The Life of a Corporate Pilot, with Mark McIntyre

By John Zimmerman
Dec 30, 2025
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Pilot's Discretion Podcast, episode 120

Pro pilot doesn’t have to mean airline pilot. Longtime corporate pilot and safety advocate Mark McIntyre explains the appeal of business aviation, why safety has to be the focus for a flight department, the unique challenges of international flying, and how to use new debriefing tools to fly safer. Mark began his career as a seaplane pilot, so he also shares lessons learned in this demanding environment. In the Ready to Copy segment, you’ll hear about the best seaplane, managing fatigue, and fun places to fly in the Pacific Northwest.

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Quotes:

How to get started in business aviation: “it is about networking. It's sticking your hand out, making a friend, asking questions, asking for a referral.”
The value of a corporate flight department: “I think what business aviation offers is a very specific and very curated experience.”
Why safety has to be the focus: “If safety is not your core value, then I really think you need to reevaluate your career choice.”
Using debriefing tools to fly safer: “any psychologist would tell you that immediate reinforcement is much more powerful than delayed reinforcement.”
Committing to continual education: “things really are evolving so quickly that if you're not constantly learning, I would challenge you and say you're probably falling behind.”
The key to international flying: “it's really important, I think, to kind of have a sense of self-reliance.”
The paperwork part of international flying: “they're creating greater opportunities for distraction from what your primary role should be.”
Seaplane flying lessons: “I was taught early… to be conservative, to be self-reliant.”
Flying VFR in marginal weather: “I knew about how much room I needed to make a 180. And if I was going to make a 180 along a coastline in low visibility, I wanted to be able to turn toward that coastline.”
Glider flying differences: “you’re just dependent on the environmental conditions to provide your propulsion.”
The challenge of helicopters: “learning to hover was probably the most humbling learning experience I'd ever had. I didn't think I was gonna get there.”
Managing fatigue: “the data is available to show us that fatigue is certainly a risk. The tools are available to help you mitigate the fatigue. But if you don't have the discipline to put those two together, then you're going to fail.”