Jamail Larkins

Aviation Start

No. of episodes

1

Latest episode

2026-08-19

Where can you listen?

Flight instructing is just a stepping-stone job? Cole Melby built a six-figure career as a CFI — and in the premiere episode of The AviationStart Show, a FLYING production, he breaks down exactly how he did it.

Jamail Larkins (founder of AviationStart and the FAA's Ambassador for Aviation & Space Education) sits down with Cole Melby of Tahoe Flight Academy to talk real numbers: what new CFIs can actually earn, how to position yourself in today's training market,
and the career moves most new instructors never hear about.

New
episodes every other week, right here on FLYING's channel — premiering on National Aviation Day, because the next generation of aviation professionals starts now.

More from FLYING: https://www.flyingmag.com

Explore more than $20 Million
in aviation scholarships, flight schools, and aviation career resources: https://aviationstart.org

More about Cole Melby: https://tahoeflightacademy.com/