Aviation: Don't Go It Alone. Use the Pilot Pyramid.
Ready 4 Pushback
Nik Fialka
4.8 • 716 Ratings
🗓️ 21 August 2025
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Episode 273 - In this solo episode, Nik shares how a casual conversation with his wife, Anna, sparked a powerful idea now known as the Pilot Pyramid—a simple yet impactful framework to guide your growth, connection, and leadership throughout your aviation journey. He unpacks the three essential roles every pilot should develop in their network and explains how being intentional with each one can build stronger relationships, accelerate your learning, and replace ego with empathy.
Whether you're still in training or already flying the line, the Pilot Pyramid is a reminder that in aviation, you can't—and shouldn’t—go it alone.
What You'll Learn:
How to identify and connect with the right mentors (your “A”)
Why strong peer support (your “B’s”) fuels your motivation and momentum
The importance of reaching back and mentoring others (your “C’s”)
How this structure builds community, accountability, and career resilience
Why ego holds you back—and empathy takes you further
CONNECT WITH US
Are you ready to take your preparation to the next level? Don’t wait until it’s too late. Use the promo code “R4P2025” and save 10% on all our services. Check us out at www.spitfireelite.com!
If you want to recommend someone to guest on the show, email Nik at [email protected], and if you need a professional pilot resume, go to www.spitfireelite.com/podcast/ for FREE templates!
SPONSOR
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, pilot, welcome back to Ready for Pushback. It's Nick Fialca. It's a solo show. Today we're |
| 0:08.1 | talking about the pilot pyramid. It all started as a spark. Maybe it was the sound of jets |
| 0:15.8 | racing across the sky. Or the feeling of your heart racing as you watch Crop Duster flying low and slid. Even then, |
| 0:25.4 | you knew you were meant to fly. For pilots, it's more than just a job. It's a calling. The early |
| 0:33.8 | mornings, the long hours, the relentless training, you didn't do it for the money. |
| 0:39.1 | You did it for that moment. That moment when the wheels lift off and the earth falls away beneath |
| 0:44.5 | you. But flying is just the beginning. The journey to your dream job takes more than just skill |
| 0:50.4 | in the sky. It takes strategy on the ground and a lifetime of learning. Most pilots don't |
| 0:57.1 | understand what career opportunities are available in the world of aviation. Learn how to go from good to |
| 1:03.8 | great, from flight school to regional to major, and from hopeful to hired. Whether you're sharpening your skills building your resume or preparing |
| 1:13.7 | for that big interview this is where pilots come to level up let's get ready for pushback |
| 1:19.9 | here's your host and my dad nick fialca all right so i've got to be honest it not really the pilot pyramid, but this came from my beautiful wife, Anna, and we were sitting in the library having a conversation. |
| 1:36.4 | And she was talking about her friend pyramid. |
| 1:39.2 | And I'm like, what in the heck is a friend pyramid? |
| 1:41.8 | And she explained it to me. |
| 1:43.1 | And I thought, wow, this is really, |
| 1:46.2 | really, really useful for a pilot. And so we're talking about Anna's friend pyramid, which is now the |
| 1:54.4 | pilot pyramid. And I might even trademark it because it's such a good idea. And so I want you to think about who you are |
| 2:04.5 | as a pilot. Everybody starts as a B. You're in the middle of your journey. That's you. You're learning |
| 2:12.6 | and you're growing and you're building and you're doing the things that you're doing. However, as a pilot, |
| 2:18.6 | you can't do that alone. You have to be able to reach up and that's where you find your A. |
| 2:25.2 | Everybody needs at least one A. And if you don't have an A, you got to find an A. Because an A is |
... |
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