Who are the top rated Aviation Youtubers?

FlyingDoodles
Trent Palmer
Steveo1kinevo
great Michigan something or other that has a Stinson
Trent's buddy the crop duster
Backcountry182
 
Premier1driver: super gentlemen
CitationMax: super cool dude
Blancolirio: awesome allrounder gem of a guy
SoCal flying monkey: super son-of-a-SoCal gun...
 
In addition to the great channels already listed, I do enjoy Fly 8MA, MZeroA, and LewDix Aviation. Not rating them above the other channels, just throwing out other good content.
 
Some of you seem to watch a whole lot of youtube! How do you watch it all? Does this replace watching "regular" TV for you? Or are you watching while doing other things, or while working from home or something?

Real question here - I mean, there are definitely some aviation channels that I watch on occasion, but some of these channels contain videos which are 30 minutes of them flying somewhere, with new ones like every week. I just don't have the desire to sit there and watch something like that. Actually, in general, if I see that a youtube video is more than about 10 minutes long, I figure it has more fluff than substance and tend to skip it.
 
RussR said:
Some of you seem to watch a whole lot of youtube! How do you watch it all? Does this replace watching "regular" TV for you? Or are you watching while doing other things, or while working from home or something?

Real question here - I mean, there are definitely some aviation channels that I watch on occasion, but some of these channels contain videos which are 30 minutes of them flying somewhere, with new ones like every week. I just don't have the desire to sit there and watch something like that. Actually, in general, if I see that a youtube video is more than about 10 minutes long, I figure it has more fluff than substance and tend to skip it.
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one of the good things about youtube is the ability to fast forward anywhere you want. knowing how most of the aviation youtubers I watch handle their editing, it makes it easy to fast forward past 10+ minutes of getting the atis, taxiing, runup, and all the other fluff in the video I don't care about.....and get to the meat of the video. no one is telling you you have to watch every second of every video. martin pauly is a great example of this. he does very good stuff, but his videos are 5 times longer than they need to be....FOR ME....maybe you're interested in spending 15 minutes watching someone get the atis and taxi and run up and yadda yadda..........I'm not. if his video is about X, I really only want to see the X part, which is usually not more than 5-10 minutes. the rest is fluff....again, for me. someone else might be interested in that stuff.
 
RussR said:
Some of you seem to watch a whole lot of youtube! How do you watch it all? Does this replace watching "regular" TV for you? Or are you watching while doing other things, or while working from home or something?
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Both. I don't have actual TV, so I watch YouTube. Additionally, I'm currently on a 16 hr shift sitting in a hospital room making sure an incapacitated individual doesn't escape federal custody. I'm about to go home for 8 hrs then come back and do it again. YouTube helps kill that time quicker.
 
Michael Cutler said:
Both. I don't have actual TV, so I watch YouTube. Additionally, I'm currently on a 16 hr shift sitting in a hospital room making sure an incapacitated individual doesn't escape federal custody. I'm about to go home for 8 hrs then come back and do it again. YouTube helps kill that time quicker.
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how is don corleone doing?
 
A few I haven't seen mentioned. In some cases I just fall across these while searching around.

The Flying VLOG https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFlyingVLOG is a UK pilot who in the past year went from his IMC rating to full IR. I enjoy it just because the airspace and the rules are so different from the US (no Class B. Class A at low altitude all over the place), so I actually get a chance to learn something new and unusual)

Life in the Fast Lane https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9CTZjYXYBMCrKLCXdOaMqQ @Jon Weiswasser who posts here is the drummer for an Eagles tribute band who flies a Meridian to the gigs. He does a great job explaining the planning process and timing - he needs to get to the gig so he knows when he needs to make the final go or drive decision. The flights are nicely edited to be interesting. Plus the music is great. They are in the northeast but I home someday they'll have a gig down here.

Pilot Bambi https://www.youtube.com/c/PilotBambi is a young woman from a flying family. With her channel it's just the complete joy she consistently shows in what she is doing.
 
Kent Wien's videos... the DC-9 vid is excellent.
 
Yeah, I watch more youtube than I do TV these days

Another nice thing about youtube for those you feel are too long....is that you can set the speed and watch at x1.25 speed, x1.5 speed, etc.... Some folks are slow enough talkers that it's possible to go up to x2. I used to do this watching the AOPA news show...can't recall what it's called at the moment.... then when an interesting topic comes up slow it back down to pay attention.

I like the channels that still keep it real. Some get too big, with too many sponsors (some are fine, I get it...) and such...and get too focused on making another video...to make their weekly post date even if they don't have "real" content. I like the ones that are real people doing real things...and while I get that they might not want to open up too much, they need to open up enough so the viewer feels like they can get to know them a little. I've seen a few channels that after a while I still don't know who these people are, how they got to where they are, etc.... and that bores me...
or when folks just disappear without a word. I even almost get worried about them..... almost a little like friends in a way.
 
RussR said:
Some of you seem to watch a whole lot of youtube! How do you watch it all? Does this replace watching "regular" TV for you? Or are you watching while doing other things, or while working from home or something?
.
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Its replaced most of my radio time and I use it like podcasts, which I never got into. Garage time, some driving, while the TV is on a news channel, during sports, TY for DVR pause and skip as well or before bed. Theres a couple of attorneys and others I "watch" almost daily 5-10 min each but you dont actually have look at it:) Like a new but familiar song.
I hear ya about the "watch me fly--again" types. Lucky for the skip or next button, radio style.

Airplanes Are Cool!
This guy DESERVES more subscribers. he doesn't publish often but has for many years so a nice catalog. When the "look at what I do everyday" can be interesting with a few cute fluff things tossed in. Above average production values and story progressions but could use (me) an editor for a bit of tightening up:)
Elliot Seguin- Test Pilot
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKmy6BOt58R_mkL2YszVo0Q

So the OP asked "Top Aviation..." 74Gear has nearly 2m subscribers but he sits in his hotel rooms, tells a few stories and comments on other aviation things. Elliot has 30K quasi risking life and limb. How did we fall so far from thinking like Teddy Roosevelt, or was it Hemmingway? I cant recall and can't be bothered to read about it:rolleyes:


 
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YouTube has expanded over the past few years since being acquired by Google. There is a much wider volume of content now ranging from old military training films to full featured movies and documentaries. There are also different types of personal channels from self help DIY tutorials to daily or weekly Vlogs. There is a guy in Norway who does nothing but crush stuff with a hydraulic press and occasionally blow stuff up with dynamite. Edwin Sarkissian shoots everything you can think of with a 50 cal just to see what it does. When your air conditioner starts blowing warm air you can probably figure out how to fix it yourself on YT. Looking for tips on anything from playing guitar to pouring cement, it's all there. Of course there is no quality control or filters so it's a mixed bag that you have to sort through but you can generally get an idea of the creator's knowledge pretty quick and move on if need be.

Who has time to watch TV anymore?
 
eman1200 said:
maybe you're interested in spending 15 minutes watching someone get the atis and taxi and run up and yadda yadda...the rest is fluff....again, for me. someone else might be interested in that stuff.
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I'm that someone. :)

Sent from my SM-A515U using Tapatalk
 
Well this guy, Mr. Holdmybeer has three MILLION views and it's sorta aviation related. You may as well give him another click, there's something to be learned here such as what extensive inbreeding will wrought.

 
Most of my youtube watching is targeted - I mean I go looking for something specific. For example, I started flying with an owner of a TBM yesterday. So the night before I watched a few videos on the TBM just so I wasn't completely clueless. But I didn't need to see 30 minutes of them talking to ATC in cruise, I wanted to see things like startup sequence, takeoff configuration and speeds, approach and landing configuration and speeds, etc. So it was more like research for me.

I will also watch self-help videos about how to fix stuff.

Granted, I do also watch occasionally for entertainment. But that's kind of reserved for the rare time where I don't feel like doing anything else.
 
Silvaire said:
When your air conditioner starts blowing warm air you can probably figure out how to fix it yourself on YT. Looking for tips on anything from playing guitar to pouring cement, it's all there. ....
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I call it Youtube University

RussR said:
So the night before I watched a few videos on the TBM just so I wasn't completely clueless. But I didn't need to see 30 minutes of them talking to ATC in cruise, I wanted to see things like startup sequence, takeoff configuration and speeds, approach and landing configuration and speeds, etc. So it was more like research for me.
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stevokenivo walks through the start-u sequence every time I think. I think I remember him flying a newer variant once and he went into some depth about the differences
 
Really..? You guys post thousands of posts about Jerry Wagner and none of you watch his channel ? Come on man...:)
 
Brad W said:
I call it Youtube University


stevokenivo walks through the start-u sequence every time I think. I think I remember him flying a newer variant once and he went into some depth about the differences
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Yes, I did watch a few of his. Good stuff (for what I need).
 
I watch James Good.
He's the Bob Ross of flying.

I have 115 subscribers. I think I'm related to most of them (BIG family :cheers: )
 
I really like Malibu Pilot. Maybe because it’s such a different kind of flying than what I normally do, and it’s a plane that I could probably actually buy, which makes it all the more attractive. I like Nikos Wings for similar reasons, although I understand that some people find him abrasive. I boycott backcountry-related channels, its a saturated market and I feel like they encourage a lot of bad behavior and have no respect wilderness areas.

But, we all know who the king of aviation YouTube is, right? Paul Bertorelli.
 
While I watch a lot of YT vids (like right now), I don’t have any go to favs. I don’t really subscribe or anything. I search for content and whoever comes up, I watch. Mostly airshow stuff, military aircraft or a particular GA aircraft review. While I get it can be a good learning experience for some, I really don’t get into the personal XC trip vids.
 
holy @#^% I just watched a youtube vid of a dude flying an IFR approach.........totally illegally........in the soup, no instrument plan, not talking to ATC, and totally clueless that everything he's doing is wrong. of course the comments are disabled cause my guess is he got chewed a new one. don't even really want to paste the link, why should he get views for doing that? just amazes me that there are people that stupid out there flying the same skies.

also, it's Friday, where are all the aviation videos?!?! I usually have a good half dozen notifications on Fridays.......
 
AA5Bman said:
But, we all know who the king of aviation YouTube is, right? Paul Bertorelli.
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LOL! I was sitting next to Paul at lunch a few weeks ago. The server recognized him and said how much he enjoyed him. Paul asked the standard, "what do you fly?" question.

"I'm not a pilot," was the answer.
 
eman1200 said:
I just watched a youtube vid of a dude flying an IFR approach.........totally illegally........in the soup, no instrument plan, not talking to ATC, and totally clueless that everything he's doing is wrong.
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I know that guy!! Mr. Secondary Minimums? Love that guy. He posts on here, too. But not using his real name...
 
midlifeflyer said:
A few I haven't seen mentioned. In some cases I just fall across these while searching around.

The Flying VLOG https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFlyingVLOG is a UK pilot who in the past year went from his IMC rating to full IR. I enjoy it just because the airspace and the rules are so different from the US (no Class B. Class A at low altitude all over the place), so I actually get a chance to learn something new and unusual)

Life in the Fast Lane https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9CTZjYXYBMCrKLCXdOaMqQ @Jon Weiswasser who posts here is the drummer for an Eagles tribute band who flies a Meridian to the gigs. He does a great job explaining the planning process and timing - he needs to get to the gig so he knows when he needs to make the final go or drive decision. The flights are nicely edited to be interesting. Plus the music is great. They are in the northeast but I home someday they'll have a gig down here.

Pilot Bambi https://www.youtube.com/c/PilotBambi is a young woman from a flying family. With her channel it's just the complete joy she consistently shows in what she is doing.
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I also like Life in the fast lane. On YouTube I like Average Aviator, mostly because he has a Mooney C and takes it to the Backcountry!

My favorite videographer is planegirl on tiktok. Stevie flies a V-tail Bonanza out of Ann Arbor. Her tiktoks are fast paced, informative and fun. Always fun to watch.
 
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