What happens when you know how to do something, but pressure makes it difficult to actually do it?

Certified Mental Performance Consultant Zoran Stojković has spent more than 15 years helping people perform under pressure, from professional athletes and Olympic hopefuls to RCAF pilot trainees.

In Part 1, Zoran shares the path that took him from competitive tennis and high-performance sport to 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School in Moose Jaw. He explains what surprised him about the pressures facing student pilots, how he earned credibility as a civilian working inside military aviation, and why relationships became central to his work.

We also hear how Zoran supported aircrew during Jaw South in Texas, how mental performance coaching became embedded in the flying environment, and what aviation taught him about the difference between high stakes and real stakes.

CHAPTERS

(00:00:00) Introduction, welcome and bio
(00:01:52) What role did sport play growing up?
(00:04:28) Why can we perform in practice but struggle under pressure?
(00:09:41) When did mental performance become a career?
(00:13:03) What did Zoran get wrong when he started coaching?
(00:15:21) What kind of pressure are Olympians under?
(00:18:35) Helping a professional tennis player turn things around
(00:20:22) Going from athletes to pilots
(00:23:23) Walking into 2CFFTS for the first time
(00:26:53) What surprised Zoran about the pressure on student pilots?
(00:30:13) High stakes versus real stakes
(00:31:37) Earning credibility in aviation as an outsider
(00:34:17) What happens when pilots don’t buy into mental performance coaching?
(00:38:44) A pilot success story
(00:42:36) Deploying with Jaw South
(00:47:27) What is Jaw South, and where did Zoran fit in?
(00:51:57) Helping a student in crisis before a flight
(00:53:49) Making progress in a slow-moving institution
(00:57:03) Meeting Colonel Jeremy Hansen
(01:01:30) Advice for a student pilot before a test

EXPLORE THE LOGBOOK

More stories from RCAF and mission aviation pilots:

The Pilot Project Podcast episode archive:
https://podpilotproject.transistor.fm/episodes

Colonel Todd O’Malley concludes our four-part journey through the evolution of Canadian tactical and special operations aviation. Todd returns to Moose Jaw, where he transitions from helicopters to fixed-wing flying, learns to instruct on the CT-156 Harvard and later becomes Commandant of 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School.

He also recounts commanding B Flight at 427 Squadron, developing maritime counterterrorism capabilities and helping transform the unit from tactical helicopter support into a dedicated special operations aviation squadron. After more than a decade in civilian aviation, Todd explains what brought him back into uniform as Director Air and Space at CANSOFCOM. The conversation explores the rapid growth of uncrewed aircraft, counter-UAS and space capabilities, lessons emerging from real-world allied experience, and Todd’s advice for anyone considering special operations aviation. He closes by recognizing the mentors, colleagues and family members who made his remarkable career possible.

CONTINUE THE FLIGHT

EXPLORE THE LOGBOOK
More stories from RCAF and mission aviation pilots
https://podpilotproject.transistor.fm/episodes

(00:00:00) Introduction and Welcome
(00:02:03) Instructing at 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School
(00:04:18) Returning to Fixed-Wing Flying
(00:07:58) Converting from the Tutor to the Harvard
(00:09:21) Why Flight Instructing Is So Difficult
(00:11:12) The Most Rewarding Part of Instructing
(00:12:45) When Students Arrive Unprepared
(00:14:29) Returning to Fix a Missed Opportunity
(00:16:46) Returning to Moose Jaw as Commandant
(00:19:03) Being Both an Instructor and a Principal
(00:19:47) Influencing the Student Experience as Commandant
(00:21:03) Mentorship and Perspective
(00:23:33) The Weight of Ending a Student’s Training
(00:25:24) How Students React to Being Told They Are Done
(00:26:59) Why the Good Days Outweigh the Bad
(00:29:46) Returning to 427 Squadron in 2003
(00:32:43) Commanding B Flight
(00:36:48) The Difference Between Elite and Elitist
(00:38:05) When 427 Squadron Began Drifting Apart
(00:39:47) Developing Maritime Counterterrorism Capabilities
(00:44:17) Standing Up CANSOFCOM
(00:45:47) Transforming Tactical Helicopter Aviation into SOF Aviation
(00:47:41) Why Todd Retired from the RCAF
(00:49:56) Lessons from Civilian Aviation
(00:52:52) Military and Civilian Workplace Cultures
(00:54:18) Returning to the RCAF
(00:56:30) The Director Air and Space Mandate
(00:59:17) How Canadian SOF Aviation Is Evolving
(01:01:48) Learning from Allies
(01:03:51) Special Operations in a Changing World
(01:04:46) Advice for Joining Special Operations Aviation
(01:07:17) Todd’s Remaining Career Goals
(01:08:56) Recognizing the People Behind His Career
(01:11:39) Closing the Series

Colonel Todd O’Malley continues our four-part journey through the history of Canadian tactical and special operations aviation. In Part 3, Todd recounts flying the CH-135 Twin Huey in Somalia, where severe brownouts made every takeoff and landing dangerous, and an unexpected mission gave him his first experience supporting U.S. special operations forces.

Todd also reflects on the Somalia Affair, its painful aftermath and the difficulty of returning home from a deployment overshadowed by scandal. He then takes us inside the earliest days of JTF2—from flying with the RCMP and becoming the unit’s first Air Liaison Officer to developing new helicopter insertion tactics at Dwyer Hill. The episode explores the people, missions and “refuse to lose” culture that helped transform a fragile domestic counterterrorism capability into the foundation of modern Canadian special operations aviation.

CONTINUE THE FLIGHT

EXPLORE THE LOGBOOK
More stories from RCAF and mission aviation pilots
https://podpilotproject.transistor.fm/episodes

CHAPTERS

(00:00:00) Introduction and Welcome
(00:01:57) Somalia with 427 Squadron
(00:05:58) The Danger of Dustballs
(00:10:51) A Helicopter Crash in a Dustball
(00:13:21) A First Taste of Special Operations
(00:16:09) The Somalia Affair
(00:20:02) The Aftermath of the Somalia Affair
(00:24:03) Flying with the RCMP: The Road to SOF Aviation
(00:25:51) Becoming JTF2’s First Air Liaison Officer
(00:28:33) What Is Dwyer Hill?
(00:29:49) Witnessing the Beginning of Canadian SOF History
(00:33:53) How SOF Culture Changed After Somalia
(00:35:37) Overcoming Personal Challenges
(00:39:13) Flying Special Operations Missions with the RCMP
(00:41:49) Developing New Tactics
(00:43:54) Seeing Those Tactics Still in Use
(00:45:24) The “Refuse to Lose” Mindset
(00:48:32) Closing and a Preview of Part 4