Episode 262 Conversations from PAPA: Real Stories from the Conference Floor

Ready 4 Pushback

Nik Fialka

Business, Careers, Leisure, Aviation

4.8 • 716 Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Welcome back! In this special episode, guest host and fellow Spitfire Elite coach, Jason Batchelor, "JB", records live interviews from the Professional Asian Pilot's Association Convention floor in Las Vegas, NV. You'll hear honest, unscripted conversations with aspiring aviators—some just days into their airline journey, others preparing for a major transition after decades of military service. From rapid interview timelines to navigating a cold, stoic interview environment, Kelly shares her perspective on staying poised when things don’t go as expected. Matt, a retiring F-15E pilot and Air Force Colonel, reflects on transition out of the military and into the civilian career field—and how preparing for interviews doesn't always follow a structured military path. Finally, Kono, a first-time conference attendee, gets a shot at a mock meet-and-greet, gaining real-time feedback and direction for how to refine his message and lean into his authenticity.

What You'll Learn:

How quickly the hiring timeline can unfold—and why being prepared is key

What to expect (and how to adapt) when an interview doesn’t match your expectations

Why early preparation matters when transitioning from military to civilian aviation

The value of mock interviews, roleplay, and honest coaching

How to highlight cultural fit and personal story during meet-and-greets

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. I'm Nick Fialca, and today I'm passing the microphone.
0:09.6	What am I talking about? Well, you're about to hear. I went down to the Professional Asian Pilots Association and set up my podcast equipment and recorded some interview coaching, live one-on-one interview coaching with my
0:25.7	buddy Jason Batchelor and a listener to the show who is getting some tips and some tricks and
0:33.6	some information from J.B. This is a lot of fun. You're going to hear what it's like with live
0:40.2	coaching with Spitfire. So things you're going to notice. There's background noise. People are on the
0:45.3	floor, a lot of talking, things like that. You've heard other episodes in the past from last year
0:50.0	when I've done some recordings like that. And there's be some more coming out as well that are other interview episodes on the floor.
0:58.0	But also, there's no video.
1:01.2	We are, it's tricky to try to bring my camera and set it all up and do all that stuff.
1:07.4	So it's just audio.
1:08.7	But it is on YouTube.
1:10.2	So if you want to watch on YouTube,
1:11.4	please feel free. It's, it's very interesting. J.B. is, J.B. is just straight shooter,
1:17.8	real, real concise, fantastic, fantastic feedback. So if you ever wanted to know what we do at
1:25.3	Spitfire, what it's like to get coached, what it's like to get
1:28.3	that live one-on-one feedback with somebody that's not going to cut you any slack and going to make
1:33.9	you try to attain greatness. Like, this is it. J.B. is one of the best, and I really think you're
1:40.0	going to love it. So sit back, relax. Let's get ready for pushback. It all started as a spark.
1:49.1	Maybe it was the sound of jets racing across the sky. Or the feeling of your heart racing as you
1:55.6	watch Crop Duster flying low and slow. Even then, you knew you were meant to fly. For pilots, it's more than
2:05.0	just a job. It's a calling. The early mornings, the long hours, the relentless training,
2:11.6	you didn't do it for the money. You did it for that moment. That moment when the wheels lift off and the earth falls away
	...

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