EP158 - Dire Pragmatism with Absolute Lunacy

Midlife Pilot Podcast

1DullGeek casually announces he's signed a contract for a Czech-built TL Sparker and will spend a month in Prague building it – because apparently "24 cubic feet of cargo space" (more than his compact SUV!) justifies international aircraft construction. The only minor detail? He has absolutely nowhere to hangar this composite beauty that "costs more than his house." Cue the deep dive into "Hangar Hell" – where waiting lists stretch to 2038, car detailing businesses occupy hangars, and Mark realizes he's been "a wholesale menace in every capacity to an airport." Meanwhile, Brian's gone full on into written tests, knocking out instrument ground instructor and fundamentals of instruction in two weeks because "the sponginess of my brain is kind of working at the moment." Plus: heated seats, cup holders, and the eternal question of whether N633K (a.k.a. "N-GEEK") will ever see the inside of an actual hangar.


  • Upcoming Event:

    • The Thaden Invasion Fly-In - March 13-15, 2026, Bentonville, Arkansas (VBT)
    • RSVP at midlifepilotpodcast.com - "If half the RSVPs show up, we're gonna have a real good time. If more than half show up, it'll be a disaster."

    Support the Show:

    Mentioned on the show:

    * Mark's new plane, TL Sparker: https://tlsportaircraft.com/sparker/

    * Risen Aircraft: https://www.flyrisen.com/

    * Roy "Deacon" Qualls, Pilot's Edge: Think, Train, and Fly Like a Pro: https://amazon.com/dp/B0FY26ZJJM

    * CGI, Cape Girardeau Regional Airport: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Girardeau_Regional_Airport

    * Garmin GNC355: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/689774/

    2025-12-09 59 min

    Available Results

    Generated results are saved to the knowledge database for reuse and search.

    No generated results are available for this episode yet.

    Extract Knowledge

    Pick what you want extracted first. Model, scope, and chapter options appear after a template is selected.

    Generated results for public episodes are saved to the knowledge database so they can be reused and searched later.

    Transcript

    No transcript is available for this episode yet.
    Sign in to generate a transcript for review.
    Sign in

    Chapters

    No chapters available.