Plane + Pilot Podcast: Ken Wittekiend

In the latest episode of the Plane + Pilot Podcast, editor-in-chief Cayla McLeod sat down with longtime aviator, instructor, and writer Ken Wittekiend to discuss his extensive career in general aviation education and disaster relief operations.

Wittekiend’s roots in aviation began in the mid-1970s while he was attending the University of Texas at Austin. Inspired by his father, who flew a P-51 at the end of World War II, Wittekiend decided to take a discovery flight in an old J-3 Cub at a grass airport near Manor, Texas. 

He was instantly hooked, earning his private pilot certificate within six months and later obtaining his commercial, instrument, and CFI ratings. Holding a degree in education, Wittekiend chose to bypass the traditional airline track to focus entirely on his passion for instructing. 

“Teaching in an airplane made a lot more sense and seemed a lot more fun,” Wittekiend said during the episode.

Throughout decades of instructing out of his home base at the Burnet Municipal Airport (KBMQ), Wittekiend focused on teaching students the deeper context behind flying rather than just rote procedures. 

For fellow educators, he counsels humility and a willingness to listen, noting that young flight instructors often “talk too much, we don’t listen enough, and we fly too much.”

From 2010 to 2020, Wittekiend also served as a DPE in Central Texas, administering approximately 2,500 check rides. His favorite exam to give was the CFI check ride, citing the significant force multiplier effect that a quality instructor has on the broader aviation community.

Beyond his instructional work, he has dedicated time throughout his piloting career to volunteering in disaster relief operations.

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he flew his Beechcraft Bonanza to Louisiana to transport church-gathered supplies to hard-to-reach secondary markets. He returned to relief flying in 2010 after the devastating Haiti earthquake, partnering with Bahamas Habitat to stage daily supply flights into remote Haitian airfields. More recently, he volunteered in a ground logistics capacity with Heal Corp during the Central Texas floods.

Catch the full conversation with Wittekiend on the Plane + Pilot Podcast, available weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite streaming platform.