600 On Air, The Pilotcast, General Aviation Weekly, and Fly With Me. All are available through the iTunes Music Store for free.
The Pilotcast
Number of episodes available: 2
Average length: One minute
Frequency: Unknown
This one is hardly even off the ground. Two intro episodes of about a minute each. Not even worth looking at... Yet.
7600 On Air
Number of episodes: 7
Average length: 26 minutes
Frequency: Every week or two, irregular.
7600 On Air is a series of interviews by a 25-year old pilot. The concept is good - He interviews a different person each episode and concentrates on safety and learning new things. Unfortunately, that's about all I can say about it that's good. Some of his interviewees seem to have problems understanding his questions so they answer a different question but he never goes back to get them to answer the one he actually asked in the first place. He also doesn't have very good skill at interviewing. There are a lot of awkward pauses, "um"s, and the like. Finally, sound quality is awful. It sounds like he's recording onto a really bad mini-tape recorder in his bathroom. Whatever he's using to record the phone conversations actually sounds better except for the 3rd episode, where it sounds like a really bad cell phone connection or something, almost not even understandable. There are also bad cuts. He needs better recording equipment and he needs to spend more time editing and preparing for interviews as well. If they weren't talking about flying I would have turned it off.
General Aviation Weekly
Number of episodes: 1 (released Monday 8-1)
Average length: 30 minutes
Frequency: Presumably, weekly.
GA Weekly seems to be another interview-based program, but it's hard to tell for sure with only one episode out so far. While it's done much better than 7600 On Air, it had many of the same problems but not quite as bad. Sound quality and editing were merely "OK" (and the interview was not done over the phone). The one episode was an interview with a UND aviation student and they mostly talked about the UND program. Interesting, but I didn't really learn a whole lot. Hopefully these guys will also move towards a focus on safety and/or learning about different parts of the aviation world.
Fly With Me
Number of episodes: 7
Average length: 20-25 minutes
Frequency: Approximately every 2-3 weeks or so.
Now this is what an aviation podcast should be! It's done by a "pilot for a major US Airline" and is filled with flying stories from pilots and flight attendants, cockpit conversation, and commentary. Each episode seems to have a different concentration, so it's not just random stories - They are well-designed segments. Sound quality is excellent. Editing is also excellent, with smooth cuts and short interludes. There's usually some music, and the ending of each episode is quite fitting. The episode (#5) about retirement is particularly good. I dare you not to have a lump in your throat, a tear in your eye, as well as a big grin, some laughs, and maybe a "woohoo!" after that one.
Don't listen to it first, though! All of the episodes are excellent, that one is exceptional. Five stars, or however many I can give out. This podcast is everything that the others aren't.Every one of you should go download iTunes if you don't already have it, get on the store, and subscribe to Fly With Me. If you have an iPod, you can put it on there and listen to it on the way to work in your car or something. Beats the heck out of the morning news. Too bad they don't release it more often.
and subscribed to Fly With Me, go back and subscribe to The Pilotcast as well.
OK, just kidding. 
