Vesa Turpeinen

Corporate #pilot flying Bombardier Globals. Author of the pilot career series.

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

The Challenger 605 flight deck. Looks overwhelming? Nobody learns it all at once. One system, one procedure, one flight at a time. Every complicated thing is just a lot of simple things stacked up. :) ✈️

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

"More flaps means more speed, right?" Not quite — flaps add lift AND drag. Lower takeoff and landing speeds, yes. Full flaps for takeoff, no. Sherman demonstrated the drag part with a parachute. 🐷✈️ https://t.co/9qxI66cdGz

#FlightTraining #StudentPilot #FunkyPilotAcademy

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

Chinese New Year in the Challenger 605 cabin. 🧧 Corporate aviation teaches you fast that flying well is only part of the job — the rest is understanding the people on board and what matters to them. :) ✈️

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

"Another peaceful day in the office." — "Define peaceful..."
Cruise flight: 90% quiet monitoring, 10% sudden activity, 100% snack-dependent. The crew never stops watching. A boring flight is a well-flown flight.
From the book: https://t.co/2jN9oCcUnj
#FunkyPilotJournals

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

The view from the office, above the clouds in the Challenger 605. That layer below isn't just scenery — cloud tops tell you where the weather is building and where the turbulence lives. Pilots read the sky like sailors read the sea. :) ✈️

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

The Liberty XL2 — flew it in Florida 2006–2007. Fun, fast for a two-seater, and it had finger brakes instead of toe brakes. It also almost killed me once: engine failure at 300 ft after takeoff. Full story: https://t.co/NAIdD0VqGN ✈️

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

"Welcome aboard! Any questions?"
Meet the crew: a captain, a snack-focused first officer, one dog, and a pig who becomes the voice of reason.
In aviation, the question you don't ask is the one that bites you.
From the book: https://t.co/2jN9oCcUnj
#FunkyPilotJournals #FunkyPilot

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

2009–2012, Chaoyang, China: small town, zero pizza places. Solution: bought a commercial pizza oven, put it on my apartment floor, learned from books. Moved 3 times with it before letting go. The pizza parties were worth it. When there's no pizza place, become one. 🍕

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

Post-flight matters too. Tie down the aircraft after landing — wind doesn't wait. And cross-check each other's work. More eyes catch more mistakes. 🐷✈️ https://t.co/9qxI66cdGz

#CRM #AviationSafety #Airmanship #FunkyPilotAcademy

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

Visiting the ATC tower in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, 2007. My tower visits: Myrtle Beach, SC (2000), Atlanta International (2005), Baotou (2007), Chaoyang, China (~2010). Four towers, four different worlds — aviation takes you into interesting places. ✈️

#Aviation #ATC #PilotLife

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

Took this photo in Scotland about ten years ago. A pint in one hand, fire in the other — a tricky one. :) The best picture of decision making I know: most choices aren't good vs bad, but comfort vs cost. In aviation, the comfortable hand often holds the fire. ✈️

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

My second — and last — car: a Chevy Lumina. Daytona Beach → Dallas for my DFW Airport internship → back to Daytona a year later. Finnish flag sticker included. :) Sold it in 2007, haven't owned a car since. Asia's public transport covers the rest. 🚗

#Throwback #ExpatLife

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

The shortest car ownership of my life: a red Mitsubishi Pajero my brother left me in Florida in 2001 when he moved back to Finland. Drove it a few weeks, then sold it. But for a moment, the driveway lineup was complete.

#Throwback #Florida #Mitsubishi #CarMemories #PilotLife

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

Not all aircraft have them, but on those that do — removing the control lock before flight is one check you cannot skip. ✈️ https://t.co/f4UU2vDnNt

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

My first car: a 1986 Pontiac Grand Prix. $2K in South Carolina at age 20. The AC blew hot air into the cabin — didn't mind, I was in Florida with the windows open. :) Drove it for years. Good times! 🚗

#FirstCar #Throwback #Florida #StudentLife #PilotLife

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

Eight characters. One academy. A universe of aviation education told through humor, real flying concepts, and a cast designed to reflect the diverse community that makes up modern aviation.

https://t.co/f4UU2vDnNt
#FunkyPilotAcademy #AviationComics #FunkyFlightCrew #ComicBook

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

Our Diamond FTDs in Chaoyang — two for the DA40, one for the DA42. Great for instrument training and new procedures. I was there for the installation, calibrating them with Diamond's technicians so the data matched pilot inputs. Fascinating to see how they work inside. ✈️

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

One of those preflight items that seems impossible to miss — until it isn't.

https://t.co/f4UU2vDnNt
#PreFlight #ChecklistDiscipline #AviationSafety #FunkyPilotAcademy

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

One perk of my instructor years in China: factory pickups. I'd travel to the Diamond joint-venture factory in Binzhou to test fly brand new DA40s — and if all checked out, fly them home to our base. Not many pilots get to fly airplanes with zero hours in the logbook. ✈️

[Vesa Turpeinen @FunkyPilot_Vesa]

Behind every pilot there's a whole team making it happen. Aviation is a team sport. No one aviates alone. ✈️ https://t.co/f4UU2vDnNt

#PilotLife #Aviation #FunkyPilotAcademy #FunkyPilot #NoOneAviatesAlone #CorporatePilot #Avgeek #AviationCommunity