Gusts, a short strip and a lesson after Engine School for FlightChops
Steve's one upload of the week brings him home from an engine course to a narrow, rough paved runway and some very strong wind.
Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.
Schooled on Landing after Engine School
Steve, the private pilot behind FlightChops, went to Engine School and came home to a harder exam than anything in the classroom. "Schooled on Landing after Engine School" ends on his short, narrow, poor-quality paved home strip, with gusts the description calls crazy strong.
It was the channel's only upload, and it did the job a FlightChops episode is built for: a debrief. Steve has held his licence for more than twenty years and still calls himself a weekend warrior who treats every flight as a lesson. The comments read like a hangar chat. Viewers swap crosswind habits, such as partial flaps on windy days and an old taildragger rule about where to hold the stick while taxiing. One admires the footwork on the rudder pedals during takeoff, comparing it to balancing a broom. Others simply want to sign up for the engine course themselves.
The new episode has quickly become the busiest thing on the shelf. Behind it, the summer's smoky AirVenture arrival, when wildfire haze turned the trip to Oshkosh in a pair of Chipmunks into an instrument problem, is still finding viewers two months on.
The channel ran a little below its usual pace, and the subscriber count held still. Among aviation and machine channels of a similar size, Alan Trucker is having a very big week and Nautical Network is busier than usual, while FlightChops sits near the top by subscribers and keeps to its own steady pace.
Published on Trari
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What viewers say
Love the footwork on takeoff. It is usually hard in videos to see the dynamic proactive walking the rudder pedals necessary to stay ahead of rather than react to longitudinal alignment. It is like balancing a broom on your hand, but with your feet.
@jimmydulin928See it on YouTubegiven the conditions I'd consider that a great landing!
@haxi52See it on YouTubePartial flaps is nice when it’s really windy!
@matthewprather7386See it on YouTube
5 more comments
Strong gusts onto a short, narrow strip at the end of a long engine school trip is a lot to stack up. Great debrief on how you handled it, Steve, and thanks for having us along on this one.
@PlaneWXSee it on YouTubeThat was a good landing. That was a lot of wind for a little airplane.
@markjohnson9157See it on YouTubeGot currency with that landing.
@JordansTechJunkSee it on YouTubeSuper nice job with that. Now I want to go do that course! Also good job on landing. I've never even flown in conditions like that.
@jessedennerlein9746See it on YouTubeNothing wrong with that landing!
@DanRetiefSee it on YouTube
Public comments from the video's page on YouTube
The videos drawing views on FlightChops right now
- Channel
- FlightChops
- Subscribers
- 364,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 65,131
- Videos published this week
- 1
- Video published
- October 3, 2026
- Video views so far
- 38,136
- Views on its first day
- 20,339
The numbers
Here is how FlightChops' week looks in numbers.
💡 Test your knowledge
EAA AirVenture, the fly-in Steve's Chipmunks reached, takes place every summer in which Wisconsin city?
AirVenture is held at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, which is why pilots simply call it Oshkosh.




