Mark Pollard Mark Pollard

Episode 10: Maciej Rogozinski

We finally captured the unicorn! We sat down with the awesome Maciej Rogozinski, a fellow mid-wing Northern Lights Extra 300 owner, who basically bought a bunch of parts in boxes, put the plane back together the way he wanted, and the result is amazing. We talk about a bunch of random crap which was fun as always. The audio on this one was real tricky so I apologize in advance for some levels being off, as Petro and Maciej were using the same mic. We talk about GenAviation, and MX Aircraft being boutique aircraft builders, verses manufacturers like Extra and Gamebird, we jump on the IAC topic a bit, and we also talk about getting together a virtual competition, to which we are getting more serious about so stay tuned!

Oh also, the intro and outro lol… Those are not staying, but I had to include them in this episode just because its so freaking bad lol.

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Mark Pollard Mark Pollard

Episode 09: Cross Country Flying and Other Crap

Jeff and I are back for another episode of randomness! My plane is finally back!!! I flew almost 1,900 miles in two days of pure insanity, and boy are my arms tired(derrrrrrrp)! It was great to get the Extra back and get familiar with her again. Jeff and I talk about the journey, good food, and a host of other stuff.

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Mark Pollard Mark Pollard

Episode 08: Oh Snap!

Hey all! Sorry this episode is a couple of days late, but better late than never. This episode, Petro is back to shoot the shit on a number of things. The wildly debated issue this past week was the 2021 proposed intermediate known with no snap of any kind. What are your thoughts? We also talk a little bit about CIVA moving to combine the men and woman divisions for world competition. My plane is basically done and awaiting me to ferry it home from Florida, and getting the airplane rigged and flying like a pretty little Extra 300 should, was the final work of the great people at Southeast Aero. P-strips, and spades have been a hot topic lately and I had my spades tuned, as well as them adding a bit of P-strip so we shall see how I like it. Petro went opposite, and kicked his P-strip habit! It is always interesting to talk about aircraft and how pilots make their airplanes, fly the way they want. Anyhoo, hopefully you enjoy the ADHD ramblings of two pilots who love this shit lol.

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Mark Pollard Mark Pollard

Episode 07: How I Ended Up Here

Happy Friday! This episode I address a question I received non how I got bit by the aerobatic bug, and my flying career. Sometimes aerobatic flying and a budding professionally flying career, don’t always mesh. It has been an absolute blast of a career so far, and I am so glad that aerobatics is a part of that career. Enjoy!

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Mark Pollard Mark Pollard

Episode 06: The Mighty Extra 200 and Other Stuff

Petro comes back on to talk about an airplane near and dear to our hearts, the Extra 200. Jeff has been fortunate to own two different Extra 200s and I have had the pleasure of regularly flying two different Extra 200s. We talk about all kinds of fun random stuff related to the Extra 200, as well as a host of other stuff. We compare it to the Extra 300, a well as other 200HP aircraft to see where it really stacks.

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Mark Pollard Mark Pollard

Episode 05: So you wanna fly acro…

Happy Friday! Sorry about getting this podcast out a bit late today, but keeping with the tradition of releasing on Fridays, here it is! In this episode I fly solo and talk a bit about the turnout of one of the premier IAC contests in California, Akrofest in Borrego. Sounds like it was a fantastic turnout! I also talk about the status of my Extra, a bit about what happened, and the repairs needed. Should be picking her up in a week or two now! The main guts of the podcast I talked about intro aerobatics. More specifically, I talk about what a new aerobatic student should expect to accomplish, to become proficient in foundational level aerobatics. Also, I talk about how important and integral I think UPRT (upset prevention and recovery training) and spin recovery training his to basic aerobatics. Whether you are planning to pursue advanced aerobatics, or you just plan to fly recreational aerobatics in your own airplane, basic aerobatics have a symbiotic relationship with upset recovery and spin training. I get emails asking my this a lot so hopefully this helps those who are looking to make the move from dream to reality, and learn aerobatics.

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Mark Pollard Mark Pollard

Episode 04: Rob Holland

What an honor it was to sit down and shoot the shit with 5 time WAC Freestyle, 9 time National, and 10 time National Freestyle champion, and one of my idols, Rob Holland. I was actually nervous to interview him, as he is so talented and accomplished, but he couldn’t have been more nice. We talk about his accomplishments, biplanes, the mighty MXS-RH, flying airshows, coaching, competing, the IAC and so much more! What an absolutely tremendous human being. Clearly he is a world class competition pilot, world class airshow pilot, has several amazing lifetime achievement awards including the Eric Müller award he was presented last year. He is also a very nice guy. He is an excellent ambassador to the sport, a mentor to several other world class pilots, and very approachable. He genuinely loves aerobatics, loves flying, and loves trying to be his best self. Obviously with 2020 being a huge hit, the airshow season has been almost completely decimated. Head on over to Robs website down below, buy a patch and a t-shirt. Be sure to catch him on the 2021 airshow circuit (fingers crossed). His last scheduled show is Stuart FL Nov 7-8 and its still scheduled as of now so if you are in the area, be sure to head out and watch the show! If you want to support Rob, and his Unlimited Team on the IAC side of things, check the link down below to donate.

To support Rob Holland:

https://www.ultimateairshows.com

To support the IAC teams:

https://www.iac.org/unlimited-team-2019

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Mark Pollard Mark Pollard

Episode 03: Short Solo Rambling

In this shorter episode, I fly it solo today. Today marks the 1 year anniversary of losing our B-17, 2 crew members, and 5 passengers. I reflect what a joy it is to be a part of that group. We also lost a B-25 this week but the crew survived. I also talk a little about Akrofest coming up on October 8th. Thanks for listening!

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Aviation Mark Pollard Aviation Mark Pollard

Episode 02: Jeff Petrocelli

This week we have the amazingly wonderful and talented Jeff Petrocelli. Jeff is on the US Advanced Aerobatic Team, and is you 2019 Advanced Power National Champion. We get into all kinds of stuff regarding aerobatics, the IAC, airshows, our aerobatic idols and legends, and so much more! Jeff owns a gorgeous Extra 330SC and we get into the top aerobatic airplanes used in competition today, as well as so much other random stuff!

Jeff Petrocelli:

https://www.iac.org/media-gallery/detail/4147932/17441

Shop with this link for your next Amazon purchase and support the IAC!

https://www.iac.org/news/2019-12-09-shopping-with-amazon-a-percentage-of-your-purchase-will-be-donated-to-iac

Become a member!

https://www.iac.org/roll-with-us-join-or-renew

Your U.S. Advanced Team (with donation links to support the team

https://www.iac.org/advanced-aerobatic-team-2020

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Aviation Mark Pollard Aviation Mark Pollard

Episode 01: The Beginning

A podcast is born! What kind of podcast remains to be seen, but the essence of this podcast is to simply talk about flying cool shit, and talk to people about flying cool shit.

In this episode I talk bit about what’s going on during COVID, a little about the status of my airplane and some fun stuff I have flown lately. I also give a brief background on myself, and why I started the podcast. Please email me with suggestions on what you would be interested in hearing, flycoolshit@gmail.com.

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