In this episode of 4200%, Anthony Geraci sits down with Lee Collins, CEO of the National Flight Training Alliance (NFTA). Lee shares his journey from starting a flight school in Kentucky to leading a national trade association shaping the flight training sector’s future. They explore the unique scaling challenges in aviation, the founding of NFTA, and how the organization gives a unified voice to flight schools on Capitol Hill. Lee discusses building credibility with regulators, tackling pilot mental health, and what it really takes for flight schools to grow sustainably in a changing industry.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
(00:00:00) Lee Collins’ early aviation roots and career path
(00:00:53) Founding a flight school and lessons learned in the 80s and 90s
(00:01:47) Choosing between broadcasting and flying
(00:03:47) Transition to Capitol Hill and post-9/11 aviation security
(00:05:45) Founding the NFTA to fill an industry gap
(00:07:43) Building influence in Washington and FAA reauthorization
(00:11:22) Tackling pilot mental health through non-punitive pathways
(00:12:11) Leading the redesign of 141 training regulations
(00:14:26) The importance of showing up and leading well
(00:16:35) Lee’s advice for scaling a flight school and aviation business
(00:17:23) How to get involved with NFTA
Links:
Anthony Geraci on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-geraci
Lee Collins on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecollins12
NFTY: https://www.nftaus.org/
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.