Aviation Masters Podcast

Aviation Masters, Episode 5 | Bruce Landsberg, Former NTSB Vice Chairman When the NTSB’s former Vice Chairman sits down with one of general aviation’s most respected A&P/IAs, the conversation doesn’t stay polite for long. Mike Busch and Bruce Landsberg have known each other for nearly 40 years—long enough to skip the pleasantries and get straight to the things that actually matter: why GA pilots keep dying for the same preventable reasons, why annual inspections may be doing more harm than good, and why the data we need to fix the problem is already in our airplanes—if we’d bother to use it. Landsberg recently completed Learning from Icarus, a 500-page examination of aviation accidents spanning his entire career—from flight instructor to FlightSafety International to the AOPA Air Safety Institute to the NTSB, where he served as Vice Chairman and participated in investigations across all modes of transportation. This episode gives him the chance to say, in plain language, what five decades of accident data have actually taught him. The short version: we know what causes crashes. We’ve known for a long time. We’re just not doing enough about it. About Bruce Landsberg Bruce Landsberg spent more than two decades leading what […]

Aviation Masters | Episode 4   There is a gap between what artificial intelligence can do today and what most piston aircraft owners believe it can do. On one side of that gap: decades of engine monitor data sitting unanalyzed on hard drives, mechanics troubleshooting by intuition and pattern recognition, and an FAA certification process that has historically treated software as a liability. On the other side, machine learning models are already capable of detecting engine anomalies, explaining probable causes, and flagging trends that no human would catch in a routine pre-flight scan. Bridging that gap is the work Dr. John Sipple has devoted much of his career to. In Episode 4 of Aviation Masters, Mike Busch sits down with Sipple for one of the most substantive conversations the show has produced — not a theoretical overview of AI, but a ground-level examination of what machine learning is, how it works, and why it matters specifically to the owner of a Cirrus, a Cessna, a Bonanza, or a Diamond DA40. This is a long-form episode. It runs nearly two hours, and the depth is earned. If you own a piston aircraft and have ever wondered whether technology might give you […]

Aging Aircraft, Unleaded Fuel, Certification Gridlock, and What Owners Should Do Now General aviation doesn’t face just one challenge. It faces several: aging materials, fuel transition uncertainty, certification gridlock, and mounting pressure on the piston parts supply chain, all unfolding at once. In this episode of Aviation Masters, host Mike Busch welcomes back George Braly, co-founder of General Aviation Modifications (GAMI), for a focused discussion on where general aviation stands today and what aircraft owners need to understand right now. If you listened to George’s first appearance on Aviation Masters, a wide-ranging conversation covering the origins of lean-of-peak operation, GAMIjectors, and the long road to G100UL, this episode builds on that foundation and turns toward the future. You can revisit that earlier conversation here. This return visit shifts from history to immediacy. Aging Aircraft and the Silent Risk of Elastomer Failure The episode opens with a concern that rarely makes headlines but affects nearly every legacy piston airplane flying today: aging soft goods. Braly explains why elastomers—O-rings, seals, and fuel system components—degrade over decades, especially when exposed to heat cycles and modern fuels. Many aircraft are now 30 to 50 years old, and some of those original materials remain in […]

General aviation doesn’t change in sudden revolutions. It evolves quietly: through material choices, certification decisions, engineering tradeoffs, and lessons learned the hard way over decades. In this episode of Aviation Masters, host Mike Busch sits down with Jimmy Tubbs for a wide-ranging conversation that spans more than sixty years of aviation engineering, from Cold War military programs to the future of piston GA. From Small-Town Roots to Aeronautical Engineering Jimmy Tubbs’ path into aviation began long before general aviation became what it is today. Growing up in small-town Texas, he developed an early curiosity about how things worked, which naturally led him toward engineering—and eventually aerospace. That path took him into military aviation during a period when engineering rigor was non-negotiable. Tubbs spent 17 years as a civilian engineer and engineering supervisor for the U.S. Air Force, working on aircraft programs such as the F-102 Delta Dagger and the T-38 Talon. In these unforgiving environments, Tubbs learned quickly that materials, structures, and systems had to perform exactly as designed. Those early years shaped how Tubbs would approach aviation for the rest of his career: with discipline, skepticism, and a strong preference for data over assumptions. Engineering, Materials, and the Birth […]

If you have ever been told, “That’s just how piston engines work,” this episode of Aviation Masters might make you raise an eyebrow and then start asking more questions. In this episode, host Mike Busch sits down with George Braly, one of the most influential (and unapologetically analytical) minds in modern general aviation. Braly is an inventor, trial lawyer, entrepreneur, and the co-founder and chief engineer of General Aviation Modifications, Inc. (GAMI)—the company behind GAMjectors, Tornado Alley Turbo systems, and the FAA-approved high-octane unleaded avgas G100UL. This is not a surface-level conversation. It is a deep, technical, and refreshingly honest look at how innovation actually happens in aviation and why it is often resisted at every step of the way. Meet George Braly: Engineer, Heretic, Problem-Solver Mike introduces Braly with equal parts respect and amusement, describing him as an iconoclast, a destroyer of old wives’ tales, and the “Archbishop of the Church of Lean-of-Peak.” The titles fit. Braly grew up in Ada, Oklahoma, building model airplanes as a kid and catching the aviation bug early. He soloed at 17, earned his private certificate shortly after, and went on to study aerospace engineering at Brown University. While still a student, he […]