Thoughts on aviation YouTubers?
Posted by beezxs@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 289 comments
I have a hard time watching some YouTubers such as Coby Explanes and Mentor Pilot. I feel like they’re always trying to sell you a message instead of educating the viewers. Anyone else feel this way?
Crystalline_E@reddit
If Mentours message of "every accident makes aviation safer" then I'm okay with that
lmFairlyLocal@reddit
Ditto. It's a little frilly but it's meant for av enthusiasts and the average joe, not for aviators.
Love Juan Browne (blancolirio) for a more aviator-focus content, while I'm here.
Happy-Table-9515@reddit
Can’t stand him personally. Seems like such a slob. This isn’t just from YT either, I’ve bumped into him here and there…
lmFairlyLocal@reddit
WDYM by slob?
BigWhiteDog@reddit
I like Juan for his coverage of the aviation aspects of our fires and his no BS coverage of the Lake Oroville spillway disaster some years ago.
Happy-Table-9515@reddit
Because it directly affected him. That’s why you got such great coverage.
Matte_Box@reddit
+1 for Blancolirio. If he has a video on a particular incident, I know it’ll be the most thorough, sober take on it.
NetInfused@reddit
As an AV Enthusiast, I agree. I love Mentour Pilot's channel. I also do agree that for a real pilot the language used is way too superficial.
SillyDeersFloppyEars@reddit
I used to like Mentour until he went down the clickbait video route. I get it's just how the algorithm is, but I cannot stand it.
biggsteve81@reddit
That is just the video icon. The actual content is still the same, just with better visual aids.
danmarce@reddit
Yep. And I'm willing to tolerate those icons as I know they can get people to watch and get actually content. A small sacrifice.
turnipsium@reddit
Mentour Pilot sold to private equity: https://www.electrify.video/news/electrify-video-partners-expands-portfolio-with-mentour-pilot-and-mentour-now-investment
BigWhiteDog@reddit
Ok, that's explains what happened. Damn.
hgwelz@reddit
Both Mentour Pilot and Captain Steve sold to equity partners and have a production team. Mentour Pilot is more hands on selecting and controlling content, and being a technical auditor, while Captain Steve is more of a performer for hot content selected by a marketing team.
Torn8oz@reddit
Disappointing, though I don't feel like the quality of the actual videos has dipped too much? Do I just have low standards?
sofixa11@reddit
On the contrary, the quality has drastically improved. Selling a part of the channel to private equity has allowed him to grow from a dude on a couch to having professional script writers and researchers (like Kyra Dempsey, aka Admiral Cloudberg), professional animators to show mechanical concepts, dedicated people to fly the flight simulator to show what's happening, etc etc.
AteYerCake4U@reddit
Yeah the quality still feels top-notch. Hopefully it's allowed to stay that way
lukef555@reddit
Not sure why you're being down voted you're 100% true.
Titles got super click baity sometimes to the point of being misleading
ManWithTheWand@reddit
Green Dot 🟢 and Disaster Breakdown
beezxs@reddit (OP)
Chloe has done a phenomenal job with DB
danmarce@reddit
I also watch these two. Both to a great job and have different styles. I actually like when an accident/incident is covered by a few channels, so I can learn more.
nuts4sale@reddit
Mini air crash investigation is another one in with these, real 2006 YouTube style. One dude with windows movie maker and a Logitech mic talking planes, I love it.
Twitter_2006@reddit
I love Green Dot.
fresh_like_Oprah@reddit
Just watched my first Green Dot and I fail to see much difference from Mentour
lilmayor@reddit
There’s a pretty big difference. Mentour pilot injects more personal opinion into his videos, but Green Dot tends to have a lot of non-essential filler these days with a more “narrative” style.
fresh_like_Oprah@reddit
I only watched one...Same click-baity thumbs tho
lilmayor@reddit
Sadly, yes :/
Rayuzan_Mojavec@reddit
Disaster Breakdown is my go-to accident analysis nowdays
01watts@reddit
Green dot is fantastic. Better than those discovery air crash investigations I used to watch when I was younger.
Kellykeli@reddit
Mentor’s message of “don’t rush things, be careful, follow the procedure, and be willing to do a go around/abort and reassess at the slightest sign of trouble” is a pretty good message to go by ngl
itz_MaXii@reddit
Green Dot Aviation is my go to channel for watching a video in bed before going to sleep
lilmayor@reddit
Green Dot was the first aviation channel I stumbled upon and I still watch to this day. Recently though, I feel like there’s more filler in their videos to stretch the run-time; hopefully they shift back to the older narration and script style.
PM_ME_BACH_FUGUES@reddit
Green Dot and Mentour have both become guilty of this, and it’s why my excitement level when they post new videos has dropped quite a bit. I do appreciate a deep dive when it’s warranted (like AF447; obviously there’s no problem with extensive coverage of that accident sequence), but some of the less complicated incidents really don’t need a 45+ minute video to tell the story.
Dakota-202@reddit
Definitely much more filler in Green Dot than necessary.
Fatal_Explorer@reddit
By now one of my favorite channels of all time when it come to aviation!
Katana_DV20@reddit
Early Mentor was so good. When it was just him and his dogs on the living room couch. Now for me its a different person. Somehow I dont feel hyper slick Hollywood visuals and production are always a good thing. Yes they illustrate difficult concepts really well but I dunno, somethings missing. I dont like that channel now. Its like nails on a chalkboard. Blancolirio is great.
Boating_Enthusiast@reddit
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=mentour+pilot+private+equity
TiberiusVoyager@reddit
"transforming into a global media franchise" is always athreat... 😄
Katana_DV20@reddit
That explains it, thanks for the info. Was curious as to what caused the course change.
Strayl1ght@reddit
He’s also run through many of the most interesting disasters already.
Purple_Vacation_4745@reddit
After the Chanel got sold, it became utterly trash.
waldo-jeffers-68@reddit
I think Mentour now became trash but mentour pilot is still pretty good IMO.
Alarming_Cat_2946@reddit
I have a hate on for Mentour’s stupid YouTube thumbnails too. Can’t take him seriously.
chemtrailer21@reddit
Private equity scoops popular channels up and they all go down hill.
KUGDI@reddit
Enshitification ensues
brooktrouted@reddit
I used to watch a lot of Pilot Debrief, but lately everything feels so clickbait-y. Reminds me of commentary channels. Not a fan of the "DIGUSTING pilot did something unbelievable and KILLED his family" -esque titles and the unnecessary big red arrows and circle in the thumbnails. I have been really enjoying watching Green Dot Aviation, Found & Explained, and Mustard.
ParkingMarch97@reddit
Hey guys, as a completely clueless aviation enthusiast, would someone please explain to me why numerous of you don't watch Mentour Pilot? If there's something egregiously wrong with his videos or information, I'd rather steer clear of his future videos. Thank you for any info!
Prof_Slappopotamus@reddit
There's nothing wrong with his videos. He sometimes comes across a little condescending, but he makes videos that are accessible to everyone so it's really just my own interpretation from dealing with colleagues that speak the same way to their peers. I find that stuff insufferable, but I don't hang that tag on MentourPilot.
If you're getting sometime out of it other than entertainment, they're a good channel. If it's a constant stream of opinion in between ads and sales pushes, they're not worth your time. You get to decide where the line is drawn for you.
GamingGenius777@reddit
Wait, condescending? He's always seemed very nice to me. Where does he come across as condescending?
Prof_Slappopotamus@reddit
Read the rest of the sentence instead of just jumping on that word. There's phrases and statements he's made that struck me as condescending, but I'm viewing it through the filter of people I know that actually are condescending assholes. I'm fully aware that's my own bias, which I stated.
GamingGenius777@reddit
Oh, I missed that part when I read it the first time. Thanks for clarifying
ParkingMarch97@reddit
Thank you for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it. Cheers!
abgtw@reddit
Its fine if you like his style. For those of us that have watched aviation content for a long time it just appears many of these creators have dumbed down their channels and the real meat and potatoes just isn't there anymore for me.
Just some of the info ends up being rather asinine, like "why does landing gear fold up into an aircraft?" - its a mystery to me how that turns into 40 minutes of content somehow!
GuppyDriver737@reddit
He is very condescending of everything US it seems.
KOjustgetsit@reddit
I find him quite objective but even if that's the case, can't say some of it isn't deserved given what the FAA has been doing...
GuppyDriver737@reddit
Gotta love Reddit, can’t say anything pro US without being instantly downvoted.
xsm17@reddit
His accident videos are content-wise good because Admiral Cloudberg writes for him, I just stopped watching because his titles and thumbnails became more and more clickbaity until I'd had enough.
throwaway_4it4@reddit
The PE firm needs to fire Cloudberg; she hasn't updated her blog in months, man
Mitchz95@reddit
His video content is great and (I believe) accurate, it's just that his titles and thumbnails are extremely clickbaity. Not enough to put me off watching, but it does make me cringe when I see one of his videos in my feed.
roehnin@reddit
Something changed after he went commercial. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but the original “I’m talking about this because I love flying” doesn’t seem to be there anymore
Acc87@reddit
Yeah there's a certain "drama constantly building!!" in all of his recent videos which I find tiring.
Visible-Shallot-001@reddit
Given that Admiral Cloudberg writes for him, I trust his information.
Anarolf@reddit
I think Mentour started out great, but despite his obvious enthusiasm for the industry, he sold out a bit commercially. The minute his video headings started appearing in huge caps with exclamation marks is when I stopped watching.
layer4andbelow@reddit
Juan Browne - blancolirio
https://www.youtube.com/@blancolirio
Only channel I'll watch for facts.
bfly1800@reddit
The GOAT. Not interested in sensationalism and being the first to get a video out. He waits for enough information and then only reports on THAT information.
I was irate when another YTer who shall not be named put a video on Air India out within hours of the accident, rife with wanton speculation but garnering millions of views, only to put out a video on how he was wrong a week later to get almost as many views again! The algorithm favours misinformation in this space because being fast is better than being right.
Anyway, Juan Browne is awesome.
SaltyCAPtain1933@reddit
I had a friend die in a plane crash and Blancolirio put out a video about it within a couple days echoing speculation from the news and other YouTubers. His video was full of speculation and only added to the public narrative that influenced the NTSB. I will never forgive him for it.
My friend Sue Wolber died in the Rocky Mountains and everyone blamed "mountain waves" within a day of the crash. Blancolirio did the same. The news took it as expert testimony and ran with it too. Within a few days thousands of news sources were reporting the crash was due to mountain waves. The other occupant of the aircraft survived and I believe was also influenced by all of these news reports because he wasn't a pilot and likely had no idea what was going on. He too said it was a down draft. The NTSB took that to be the truth and don't really do much more investigating. Those of us who knew Sue's flight path, what her mission was, and what she was doing at the exact time of the crash, are not convinced. A major fact that the NTSB never discussed is that she had reported to her mission tracker that she was returning to base after competing the mission. She then suddenly made a diving turn toward open grass terrain to the north but never made it that far and impacted a mountain.
Those of us who were close to her and know the flight profile are not convinced of the official report and are very upset with how the NTSB handled the investigation. Basically having already reached a conclusion by the time they arrived at the crash site, no doubt influenced by the thousands of news articles and "expert" testimony and not want to look much more in to it.
I believe Blancolirio was a a part of the misinformation.
Pulp__Reality@reddit
Uhh, i dont understand what this comments is trying to say about the unfortunate death of Sue; and especially not the link between blancolirio
nd4spd1919@reddit
He's saying he believes that the NTSB listened to Blancolirio and got the cause of the accident that killed his friend wrong, which is certainly an opinion.
SaltyCAPtain1933@reddit
I didn't say the NTSB listened to Blancolirio, I believe they bit off on the fact that the entire industry had termites the cause of the crash before the NTSB even arrived at the crash site. I was seeing news articles and YouTube videos explaining the reason they crashed while the NTSB team was still traveling to Colorado from DC. Blancolirio was one of those YouTubers.
rob_s_458@reddit
I think I have an ideeeeea who you're talking about on the Air India video
Tricky_Big_8774@reddit
I belieeeve heee did something similar with theee Biffle crash.
Rare-Instance7961@reddit
Who are we talking about here?
Bright_Broccoli1844@reddit
I think Steeeeve.
gromm93@reddit
See also: all media.
saxmanB737@reddit
He’s also put out other videos calling for the revocation of pilots certificate for making mundane mistakes like calling the wrong tower frequency.
Mackin-N-Cheese@reddit
That was OBVIOUSLY due to youth and inexperience. Call your senator TODAY and DEMAND that pilots be allowed to fly into their 90s as long as they FLY SAFE!
MillAlien@reddit
I stopped watching he who shall not be named altogether after that incident. The fact that it’s a private equity channel now checks out.
Adventurous_Pea_2007@reddit
He’s the real deal. Him and VAS of course.
nd4spd1919@reddit
My only complaint with VAS is that they sometimes get the captions wrong. It isn't often, but its weird to see when it happens.
Adventurous_Pea_2007@reddit
I don’t think English is his first language, I could be wrong but I think he’s Portuguese first. So with that considered, I let it pass. I thought about emailing and asking if he wanted a free check on captions, but he probably wants to get them out as quickly as possible.
wabbitsilly@reddit
Problem is, now that Juan is getting more subs and more popular, he too is starting to fall for hyperbole and speculation in addition to just flat facts. I like him, I do not like speculation and conjecture that are often off base and inaccurate. Weirdly, he's leaning towards Dan Gryder 'ism's (which is not a good thing).
He's tried to dial it back a bit (a letter or two from some friendly lawyers perhaps helped him reel in his speculation), but it's still present.
RippingLegos__@reddit
Came here to suggest Juan too
Ironmaiden9227@reddit
He always comes across as kinda arrogant to me
lmFairlyLocal@reddit
Confidence ≠ Arrogance.
SpartanDoubleZero@reddit
Out of the ones that capitalize immediately following a tragedy, he is the only one I will watch because he brings only the facts and zero speculation.
Long_Pomegranate2469@reddit
Mentour pilot drank too much of the youtube. He used to be good, now he's insufferable.
PRISONER_709@reddit
In flight school I used to watch 74 gear, mentourpilot and captain Joe.
Nowadays i only watch mentourpilot now and then, I think he's a good person, I liked his position on mental health care, despite the video was heavy on AI (which I don't find ethical).
On the same topic, I instanly unfollowed 74gear when he shared a really, IMO, embarrassing and anti scientific video, saying that "being a pilot isn't stressful" and something along the lines of "if you need mental health care you're not fit to be a pilot".
Not a big loss, he was getting really influencer-ish, with his reactions video.
I don't like captain Joe any more, he charges kids that don't know any better 100€ for a video call to talk about flight school. I've been told he asked for money to sponsor a no profit/charity 🙃 His video on holding entries is gold, tho!
samosamancer@reddit
I lost respect for him when he used a very exaggerated Karen-type thumbnail for an incident involving a woman. It felt rather misogynistic.
PRISONER_709@reddit
Didn't know all of this, glad I stopped following that trash.
Doesn't surprise me tho, I would say pilots as as a demographic are really skewed to the right ._.'
sharklaserguru@reddit
I lost a lot of respect for him when he told the story about how he almost got in trouble for "pranking" an FA by convincing her he was filming her in the bathroom but actually wasn't. How does an adult with one iota of sense in them feel like that's at all appropriate in a workplace setting?!
QuickConverse730@reddit
If I'm interpreting the thread correctly, I think you're replying to a post that talked about 74 gear, mentourpilot and captain Joe... Which of these is the "him" that did that prank?
lilmayor@reddit
74gear
PRISONER_709@reddit
Didn't even heard about this, wtf
omega552003@reddit
As a PAX, yeah I need my pilot to have no issues flying. As cold hearted as it sounds it's not a job to have doubts.
PRISONER_709@reddit
Pilots are just people, and people get stressed, depressed, lonely, angry, etc.
Better have somebody aware of that, than someone avoiding everything and, fe, drinking to cope
throwaway_4it4@reddit
The second season of The Rehearsal made it super clear. Pilots want someone to whom to talk. They can't go to a professional and just unload; they were so happy to be able to just talk to people on the show about their lives and work.
PRISONER_709@reddit
Is it good? A friend of mine reccomended it to me like a year ago but I had forgot since now
throwaway_4it4@reddit
It's amazing; the first season starts off a little slow and has nothing to do with aviation, but I think it's worth watching. It's...difficult to describe. It's like someone made a dessert out of just the strangest ingredients and it turns out to be one of the best things you've eaten.
PRISONER_709@reddit
Thanks, I'll try it!
60Feathers@reddit
Everybody needs mental health care in one form or another. Anti mental health jackasses with a macho show-no-weakness attitude that stigmatize being human need to reconsider.
GuppyDriver737@reddit
I agree we should be free to get mental health care punishment free. I also agree you should not be flying while getting it though. You should be able to come back no questions asked when it’s over.
Thequiet01@reddit
Everyone can use mental health care - it’s just like getting your car serviced annually, you can check for issues and see if there are any tools or techniques that might help you deal with things going on in your life, etc. It doesn’t have to be for Major Acute Episodes.
lilmayor@reddit
Exactly. My view is that well-managed mental health conditions should not by default keep someone out of the cockpit. And as we’ve seen many times before, trying to hide an un- or under-treated mental health condition can be so, so deadly.
PRISONER_709@reddit
I'd much rather fly with a person getting mental health care than with a person hiding his problems because of the stigma/pride/job security
lmFairlyLocal@reddit
Exactly.
Efficient-Pace-2432@reddit
He’s not wrong though…If your mental health is in the drain such that you need extensive care you should not have hundreds of live in your hands. Pilots shouldn’t be scrutinized for needing mental health care and should have easier access, but if you’re having episodes of severe depression for example you shouldn’t be in the cockpit. It’s as simple as that.
PRISONER_709@reddit
But he didn't say that, nobody wants people flying unfit
lilmayor@reddit
I didn’t know 74gear made those remarks, how disappointing.
Spanton4@reddit
Cockpit casual is pretty great. They ferrly airlines around the world and document their travels with jazz and great camera work
iceman_andre@reddit
Unfortunately, Bob is a scab
Pulp__Reality@reddit
What you mean?
iceman_andre@reddit
He crossed a picket line
remuspilot@reddit
Something in my brain clicked recently when I was watching Pilot Debrief. I used to enjoy his style, but it has become terrible clickbait with cliff hangers, and worst of all, just money grabbing.
It was exactly at the moment where he gives some spiel how it was tragic and terrible and his heart goes out to the family and then he transitions into selling Factor meals.
He’s a retired Lieutenant Colonel (pension about 70k) and an Airline FO (easy 200k but prob way more), along with Youtube Ad payouts. I’m gonna go on limb that dude probably clocks an annual income that dwarfs the cost of the house I live in.
And here he is, unsatisfied, hawking fucking microwave meals to me.
Yeah dude, I’m sure your heart goes out to them. I guess nothing is ever enough.
JohnHazardWandering@reddit
Youtube ad payouts aren't much unless you're huge.
That's why they all have patreon or sponsors.
For kid video makers, like Mr Beast or Aphmau who can't really do the same for kids, they sell tangentially related kid products, like Mr Beast's Feastables chocolate bars or Aphmau's meemow stuffed animals.
Churaragi@reddit
What on earth are you talking about the channel mentioned(Pilot Debrief) got 600 million views and you can check the estimated earnings on Social blade etc its $100k+ a year, possibly $1 million depending on sponsorships. It's also literally a top 1000 YT channel almost.
lilmayor@reddit
His channel has definitely shifted. I’ve noticed he says stuff at the start of his videos like “this is the WORST pilot mistake I’ve covered on this channel.” Ok, so several incidents are all “the worst”… I don’t find his ad integrations as cringey as Mentour Pilot, though.
EvenMoreCoconuts@reddit
I don’t watch him anymore because of this. It’s disgusting. Imagine your death being sensationalized by someone like that.
And it’s not even necessary. Look at Juan Browne’s titles. Zero clickbaity profiteering fluff.
Stu161@reddit
Yep, profiteering off of tragedies. I've pretty much had to stop watching.
remuspilot@reddit
If I’d make that much money, there’s zero chance you’d see me upsell some microwave meals in a video about accidents.
It’s just so brazenly greedy.
Different-Courage679@reddit
Blancolirio and Pilot Debrief
BeenCaughtSneezing@reddit
I loved watching Greg aka Premier1Driver years ago. He's sold his business but kept the jet and rarely uploads videos anymore.
TabsAZ@reddit
Because he got sick of people trying to report him for supposed mistakes that were just the way the video was edited. It kept happening so he decided to stop. People are so stupid, the guy was an F-16 pilot and they think he’s not using checklists or something dumb like that.
BeenCaughtSneezing@reddit
Yeah don't blame him. People suck.
Inevitable_Street458@reddit
I'm not sure if it's directly related, but I feel this kind of behavior is why airlines cracked down on their pilots streaming while on the job. Nobody wants to be investigated for some "error" seen on YT.
WhurleyBurds@reddit
“On his YouTube channel I saw he called clear of the runway when the tail was still over the edge” ruined such a cool glimpse into owner piloted light jet ops.
Inside-Finish-2128@reddit
I enjoy Darren Byrd, Geek on the Flight Deck for his perspective on life as an airline pilot.
FailedCriticalSystem@reddit
Growler jams!
QuickConverse730@reddit
"Signature move..."
FailedCriticalSystem@reddit
I was going to add that but I’m glad you chimed in.
QuickConverse730@reddit
When I'm driving along on the freeway and I have to shift in my seat and pull my boxers out of my crotch, that's what I say to myself. Close as I'll ever come to the real thing...
FailedCriticalSystem@reddit
It only counts if you’d say signature move
OrtimusPrime@reddit
I dig Noel Phillips
HelloSlowly@reddit
Not only is Phillips in a different category (more of a travel aviation YouTuber) but he’s also one of the densest thickest cunts out there and one of the most narrow minded.
I count point a bunch of his niggles but the peak was when the dude goes on Air China and basically compares it to his definition of Chinese food which is Panda Express, implying that that is his definition of good Chinese food.
He also then talks about how warm and inviting the US is having just moved there from the UK, saying this with a straight face late last year.
RobertABooey@reddit
I honestly can’t stand this fuck.
I remember watching a video where he travelled to an extreme remote area of Canada and then bitched and moaned when the flight got cancelled or delayed. I can’t quite remember exactly what happened, but it was a place where only a one flight a day comes in and out of.
Talk about not doing any research whatsoever about where you’re travelling to.
Almost every video I seem to watch of his he’s complaining about something.
Another one is Josh Cahill. anytime I see any videos of joshes when he’s in Africa I always know there’s gonna be some kind of racist undertone to his content. And I often feel a lot of his critiques are just there to Garner views.
CartoonistFirm4172@reddit
i remember seeing a video of his where he was riding a bus in india or pakistan and was saying how many scammers there were, then proceeded to do an ad read for a £200 water bottle…
ohmygoodnesswhat@reddit
pot and kettle - they can't see the irony
Sirius1718@reddit
I really like Stig and his Stig Aviation channel, Sadly he doesn't upload much nowadays.
For those of you who don't know of him, he is a Aircraft Maintenance Engineer for American Airlines at LAX.
https://www.youtube.com/@StigAviation
RobertABooey@reddit
Stig is great. And he also replies to a lot of his comments.
I love watching the maintenance aspect of the aviation industry and he does a really good job explaining everything in very high detail.
bagdf@reddit
I really dislike captain steve. He's always very quick to find ways to blame the pilots without any evidence for accidents outside the US but has a much more varied outlook when a US airline is involved. I find him incredibly disingenuous.
RobertABooey@reddit
I don’t think this is just limited to Captain Steve.
Almost every aviation person I know that is from America is always quick to judge anything outside of the US with a negative light before they know the full facts.
And they don’t treat accidents within the United States the same. I completely agree with you.
wabbitsilly@reddit
Captain steve is almost always wrong before he's right...be he does try so hard to be first, even if wrong!
Bookworm10-42@reddit
I blocked that asshole a long time ago.
sanverstv@reddit
He’s awful.
Helpful_Car1302@reddit
Totally agree with your take, I’m sure he had a do not fly list a mile long at his airline.
Dakota-202@reddit
Recently he covered the KC-135 midair over the Middle East in his typical fashion of quick to judgements when there was hardly any readily verifiable information. On top of that, he was claiming that he flew in the military (some belief he did not serve, I cannot verify this though), but he led that he was a “War Designated Pilot” (nowhere have I ever heard or found the term war designated pilot, for pilots of any military branch, it would be assumed that you are training to fly in either combat ops or war zones) which therefore made him an appropriate person to speculate. He conveniently didn’t list a military aircraft type that he flew. Seems like stolen valor territory. PLEASE, correct me if I am wrong in any way, I believe in the idea that if one must dislike someone, it should be for the correct reasons. In any case, seems like a textbook narcissist. I did see this one comment from another pilot who flies for American or one of its affiliates saying they saw steeeeeeeeven in a line at a Starbucks in KCLT, and the guy asked if it was him, and he said “yes! Are you a fan?” With the pilot not missing a beat saying “absolutely not!”
wernox@reddit
He flew the P-3 in the navy, mostly as a reservist.
Dakota-202@reddit
Thank you for the info!
djwm12@reddit
He gives me very uncomfortable vibes. And I've never been wrong about those. Also his 2x daily uploads so quickly after Air India crashed with totally nonsensical theories were disgusting. Totally irresponsible
Gillbilly69@reddit
Mentor and Colby are terrible, I cannot stand them
ohmygoodnesswhat@reddit
Mentor also steals peoples photos for use in the videos
Mountain_Builder6146@reddit
...it's almost like they're trying to make money off their channel or something. hmmmm
Pulp__Reality@reddit
As a finn i have an ick for the swedish accent in english videos. I just, cant do it. Nothing personal per say, and i do think he has good videos and ive watched many.
Vegetable_Log_3837@reddit
Tucker Gott.
There’s enough airplane content on YT already.
Puravida1904@reddit
The only one I can watch is Juan.. I also like Noel Phillips for the travel kind of stuff.
campus159@reddit
Blanco and skywagon university are my favorites.
NinjaPW@reddit
Just planes - not really a YouTuber but just a channel.
Stig Aviation too I enjoy.
Both give a behind the scenes tour vibe and explanation to things one otherwise might not experience as flying public.
I like the engineering bit machine aspect of it I guess.
anon727813@reddit
Goat - blancolirio
Woat - Dan Gryder “probable cause” (m-a-g-a shill)
gromm93@reddit
Good aviation youtubers: Missionary pilot, and Pilot Debrief. With caveats.
Missionary Pilot is (mostly) all about being a professional pilot and broadcasting it for critiques to keep himself in line.
Pilot Debrief is about making aviation safer, the same way that the air force does.
The caveats are especially true of PD. The fact is that when you stop writing for yourself and start writing for the audience and maximum views on Youtube, you corrupt your mission statement and start working to feed the Holy Algorithm, which is also kept hidden from everyone on purpose. It's inescapable at this point in time, unless you're just using the money to pay for your camera and audio equipment.
I also wish that both Youtubers would just shut the fuck up about their religion already.
Others: yeah, not so much.
There's a plethora of Instagram braggarts that can be completely ignored. People who are selling the pilot life of trips to Barbados and Tahiti know they are completely full of shit, know that their lives are lonely and their stories rare enough, and this is their justification after the fact. They show the glamour without the reality of what it took to get there.
SeniorFlyingMango@reddit
I enjoy mayday air disasters
Fast_Bar_881@reddit
Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.
Don't see social media clout on that list.
Educational channels, sure, but even then some use the "education" moniker a bit loosely.
Snowee6399@reddit
Wyngx
Classic-Bicycle-6751@reddit
I like Mentour overall.
Blancolirio probably is the best factually, I don't particularly like Juan Browne's holier than thou attitude in a lot of his videos
BigWhiteDog@reddit
Hoover and his "Pilot Debrief". Always a bit of hyperbole.
radedon@reddit
Pilot debrief is great, simply aviation is good too.
brocktacular@reddit
Guido Warnecke.
Lensatic_wilkinson@reddit
100%, I think he is awesome. Very professional, but I could also see it being a little boring to some people.
Dakota-202@reddit
Hugely underrated channel. My dad learned to fly at KDXR where he used to be based. Never met the guy, but knowing the field and the types he flies, he is an excellent pilot.
brocktacular@reddit
Absolutely zero fluff, no narration, no 'like comment subscribe!!' just him flying in a thoroughly professional manner. I love it.
Blue_Etalon@reddit
Mentor Pilot is good. I also watch Blancolirio, Pilot Debrief and for fun, Mover and Gonky
Ok-Sport-2558@reddit
I was in a squadron with Gonky. He's an honest guy.
disneyDaf@reddit
I enjoy Captain Bob/Cockpit Casual for great story telling from the ferry pilots POV.
dbrjr@reddit
Never got it confirmed, but was he a scab at AA? His content is great however.
ubcs109@reddit
Pardon my ignorance, but what is a scab?
FoofaFighters@reddit
Someone who works despite a labor stoppage. It's called crossing the picket line, and is generally (and rightfully) looked down upon.
Guam671Bay@reddit
If he’s a scab then don’t click
iceman_andre@reddit
Yes
He even was making fun of people that called him out
Total piece of shit
Bombonlito@reddit
He is a scab for Eastern I believe and someone I will never watch because of
iceman_andre@reddit
He is a scab…so I will never support anything from him
baronmunchausen2000@reddit
Love Cockpit Casual
Beautiful_Tangerine@reddit
These are my favourite. They just have such a pure “for the love of aviation” vibe, rather than trying to push a certain narrative or driving reactions.
EpicRedhead13@reddit
I used to watch various channels, but they’ve all turned into Accident Reports, Unofficial Investigation and Speculation, Blame Game, or Course Creation Specialists. Although looking at Captain Joe, he might be an exception. I like to watch the channels to learn things about aviation, airlines, operations, aircraft, airports, and pilots, but I can read the accident reports myself much faster than the video. I can speculate on my own. I can draw my own conclusions about who might be at fault, but I’m not the insurance so that’s not my responsibility. And I don’t need to make a course.
lawfulcrispy@reddit
check a Brazilian guy channel: avioes e músicas, best ever
kerosene31@reddit
I blame Youtube's algorithm. It really pushes the clickbait. It wants catchy, clickbait titles and thumbnails. It also pushes a regular posting schedule, so if there's nothing going on interesting, they have to "manufacture" drama.
This is why Juan Brown does everything on patreon and basically ignores the YT algorithm. YT wants clickbait, not good content. Sadly, they call it clickbait for a reason, that's what drives engagement. Juan will mention this sometimes on his videos. There was one recently where he even made fun of the clickbait stuff a little.
It isn't just aviation, Youtube has the same problem all over. The alogrithm pushes garbage over quality. Again, sadly that's what gets the clicks.
sparklepilot@reddit
Love blancolirio
CaptainCymru@reddit
I don't know who it is, but my father watches some aviation youtuber who used to be a jet pilot instructor or something, apparently he has very good views and opinions on the state of immigration in the country.... so yes, selling a message to simple-minded people through the guise of aviation sounds about right.
Thequiet01@reddit
Ward Carroll?
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
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srcultureshock@reddit
74 Gear completely changed his channel and is playing the Youtube algorithm game now. Instead of interesting videos about his flying, he only does clickbaity reaction videos. I unsubbed after being a subscriber for a long time. Mentour Pilot is good, but I find him very long-winded.
GreatMinds1234@reddit
I like to watch them sometimes but you're right, most of them are very opinionated and that's not good.
TabsAZ@reddit
Stevie Triesenberg (aka bayflight)
Really knows her stuff and is actually the lead software designer on Garmin’s Pilot app. Has a super cool old Cessna 140 she restored and upgraded.
DiscoDickTease@reddit
Flying Doodles
Bookworm10-42@reddit
Emma is great. I loved her recent series on getting twin qualified. The fact that she showed herself struggling was fantastic. Most YT creators would not do that.
daari_tappida_maga@reddit
Denys Davydov besides the ones already mentioned on here like Blancolirio. He doesn’t make as much content as before but he’s the one that got me into av yt.
Charles-Monroe@reddit
I only know him as the guy posting daily updates on the Ukraine situation. Never knew he did aviation too.
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
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barrylunch@reddit
I’ll reiterate an opinion I posted a couple of days ago on Twitter:
The material used to be (and probably still is) excellent, but I realized I stopped watching @MenTourPilot videos a number of months ago because I just can’t stomach the trendy click-bait hyped-up video titles. I miss the old days.
tisktask1@reddit
Avoid Owen.
Chino-Brino@reddit
FlyWithOwen? What’s the issue?
WhurleyBurds@reddit
You can flywithowen just don’t stay in the same hotel as Owen if you’re female.
freakasaurous@reddit
Whats the backstory on that?
WhurleyBurds@reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/s/sOlyLTgrdB
Ficsit-Incorporated@reddit
This is news to me. Christ alive, how revolting. It’s a shame, I’ve always enjoyed his content and he seemed like such a careful and competent pilot. But knowing that’s how he behaves when the cameras are off…I don’t think I can ever watch a video of his again knowing he profits from it monetarily.
tisktask1@reddit
Innocent until proven guilty- so I wasn’t referring to the above comments. Knew him from the Bay Area. However, & aside from that, I don’t care for his TikTok-esque commentary. IMO, it’s unprofessional in the flying community with (potential) lives at stake. He went his route and I went my route as a 12 year f35 pilot now. I just don’t care for the attention-seeking crowd of individuals such as him. YMMV.
Ficsit-Incorporated@reddit
I’m all for innocent until proven guilty. But I also think that when people tell you who they are, believe them. Also this was also a civil case, not criminal. There is no innocence or guilt, only liable or not liable. He isn’t liable in a court of law and the system worked as it’s intended to. Everyone got their day in court. That doesn’t mean people can’t/won’t form their own opinions on what did or didn’t happen.
tisktask1@reddit
Completely missed my point. I stated my opinion (avoid ___) due to my personal opinion and take on him, notwithstanding his legal troubles that another user pointed out above. Anyway, that’s that. Good response either way. Thanks.
juanmlm@reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comments/1hkzf3c/fly_with_owenbut_dont_stay_in_a_hotel_with_him/
Twitter_2006@reddit
I like Mentour Pilot.
Sam Chui is the worst.
Gillbilly69@reddit
You got them flipped
Schwalbe262Guy@reddit
Green dot, mentour and disaster is pretty good
scudrunner14@reddit
I’ll be the next person to mention Juan Browne. Been watching him since I was a kid, he had a lot of cool dirt bike content and coverage of the Orville dam, with clips taken from his luscombe. Seems like he mostly focuses on accident analysis nowadays but his older content was always interesting to watch
vfrflying@reddit
What’s people’s thoughts on Trent Palmer?
acrewdog@reddit
He makes me wish I had a huge bank account and lived in the middle of nowhere. Can't do any of that stuff on the east coast. His videography and editing are excellent.
vfrflying@reddit
Agreed, I’ve watched a ton of his content and always was under the assumption that he comes off as a reasonably safe guy and promotes safety in his videos. When I was taking lessons one of the instructors would not stop talking shit saying he was an idiot for the kind of flying he does. The instructor was a twat so I didn’t put much stock in it.
No-Arugula8122@reddit
I like Juan Brown at blancolirio
BriGuy550@reddit
Yeah, he seems straight and to the point with no fluff.
YELLOW_TOAD@reddit
Juan Browne's my favorite. Knowledgeable, no BS, passionate, and experienced.
His YouTube page is the only page I have set to get NOTIFICATIONS for.
There are times when I will keep checking to see if he's posted a new video afters there's been an incident.
I started following him years ago when he was doing a lot of Motorcycle videos, and other videos like the dam he lives nearby and some others.
I bumped into years ago at an air show when he was there with his 310. He seemed thrilled that I even knew who he was, and he couldn't have been a nicer guy.
tufftricks@reddit
Paper Skies and Rex's Hanger 👍
woofyc_89@reddit
Found and explained too? 😍
Conor_J_Sweeney@reddit
I do occasionally enjoy some of Found and Explained's stuff, but many videos are just wildly overly optimistic about experimental designs that never even got close to a prototype.
Kardinal@reddit
He sounds like he's preaching to me, not explaining or helping.
azathoththeblackcat@reddit
Paper Skies is fantastic!
FZ_Milkshake@reddit
Greg's Airplane and Automobiles as well.
tufftricks@reddit
Yes greg had got a lot better these days, I enjoy his content. Paper Skies is just so above and beyond everyone else in the scene. Him growing up with a mig pilot dad in the USSR and his background means you get such an awesome insight into the eastern bloc stuff
Mediocre-Hippo-4789@reddit
And not a pound! fantastic trio
Kardinal@reddit
Not a Pound is my favorite these days. Great balance of detail and history.
BigChief1029@reddit
Rex is the goat
acrewdog@reddit
Try Paper Skies. I like many of these youtubers, but like most pilots, listening to them has a time limit.
CartoonistFirm4172@reddit
i really enjoy watching ‘arrival and departure videos’
Avenger1957@reddit
I like Pilot Debrief
MaxNerd115@reddit
I like Trent Palmer, he's more about just sharing his personal adventures and experiences in aviation. Plus he's unique since he flies a performance bush plane and he does some pretty cool adventures and tricks with it.
No_Size9475@reddit
I think they are like all youtubers, out for themselves and not really out to help you. You just help them get views and make money.
planespotterhvn@reddit
"Probable Cause" Dan Gryder a controversial figure has his heart in the right place and has single handedly reduced GA Fatals in the USA with his idea of AQP for GA.
The NTSB had about 20 reports and recommendations over 1400 GA crashes.
So Dan has created his own DTSB.
AOPA are corrupt and not supporting GA pilots
GGCRX@reddit
Hi Dan.
Have you stopped trying to run down cops with your DC-3 yet?
planespotterhvn@reddit
They weren't cops and they weren't run over or chopped to shreds by the propellors. Why were personal standing in the path of a taxiing tail dragger aircraft? Not a smart thing to do.
professorfunkenpunk@reddit
My only gripe with Mentour is that every video ends "and sadly, 350 people died. Have a great day!"
nice_flutin_ralphie@reddit
Quite enjoy Flight Formula and Stef747
AbstractPenguin2775@reddit
Josh Flowers of Aviation101 singlehandedly reignited my love of aviation during the pandemic. Lots of long form cockpit footage complete with decent voiceovers/workflows/takeaways. He's got sponsors but his plugs are tolerable.
FlightChops has a TON of content of varying quality/interest. The guy's essentially been documenting every facet of his aviation journey since he started. So he's got something for everyone.
AngleOfAttack is a flight instructor who provides various interesting tidbits from institution with his students and his own personal experiences. He does plug his online groundschool a lot but to be fair, it's his income. Plus the plugs are usually skippable.
adventuresofh@reddit
Josh does fantastic videos and is a really down to earth guy. I see him and Chelsea at airshows once in a while and they’re great to hang out with
Signal-Session-6637@reddit
I watch Pilotdebrief, but it also gets a bit samey.
Otherwise_Anxiety485@reddit
Interesting to see some that I watch not mentioned here. Fly Me to the Fun, LewDix, Jimmy's World...
RileysRetics@reddit
Disaster Breakdown makes really high quality accident analysis videos in my opinion. Been watching her for ever
GrafZeppelin127@reddit
Her empathy and genuine passion makes all the difference. You can tell when other creators are just phoning it in, she seems like she genuinely wants to be there educating you and paying tribute to history.
justec1@reddit
I have no desire to watch any YouTube video on any subject that I'm interested in. The formula for success on YouTube isn't compatible with how I want to consume content. Give me a blog post or long form article that I can read at my own pace, without the sponsor shout outs and other time wasters.
SovereignZ3r0@reddit
Steveo1kinevo has been a long time favorite of mine, especially for background noise when I'm working. Very low stress.
isaacMeowton@reddit
Speedtape Films/Nomadic Aviatikn
Emotional-Ad-6494@reddit
I’ll be odd one out… captain Steve lol (but I’m more a newbie)
therynosaur@reddit
Does yarnhub count? Or blue paw print?
They are animated though.
DonkeywithSunglasses@reddit
Blue Paw Print, Mustard, Animagraffs
mshroff7@reddit
Paul Stewart has cool videos
DonkeywithSunglasses@reddit
Not contemporary aviation related, but more engineering - mustard is the absolute gold standard
Zero_G_Diarrhoea@reddit
Im liking the channel Flight Formula, very information heavy and does a great job explaing certain topics. Also does abit of a deep dive about an airlines or destinations history and role it plays in the modern world.
On the other hand i cant stand Sam Chui. He comes across so fake, disingenuous and just a corporate ass kiss to get the access and free stuff for content and most of it doesn't really have much substance.
payton_101@reddit
Coby started out alright, now he just gets a bunch of free rides and is always filming himself in the seat doing little poses. I’m being a hater for sure but like bro…just explain it we don’t need to see your selfie
la_fleurr@reddit
Swiss001
oh_snap1013@reddit
That guy has to be one of the most annoying people I have ever seen
Hugo_5t1gl1tz@reddit
He definitely can be, but has surprisingly decent content underneath the loud personality
jskoker@reddit
I haven’t seen his videos in a while (because I blocked his channel), but I’m pretty sure his target audience is 12 year olds who get excited about chicken nuggets.
AckerHerron@reddit
Paul Bertorelli was outstanding, but I think he’s retired now.
MilliganFourteen@reddit
I like Glen's Hanger. One of the few youtubers about GA ownership I'll invest time in.. He's got an old 172 he flies in Canada and has several videos on the restoration and upgrades that have none of the click bait, sensationalism, or what-the=heck-are-you-doing-guy of the flipper and "rescue" channels. Down to earth, works with a cool A&P, and just well produced content.
flyguy42@reddit
Big fan of Glen. Great guy IRL too!
David_EH@reddit
Totally agree that Glen’s content is a gem
Antique-Kitchen-1896@reddit
He isn’t a pilot who became a YouTuber/video producer. He’s a videographer/business owner with a cooking show on YT first who then got into the plane side.
He’s has hinted multiple times the algorithms are not kind to him as they evolved and his flying channel isn’t covering the cost of flying and etc.
Not sure about the other YouTubers but Glen apparently flies hundreds of hours a year. His videos don’t really show that.
He flies out of the same field as we do. We have seen his plane many times or head it. I have driven up when I see his hangar open to say hi and chat a bit.
Generally I find the popular YouTubers annoying. I mean face it majority of viewers they have don’t fly. And if they only cater to pilots they will get less views. So they jazz it up maybe so the “I know something no one knows” hook on something that turns out every bloody pilot knows. And also the people making just flying around video unfortunately appeals to very few I think. As non pilots might prefer the sensationalist channel, while real pilots rather go fly than watch someone else fly.
You-Tubor@reddit
I like The Finer Points
DisastrousTravel1183@reddit
Almost all i find insufferable, the only one i watch is pilot debrief its pretty decent
roehnin@reddit
He is starting to feel Clickbaity with everything being the “worst mistake” and his “my heart goes out” message right after calling a guy incompetent is pretty jarring and feels fake
oh_snap1013@reddit
Even he is very annoying with his click bait style narration. “Make sure you stick around for the REAL pilot mistake made in this accident…” cringe
DisastrousTravel1183@reddit
I do agree in fairness, more or less best of a bad bunch i guess
skunkman62@reddit
Lots of death
segelflugzeugdriver@reddit
Flight chops is unbearable
Montrama@reddit
You know the truck hitting the pole gif? That's how I feel when I try to watch Mentour Pilot.
cwa45@reddit
What’s wrong with mentour pilot? I find his videos informative and entertaining
Montrama@reddit
I agree that his videos are informative but to me it feels overstretched. It takes longer than it needed to reach to the conclusion.
UAL914@reddit
don't watch mentour pilot anymore but i still occasionally watch mentour now. there's still some good stuff there occasionally but he's owned by private equity now and sells what gets clicks
derridaderider@reddit
Yep, another one that has become slowly and inexorably enshittified (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification).
TremendousSeabass@reddit
I mostly just watch AeroNewsGermany (obviously not a good choice unless you understand German lol) but he in my opinion makes really good and well structured videos about all things aviation plus some cockpit videos of his flights as a Condor A330 SFO.
p8ntballnxj@reddit
Maybe not directly aviation but I always love Jeb Brooks videos. Sometimes I wish he would be a little bit more harsh on his criticisms but I don't feel like he (sorry, he and Suzanne) are pushing something.
dopamine_fiending@reddit
As a doctor/anaesthetist, this is interesting similar to lots of medical channels for me.
ligeramentedeprimido@reddit
It’s just YouTube and social media in general now. 10 years ago it was a great platform to share your hobbies and interests, now everyone wants it to be their main source of income so that passion is gone and replaced with how to capitalize the most views and engagements out of their videos.
Boundish91@reddit
Disaster Breakdown is a great channel.
graypurpleblack@reddit
YouTubing is a business just like ANY other video you watch on the platform and you’re inundated with completely irrelevant ads you’d never buy from but alas that’s where we are.
Petr0vitch@reddit
I like Pilot Blog
qascevgd@reddit
Would highly recommend Flight Formula. Focuses more on the business and history or airlines, but are excellent videos and always interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/@FlightFormula
Boating_Enthusiast@reddit
What? You don't like Private Equity fueled content converting your favorite channels into a 20 minute subliminal message on what you should be thinking?
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=mentour+pilot+private+equity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoibAbdQf58
GrafZeppelin127@reddit
Yeah, Coby and Mentour are too forced, too overproduced and pre-digested. I much prefer Chloe over at Disaster Breakdown, and a particular diamond in the rough is Simon over at Flight Formula, who primarily covers commercial aviation and its rich history in the guise of being a travel vlogger/reviewer.
SubjectiveAssertive@reddit
I've recently gone off Coby Explanes, I honestly don't know what has changed either
PhliesPhloatsPhucks@reddit
So many are just “Watch me fly around in my cirrus”. There was one guy who I saw was straight up antagonistic to ATC and riled up everyone in the comments where clearly he was misrepresenting the situation.
People like Martin Pauly, on the other hand, are absolute gems. Love that guy.
PaisaLover@reddit
Flying for Money is a good one that's not very popular.
Pilot Debrief is amazing, providing a lot of resources and analysing small aircraft mishaps.
ninja_lounge@reddit
I miss Three Greens