About Us

Built on friendship.
Flown by community.

We met on Day 1 of college and never stopped sharing notes, songs, and flights. Two decades later, we're still helping pilots help each other—faster to the left seat, together.
Our Story

How It Started

The Bookstore Day

First day chaos at the  Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo bookstore. Johnny asks a stranger—Nate—to hold his wallet and place in line while he grabs one more book. That stranger says yes without hesitation. Twenty minutes later, they discover they're both in the same flight class. Instant trust that would last two decades.
From then to now
The same trust that started in a bookstore line now powers every lesson plan we create.

Roommates • Teammates • Bandmates

College roommates who formed a band called "Boycott Bravado." Those late-night rehearsals taught us teamwork and discipline that would prove essential in aviation: brief clean, execute clean, debrief cleaner. The same precision we brought to the rhythm section (Nate - drums, Johnny - bass), we now bring to lesson plans.
Nate's Note
"The band taught us that every great performance has a cast—just like every great checkride story."
College Notes
  • Clear objectives
  • Key questions
  • Visual diagrams
  • Common pitfalls
BSP Lesson Plans
  • Learning objectives
  • DPE questions
  • Whiteboard sketches
  • Student pitfalls

Nate's Notes Saved the Semester

Philosophy of Religion—the kind of class that breaks students. Johnny was drowning until Nate shared his notes. They weren't just notes; they were perfectly structured, crystal-clear roadmaps through complex concepts. Nate's notes were always the best.

The Captain & The Builder

Nate

Founder & CEO
  • USAF C-17 Instructor Pilot
  • Major airline First Officer
  • Former CFI/CFII/MEI
  • 8,500+ flight hours
  • 5,000+ turbine hours
Writes and iterates every lesson plan. Educates through the 90-Minute Build and Five-Pipeline Perspective.

Johnny

President & Co-founder
  • An early Backseat Pilot helper since the reference-card days (2014).
  • Later built HomeRoom, a Y Combinator company backed by top-tier VCs and eventually acquired by Bungalow .
  • His first 60 days at Backseat Pilot focused on thoughtful pricing and marketing updates that helped lift sales by about 50%.
After years of leading his own company, he’s grateful to take a supporting role here—working alongside Nate to make aviation training smoother, more efficient, and less stressful for the next generation of pilots.
We Believe in Wingmen

"Every great checkride story has a cast—classmates, instructors, friends who quiz you on the ramp. We built Backseat Pilot to give you that wingman feeling on every page."

Nate Ehlers
CFI, CFII, MEI, USAF C-17 Instructor Pilot & Major Airlines Pilot
Wing man Mentality
All Signal, No Noise
Forged in Flight

Friendship Gallery

Two decades of shared flights, notes, and dreams
Pilot wearing headphones operating controls inside a small airplane cockpit with multiple digital flight instruments and navigation displays.

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SCHOOL

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