Ep. 328 Fuel Limits, Duty Limits, and Personal Limits: Let's Go to Boston Pt. 2
Ready 4 Pushback
Nik Fialka
5.0 • 797 Ratings
🗓️ 5 March 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this second installment of the "Let's Go to Boston" solo series, Nik recounts how a simple Boston–Atlanta–Orlando day turns into a CRM decathlon as he and his First Officer battle a snowstorm, runway changes, reroutes, and critical fuel calculations.
Nik pulls back the curtain on how captains think about fuel margins, FAR 117 duty limits, and why "slow is pro" when the workload spikes. Whether you're a current or aspiring airline pilot, this episode will sharpen how you think about risk and communication, and enhance your ability to make boring, safe decisions on chaotic days.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, pilot, welcome to Ready for Pushback. |
| 0:05.0 | Thursday, you know it's a solo show. |
| 0:08.0 | Why? Because I say it every Thursday. |
| 0:10.0 | So, let's go home from Boston. |
| 0:14.0 | It all started as a spark. |
| 0:17.0 | Maybe it was the sound of jets racing across the sky. Or the feeling of your heart |
| 0:23.7 | racing as you watch Crop Duster flying low and slow. Even then, you knew you were meant to fly. |
| 0:32.3 | For pilots, it's more than just a job. It's a calling. The early mornings, the long hours, the relentless training, you didn't do it for the money. |
| 0:42.3 | You did it for that moment. That moment when the wheels lift off and the earth falls away beneath you. |
| 0:49.3 | But flying is just the beginning. The journey to your dream job takes more than just skill in the sky. |
| 0:55.0 | It takes strategy on the ground and a lifetime of learning. |
| 0:59.0 | Most pilots don't understand what career opportunities are available in the world of aviation. |
| 1:05.0 | Learn how to go from good to great, from flight school to regional to major, and from hopeful to hired. |
| 1:13.5 | Whether you're sharpening your skills, building your resume, or preparing for that big interview, |
| 1:19.0 | this is where pilots come to level up. Let's get ready for pushback. Here's your host and my dad, |
| 1:26.1 | Nick Fialca. |
| 1:39.5 | Well, last week we talked about my trip to Boston and the billions and billions and billions of threats that we somehow avoided to make it to the gate without a flight violation. |
| 1:42.4 | And I was super happy about it. |
| 2:04.3 | That was a super good time, you know. It's a rare occurrence, though, to only have one leg on a day for me. Like, I usually have two or three legs or something like that. So we're pretty fortunate. That day we landed. We just went to the hotel. And we got there. We decided to chill for the evening. And I thought that would be really the end of the insanity. And I was looking forward for a |
| 2:10.1 | regular two-leg day. And you go from Boston to Atlanta, and then Atlanta to Orlando. And Orlando, |
| 2:16.7 | of course, is the official or unofficial home of the 757 away from home. |
| 2:24.0 | And it's the place I am most often in my life is over at the hotel in Orlando. |
... |
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