In this episode of Behind the Prop, we sit down with NFL wide receiver and pilot Brandin Cooks for a conversation that bridges two worlds rarely connected—professional football and aviation. Brandin shares his journey from becoming a first-round NFL draft pick and one of the league’s most consistent receivers to discovering a passion for flying. What started as curiosity quickly turned into a serious pursuit, earning his private pilot license, instrument rating, and logging hours in his Cirrus SR22. We dive deep into the mindset required to perform at an elite level—whether it’s learning a new offensive system or managing the complexities of instrument flying. Brandin opens up about how aviation has become a mental reset from the demands of the NFL and how the discipline of flying has sharpened his decision-making both in the air and on the field. The conversation also explores the personal side of aviation—flying his family, meaningful trips, and his desire to increase access to aviation for underrepresented communities. This episode is a powerful reminder that mastery, humility, and a student mindset are universal—no matter the arena.
NFL wide receiver Brandin Cooks isn’t just known for his speed on the field—he’s also building a reputation in the cockpit.
In this episode of Behind the Prop, Brandin joins us to share his aviation journey, from earning his private pilot certificate to advancing through instrument training and flying his own Cirrus SR22. What started as a curiosity quickly turned into a serious commitment to learning and mastering the craft of flying.
We explore the parallels between football and aviation, including how Brandin approaches high-pressure situations, learns complex systems, and maintains discipline across two demanding environments. He also shares why he considers himself a cautious pilot, how he sets personal minimums, and what he’s learned about risk management through aviation.
Beyond performance, Brandin opens up about how flying has impacted his personal life—giving him a new way to connect with his family and experience freedom outside of the NFL schedule. He also discusses his passion for increasing access to aviation and why representation matters in the industry.
Whether you’re a pilot, athlete, or someone chasing excellence in any field, this conversation delivers valuable insight into what it truly takes to perform at a high level.
00:01
Behind the Prop Intro-Outro
Clear prop 773 Cherokee number two following twin traffic. Three mile final race straight in Runway. Two five join four mile final. This is behind the prop with United Flight Systems owner and licensed pilot Bobby Doss and his co host, major airline captain and designated pilot examiner Wally Mulhern. Now let's go behind the prop.
00:25
Bobby Doss
What's up, Wally?
00:27
Wally Mulhearn
Hey, Bobby, how are you?
00:28
Bobby Doss
I am fantastic as always. What if I told you one of the fastest wide receivers in the NFL is also chasing glide slopes and shooting approaches in his own airplane. Today's guest has played in Super Bowls, put up nearly 10,000 receiving yards, and now he's logging hours in the cockpit like the rest of us. But here's the question. What's harder? Reading a defense at full speed or reading a metar that doesn't quite look right? Today we're talking football flying and what it takes to be elite in two arenas. The with Brandon Cooks. Welcome to the show, Brandon.
00:59
Brandin Cooks
Hey, Bobby, Wally. Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here.
01:03
Bobby Doss
So I'm sure many people know who know me, but Brandon and I happened to meet each other in Knoxville. One day I walk into the Cirrus Vision jet training center with three other older, bigger dudes like me, and then walked in Brandon, and I'm like, one of these things doesn't look like the other young guy in this room. And were all wearing name tags. I knew him right away because I live in Houston and he was a Houston Texan for a while. So I was so excited to see you walk in that door and never thought I'd get to go to dinner and be friends with you. So I appreciate you placating me a little bit through text message over the last 12 months.
01:40
Brandin Cooks
Yeah, yeah.
01:41
Bobby Doss
It's so much more fun to watch football when you know the guy catching the ball.
01:44
Brandin Cooks
Oh, thanks, man. I appreciate it. I definitely had a lot of fun, you know, in Knoxville with you and being able to go out to dinner and, you know, those was. Those chicken lollipops I still think about. So we got. We got to get back out.
01:56
Bobby Doss
We need to try those again.
01:57
Brandin Cooks
Those were good.
01:59
Wally Mulhearn
Yeah.
02:00
Bobby Doss
So we're going to talk about a lot of things today, but, I mean, you're a pilot. Pilot is what this show's all about. But we're also going to dip into football some and just talk about things. But when were at the Vision Jet center, learning how to fly a Vision Jet, I want to say, like, there were so many things that impressed me about you in general But I honestly think you were the best student in our class. Like, you came so well prepared from the rest of us. And I know everyone in that room by day two, knew who you were and knew what you did. Did, but you weren't. You weren't boisterous about it. You weren't bragging about it. You weren't doing anything. You were humble.
02:35
Bobby Doss
I think one time you actually let it slip about your day job and something about a playbook, and, like, no one really picked up on it. But when someone asked something about you memorizing things like, where do these two.
02:46
Brandin Cooks
Worlds meet from playbook, That's a great question. And so if we rewind to the beginning of me flying, I gotta be honest with you. It started off as a. In a sense, I felt like a challenge. You know, I got to know a gentleman. He owns an aviation, you know, FBO here, and great guy. And when he was explaining it to me, you know, it kind of came off like, I don't know if you can really do this. And, you know, of course, I'm the type of guy, Right? Yeah. Athlete. So I'm like, well, tell me I can't, and I'm gonna show you I can. And so I gotta admit that it was a challenge at first, and.
03:24
Brandin Cooks
And then when I did it, I'm like, well, thankfully, you know, I thought like this, because, boy, did it open up a new world and just fell in love with it. And so I'm. I'm in Oregon in the off season. You know, I get up there, and the flying around here is just obviously special, the mountains and everything. And so that's where it started. And once it started, I felt like it never finished.
03:46
Bobby Doss
And I think that's the neat thing, right? I see people come in my flight school all the time. They're not sure they want to try it. They get out of that Discovery flight, and they're like, where do I line up? Here's my left arm. You have all my money. Whatever it takes. I want to do this forever. And if we have the bug, those of us that are pilots, it just never leaves us for sure. And you did quite a bit of flying in Houston as well, right, when.
04:11
Brandin Cooks
You were with the Texas. So when I was with the Texans, I flew with Title, and I knew I really liked it because, boy, I was flying almost in the heart of the summer, and I would get out of OTA practice and workouts. So, you know, those afternoons get windy. It's really hot, really humid, and I'm in, you know, in that plane, and I'm. But I'm still doing it. And I just knew at that point, I'm like, man, if I can get through this, then I feel like I can get through anything. As you know yourself, living in Houston, those summers are brutal. And even though you might have an AC in that plane, sometimes it don't feel like it, at least at the beginning. So.
04:49
Bobby Doss
Well, and I mean, that's a long day of work and that. And those of y' all that don't live in Houston, the. The airport that he was flying out of is probably the furthest airport in Houston from where you played and practiced and worked out, right?
05:03
Brandin Cooks
Yeah, yeah. West Houston. Yep, yep.
05:05
Bobby Doss
Oddly enough, you know, the new facilities.
05:07
Brandin Cooks
Being built right out there now all of a sudden. Right, right. Yeah. Let's fast forward that a little bit. But. But yeah, you know, at that time, you know, my enduring ota, I kind of lead my family back where we spent off season. And so I thought to myself, I mean, I'm not going to waste this valuable time, right? You know, you get out of practice in the afternoon, I got all this time on my hand. What am I going to do with it? Instead of sitting around, you know, go attack, finishing up my private, you know, because when I get home, I won't have that type of free time. So that's why it was really important to me to, you know, to continue to push through it even in that summer.
05:46
Bobby Doss
So if we can, from the field to the flight deck, that's a great segue to that. Like, talk a little bit about your football journey for those that maybe aren't aware of you and where you used to play. Yeah, high school, college, pro ball. You're a first round draft pick, man. This is. No, like, you're not one of the guys who played the, the league average. Like, you're a journeyman, man. You're. You're the real deal.
06:11
Brandin Cooks
No, yeah. Well, thank you.
06:13
Bobby Doss
Love you.
06:14
Brandin Cooks
You know, I started playing football at 9 and, you know, I got three older brothers, so they all play. And, you know, I remember I was the one that was on the sideline always trying to play, right. But I was too young to play and my dad was always the one that, like, no, you gotta wait. And. And so it was kind of just in the family, right? Sports was one of those things that just keep us out of trouble, obviously. My mom put us in everything when my dad passed when I was six. You know, and so then I Started my football journey at nine and been going since. But for me it's kind of been that foundation on just my life, you know.
06:53
Brandin Cooks
Those are some of my fondest memories of me with my dad playing catch as a six year old, five year old whatnot, racing from across the street to the driveway. So it was always one of those things that was ingrained in me and I've always dreamed of playing in NFL. So you know, from nine through high school I don't really start getting heavily recruited until after my junior year. You know, I went to Stanford, this Knackee Camp 1 MVP and then floodgates, you know, kind of opened from there. I went to Oregon State University. I was funny enough I was committed to UCLA at first. That was my dream school. UCLA was and Rick Neuhauser was a coach at the time and then he got fired and so I'm like, well what do I do? Like the guy who was recruiting me is gone.
07:36
Brandin Cooks
And, and then coach Riley came, sat in my living room, had dinner with us and then it was a no brainer from there. And one of the best decisions I made in my life to go to Oregon State. Went to Oregon State for three years, played my true freshman sophomore and my whole, my goal was always to leave in three years. And so I was fortunate enough was able to leave after that third year, won the balitnikov that year and then got drafted in the first round to New Orleans. And it's been going on 13 years now in the NFL. And it's so amazing because you know, people think of just playing football, but the people that you meet, the connections that you make, the things that you're able to see that you probably never would have been able to see before.
08:20
Brandin Cooks
You know, I'm just, I'm extremely grateful and obviously going for another year. And yes, the game has been so good to me because it's opened up so many doors. I fly so the.
08:35
Bobby Doss
And I have a feeling it's not just playing football. I think the fat guys on the couch like me who are drinking a beer watching you play football, we don't understand what goes on six days, seven days a week. You're doing a lot more than just playing a three hour game of football for sure. So couple segue questions, which was bigger, the first NFL touchdown or the first solo?
09:03
Brandin Cooks
That's a tough one, Bobby. That's, that's a tough one because you know that touchdown you not worried about, you know, getting back on the ground safe and going home, right? Yeah, the you know, first touchdown, remember, in the old Georgia Dome versus Atlanta Falcons. Obviously, it's the greatest feeling, one of the greatest feelings in the world. But, boy, when you take off on that plane and you look to your right and there's no one in that seat, you're literally like, it's me and nothing else. Right? And so they, you know, the excitement standpoint, that first solo and coming in to land and touchdown, I, I, I think takes it. I think takes it.
09:45
Bobby Doss
All right. I think you're right.
09:46
Brandin Cooks
I haven't caught a touchdown past yet,.
09:48
Bobby Doss
But I think you're right. It's, I would also think, not that the first NFL touchdown pass isn't a monumental occasion, but you've done that so many times. There's something about that first time you solo and you look over there and there's this massive void, and you want to ask a question and you can't answer.
10:07
Brandin Cooks
Yeah, right. And then you didn't. And then you're talking to yourself, right? Because you're, you know, at least I did. I'm sure you probably did the same thing. You're looking to the right and talking as if someone's there to kind of, it's almost like that muscle memory in a sense. So. But yeah, boy, taking off and coming back in is, it's something about it.
10:24
Bobby Doss
My remember video still on YouTube. And I've talked more on that flight than I've ever talked on any other flight. Go ahead, Wally.
10:29
Wally Mulhearn
I just remember looking over at the fuel gauges and thinking, okay, I, I got about three hours before I really have to land this thing.
10:38
Brandin Cooks
So you're a little different to me. I'm like, okay, let me get my time down there and get right back down, at least on that first one. So.
10:45
Wally Mulhearn
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
10:49
Brandin Cooks
Drew Brees.
10:50
Wally Mulhearn
Drew. I was gonna say Drew Brees, number nine. Yeah.
10:53
Brandin Cooks
Drew Brees.
10:54
Wally Mulhearn
All right.
10:55
Bobby Doss
The. What, what about flight training surprised you? I mean, clearly you do a ton of training. Physical, mental, all that. What about flight training in those, in that private day, what surprised you the most?
11:09
Brandin Cooks
What surprised me the most, I would have to say, is the similarities. At least for me, in football and my training, like everything, it seemed like repetition, repeat, repeat. And, you know, for me, I thought it was just going to be all right. You do something a couple times, you go to the next. But how much you had to master, you know, step one, step two, step three, even just the pre flight of really getting that down. So the repetition and the similarities that you know, you go through getting ready for a game.
11:41
Bobby Doss
Yeah. Good comparison, for sure. So let's jump into part two, which I titled in my outline, High performance mindset. I mean, you're not just playing football. Like, give. Give us layman guys out here, some sort of an idea. What goes through your brain. I mean, you are an elite athlete with a playbook.
12:01
Brandin Cooks
Mo.
12:02
Bobby Doss
Actually, you have two or three playbooks in your brain from just the last 18 months. Like.
12:06
Brandin Cooks
Right.
12:06
Bobby Doss
Yeah. What. What is that really like?
12:10
Brandin Cooks
I mean, it definitely takes an ample amount of your life in a good way. Like, from the moment that you wake up in the off season and you know you're getting back into the training. At least for me, I structure my training as if I'm in season. So once after the season, take that month off. We travel a lot, but once you get into training, it's like, all right, putting my mind, my body in that frame of it's in season. And so waking up your routine, what you eat, you know, what you drink, how you sleep, it's a constant. Like, just, you know, you checking yourself. Like, all right, am I doing everything possible to be the best I can possibly be? You're never. You're never relaxed. I will say, especially during the season, like, you know, you get to.
12:59
Brandin Cooks
To get to Sunday, you're like, all right, let's check these boxes. But not just check them, but to go back and check them again. So when you get to Sunday, everything else is coming. Come. It comes so quickly. But. Which is funny because. And we really use this term, at least me and my performance team, like, you know, oil changes, like, okay, you check you constantly throughout the off season, once a month or whatever, you know, you're checking your oil. And for me, that's just, okay, my blood test and whatnot and what I'm putting in my body to make sure I'm getting everything that I need. And so it's a constant. Just. It's a. It's a constant check for sure.
13:38
Bobby Doss
That's amazing.
13:39
Brandin Cooks
Yeah.
13:40
Bobby Doss
And I mean, how many plays are in a playbook? I mean, you gotta know. You gotta know the whole thing. Right?
13:45
Brandin Cooks
I tell you install one alone is probably hitting you know, 30 plays, and there's probably eight installs throughout camp and OTAs. So you gotta know every play. Like, there's no. You get in the huddle in this, you know, trips. Right. Whatever it may be. And it's like, oh, I don't know that. Can someone let me know? Or can I check a picture? No, like, you gotta have that ingrained in your mind. And you better remember it because if you don't, then more than likely you won't be playing.
14:16
Bobby Doss
That's crazy. It is a performance, a pay for performance world for that.
14:22
Brandin Cooks
Oh, yeah, no, for sure.
14:23
Bobby Doss
Maybe even league minimum only happens for one week. If you don't know that playbook, if you don't.
14:27
Brandin Cooks
Especially, especially if you're at that, it's like your chance is to be able to mess up. It's slim to none. That is definitely the truth. You go in there and you mess up once or twice, you're done. Those guys that's making, you know, the big money, you got a little more leeway. Right. Because they're not just gonna cut that. Yeah.
14:47
Bobby Doss
So obviously there's pressure on game day. There's gotta be a lot of pressure when your family jumps in that vision jet, like.
14:54
Brandin Cooks
Oh yeah.
14:54
Bobby Doss
What's the, what's the varying difference in.
14:57
Brandin Cooks
The pressure that you feel, man, the game day? I can truly say, like once you get the game, like you don'. You don't feel that pressure. If you did everything Monday through Saturday, right. You get to the game and you're able to play free. Well, difference is with flying, you can do all the studying that you want to, the pre flight planning, et cetera and then. But once you get your family in there, it's a whole different ball game. Right. You get in that plane, it's like, it's not just me, it's my wife and my kids. All right. Did I actually do that pre flight? You know, the way I should every single time or whatever the case may be. And then you obviously go in this situation. For me, I'm like repeating my memory items, you know what I mean?
15:41
Brandin Cooks
So I know they're right there. Ultimately, you know, I don't show it because I obviously want them to be comfortable. And for the most part they are. They're back there watching tv. But it's definitely like, it goes back to what we talked about at the beginning, the touchdown. The first touchdown is great. It's special, exhilarating. But the thought of, all right, let me make sure I get back on this ground. It's a whole different ball game.
16:06
Bobby Doss
Yeah. Yeah. The other thing I think people that I relate to with flying is there's a lot of things outside of your control. Maybe in the game there's a lot of things outside of your control, but you're not going to have a pop up thunderstorm that you can't. You, you don't have to keep playing in the pop up thunderstorm.
16:21
Brandin Cooks
Correct.
16:21
Bobby Doss
They'll put you in the tunnel, right?
16:22
Brandin Cooks
Yeah.
16:23
Bobby Doss
But you might not have any control over that pop up thunderstorm. You might not have any control of the icing. You might not have any control of your boots on your wings not working anymore. And you might have all the best pre flight in the world, but we're human. I haven't done it, but. Do you ever left that AOA indicator cover on that?
16:41
Brandin Cooks
No, I haven't yet. I really have a good routine on that one. I mean, you probably do the same thing, take, you know, taking off and put it right in the middle, right between.
16:49
Bobby Doss
See it before I even close the door.
16:51
Brandin Cooks
Yes. I have not.
16:52
Bobby Doss
Because it sucks to open the door back up and go get it too.
16:54
Brandin Cooks
Yeah.
16:58
Bobby Doss
What is something that we don't think about that maybe compares to your football career and your flying with family with your high performance mindset?
17:07
Brandin Cooks
You know, the high performance thing, I mean, this is getting deep into the weeds. But, you know, like, obviously in this situation, we both fly in a vision jet, and that performance output is incredible.
17:18
Bobby Doss
Right.
17:18
Brandin Cooks
You know the thrust and you know how it operates. And as an athlete, you know, the way that we look at it, we're testing every single day, right. We're trying to get more power, we're trying to get more thrust, and, you know, being able to really monitor that and see that throughout the off season. Okay. How much more powerful am I getting? How much power output am I putting? How much velocity am I able to move this bar? How fast can I get off the line? And so it's kind of cool to be able to think about from that standpoint because we talked about it today, we call it movement preps. And I'm always usually doing something with some resistance on to get ready to run. Well, my pt, Ryan, is always talking about, think of it as airplane taking off, right.
18:03
Brandin Cooks
Like, the airplane doesn't just pop straight up, right. And so the same thing is coming off the line. Like you want to come off at that. The line at that horizontal projection and really gradually start to come up. Your first 0 to 10 yards, you're still down low, right? You still, you know, that power is still, you know, revving. And then obviously you get to that 20, 30 and you starting to come up. And then in our terms, in the pilot world, that's when you start to lift off. So it's cool to really be able to now really understand what my PT is trying to say, because I'm actually doing it in the plan.
18:41
Bobby Doss
I like that a lot. What about the mindset and having a not today decision in the plane? Like, I mean, I'm sure there's been days where you've said no.
18:52
Brandin Cooks
Yes, there definitely. There's no flight that. That's a have to flight in this household. But those things come up. You know, you wake up sometimes in the morning like, boy, I don't feel it in the athlete world. But the only difference is you still got to show up, right? You still got to go out and play, you still got to go out and practice. If your wheels are working, your, you know, your hands are working, you can walk, you can run, you still gotta go. There are days that you wake up like, boy, I just feel like I got hit by a bus or, man, my energy is zapped and. But you gotta still go. So how do you find it? You kind of dig deep. I talk to guys about what's your why?
19:32
Brandin Cooks
And, you know, if you have a why, you know, it makes. It makes it that much harder to just sit there and stay in bed.
19:39
Bobby Doss
So, yeah, I haven't ran many, but I've ran A marathon. One marathon. When I turned 40, I quit smoking and tried to get real. Love it and changed a lot in my life. And I grew up with a kid who was in a real bad car wreck and was paralyzed. And my why for that run was, you know, there's no doubt Willie would keep running. Like, if Willie could run, Willie would run. And I thought, man, I'm stupid and I think I can go run. Right? And I still use that as a why when I don't want to exercise sometimes. Because, yeah, if you're in that situation, you do anything to get up and exercise.
20:11
Brandin Cooks
Absolutely.
20:12
Bobby Doss
I like that mindset for sure.
20:13
Brandin Cooks
But it's interesting that you say, like, you talk about, like, you sure, you had a day in an aviation war. You're like, well, not today. Yeah, I mean, you're absolutely right. The weather, not. That's the difference. If I wake up and don't feel good and you feel out of it that not today is a lot easier to say, I'm not flying today. Right. You know, and versus going to work out because, well, it'll work out at the end of the day, you know, it may be hard to get through the workout, but ultimately I'm gonna finish that workout and get back to regular scheduled programming. Well, if you wake up, you don't feel good flying and you still try to have that macho mindset and push through, you don't Know what can happen? Cause like you said, we're human already.
20:55
Brandin Cooks
But if you ain't on your P's and Q's even more, then at that point, you know what's, there's no risk. That worth it.
21:03
Bobby Doss
Yeah, I guess you could probably skip one workout and get away with it, but you can't skip a pre flight and get away with it.
21:08
Brandin Cooks
No, you can't. You can't do it. So you can't.
21:11
Bobby Doss
It, it's going to be very obvious if you make that big of a mistake on that side of it. So let's jump to part three, which I titled Life, Family and Freedom. You, you open about it in a lot of your interviews. The coolest thing. And I, I, I've given you this praise via text. I don't know if you remember, but I text you and I don't hear from you for like seven days. And people would, some people would be like, oh man, he's not going to call, he's not going to text me back. But you have blackout windows. You told me about, like you put your phone away. Like, yeah, that for a small business owner like me is impossible, unfortunately. I wish I could do it. I think I'd be having a panic attack the second I put it away.
21:47
Bobby Doss
There's gotta be something you did to train yourself for that mindset as well. But I love it when I don't hear from you for a few days because I know that you're focused on the right things. Talk a little bit about your mindset as it relates to life, family and freedom.
22:00
Brandin Cooks
Oh man, I don't know where to start with that. Just because like I said, obviously earlier in the show I talked about how my dad died when I was six. And for me having three boys, my wife, like, you know, I'll be sitting here lying and say like, oh, it was easy to start off with just putting the phone away because kind of the same mindset, like, man, I can't miss this, I can't miss that. So I definitely had to train myself over time. But I realized, you know, when my oldest, you know, I was in OTAs and I get a video of him riding a bike and learning how to ride the bike without training was for the first time. And I'm like, boy, like that was one of those ones, like a gut puncher, right?
22:45
Brandin Cooks
Like, you know, I wasn't there for that. But at the same time, obviously, I'm blessed to be able to be, you know, doing what I'm doing to be able to give him this different life that I had. But I did realize, boy, when I'm home, like, make sure I'm home because I don't want to miss any of those little things. Our one year old, he's starting to walk. And so it's that much easier when you look at it from that perspective. Like, they grow fast. Like, their facial features change every single day. And when you just slow down and you just stare at them, I do it all the time. I'm like, yeah, there's nothing better or nothing more important in this world than, you know, being present for sure.
23:20
Wally Mulhearn
Yeah.
23:21
Bobby Doss
That's awesome.
23:22
Wally Mulhearn
So who's your. Who's. Who's your number one co pilot, Brandon, who sits up front with you?
23:26
Brandin Cooks
I got. I got to say Maverick, that's my oldest. He just turned five. He definitely. He comes up more often. He's able to understand not flying. But, like, if I. Every once in a while I say all you could push, you know, the 1, 2, 3, or the new frequency. And I kind of walk him through it. He's able to do it. And he's very. He's very calm up there and he listens as well, so not too worried about him getting up there, pushing buttons, Dash. He has fun as well. But I'll have him in my lap for about 30 seconds and I'm like, all right, let's get you back there. Because there's no telling what you might push. So. Yeah, yeah.
24:04
Bobby Doss
If you're a football fan and you're a pilot and you're not following Brandon on social media, it's. It's a, It's a. A good follow because there's a lot of good pics. The family and the Vision Jet and his boys in his lap in the airplanes for sure.
24:18
Brandin Cooks
So my wife's still getting used to it. She loves it, obviously, because of the convenience. Right. But I'm trying to get her to take one of those. What is it? The wife and husband classes, at least to just get her to understand a little more. Her dad grew up flying and stuff like that. But I'm still trying to convince her to do something like that.
24:40
Bobby Doss
But it. I can, I can understand that. That's a long, hard road. My. I own a flight school and have for almost 10 years. My wife has never touched the yoke when the engine's running. So good luck is what you're saying, huh?
24:53
Brandin Cooks
Yeah. Like, that's.
24:55
Bobby Doss
She's worried about the fact that Elon just changed the Starlink speed because Now, Starlink doesn't work in the sense.
25:01
Brandin Cooks
Oh, yeah, I bet. Yeah, yeah. Well, it doesn't work in a vision anyways. What. Whatever speed you're going, so.
25:06
Bobby Doss
So that's another thing we got to fix. So let's talk a little bit about family flying in the Vision Jet. So obviously you told me a story about the. The SR22 that you used to have, and it was loud, noisy, and yes, maybe. Maybe dropped the hint that she wanted something with air conditioning. And that's where you ended up buying a partnership and a Vision Jet. What do you think of the. Of the Cirrus products? I mean, you've probably flown nothing, but I guess.
25:31
Brandin Cooks
Yeah, yeah, no, I've started in Cirrus. I really think the product is great. Obviously, they have a long track record, and it's like a cool community. And so to be able to go from the SR22 to the vision Jet, in a sense, and I feel like it's been seamless, and quite frankly, probably a little easier. Less workload in Envision Jet. And so we take it everywhere. I mean, we even did the New York to Oregon. Oregon and New York, what? You know, a couple stops in between. But you still rather do that than, you know, have to go and go through an airport, Right? Especially, gosh, with everything going on right now. But, no, it's been great. You know, definitely would love to, you know, get their customer service a little bit on board. You know, you know, you take.
26:22
Brandin Cooks
It's like they get the sale and it's like, all right. It's hard to get in touch with them. And so they, you know, that can better. The community is awesome, though. Like, the people. The people that you get to, you know, meet, obviously, that's how we connected. You know, they do a great job from that standpoint of getting the community together. But, yeah, some.
26:42
Bobby Doss
Some would say it's a little bit of a cult, too. Like, if you're a. It's kind of like Ford and Chevy. If you're. If you're a serious guy, everything else is just.
26:50
Brandin Cooks
Yeah, yeah, that's a good point.
26:51
Bobby Doss
Yeah.
26:51
Brandin Cooks
No, you. And you get some looks sometimes, especially when you're in the SR early on. Like, you know, you get some of the Cessna pilots, like, oh, you just flying a compute. And rightfully so, in a sense. Yeah. So. But it's just funny kind of hearing some of that, you know, back and forth from different people.
27:07
Bobby Doss
Do the boys have any rules about that big red button that says Autoland on it? Like that one's not allowed to be touched.
27:13
Brandin Cooks
Yeah, they know it. They know it. They know it. From the moment we got in that plane, it's like, that is one of the main things we said that is not a toy. And thankfully, typically, like I said, building puzzles or watching the movie, so they're not even paying attention to it.
27:32
Bobby Doss
So what. What's the next airframe? Wally just went from triple seven to 787. What. What. What other products are in your future, Wally?
27:41
Brandin Cooks
You're a different breed for that one because that would not be in my. In my future. I'll sit in the back, but I will not be flying it. You know, it's interesting because there's so many different avenues. Like, one of my ex teammates, we still talk. He's in the tvm, you know, he. He talks all about that. And then I got another teammate that's getting ready to hop into an epic. He's like, dude, like, before you go to this, you know, more into the business, j, you got to come try out this epic. And I'm like, yeah. You know, but it is kind of, you know, when you start to really learn about some of these other ones, you kind of do want to dip your toe in the water just to say, like, I can do it.
28:22
Brandin Cooks
And so it'll be interesting because once he gets out, I would love to, you know, get typed in and kind of see from there. But the epic is probably the next one that's kind of been swirling around.
28:33
Bobby Doss
Interesting. The type rating. I mean, were there nine days, eight days, something like that. Like, that was hard work for me. I mean, I. I think I underestimated it a little bit.
28:45
Brandin Cooks
I think we all did.
28:46
Bobby Doss
5Am watching you fly slim and then studying at 11am, 11pm trying to memorize my flows. I was like, wow. I thought it was one plane, one engine. I could get this. But it kicked me. It kicked my butt. There's no question. And I don't know if you remember, but we. You. I think you passed and went home. And the night I'm studying on the phone with my wife, literally about to cry, thinking, I cannot. I own a flight school. I cannot fail a checkride. This is the stupidest thing ever. I feel this much pressure. And the plane hit the helicopter in D.C. and I just. I just said to me, I just said, look, it doesn't matter. This is not my life. It's not changing my life. I'm lucky to be here on someone else's dime doing this.
29:28
Bobby Doss
A lot of people just got Hurt. I thought it was probably one of my flight instructors who was in that regional jet, right. So world changed for me that day where the weight was lifted, unfortunately. I think we put too much pressure on ourselves around some of that stuff. But I still wanted to succeed, but. But, man, it just didn't. The weight of the world was off my shoulders at that point. And luckily I met a few good people on the last day and I got over the hump. And it was a big deal for me to know that I could come home and tell everybody I passed that checkride and got through it for sure.
29:59
Brandin Cooks
Yeah, yeah.
30:01
Wally Mulhearn
It never goes away. I mean, I just went to seven, eight, seven training, and I walked in and they say, okay, day three, you're taking your systems validation, which is basically your oral. And I'm thinking, day three and today's day one. And they said, oh, don't worry, everybody usually passes. I'm going, but I'm going to be the guy. I'm going to be the guy that fails. But I didn't. I didn't. But, you know, the 22 days I was in Denver, the TV in my room never turned on. It never turned on. My philosophy is if I got time to watch tv, I got time to have my head in the books.
30:42
Brandin Cooks
Yeah.
30:44
Bobby Doss
So, Wally, you have a few DP questions and just to put in perspective. And Brandon, you're not going to fail a check right here. This is more for fun, but how many tech rides have you administered now, Wally?
30:58
Wally Mulhearn
Oh, 1400, 1500, something like that.
31:04
Bobby Doss
He's got like five times the flight time on check rides than I do. Total times. That's unbelievable.
31:11
Brandin Cooks
That's unbelievable.
31:13
Bobby Doss
So your questions that Mr. Mr. Cook's here and see what he does.
31:17
Wally Mulhearn
Let me ask you this, Brandon. How do you think being in the pressure cooker of an NFL athlete affects your ability to perform on a checkride?
31:30
Brandin Cooks
Oh, that's where I will say, like the foot, the. How you've been, you know, every. How everything's been ingrained, how you go about training. And I'm not just saying it's to say, like, I'm sound cool, but it makes everything else that much easier because it's like, okay, the checkride, you got, you know, your dp, you got a couple people in that room that, hey, if it don't go well, that's where it stays in a sense, in that room. But boy, anyway, my career is an example. I've had heartbreaks throughout my career, and boy, does it follow you for a long time in A good way. It makes you get back up and go hard and get back to grinding to better. But the pressure of football and the wins and losses, the success and failure made the checkride, you know, that much easier.
32:24
Brandin Cooks
It made it that much easier. It really did.
32:27
Wally Mulhearn
Okay, because that validates something that I tell a lot of my applicants. I'll ask them, I say, look, did you do anything in high school or college that was competitive? Whether it's athletics, music, it could be debate teams, something where the pressure is on you. And you know, it seems like people who I. In fact, it was one of Bobby's flight instructors played major league baseball. I just had him for a check ride about two weeks ago for a multi engine ride. And he just seemed so calm and cool and collected. And I mentioned to him, I said, how does standing up to bat in a major league baseball stadium compare to this? And he told me, I think he was kind of pulling my leg, but he said that he was really nervous and that he was just faking it.
33:21
Wally Mulhearn
I said, well, okay, you faked it.
33:23
Bobby Doss
Really well, hang on, let me go into context real quick because I love this guy that he's talking about. And if you listen, he knows who he is for sure. But I think he's got less than 10 at bats in the majors and he has a grand slam out of those ten hits. Yeah, he's got two hits, so. And out of those two hits, he's got six RBIs.
33:46
Brandin Cooks
There we go.
33:47
Bobby Doss
I bet he's still there. If he went to the play right now, he'd probably still.
33:50
Brandin Cooks
I'm telling you, I tell you,.
33:53
Wally Mulhearn
That.
33:54
Brandin Cooks
Part makes it so much easier. Bobby, like we talked about, it kind of slipped. But like the memory items and remembering things, it's just, boy, you gotta remember so many playbooks and so to be able to take that and put it in, you know, getting my type, it was like, oh wait, this is the same way that I study on remembering the play. Like, okay, you picture it, you see it, and then you put it back there in the memory bank and then you move on. And so there's so many tools from football that I was definitely able to apply, you know, with getting my type. And then also, you know, flying, you know, flying airplanes.
34:30
Wally Mulhearn
All right, so Brandon, you're an instrument rated pilot. Let's say you're planning a flight and ceilings are forecast, right. At your minimums with a chance of dropping. Walk me through your go no go decision process.
34:43
Brandin Cooks
Oh, it's a no. I'm. We're not going, we're not going. There's no decision making process at that point, especially because obviously, you know, it's one thing to take off, right, and you think you can get through it. But what if, once again, what if you have to go back and land like, and it got worse? Like, what if, like I said earlier, like, there's no flight that's a have to flight for me in this household. They're really not. There's really not. In fact, it happened one time. It's only happened one time so far. I was in Coeur d' Alene having to get to Nebraska for some training with a bunch of other receivers and receiver coach. And it was something that I really didn't want to miss.
35:26
Brandin Cooks
He's been doing it for years and you know, Coeur d' Alene was fine, but the weather in Nebraska didn't look like it was going to be good. And so it didn't go that day. And I showed up a day late, which was fine. Like, it is what it is. Even if I was flying back from Ota before OTAs and weather wasn't fine. Now typically I go back a couple days before for that reason. So if something pops up, okay, I got the next day. If something pops up, I got the next day. But there's no coach that will scare me to say, hey, you have to get here. It's just not, it's not.
36:03
Wally Mulhearn
Yeah, well, I, I, I, I remember. And you're too young to know this, Bobby. You may even be too young to know this, but I remember when I was probably 10 years old and a huge New York Yankees fan to hear that Thurman Munson had perished in an airplane crash. So, yeah, that's, so we don't want to make that. You know, I, I, one thing I get to do at United Airlines is I get to fly sports charters. I've done quite a few charters for Houston Texans. And I always tell my first officers, I said, you know, a normal day, we make a bad mistake, we're going to make Fox News and CNN today we make a mistake. We're making ESPN too. Yeah, let's not do that. Yeah, let's not do that.
36:51
Brandin Cooks
Yeah.
36:52
Bobby Doss
I wonder if you ever flew Brandon somewhere a while.
36:54
Brandin Cooks
What years? Yeah, what year is you flew to Texas?
36:58
Wally Mulhearn
I've, I've, I had been on the triple seven the last five years or so.
37:06
Bobby Doss
It'd be close. It'd be close.
37:08
Brandin Cooks
It'd be close.
37:09
Wally Mulhearn
Yeah, it was I don't think I ever did a Bill o' Brien charter. I mean, it was all. All d', Amico Ryan, so.
37:17
Brandin Cooks
Oh, so I missed it. So you missed Lovey then? Because that would have probably been the closest. Let me see. Okay, so I missed you then. Okay, I missed you. Yeah.
37:25
Wally Mulhearn
So let me ask you this. On. On football charters, do you go up to the flight deck and talk to the guys?
37:30
Brandin Cooks
A lot of the times when I first get on, because I'm tenured enough where I'm in the first class, and so why everyone is bored, and I kind of go up there and chat with the guys. For sure. Yeah.
37:40
Wally Mulhearn
Okay.
37:41
Brandin Cooks
Sure.
37:41
Wally Mulhearn
They. They love it.
37:42
Brandin Cooks
They love it. Yeah, they're awesome, too. It just. And then I get some of the players that are like, they think they're interested in flying. I mean, just, you know, go up, introduce yourself, and it's definitely become a thing. Anytime I've been on the team to kind of go up there and one, say thank you, obviously, because, as you know, we got some late nights, and then two, just be able to talk shop.
38:03
Wally Mulhearn
Yeah, yeah. Well, that's cool. So you succeeded at the highest level in football. What. What's one habit you've had to unlearn to become a safer pilot?
38:15
Brandin Cooks
Oh, that's a great question. Probably. Yeah. Or I can do anything. Like that mindset, like, not necessarily. I had to unlearn it, but I couldn't take it with me to aviation. In the football world, in athlete, in my mind, I always tell myself, I can do anything. Hey, if it hurts, I could push through or whatever the case may be, but I was habit. I knew I couldn't bring to aviation.
38:48
Bobby Doss
Yeah.
38:49
Wally Mulhearn
Okay, so if I'm your examiner on a checkride and I give you an unexpected scenario, maybe an equipment failure, weather change, what's your framework for staying ahead of the airplane?
39:02
Brandin Cooks
Well, the. The weather question is it goes back to, you know, our pre flight, you know, being able to, you know, kind of stay ahead of it, get ahead of it from the standpoint of, all right, what is the weather outlook? What can it be? What does it have a chance of being? And so in my mind, I already have a plan ready. If it does become, you know, the worst of those three, and that's either diverting or going. A lot of the times from where I'm at, I'm probably turning around and going to Oregon. I mean, coming back to my home airport, I would.
39:36
Wally Mulhearn
You know, I'm a huge football fan, but. And I'm guessing on most Plays. If the quarterback's going back to throw, he's got a safety outlet. Whether it's the halfback. Yeah, he's sitting right there. He gets really in trouble. And so you've always got that halfback or that back sitting there.
39:56
Brandin Cooks
Yeah, yeah. And typically, to be honest with you, I'm still in the mind frame, especially when I'm going by myself with the family, because sometimes I'll take a safety pilot. But the times that I'm going with my family and the planning going on, you know, we're. We're looking days ahead. And then like the morning of, and it's like, all right, it goes back to, are we even going? Because my minimums with the family without a co pilot is. Is definitely different than when I have, you know, a co pilot.
40:26
Bobby Doss
Yeah, right. Yeah, right. All right, Wally got to ask his DP questions. I'm going to do a little lightning round, and then we'll wrap up. Brandon, Lightning rounds. Supposed to be fun, but kind of quick. And you just off the cuff, you tell me what you're thinking.
40:40
Brandin Cooks
But okay.
40:41
Bobby Doss
VFR or IFR?
40:44
Brandin Cooks
VFR.
40:47
Bobby Doss
SR22 or Vision Jet?
40:49
Brandin Cooks
Oh, Vision jet. Vision Jet.
40:51
Bobby Doss
Hand flying or autopilot Hand flying. Hand flying. I like that. Favorite airport you've ever landed at?
40:59
Brandin Cooks
Oh, Telluride, without a doubt.
41:01
Bobby Doss
For what reason?
41:02
Brandin Cooks
That approach. Because that day, or actually both times back to back weekends, I had to circle the land Runway two seven. And the way that you're coming in Runway nine, you breaking off and you're flying right over the ski run, there's a sign that says, don't buzz the ski run. I'm like, well, of course not. But we are that close. So it's almost like, you know. So that, from that standpoint is kind of cool because when you circle the land, you come around that, that whole pro, it just, it feels like you're just sandwiched in between these two mountains. And you only got so much to maneuver on that circle. So that definitely my favorite from a beauty standpoint, but also gets your heart rate up a little bit. Now, thankfully, both days were beautiful VFR days.
41:48
Bobby Doss
Yeah, when I did my soe, I, we. I started flying with this group of people that was helping me, and they said, why'd you pick that airport for a fuel stop? And I, I gave them, you know, fuel was cheaper, blah, blah. No, no. We pick airports to land up for the pie. You call the. Call the fbo, find out what kind of pie they have. We're going to stop based on the pie companies buying fuel. We eat the pie. So I learned how to pick the right airport that way.
42:15
Brandin Cooks
But I got to say, I know this was supposed to be quick Telluride, no question. It takes it. But Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands. Islands off of Washington state here are incredible because it's a skinny Runway at Roche Harbor. You know, not too long, but just kind of the same thing. You're coming through the islands, you more than likely depending time of year, you're going to see an orca. So that's a fun one.
42:43
Bobby Doss
Oh, that's beautiful.
42:44
Brandin Cooks
Yeah.
42:45
Bobby Doss
What's your least favorite maneuver?
42:53
Brandin Cooks
I would say I had a hard time because I'm getting ready for commercial. I had the hardest time, like with the Shondales, for sure. I don't know why. Do not know why.
43:04
Bobby Doss
But are you doing that in the vision jet, or are you doing that prop plane?
43:07
Brandin Cooks
No, properly, Probably.
43:09
Wally Mulhearn
Yeah.
43:09
Brandin Cooks
Yeah.
43:11
Bobby Doss
I always give this tip. We've talked about it. While he's changed his tech ride. You know, left turning tendencies will help you if you make. If they don't tell you the left Shondell is a whole lot easier than the right Shondell, so.
43:21
Brandin Cooks
Okay, okay, okay. I heard that one. Okay. There we go. There we go. There we go.
43:26
Bobby Doss
Always easier. Now, Wally makes everybody start to the right.
43:28
Wally Mulhearn
Most cases, no, I've never had anyone go to the right. I'll say, give me a Shondel. And it's always.
43:34
Bobby Doss
They're always easier to the left.
43:35
Brandin Cooks
So. Okay. All right. I'm gonna take that too.
43:38
Bobby Doss
For sure, we'll help. Remember that faster feeling, the deep ball or takeoff.
43:45
Brandin Cooks
Oh, I'm sorry, but the deep ball. You gotta go track that thing. Yeah, yeah.
43:51
Bobby Doss
All right. One word after this statement, Flying equals.
43:56
Brandin Cooks
Freeing.
43:57
Bobby Doss
And one word after this, football equals life.
44:03
Brandin Cooks
Amen. Yeah.
44:04
Bobby Doss
All right, Brandon, anything else you want to tell our listeners around the hardest.
44:07
Brandin Cooks
Airport that you've flown into?
44:09
Bobby Doss
Hardest airport I've ever flown into.
44:10
Brandin Cooks
Yeah.
44:11
Bobby Doss
Oh, Vegas on my check ride in the vision jet, circle the land, flying over the strip with zero visibility. In real life, that was literally. Last Sunday, I took two other buddies. We went to play golf in Austin, which I really don't fly for fun like that very often, so. It was great. I was excited. It's one of those, you know, I had to think a lot. Little. Little visibility problem. It was IFR to leave here, three grown men in a 182 with three sets of clubs. I did all my planning. Fuel was right. We're coming into an Airport I've never been to before. Lake Way in Austin. It's beautiful. Airport over the, over a beautiful lake up there. But, but you skim a house. No, no lie. We were 75ft over this house.
44:56
Bobby Doss
But it looked, you're never that close to a house and it's on the glide slope. So you're barely clearing this house. This little 75 foot, 2000, 800 foot Runway probably had 400ft of displaced threshold because you have to clear all these houses.
45:12
Brandin Cooks
Yes. Yeah.
45:12
Bobby Doss
To just, to just hit the numbers. Super bumpy. Nothing but hangar houses all the way down this, this airport.
45:22
Brandin Cooks
That's awesome.
45:22
Bobby Doss
That's awesome. For somebody who doesn't fly enough. That was kind of at my minimums for sure. I had my hand on the throttle to go around at any second. But all the hard work has paid off. I, I, I say that you every time we talk, you always say it's back to work. Hard work pays off. All the interviews, everything you said about Josh and the follow up to the at the end of the season this year, I could tell how much the sport means to you. I can tell how much your and I appreciate you giving us an hour of your time, Brandon, to be on the show. Hopefully our listeners appreciate it half as much as I do. Thanks for joining the show today.
45:58
Brandin Cooks
Yeah, no, absolutely. Thanks for having me, Bobby. Wally, it's great to meet you. Yeah, Bobby, obviously you became a friend. So I'm glad I was able to make the show and do another one once the commercial.
46:12
Bobby Doss
Do another one after you win the super bowl this year.
46:14
Brandin Cooks
Yeah, I know, right? There we go. There we go. I had a trophy. You're sitting right here.
46:17
Bobby Doss
That's the plan.
46:18
Brandin Cooks
That's the plan. That's the plan.
46:19
Wally Mulhearn
I like it.
46:20
Bobby Doss
For all you people listening, you want to know where Brandon's going next year. I'm sure Brandon. Well, give us get. I know I'm not espn, but let the cat out of the bag. Come on.
46:32
Brandin Cooks
Definitely playing again as far as let the cat fully out the bag, you know, can't do that. But obviously there's a few teams out there and probably make that decision after the draft. But I tell you, I loved every second in Buffalo. Josh knows how I feel about him. It'd be really hard to just sit there and be like, that's how we gonna end it. End it the way we did in Denver. I'm foaming out the mouth to just get back on the field. I know he is. I know the team is and you know, so we'll see where things go for sure.
47:04
Bobby Doss
Well, as you know, it's a million times more fun to watch a guy you know and are and can say you're friends with. I watched all your games. It was so much more fun to watch you the second half or the third, third of the season when they're using you and you're catching balls and you know, you're an impact in the locker room. Million times more fun. I hope you get to go somewhere where you get to make that impact and have a good time and hopefully have a chance at that ring.
47:30
Brandin Cooks
Yeah.
47:30
Bobby Doss
As a whole, always to the listeners, watch Brandon play football this coming season. Hopefully win a ring. And if you're flying, do your pre flights play. Stay safe, fly safely and stay behind the press.
47:42
Speaker 3
Thanks for checking out the behind the Prop podcast. Be sure to click subscribe and check us out online@bravetheprop.com behind the Prop is recorded in Houston, Texas. Creator and host is Bobby Doss. Co host is Wally Mulhern. The show is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to replace actual flight instruction. Thanks for listening and remember, fly safe.