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Episode 69: Captain Heidi Porch
Jul 06, 2025 1h 26m

Episode 69: Captain Heidi Porch

In this episode of Talking Flight, we sit down with retired Delta A330 Captain Heidi Porch. She began flying at 16 and quickly found herself ferrying small aircraft across the Pacific. One of those...

Episode 68: Captain Tad Santino
Mar 03, 2025 1h 16m

Episode 68: Captain Tad Santino

Retired Captain Tad Santino joins us on this episode of Talking Flight. He shares the story of his journey from being a gate agent for a regional airline to becomming a Captain for Alaska Airlines....

Episode 67: USAF Academy Cadet Jaylen Palmer
Oct 18, 2024 48 min

Episode 67: USAF Academy Cadet Jaylen Palmer

We're excited to have US Air Force Academy Cadet Jaylen Palmer on Talking Flight to share his journey to earning admission to the prestigious Service Academy. At just 20 years old, Jaylen is our yo...

Episode 66: Podcaster and Corporate Pilot Captain Rick Jones
Sep 23, 2024 53 min

Episode 66: Podcaster and Corporate Pilot Captain Rick Jones

Mike Swanigan interviews Corporate Pilot and Podcaster Captain Rick Jones. Rick pilots a Dassault 7X jet for a private owner and is also the host of "The RMFJ Podcast", currently trending on Spotif...

Episode 64: Captain Michael Rinehart
Jun 01, 2024 1h 7m

Episode 64: Captain Michael Rinehart

Retired Alaska Airlines Captain Michael Rinehart is our guest on today's edition of Talking Flight. We have a great conversation about his childhood as an "Airline Brat," including summers spent tr...

Episode 63: Captain Joe Kohler
Apr 27, 2024 1h 12m

Episode 63: Captain Joe Kohler

Captain Joe Kohler is a former Naval Aviator who went to work for Northwest Airlines after leaving the U.S. Navy. Northwest Airlines later merged with Delta Airlines, where he finished his amazing ...

Episode 62: US Army Chief Warrant Officer Ron Warren (retired)
Mar 11, 2024 1h 0m

Episode 62: US Army Chief Warrant Officer Ron Warren (retired)

Welcome to Season 2 of Talking Flight.   Our guest today is Chief Warrant Officer Ron Warren. He is a distinguished Army veteran with a career that has taken him from the Utah Army National Gu...

Episode 61: Alaska Airlines Captain Gary Ellington
May 25, 2023 56 min

Episode 61: Alaska Airlines Captain Gary Ellington

Captain Gary "Duke" Ellington is a veteran Captain for Alaska Airlines. Gary went from being a high school football player to a pilot for the US Navy. After the Navy, Gary was hired by Alaska Airli...

Episode 60. Mr. Paul Salerno, CEO of OmniSMS
Dec 01, 2022 57 min

Episode 60. Mr. Paul Salerno, CEO of OmniSMS

Paul Salerno and his brother Bruce started SalAir, a cargo airline in 1980 that served the salmon industry in Alaska. The company grew into to regional cargo airline that provided feeder air servic...

Episode 59: Frontier Airlines Captain Michael Pittman
Jun 30, 2022 1h 17m

Episode 59: Frontier Airlines Captain Michael Pittman

Michael Pittman is a Captain for Frontier Airlines. He is presently serving the company as a Line Check Airman and he lives in Mesa, Arizona. Captain Pittman graduated from Arizona State University...

Episode 58: Captain Mike Baumgartner
Jun 06, 2022 1h 9m

Episode 58: Captain Mike Baumgartner

We sit down with my long-time friend, Captain Mike Baumgartner. We met as classmates while attending Alaska Airlines 737-200 initial training in 1984. Captain Baumgartner's dream of becoming a pilo...

Episode 57: Mr. Ross Belfiore, Aviation Maintenance Instructor
Mar 05, 2022 36 min

Episode 57: Mr. Ross Belfiore, Aviation Maintenance Instructor

Ross Belfiore is a 20-year veteran Aircraft Maintenance Technician at Alaska Airlines. He tells us what it takes to earn the proper FAA credentials to enter the Aircraft Maintenance Field and how h...

Episode 55: Flight to Russia
Feb 18, 2022 1h 2m

Episode 55: Flight to Russia

Captain Mike Swanigan tells us the story of the most memorable trip of his career.  In June of 1991, Alaska Airlines started service from Anchorage, Alaska to the former USSR (Russia) flying a...

Episode 55: Alaska Airlines First Officer Chazmin Peters
Feb 07, 2022 58 min

Episode 55: Alaska Airlines First Officer Chazmin Peters

Chazmin "Chaz" Peters joins us on the podcast to tell about her transformation from a very shy little girl in elementary school to her present status as an experienced Airline Pilot. We recorded th...

Episode 54: Captain David Glick
Dec 29, 2021 53 min

Episode 54: Captain David Glick

Captain David Glick is one of the most respected Pilots at Alaska Airlines. David tells us about the mindset it took for him to earn an Engineering Degree and graduate from USAF Pilot Training (UPT...

Episode 52: Pilot Hiring Boards
Jul 26, 2021 1h 6m

Episode 52: Pilot Hiring Boards

Getting hired by a Major or Regional Airline is often a difficult and drawn-out process. The most intimidating part is facing a Pilot Hiring Board (Sometimes called a Captains Board). Mike Swanigan...

Episode 51: Alaska Airlines Captain Millison "Mill" Fambles
Jun 21, 2021 1h 0m

Episode 51: Alaska Airlines Captain Millison "Mill" Fambles

Alaska Airlines Captain Millison Fambles joins us on this episode of Talking Flight. Millison is from Longview, Texas and he was awarded a college scholarship from the Lady Bird Johnson Foundation....