About Us

Get to know Jim, Madi, and Trevor

Our Story

The Flying Midwest Podcast was developed by Jim Schilling and Trevor Norman. The two individually had the same concept and vision, to create an aviation podcast targeted to the Midwestern United States. It was through a mutual aviation minded friend that the two were introduced and the concept began to take life. CFI Madi Johnson was added to round out the crew and provide her knowledge as an instructor to the team.

Our team hopes to provide relevant news and events from around the Midwestern United States to our audience. We will also provide some education, entertainment, and our own brand of Hangar Talk along the way.

Thank you for taking some time to get to know us. Be sure to check out our bios below.

Jim Schilling

Co-Host/Producer

Jim Schilling is a co-host and producer for the Flying Midwest Podcast.

Jim is a four-year veteran of the United States Air Force. His service in active duty was in the Security Forces field and he was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada. Post-military, Jim has spent the last 16 years in law enforcement.

Jim began private flying in 2012. He holds a Private Pilot certificate and is Instrument-rated. He is currently working towards his Commercial Single-Engine rating with hopes of continuing on to become a CFI. Jim is a part-owner of a 1974 Beechcraft Sundowner and recently purchased a hangar that has been affectionately named “The Beechhouse.”

Jim is an active member of the Civil Air Patrol. He has served in positions from squadron Emergency Services Officer to Assistant Inspector General for the Minnesota Wing. He has been an aircrew member and served on numerous search and rescue missions.

Outside of aviation, Jim enjoys finding creative outlets. He enjoys landscape, nature, and aviation photography. Some of his favorite photographs have been taken on hikes with his family at state parks around Minnesota.

Jim is married with two children and lives in the north metro of Minneapolis.

Trevor Norman

Co-Host

Trevor Norman-Sheveland is a co-host for the Flying Midwest Podcast.

From supply-chain logistics in the Air Transportation (2T2) as his career field in the US Air Force, to a former airline ground instructor on the CRJ -700/-900, and being a C-130 Flight Engineer (1A1) in training, Trevor’s experience is wide-ranging.

In addition to his formal positions, Trevor also spends a significant portion of time each year volunteering with a disaster response organization called AERObridge, which coordinates pilots and supplies to deliver aid to wide-ranging disaster areas where normal means of transportation are not viable.

Trevor holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in aviation business. He holds a commercial single-engine pilot certificate with a pending multi-engine add-on. Eventually, he wishes to become a certificated flight instructor. In addition to college-level courses, Trevor also has completed several other formal and informal courses, both military and civilian.

In Trevor’s free time, he enjoys practicing writing and has published several books, ranging from children’s books to shorter novels. His most recent publication is Six Miles Above the Earth and Juliet the Airplane.

Trevor is married with two young daughters and resides in the southwest metro of Minneapolis.

Madi Johnson

Co-Host/Resident CFI

Madi completes the trifecta of co-hosts on the Flying Midwest Podcast.

Madi is a CFI/CFII and is a senior at Liberty University, where she is earning her BA in Aviation: Professional Pilot. Her flying journey began in 2019 and she dreams of flying for UPS, preferably on the Boeing 747. Teaching, especially within aviation, is one of her many passions in life. She hopes to have her MEI by May and desires to teach full-time after graduation. In the meantime, she works for a small property management company mainly as a painter, but also performs apartment turns and general upkeep on antique apartment buildings. She is also an amateur editor when time permits.

Aside from aviation, Madi enjoys a plethora of things in her limited free time, including reading, writing short stories, painting, and taking care of her snake, fish, and snails. Someday, she would love to get back to riding horses and playing the violin. She hopes to launch a small business in the coming months.

She currently lives with her parents and her dog, Piper, in the southwest metro of Minneapolis, Minnesota.