E344: Fighter Pilot to 777 - Emergencies, 9/11 Scrambles and Flying Drew Brees

Pilot to Pilot

Justin Siems

Leisure, Hobbies, Business, Aviation, Careers

4.9 • 938 Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2025

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Former Air Force F-15 pilot Roy “Deacon” Qualls shares incredible stories from a 38-year aviation career that includes scrambling to intercept Air Force One on 9/11, crash-landing a burning OV-10 at McCarran Airport, and taking NFL legend Drew Brees for the ride of his life.

In this episode, Deacon reveals:

• How watching Top Gun literally changed his life in four days—from graduate student to Air Force recruit

• Landing a flaming OV-10 off-runway in Las Vegas after being given the wrong winds

• The Vice President’s authorization to shoot down aircraft on 9/11 and what it was like scrambling to intercept Air Force One

• Transitioning from F-15s to Boeing 777s—his first landing of anything bigger than a fighter was a triple seven at Charles de Gaulle with 290 passengers

• Why Drew Brees asked to pull MORE Gs and what made him such an incredible person to fly with

Deacon just released his book “Pilot’s Edge: Think, Train, and Fly Like a Pro” with 25% of profits funding aviation scholarships for the next generation.

Happy Flying,

Justin

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Episode 344, the pilot the pilot podcast takes off now.
0:09.7	The Pilot to Pilot podcast is brought to you by Ground School from the Finer Points, the
0:14.0	indispensable training app for new and experienced pilots.
0:17.4	Visit Learn theFinerpoints.com, backslash Justin, to save 10% off your first year.
0:22.2	Hey, it's Justin. If you've been flying long enough to hit senior captain pay, you probably
0:25.9	are also run into senior captain problems. Bigger tax bills, complex benefit decisions, stock
0:30.9	options, you're not sure how to handle. And here's a thing. Most advisors won't tell you.
0:35.2	Your financial life as a pilot is more complex than most people realize.
0:39.0	That's why Allworth Airline Advisors put together the pilot's wealth planning blueprint.
0:43.7	It's a step-by-step guide built exclusively for high-earning pilots. It shows you how to minimize your taxes,
0:48.7	optimize airline benefits, and plan for your final descent with real confidence.
0:53.1	The best part, it's totally free.
0:55.1	Plus, you get access to smart planning tools
0:56.8	and a no-cost call with airline specialized advisor
1:00.0	who actually understands your financial planning challenges.
1:03.6	Download it now at allworth airline.com slash pilot to pilot.
1:07.1	Don't let mandatory retirement sneak up on you.
1:09.4	Get smart about wealth planning today. And you can go to Allworth Airline Financial backslash pilot. Don't let mandatory retirement sneak up on you. Get smart about wealth planning today.
1:11.6	And you can go to Allworth Airline Financial, backslash, pilot to pilot.
1:15.9	Fly with Garmin avionics, then grab your mobile device and make the Garmin pilot app your cockpit
1:20.9	companion. Get advanced functions you'll use before, during, and after every flight,
1:26.3	including updating your aircraft's databases and logging engine data, plan, file, during, and after every flight, including updating your aircraft's databases and logging
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 12 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Justin Siems, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Justin Siems and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.