One of the most inspiring parts of my aviation journey has been connecting with airline pilots—especially a Delta Air Lines captain on TikTok known as @thecaptainp. He’s an Airbus A320 pilot, and I first found his livestream on April 29, 2025, when he appeared on my For You page. Ever since then, I’ve been tuning in almost every time he goes live.

The first time I watched, I told him I was a glider pilot and started asking a bunch of aviation questions. He was super friendly and welcoming, and I ended up staying until the end of the stream. From that moment on, I was hooked.

Now, every time I join, I say hi and ask aviation-related questions, and he always recognizes me and says “welcome back.” I’m actually his number one top viewer on his livestreams. He takes time to answer questions in a way that’s easy to understand, and he’s always kind, professional, and positive. Honestly, he’s the most positive person on TikTok that I know of. Watching his streams has helped me learn so much more about aviation and what life as an airline captain is really like.

I even remember being there for his very first TikTok battle—a fun livestream feature where two creators go head-to-head and viewers vote by sending virtual gifts. He went up against a woman from Texas who had a spider monkey, a kangaroo in her house, and even a turkey in her backyard! It was one of the funniest and most random livestreams I’ve ever seen, and the captain handled it with such a great attitude.

One of the coolest moments was when he had Captain Moody, from the HBO show The Rehearsal, as a guest on his livestream. I even got to talk with him live, which was such an awesome experience.

Over time, the live streams kept getting better. In one, we were making aviation-related jokes, and one of mine actually made the captain laugh out loud. It even ended up in first place! The whole chat was laughing too—it was one moment I won’t forget.

Another favorite live was when he went down to San Diego to plane spot. I helped out by commenting on the current arrivals and departures, and he even pinned my messages so others could see. It was so much fun being part of that and watching the planes come in live.

In one of the livestreams, the captain asked everyone to share where they were from. I said Albany and mentioned that if he ever had a layover here, maybe we could meet up someday. Fast‑forward to June 2, 2025, when he hit 10,000 followers—we all celebrated on his stream with party music.

Sometimes when other airline captains are available, he brings them onto the livestream too—Captain Elias and Dreamliner Captain—and I always say hi to them, and they say hi back, which is awesome.

Then on June 29, 2025, it finally happened: I got to meet the Captain in person! He had a layover at Albany, and we met up in real life. We talked about aviation, the airlines, and all sorts of topics. He was just as kind and genuine in person as he is on TikTok. We had a great time hanging out, took a photo together, and he gave me some official Delta Air Lines trading cards. Each card features different Delta aircraft with cool facts and specs—they’re rare and hard to get, which made the moment even more special. It meant a lot.

Meeting the Captain was an awesome experience and definitely a highlight of my journey so far. After all the livestreams, it was great to finally talk in person and connect over aviation. He was just as kind and genuine in real life. I’m excited for what’s ahead and can’t wait to keep learning and growing on this path.