Kickstarting 2026 with a banger episode of the Aviation Business Podcast.

Tim Jedrek (Founder & CEO of Right Rudder Marketing) sits down with Otto Mand, Director of Operations at D&J Aviation in Orlando and founder of Easy Copilot, a growing aviation checklist company.

If you’re a flight school owner, director of ops, chief pilot, or aviation entrepreneur, this episode is packed with real‑world insights on running a busy school, building systems, and creating a better student experience.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What it’s really like to be “Director of Asterisk”
How Otto juggles operations, IT, marketing, and more at a high‑volume Orlando flight school.
• Why great flight training is 70% studying, 30% flying
How to set expectations for new students so they don’t burn out after the discovery‑flight honeymoon.
• Turning flight school chaos into smooth operations
How Otto uses automation, IT, and tools like Zapier to streamline scheduling, lead follow‑up, and internal processes.
• Building a flight school that feels like “home”
The power of community, culture, and knowing every student’s name in a competitive market like central Florida.
• Alternative aviation careers beyond the airlines
How both Tim and Otto built impactful aviation careers without going to the airlines.
• The origin of Easy Copilot checklists
How a personal pain point in instrument training led Otto to design durable, waterproof, highly usable checklists.
• Custom, branded checklists as a “cherry on top”
How flight schools use white‑labeled Easy Copilot checklists to level up branding and the student experience.
• Candid thoughts on MOSAIC and sport pilot trends


Why some DPEs and schools are hesitant, and how expectations still often match private‑pilot performance.

Connect with Otto & Easy Copilot

Easy Copilot website: https://easycopilot.com

otto@easycopilot.com

Work with Right Rudder Marketing

Right Rudder Marketing helps flight schools grow with a proven aviation‑specific marketing system: more qualified leads, better follow‑up, and stronger student pipelines.

• Website: https://rightruddermarketing.com

• Call Tim: 314‑804‑1200

• LinkedIn: Right Rudder Marketing

• YouTube: @rightruddermarketing

If you own or run a flight school and want to:

• Increase leads and enrollments

• Fix broken follow‑up and CRM processes

• Build a brand students actually remember

New episodes featuring aviation leaders, flight school owners, and aviation entrepreneurs coming soon.