Meet ‘The Air Up There,’ a New Podcast from the FAA
It’s a show for anyone who wants to geek out about aviation, drones and the future of flight.
Aerospace and aviation are, in a word, incredible.
Have you ever found yourself looking out of the window of a plane, wondering how it all works? Have you ever wanted to know what really goes on inside of an air traffic control tower? On a typical day, hundreds of thousands of aircraft fly in our National Airspace System — commercial jets, smaller general aviation planes, helicopters, drones, spacecraft, and beyond.
We’ve come a long way since the first human flight more than a hundred years ago, and things are changing exponentially. In the not-too-distant future, our airspace could look completely different — think drones delivering packages to your doorstep, air taxis that fly without a pilot onboard, and supersonic planes that can transport people across the world in a fraction of the time passenger planes do today.
Like we said, incredible.
Here at the Federal Aviation Administration, we’re a little biased; we love all things aviation! It’s in that spirit that we’re excited to announce our new podcast, The Air Up There. It’s a show for anyone who is interested in learning more about aviation — whether you’re an aviation geek (av geek, for short) like us or just getting started.
Our hosts are two long-time av geeks: Alison Duquette, who has worked at the FAA for more than 20 years, and John Croft, an FAAer, general aviation pilot and a flight instructor.
In our first episode, we sit down with air traffic controllers and air traffic managers to hear what it’s been like to keep our National Airspace System operating amid the COVID-19 public health emergency. Listen to Episode 1, “Air Traffic Amid a Public Health Emergency.”
In Episode 2, we speak with TJ Kim, a 16-year-old student pilot who decided to use his training flights to deliver personal protective equipment, or PPE, to rural hospitals in his home state of Virginia. Listen to Episode 2, “Operation SOS.”
Like some of you, our team in the Office of Communications has been working from home since mid-March. That means we’ve produced this entire show from our own homes — it just felt right to start sharing these stories now.
We hope that you’ll give the show a listen. You can find it on our website and on Apple Podcasts.
