Talking Flight

Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Art Whitten is our guest, and he's the first recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross to appear on Talking Flight.

Art shares his firsthand experiences flying medevac missions in Vietnam, the challenges and dangers he faced, and the remarkable stories that came out of those missions.

What does it take to go from college flight student to the flight deck of a jet? In this episode of Talking Flight, we sit down with First Officer Billy Kitchen, a 2024 graduate of Arizona State University's flight program who is now flying professionally with JSX. Billy gives us a firsthand look at what it's like to begin an aviation career in today's rapidly changing industry.

Billy takes us inside the ASU aviation program, sharing the challenges, expectations, and determination required to successfully complete both the academic and flight-training portions of the program. He talks candidly about some of the obstacles he faced, the mindset that helped him push through the difficult moments, and why he chose to give back by mentoring students coming up behind him.

We then follow Billy from the university environment into the cockpit at JSX. He explains what makes JSX different, how he made the transition from flight training to professional aviation, and what it was like to learn to fly a jet for the first time. For anyone considering a career as a professional pilot—or simply curious about how the next generation of airline pilots is being trained—Billy's story provides a timely and inspiring look at the journey from student pilot to First Officer.

Welcome to another episode of Talking Flight. Our guest today is Captain Ed Robertson, a retired Alaska Airlines Captain whose aviation journey spans military service, airline leadership, and a lifelong passion for flying.

It's a story of perseverance, service, opportunity, and leadership. Please join me in welcoming Captain Ed Robertson to Talking Flight.

On this episode, Mike Swanigan brings together three highly experienced airline captains for a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to get the job done.

Frontier Airlines Captain Michael Pittman, retired Delta and Northwest Airlines Captain Heidi Porch, and retired Alaska Airlines Captain Michael Hendrix each share firsthand accounts of how they dealt with some of the unusual situations that they faced on one of their trips.

Akaska Airlines Captain and YouTube creator Brendan ODonnell joins us on Talking Flight to share his story of growing up in Oregon and pursuing his dream of becoming an airline pilot. His path ito aviation took several unexpected turns, but he stayed focused and never gave up. It all paid off, and today Brendan his living that dream, flying Boeing 737s for Alaska Airlines.

Also, a video project that he started as a side gig to help with the family budget during the early part of his career has transformed into the popular YouTube series "The Pilot Life".

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 flights ended in a dramatic ocean ditching 500 miles off the coast of Hawaii — a harrowing experience she recounts in her gripping new book, Ditching the Sky.

Captain Porch shares the highs and lows of her journey from teenage pilot to the left seat of a wide-body jet, and what it truly takes to succeed in the airline world.

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.

Tad had many adventures along the way and tells us how hard work, solid relationships, and a positive attitude provided the fuel for a fantastic career.

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 youngest guest yet. His aviation career started early—before even graduating high school, he had already earned his Private Pilot's License, Instrument Rating, and Commercial Pilot's License.

Jaylen's story is a testament to what a motivated and focused young person can achieve, with the added support of an amazing family!

If you are a student who is interested in attending the Academy, Jaylen gives us some great advice on how to make it happen.

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 Spotify and other podcast platforms.

Rick was a guest on a previous episode of Talking Flight. If you missed it, check out episode 27, where we dive deep into the early days of his career.

In today's episode, Rick shares his journey toward his dream of flying for Alaska Airlines and the dedication it took to get there. However, the economic downturn of 2008 shifted his path, leading him to a second career, flying a private jet to destinations all over the world.

Dexter Cox is the author of one of my favorite aviation books. Dancing with the Devil is a wild ride chronicling Dexter's long career as a general aviation pilot.

As a teenager entering the world of aviation, Dexter quickly realized the importance of learning from other people's and his own mistakes. That mentality helped him to survive several close calls in the air and on the ground.

We shared a few great stories from his book, but there is much more to discover within its pages.

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 traveling with his dad, a Captain for Braniff International Airlines.

Mike started college at UNLV on a golf scholarship but later transferred to Arizona State University to enroll in their aviation degree program.

Michael shares his story of his rapid progression as a young pilot with Braniff Airlines, which unfortunately went out of business due to financial problems. After Braniff's collapse, Michael found a new opportunity with Alaska Airlines.

At Alaska, Mike became well known for his efforts in the late 1980s to launch the airline's groundbreaking Crew Resource Management Program, helping it develop into a model that remains respected today throughout the industry.

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 flying career.

We have a wide-ranging conversation with Joe where he tells us about Navy Aircraft Carrier Operations and his experiences as a commercial airline pilot flying both Boeing and Airbus Airliners.

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 Guard where he served as a Military Policeman, and later, he transferred to the Regular Army where he became a Dog Handler.

Ron and his dog were later assigned to a Special Forces team performing combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The team was transported and protected by superbly skilled and battle-hardened Army helicopter crews.

Ron was impressed by the skill and coolness of these pilots, and he had no idea that he would later join that elite group of aviators and lead other helicopter pilots into battle.

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 Airlines and has been there for over 20 years.

Duke describes how he overcame some of his college and Naval Flight Training struggles.

Captain Ellington is the recipient of the prestigious Alaska Airlines Legend Award in recognition of his exceptional service to his passengers and his fellow employees.

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 service to the major cargo airlines during the 1980s and 1990s. They began by building a fleet of the iconic DC-3 aircraft and later added several Convair 440s to the airline. Mr. Salerno served as the airline's owner and chief pilot, and they went 15 years without a major accident. Unfortunately, in 1995 the carrier had three major accidents that resulted in four fatalities.

After the tragic losses at SalAir, Paul took the lessons from those crashes and leaned into the discipline of Aviation Safety. He built a new company, OmniSMS, that develops safety systems and certification programs for companies serving the aerospace industry. The website is www.omnisms.aero

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 with a degree in Aviation Management, where he also obtained all of his flight ratings as part of his college education.

Michael's first job as a high school student was being a baseball umpire. At the time, He had no idea that the skills that he learned running an officiating crew would later be helpful in his aviation career.

Captain Pittman tells us what it takes to work your way into a successful career in aviation.

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 pilot began when he was a young child traveling from Seattle to Switzerland to visit his grandparents.

Mike used hard work to achieve his dream of becoming an airline pilot.

He tells us about flying the DC3 and making landings and take-offs on several beaches in Alaska to haul loads of fish to market.

Captain Mike flew his last flight for Alaska on the same route where his flying career started.

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 he was able to achieve early seniority at Alaska Airlines.

Whenever I had a maintenance problem in San Francisco, Ross was often the Technician who responded to fix the problem.

If Ross says that your jet is fixed and ready to fly, you know that one of the best people in the business has solved your problem.

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 specially-equipped Boeing 727-200.

Mike was selected to be on the crew of the inaugural flight, and he learned that flying in the former Soviet Union (Russia) presented some unique challenges.

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 this interview just a couple of days before Chaz gave birth to her first child, a beautiful baby girl.