About Marc Launey
I fly airplanes for a living and spend the rest of my time thinking about why human beings perform the way they do — and what aviation has learned that most people never hear about.
The Short Version
I’m an active airline pilot, content creator, and the founder of Pilot Psychology — a framework for peak human performance built on six concepts drawn directly from professional aviation.
The podcast is where I work this out in public. The book is being assembled from those recordings. The website is the hub for all of it.
Why Pilot Psychology
Aviation has spent decades and billions of dollars understanding how humans fail under pressure — and how to prevent it. Crew Resource Management, human factors research, fatigue science, threat and error management — the industry has built an enormous body of knowledge.
Most of it never leaves the cockpit.
Pilot Psychology is my attempt to change that. To translate what aviation knows about situational awareness, decision-making, peak performance windows, and mental health into something useful for anyone who performs under pressure. Which is most people, most of the time.
The Six Concepts
The framework has six core ideas. Each one is drawn from aviation and applied to life:
- Being Pro — Systems that work on your worst day, not just your best
- Situational Awareness — Perception → Comprehension → Projection
- Checklist Mindset — Pre-flight thinking for high-stakes moments
- Decision Under Pressure — Calls with incomplete info and no time
- Peak Performance Windows — Timing, fatigue, and energy management
- Pre-Flight Ritual — Mental preparation before important events
How I Work
My schedule is irregular and non-negotiable in real time. Flying days mean voice capture only. Airport days are moderate energy. Dad days are low output. Home days with no flying are my primary deep work windows — and I protect them.
The system has to work even when I disappear for three days. That constraint is a feature, not a bug — it’s what forced me to build something that actually runs on its own.
The content flywheel:
PODCAST → BOOK → PLATFORMS
(record) (extract) (repurpose)One episode = one chapter section + five platform posts + ten ideas. Claude handles the extraction. I handle the recording.
What I’m Building
- The Pilot Psychology Podcast — Launching now. Mixed format (solo + guests). YouTube + audio.
- thepropilot.com — This site. Podcast hub, blog, and eventually coaching.
- The Book — Assembled from podcast transcripts. The flywheel in motion.
- Course / Digital Product — Teaching the framework in a structured format.
- Coaching — One-on-one work applying the six concepts directly.
If any of this resonates, listen to the podcast or explore the framework.