The Hangar Z Podcast (Jon Gray)

We would like to thank ECHO Heliops for sponsoring this episode of the Hangar Z Podcast.

In this episode we chat with Sid Bingley and Ty Le Roy who are part of a HEMS crew who work for Carillon Life-Guard Crew in Virginia.

Sid is a flight nurse and Ty is a pilot currently flying the H135. Ty previously flew Apache attack   helicopters for the Army.

In this episode we talk about the pilot incapacitation procedure and training for EP’s with non flying partners.

We also talk about ECHO Heliops and their upcoming conference which is in Austin Texas august 15th-17th.

To learn more about Echo Heliops visit their website at www.echoheliops.org

Before we introduce our next guest and episode we would like we would like to formally announce our newest Podcast sponsor Metro Aviation.

We are extremely proud and humbled to partner with such a high caliber company that contributes so much to the aviation industry.

This episode is dedicated to Officer Nick Villa from Huntington Beach PD Air Support

Our guest for this episode is Daniel Flores who is a longtime Texas resident.

He enlisted into the U.S. Army in February 1985, attending Basic and Infantry training at the U.S. Army’s, Home Of The Infantry at Ft. Benning Georgia. He served with the 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Carson Colorado.

After his active duty enlistment he then returned to the Houston area and was accepted into the Texas Army National Guard’s Special Forces unit, Company G. 143rd Infantry LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol).

While serving with that unit he did several missions along the Texas/Mexico border against the drug trafficking organizations and had also trained alongside the British SAS.

In January 1990 Mr. Flores was accepted to the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Candidate and Helicopter flight school to become a pilot with the attack helicopter squadron, 7th Squadron 6th Cavalry Regiment, based in Conroe Texas.

During his time as an attack helicopter pilot he survived a crash in the Apache helicopter in 1995.

He did several missions along the Texas/Mexico border against the drug trafficking organizations, and was deployed to fight the war on Terrorism in 2006 in Afghanistan.

During his one year tour he was tasked as the attack asset for the 10th Mountain division. He was witness to the resurgence of the Taliban and was involved in numerous gun battles and had his aircraft hit several times during those battles.

One of those battles was featured on “The Military Channels” series “My War Diary” which told about an American convoy that he helped rescue from a Taliban ambush.

He wrote a book that tells about his experiences, and was instrumental in the success of the movie "Apache Warrior" as a Co-Executive producer.

The title of that book is “South of Heaven, My Year in Afghanistan.”

From his book the multiple award winning film Above the Best was made. The film features actual footage taken from his helicopter in combat.

He is the recipient of  the "Air medal” and “Bronze star.”

He retired from the Army, as a Chief Warrant Officer 4, after over 26 years of service.

In 2020 he retired as a jet and helicopter pilot with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as an Air Interdiction Agent. He flew numerous counter drug and terrorism missions throughout the U.S., Mexico the Caribbean and Colombia.

He currently flies for Air Methods as an EMS pilot in the Houston area.

During this episode, Daniel provides insight into the boarder issues we have in the US along the southern boarder.

He talks about a crash he was in with the Apache and what it was like getting back into the saddle after the crash.

He goes into detail on some of the battles he was a part of while in Afghanistan which you won’t want to miss.

He also gives insight into his newest career as an EMS pilot.

This episode definitely has something for everyone.

Thanks for tuning in and please don’t forget to give us a like and a 5 star review on the Apple podcast app, It helps us out big time!

I would like to take a minute to honor the life , contributions and sacrifices of Officer Nick Villa from Huntington Beach PD Air Support who tragically passed away after the aircraft he was in crashed in the water off of Newport Beach California, on  February 19th, 2022. 

The pilot did an amazing job of putting the aircraft down without striking any people, boats or homes in a highly congested area.

Metroaviation.co

Join us in the Hangar for episode 35 as we sit down and chat with former law enforcement pilot, turned utility helicopter pilot, Brad Isaacs.

Listen in as Brad walks us through his aviation journey, which started in his teens, with the support of his parents. He then charted a path into the cockpit of a law enforcement helicopter, where he flew for the Gwinnett County (GA) Police Department.

After a handful of years of chasing bad guys and the occasional wayward cow outside Atlanta, Brad was offered the opportunity to make the transition to utility helicopter flying. Brad describes how social media networking led him to this opportunity with HLH Aviation. He also describes the career lifestyle and training it takes to work in this dynamic sector of aviation.

Whether you’re looking to start a career in airborne law enforcement or are a current law enforcement aviator looking to retire, or transition into a new flying career, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

Check out the cool stuff Brad is doing over at his Instagram and YouTube channels.

https://www.instagram.com/bjisaacs/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFD4Wvlr_HJQrQ-xQr0qEtA

Episode 35 of the Hangar Z Podcast is available on all the popular podcast apps or can be found on our website at www.hangarzpodcast.com.

As always, we’d like to thank our sponsor, Metro Aviation as well as our supporters on Patreon.

Hanging with the crew from the Brotallion and hosts of the Pilot's Lounge Podcast!

Join us as we sit down and chat with Spencer Payne and Brett Kroll, two Army Aviators who are founding members of the Brotallion.

Brotallion is a veteran-owned company that provides military aviation-inspired apparel, gear, study material, and mentorship for aviators by aviators. At the heart and soul of Brotallion lies the Army Aviation community, and in 2020 the founders of Brotallion successfully achieved 501c3 status for their charitable organization the Brotallion Blue Skies Foundation. The foundation provides post-mishap support to Army Aviation Gold Star families.

These guys are amazingly motivated entrepreneurs, who are not only running a successful business, but they also produce the Pilot's Lounge Podcast, which is the podcast that inspired the Hangar Z Podcast, after their interview with our friend and fellow law enforcement aviator, Scott Hebble.

We know you're going to enjoy our chat with these amazing guys! Please visit the links above and give them a like and follow. Also, add the Pilot's Lounge Podcast to your podcast listening library!

As always, we want to thank our sponsor, Metro Aviation 

In this episode we chat with Coast Guard pilot Wryan Webb. 

Wryan is a graduate of the Coast Guard academy and is currently stationed in beautiful Alaska. 

During this episode we chat about the admissions process and life at the Coast Guard Academy. We talk about the unique role of the US coast guard.  Wryan also talks about the challenges of flying in Alaska with its rugged terrain and extreme weather. 

We get to talk to Wryan about his love of photography and how he is using his skills as a photographer to positivity promote Coast Guard Aviation. 

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

Welcome to episode 39 of the Hangar Z podcast. In this episode we chat with Travis Tinsey from Airbus and Mike Calhoun who is the chief pilot for a Southern California sheriffs agency that has flown their H145 for just over one year. When they received the H145 I was curious to see what they thought one year later so here we are.

During this episode Travis talks about his aviation career which includes time he spent flying in Alaska as well as Africa.

Mike talks about his take away after spending one year flying and Utilizing the H145.

The Hangar Z podcast would like to thank Airbus for sponsoring this episode as well as Metro Aviation for being the podcast sponsor and we definitely cannot forget about our supporters on Patreon.

We are proud to announce episode 40.

In this episode we chat with Nick Nguyen from San Diego PD and Robert Ochoa from the Riverside County Sheriffs Department.

Nick founded the First Responders Whiskey Society which is a non profit 501(c)(3) charity. They provide support and honor the fallen for those in public safety through spirits. 

I was introduced to them after Huntington Beach PD’s Nick Vella passed away on duty after their helicopter crashed off the coast of Newport Beach, California during a patrol flight.

The First Responders Whiskey society had a memorial bottle made in Nick’s memory as a fundraiser for his family as well as to provide a way for family friends and coworkers to know that even though Nick is no longer with us on earth he can live on as we raise a raise a glass to him and share his stories.

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon .

This episode is dedicated to Nick Vella.

Episode 41 is live with Rob Purdy a 26-year Army aviator and pilot with Life Flight in Houston Texas.

In with this episode, we chat with American patriot and US Army veteran Rob Purdy. Rob has over 6500 flight hours in a variety of airframes but most notably in the Cobra, the Apache and the Airbus H145.

During our conversation he talks about becoming a Warrant officer and pilot for the US Army as well as his experience flying the Cobra and Apache helicopters over the span of his 26-year Army career. Rob talks about the transition from his military career to civilian life and about his career flying EMS with Life Flight in Houston Texas.

This was a fun conversation with a fantastic person so sit back and enjoy.

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

Welcome to episode 42 of the Hangar Z Podcast. In this episode we sit down and chat with Arizona Department of Public Safety State Trooper Flight Medic Michael Allen.

Michael began his public safety career as a firefighter.  During his fire service career, he rose to the rank of captain and became an expert in all things rescue. 

Like most of us Michael had a dream to be involved in aviation. To pursue his dream, he left the fire service and joined Arizona DPS to join their air rescue unit as a flight medic.

Through hard work and dedication, he accomplished his dream and now serves the citizens of Arizona as a state trooper paramedic assigned to the air rescue unit.

During our conversation he talks about both his career in the fire service as well as his career as a state trooper paramedic with Arizona DPS. 

He also talks about the growth of their aviation program and the unique opportunities it will present to those who want to join their air rescue program.

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by the Airborne Public Safety Association (APSA) to join them at their national conference (APSCON) to Podcast from the convention floor in Reno Nevada.

In this episode we chat kinda live from the conference floor with Bryan Smith.  This is our first ever in person interview. To keep the spirit of the live interview in tact these episodes have zero to very little editing.

For a full profile of Bryan Smith check out our previous conversation with Bryan in episode 16.

Bryan is the APSA Safety Program manager and lover of all thing's aviation.

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by the Airborne Public Safety Association (APSA) to join them at their national conference (APSCON) to Podcast from the convention floor in Reno Nevada.

In this episode we chat kinda live from the conference floor with APSA CEO & Executive Director Dan Schwarzbach and APSA President Richard Bray. To keep the spirit of the live interview intact these episodes have zero to very little editing.

Dan Schwarzbach was a police officer and pilot for Houston PD for 39 years. He is now the CEO and Executive Director of APSA.

Richard Bray is the Chief Pilot for Alachua County Sheriff’s Office where he has served for over 25 years.

During the conversation we get a recap of the week so far at APSCON as well as a preview of what's to come during the rest of the conference. 

Dan and Richard talk about the benefits of APSA and things that are new and upcoming.

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by the Airborne Public Safety Association (APSA) to join them at their national conference (APSCON) to Podcast from the convention floor in Reno Nevada.

In this episode we chat kinda live from the conference floor with Terry Palmer. Terry is ASPS’s newest Training Program Manager

During our conversation she talks about her entry into aviation as well as her background that led her to her current position with APSA.

Terry is highly motivated and successful, and we are excited to see what training she brings to APSA.

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by the Airborne Public Safety Association (APSA) to join them at their national conference (APSCON) to Podcast from the convention floor in Reno Nevada.

In this episode we chat kinda live from the conference floor with our good friend Clay Lacey. 

During our conversation Clay talks about his experience as an instructor and we talk about some of the trends seen today in training.

We also had the opportunity to interview Clay Lacey in Episode 19. If you have not heard him in that episode, it is a must listen. 

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by the Airborne Public Safety Association (APSA) to join them at their national conference (APSCON) to Podcast from the convention floor in Reno Nevada.

In this episode we chat kinda live from the conference floor with Nick Minx.

Nick is the owner of Tactical Flying and is a wealth of information.

During our conversation we talk about the evolution of training. We chat about what his company offers as far as training, and about the training at APSCON 2022.

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by the Airborne Public Safety Association (APSA) to join them at their national conference (APSCON) to Podcast from the convention floor in Reno Nevada.

In this episode we chat kinda live from the conference floor with Matthew Stanton and Senior Constable TFO Gabriel Gamboa. The audio on Gabe’s mic was a bit low and we apologize.

Both Matt and Gabe are from Australia's New South Wales Police Force PolAir program. During the conversation they talk about their trip and the takeaways from APSCON.

We previously had the opportunity to talk to Matt in episode 24. If you have not had the chance to hear him talk about his career and his agency, follow this up with episode 24.

Thanks for our sponsor, Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by the Airborne Public Safety Association (APSA) to join them at their national conference (APSCON) to Podcast from the convention floor in Reno Nevada.

In this episode we chat kinda live from the conference floor with Ryan Mason from Aerial Fire Magazine.

During the episode we talk about Aerial Fire Magazine as well as the benefits of positive publicity for your agency from the skilled network of professional photographers and industry publications.

Check out Ryan Mason's Aerial Fire Magazine at www.aerialfiremag.com

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

Live......Episode 50 which is also our second anniversary episode of the Hangar Z podcast

We thought it would be fitting to bring on the man who inspired the inception of The Hangar Z Mr. Ghetto Bird Pirate himself Scott Hebble.

Scott is a Super Puma search and rescue pilot for the LA County Sheriff's Department.

Scott has worked his way from patrolling the streets of LA County as a deputy where he worked a variety of assignments including gang investigations to aviation where he was a tactical flight deputy, patrol pilot flying the Astar and now flying the super rare and awesome Airbus Super Puma.

During our conversation Scott talks about working both the streets as well as his aviation career that led him to his current position. 

Looking back at the last two years, I’m truly grateful to have had the opportunity to talk to all the guests that have been on the hangar Z podcast and for all the friendships that have developed. 

We have tried to bring interviews from all different disciplines within public safety aviation and look forward to broadening that as we continue. 

I am truly humbled that we are still around to bring each episode to you all. When we first started, I was pretty sure it would be my mom listening and telling me your doing great honey and that’s about it.

The support from our listeners, Patreon subscribers and our sponsors has allowed us to grow and do things I never imagined like having a booth at APSCON in Reno this year. That was an absolute blast. 

Want to throw out a quick plug for Echo Heliops and their annual conference that we will be podcasting from. It’s in Austin Texas 15th, 16th and 17th. Check them out they are doing some great things for all of public safety aviation. 

Echo is coordinating a tactical flight crew training in early 2023 in Fort Myers Florida and will be hosted by the Lee County Sheriff’s Department. Really cool that are helping with that training so check out their website echoflightcrew.org for more information on that. 

Again, thank you for all the support and feedback you all have offered, we look forward to catching you all as we go forward. 

If you are looking for a way to help us out leave a review on the podcast site you use to listen to the hangar Z podcast. It honestly is a huge help to us.

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by ECHO Heliops to join them at their national public safety aviation conference to Podcast from the convention floor in Austin Texas.

In this episode we chat with the ECHO executive board from the conference floor. During the conversation we talk about the mission of ECHO Heliops, the conference and about the future goals of the organization.

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by ECHO Heliops to join them at their national public safety aviation conference to Podcast from the convention floor in Austin Texas.

In this episode we chat with the ECHO F.A.S.T Team (Flight crew Assistance & Support Team) from the conference floor. 

The FAST team is a peer support program developed to provide assistance & support to Flight Crew members & their families involved in a critical incident.

FAST SERVICES

• Services available at ZERO cost to affected flight crew & organization
• Deployable Peer Support Team
• Geared towards flight crews/families by active flight crew members
• Confidential communication/support services available for both short/long term
• Willing to help/provide services & support to injured flight crew members, family, & flight services affected by a critical incident
• Collaborative partnership with flight programs without affiliation bias/agenda

If you are a member of a flight crew and feel you need assistance, you may call or text the AIR FAST hotline 24/7. (1-833-AIR-FAST1-833-247-3278)

​On the other end is a flight crew member who is part of ECHO FAST and not affiliated with your program. 

​Feel more comfortable emailing? Please email FAST@ECHOFLIGHTCREW.org

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by ECHO Heliops to join them at their national public safety aviation conference to Podcast from the convention floor in Austin Texas.

In this episode we chat with Dave Callen and Rob Munday from SR3. We had the opportunity to interview Dave in episode 25 so check out that episode if you haven't already, it's an epic episode.

During our conversation we talk briefly about Dave and Rob's careers and in some length about the training SR3 brings to their clients.

I highly recommend training with SR3. Each instructor is highly experienced and excellent at the art of instruction.

You can find SR3 by following the link SR3 Rescue Concepts - Professional Training for First Responders

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by ECHO Heliops to join them at their national public safety aviation conference to Podcast from the convention floor in Austin Texas.

In this episode we chat with Michelle Kline. Michelle is a flight nurse and has been in the EMS industry for 24 years. We talk with Michelle about the course she teaches at ECHO titled Fit for Flight.

Michelle is a mental and physical health advocate and is helping first responders develop habits that will allow them to endure a 30-year career in public safety.

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by ECHO Heliops to join them at their national public safety aviation conference to Podcast from the convention floor in Austin Texas.

In this episode we chat with Dr. Amanda Ventura who is an emergency physician in Houston, Texas.  We had to work some dark magic to resurrect this episode as the hard drive it was written to was corrupted. This is a very powerful story and episode so we did what had to be done to bring it to you all.

In the conversation Dr. Ventura discusses an officer down incident she responded to as a flight physician and how it led to a descent into PTSD and alcoholism. She offers her experience as a way to help first responders take mental health seriously in light of the trama that is seen day in and day out.  

The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by ECHO Heliops to join them at their national public safety aviation conference to Podcast from the convention floor in Austin Texas.

In this episode we chat with Terry Miyauchi from Bell Flight. Terry retired from Arizona DPS as their Aviation Commander and is now with Bell Flight assisting public safety aviation programs.

We previously interviewed Terry in episode 17. After hearing this interview go check it out.

During our conversation we talk about leadership in public safety aviation.

Thanks for our sponsor Metro Aviation.

In this episode we get to sit down and chat with Zoey Schade. Zoey is a Navy vet who served on the Aircraft carrier USS Abraham, and is now a commercially rated helicopter pilot serving CBP Air and Marine as a Aviation Enforcement Agent also known as a TFO. 

During our conversation she talks about the great experience she had serving in the Navy as well as the CBP. She talks about CBP, its opportunities and how to get into their aviation program. 

Zoey has a really inspiring story of grit and determination to become a helicopter pilot. 

In this episode we sit down with the man who co-founded a company that was instrumental in developing technology for flight crews that has led to the apprehension of countless criminals across the world.

Churchill Navigation’s Augmented Reality mapping System has also helped TFO’s of all levels increase their skill set and situational awareness while assisting the men and women on the ground in public safety.

On August 4th, 2020, Churchill Navigation and Shotover Camera systems who makes world class aerial camera systems merged to become Shotover Systems. 

Fast forward to APSCON in Reno 2022, and Shotover released their new M2 EO/IR Multi-Sensor camera System for public safety aviation.

During our conversation with Tom, he talks about the development of the navigational software, the new camera system and how the two will work hand in hand to give us capabilities we never thought possible.

As always, we would like to thank our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 60 of The Hangar Z Podcast.

In this episode we talk with an American patriot Ray Freeman, who served our country as a pilot in the US Army flying a huge variety of airframes to include the OH58 and the Blackhawk.

During our conversation Ray unpacks his military aviation career which includes his involvement in the rescue mission after hurricane Katrina, as well as the evacuation mission he flew in Afghanistan as the US withdrew.

 I would like to thank all our friends who have sent pictures to us of all the cool places Hangar Z swag has been from the Netherlands to Australia, Antarctica down to Mexico and tons of places In between. Please keep sending in those pictures.

If you have questions about getting Hangar Z swag send us a message through our social media channels or by email at hangarzpodcast@gmail.com

Thank you to our Sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

Cheers

In episode 61 we spend more time talking about how technology is improving our industry by increasing our mission readiness.

We sit down and chat with Todd Powers and Ronnie Ries from GPMS. GPMS produces a predictive health and usage monitoring system that is available for, a wide range of airframes which now includes single engine ships most frequently used in public safety aviation.

This technology is used to get an in-depth look at the aircrafts vital systems using sensors that report information on the aircrafts overall health after each flight allowing maintainers, pilots and administrators to maintain their mission readiness with peace of mind.

Most people will recognize Todd Powers from his 20 plus year career with Airbus. And most will know Ronnie from his career at Bell Flight.

Both Todd and Ronnie are working together at GPMS and are working to expand the use of HEMS technology in aviation and in particular public safety aviation.

In this episode we sit down and talk with Nick Minx. Nick is the owner of tactical flying who specializes in providing airborne law enforcement units with the most advanced thermal imaging and aircrew tactical training available. 

In addition to owning Tactical Flying, he also works for San Diego PD where he is a sergeant, he has worked a wide variety of assignments including air support where he was both a pilot and TFO. He worked the gang unit, beach patrol and various patrol assignments across the city.

During our conversation we talk about his business Tactical Flying and discuss the trends Nick is seeing in the training world. We also talk about the impact technology is having on safety as well as tactics.

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

Welcome to episode 63 of the Hangar Z Podcast! In this episode we get to hang out and have a blast with Rob Munday. 

Rob is a world class hoist operator working for Blackcomb Helicopters in British Columbia.  Rob also works with SR3 Rescue Concepts where he is spreading his vast knowledge of all things Rescue to students and agencies worldwide. 

Rob is an Australian native and has a super diverse background including time spent as a wild land firefighter both in Australia and Canada. 

Relax and enjoy this epic conversation Rob Munday 

In addition to a really great guest (Rob Munday) we have some exciting news. 

As you all know we are huge fans of SHOTOVERS new M2 camera system and their augmented reality mapping software.  

Well I would officially like to thank SHOTOVER systems for joining with Metro Aviation as a sponsor of the The Hangar Z Podcast.

Just a month or so ago In episode 59 we had the opportunity to speak with Tom Churchill the CEO of SHOTOVER, which was formerly Churchill Navigation.

In that conversation Tom joined us to discuss their new 6-axis M2 EO/IR Multi Sensor camera. The system comes with the next generation of their augmented reality mapping software. 

I had the opportunity to demo the camera locally here in Southern California. The new features I absolutely loved were the automated license plate recognition, steering, tracking and over all quality. For more information Go check it out at shotver.com

Lastly I would ask that you all leave a rating and review. Well only if it’s a good one on the platform you use to listen to the hangar Z podcast.

We would like to thank our SPONSORS Metro Aviation and now SHOTOVER as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 64 of The Hangar Z Podcast. 

I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Jeff’s birthday than by bringing his *childhood best friend and enemy onto the show. 

What’s really fun about this episode is that Jeff had absolutely no clue who the  mystery guest was until he came into the interview. 

The guest and Jeff worked and tormented each other at Riverside PD, where he worked his way through the department. He worked patrol as an officer and a field training officer, he was selected to air support as a TFO which is where I met The Guest back in 2015 as he was putting a proposal together for Riverside PD to purchase Churchill Navigation’s Augmented Reality Mapping software.

The Guest left Air Support for a promotion to Detective in 2017 where he got to work gang investigations and auto theft. 

The Guest is the only person I know in law enforcement who took a voluntary demotion so he could come back to air support as a pilot in 2020.

During our conversation we get to hear the two of them roast each other pretty much non stop. Mixed into the roast is a really great conversation about the power of networking, recruitment and retention in air support as well as creating value for your unit. 

We appreciate all who support this podcast, including Metro Aviation who are doing good things with awesome people.

Thank you to SHOTOVER Systems.  Most everyone already knows SHOTOVER, which was formerly Churchill Navigation for their Augmented Reality Mapping software. 

Shotover has integrated the next generation of that software into the M2 camera system.

One of the coolest parts of this new camera system is that the 6 axis imaging system  has  eliminated “gimbal lock” when flying over an object.

The M2 is a definite game-changer for public safety aviation.

I would also like to thank our supporters on Patreon. 

Lastly, we just launched our channel on YouTube. Our goal is to take 5-10 min segments from each interview that contains valuable insight and post them on our channel.

Do us a favor and subscribe to our channel on YouTube. A link to our channel is available on our newly updated website hangarzpodcast.com.

*They were not childhood best friends. It is debatable if they are or ever were friends today.

Welcome to episode 65 of The Hangar Z Podcast.

In this episode we talk with the Uber talented aerial photographer and journalist Scott Dworkin. 

 Aerial photographers and journalists like Scott and publications like Vertical Magazine provide a valuable service to public safety aviation by providing positive publicity and by telling the stories of what we do to our peers, the powers that control the purse strings of our programs as well as to the general public who has no idea what we do half the time. 

 Scott Dworkin is an aerial photographer, contractor and photojournalist based outside of Los Angeles, California in Thousand Oaks.

 He has had a lifelong passion for aviation and photography, and after honing his skills as a photographer in various disciplines for many years, he decided to combine his two main interests professionally in 2010.

 Since 2010, Scott's work has been published in numerous international aviation magazines and websites including most recently working with Vertical magazine. 

 As a photographer and writer, he has flown with and covered every branch of the United States Armed Forces, as well as worked with many Department of Defense contractors, civilian aviation outfits, and law enforcement aviation units. 

 Scott embedded with the United States Air Force 452nd Airlift Wing, from March Air Reserve Base in California and traveled with them to Afghanistan to cover their aeromedical evacuation missions and has also traveled around the United States extensively documenting various other military and civilian units in action.  Scott is one of only a handful of civilians in the world that is privileged to fly as an aerial photographer in high performance military aircraft.

 The creation of Mach 91 Aerial Photography has been the culmination of Scott's dream and passion to deliver the finest quality, dramatic aerial photography possible, to bring the aircraft to life in their natural environment and tell the story of the men and women who serve.

 Scott has spent the last five years writing a book titled Becoming the Rhino. The book details the life and experiences of students who have been selected to fly the F/A-18 Super Hornet as they work their way through VFA-122, one of the US Navy's training squadrons to become fleet qualified Naval Aviators and Weapons System Operators, as well as the day to day operations of the squadron.

 In this episode, Scott tells the story of how he became a professional aerial photographer and journalist covering the most interesting aircraft in the world which ultimately led to the creation of his book Becoming the Rhino. 

 The book is available through his website www.mach91aerialphotography.com

We would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation and Shotover as well as our supporters on Patreon.

I would like to announce we will be recording The Hangar Z Leadership Summit episode in January of next year. We have recruited some of the industry’s best leaders to have a panel style conversation on topics of leadership affecting public safety aviation today.

As we prepare for this episode if you have any questions you would like us to ask during the episode send them into our email hangarzpodcast@gmail.com this will be an episode you don’t want to miss.

Welcome to episode 66 of the Hangar Z Podcast. 

In this episode we sit down and chat with Andrew Baity from the Virginia State Police. 

Andrew is a Virginia Military Institute grad who joined the Marine Corps and became a Bell AH-1Z Cobra pilot. 

After Andrew's active service time, he was hired as a civilian pilot for the Virginia State Police. On top of that, Andrew still flys the Bell AH-1Z Cobra as a Marine Force Reservist. 

During this episode Andrews talks about his experience at the Virginia Military Institute, his career as a pilot flying Bell’s AH-1Z Cobra helicopter and his transition to civilian life where he flys a variety of airframes for the Virginia State Police including a new Bell 412.

We would like to thank Bell as they have graciously sponsored this special episode of The Hangar Z Podcast. I am beyond impressed with Bell’s airframes and the people at Bell that provide superb customer service.

We would also like to thank our primary Sponsors Metro Aviation and Shotover as well as our supporters on Patreon.

We have been beyond blessed to be sponsored by such quality companies. 

Metro aviation is such an impressive company from the quality and detail that goes into their aircraft completions like the new H125 Metro completed for our friends at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, to the family atmosphere that supports their employees. 

We appreciate the support of SHOTOVER Systems and their continuous drive for innovation in the airborne law enforcement sector. If you haven’t seen the with the newly released M2 Multi-Sensor Camera system you are missing out.

The M2 camera offers unparalleled stability, stand-off, image quality, and capability. 

I was able to demo the camera to see the technology first hand. If you would like to demo or even better buy one today so that suspects will stop getting away tomorrow let us know and we will get you in touch with the right people. 

To view some of the highlights from this episode and previous episodes go to our YouTube channel. The link is on our website www.hangarzpodcast.com

Lastly I would like to announce our upcoming leadership summit. We have recruited some of the best leaders in public safety aviation to join us on the podcast to talk about best practices in leadership. I am truly excited to sit down with these industry giants. This episode will be released late January 2023. 

Welcome to episode 67 of the Hangar Z Podcast.

In this episode we sit down and chat with Richard Brandon from the London Metropolitan Police Department.

Richard worked his way from the streets of London to the skies of the London Metropolitan Police Department or MET as they refer to it.

Richard served the department for a total of 30 years as a police officer and is continuing to serve the UK as the Aviation Capability Manager for the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) looking at police aviation strategy and policy nationally.

Richard has as much as a passion for public safety aviation as we do as evidenced in the book he wrote for Haynes that outline airborne law enforcement.

During our conversation we had an opportunity to talk about a variety of different topics from safety to leadership and a lot in between. The common thread of the conversation revolved around  the similarities that exist between public safety aviation agencies across the world.


The Hangar Z Podcast is a huge advocate of training and networking. We are proud to announce that we have partnered with the Airborne Public Safety Association for 2023. We will help them to promote training and networking opportunities through the podcast as well as on our website. We have created a training page on our website https://www.hangarzpodcast.com/ where you can see upcoming training and networking opportunities.

You can find information on the Airborne Public Safety Association as well as a list of their upcoming training and a link to The Hangar Z Podcast at https://publicsafetyaviation.org/

Episode 68 of the Hangar Z podcast is live.

In this episode we sit down and chat with Sergeant pilot Jerry Hunter and Senior Deputy and TFO Eric Johnson from the Kings County Sheriff’s Department.

Prior to aviation Sgt. Hunter worked Patrol as a field training officer developing the next generation of patrol officers. He was a K9 handler, was a member of the SWAT team and was also assigned to gangs.

As a K9 handler he found that is agency had very limited access to air support so he spent a considerable amount of time researching and writing a proposal to develop an aviation program for the Kings County Sheriff’s Department. In 2014 his program was approved and their fixed wing program took off.

Being in close proximity to Naval Air Station Lemoore gave them access to a large pool of pilots willing to volunteer their time as pilots for the program when they weren’t flying F18’s or F35 fighter jets.

TFO Eric Johnson has also had a very successful career having the opportunity to work  as a field training officer in patrol, he spent approximately 9 years as a K9 handler, he was a SWAT operator and also had a opportunity to work investigations. Eric became a TFO six years ago and worked the assignment as a collateral duty until the program became a full time program.

In this episode we talk about how they were able to successfully research, propose and launch their aviation program. We talk about the benefits of fixed wing aircraft in airborne law enforcement as well as a bunch of other rabbit holes we jumped into.

We would like to wish everyone a happy new year. I hope everyone had some time to spend with friends and family over the Christmas holiday and new years. I also hope you all had an opportunity to reflect and regroup for 2023.

I gladly waved goodbye to 2022 and have welcomed 2023 in with open arms. This year has already been fantastic and I only expect it to get better.

As I mentioned in the last episode we are huge proponents of training, education and networking. In addition to partnering with APSA we have also partnered with ECHO to promote the good work they are doing through their program. They are a non profit organization that created the FAST team which is Flight Crew Assistance and Support. Their mission is to provide assistance and support to flight crew members and their families involved in a critical incident. Services available are zero cost to the affected flight crew and organization. They have a deployable peer support team to assist on the ground after critical incidents. If you are a member of a flight crew and need assistance you can call or text the AIR FAST hotline 24/7 1-833-AIR-FAST. For web access follow this hyperlink to ECHO. 

ECHO also puts in a fantastic Public Safety Aviation conference to facilitate training and networking. This year’s conference is in my favorite city San Diego October 2-4 2023. For more information go to echoflightcrew.org we hope to see you all there.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation and SHOTOVER as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 69 of The Hangar Z Podcast. In this episode we brought the industries best leaders together to discuss leadership and leadership challenges facing public safety aviation today.

This group of leaders include Clay Lacey from Texas DPS, Terry Miyauchi retired  Arizona DPS and currently at Bell Flight, Jack Schonely retired from LAPD, Bryan Smith a current law enforcement pilot in Florida and previous Safety Program Manager for the Airborne Public Safety Association and Eric Weidner retired from the Ontario (California) Police Department now the Chief Operations Officer at CNC Technologies.

Each one of these leaders are men that are giants in the industry and have traveled the globe instructing and promoting the public safety aviation industry. To get them all together for this event was truly special.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation and SHOTOVER as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Lastly if you could do us a favor and leave us a rating and review on the platform you use to listen to The Hangar Z Podcast we would greatly appreciate it. 

Welcome to Episode 70 of the Hangar Z Podcast.

The start of 2023 has already been traumatic for law enforcement as Riverside County Sheriff’s lost two deputies within a matter of weeks. This episode is dedicated to Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Isaiah Cordero EOW December 29th, 2022, and Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Darnell Calhoun EOW January 13th, 2023. 

Our hearts go out to their family, friends, and coworkers at RSO as well as the neighboring agencies.

This episode was inspired by those events. Unfortunately, we know this won’t be the last time an Officer Down call goes out and we want to open the conversation that surrounds the Officer down incident.

In aviation, we play a unique role and can have a huge positive impact on the outcome of those incidents but time and effort have to be put in in advance to help us be successful.

There is no one better than Jack Schonely to have this conversation with. This conversation is actually a two-part series of which the second episode will be focused on the aftermath of the officer down call and how we take care of ourselves afterward. 

We are taking the month of March to talk about surviving a career in public safety and public safety aviation so the second part of this conversation will fit in nicely with the overall theme.

For those who don’t know Jack you will need to listen to his full episode #23. 

Jack is a 36-year Law Enforcement Veteran, with 31 years at LAPD 19 of which were spent in the Air Support Division as both a TFO and Command Pilot. Jack created and instructs a course titled “Apprehending Fleeing suspects.” Jack has also written a book available online with the same title. Jack is a Contributing Editor and writer for Vertical Magazine, Police K9 Magazine, Recoil Magazine, and Police Magazine. 

Jack was the 2017 recipient of the Helicopter Association International (HAI) Law Enforcement Salute to Excellence award in Dallas Texas. 

2016 recipient of the Robert L Cormier Memorial Award from the Airborne Law Enforcement Association. Awarded in recognition of outstanding achievement in the advancement of aircraft in public service.

2005 Runner up for the Governor’s California Police Officers Standards and Training Instructor of the Year Award.

2004 Air Crew of the Year Award for LAPD Air Support Division.

During this episode, we talk about the three C’s of any call but the importance is stressed in the officer-down incidents which are contain, communicate, and coordinate.

I highly encourage you to seek out Jack’s course or to bring him to your agency or area for training. You can contact him and find more information on Jack through his website  Officertactics.com 

Jack will also be instructing at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Aviation fly in May of 2023. 

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation and SHOTOVER as well as our supporters on Patreon. 


Lastly, if you could do us a favor and leave us a rating and review on the platform you use to listen to The Hangar Z Podcast we would greatly appreciate it. 

Welcome to episode 71 of The Hangar Z Podcast. 

This is another one of our shorter content-focused episodes where we get to sit down and chat with the Brotallion Brothers Brett Kroll AKA "CHERUB" and Spencer Payne AKA "SMOKEY." 

To hear how they got their call signs and more about their aviation careers, plus how Brotallion was created check out episode 36 of The Hangar Z Podcast. 

You can also catch Spencer, Brett, and the other Brotallion Brothers on the Pilots Lounge Podcast, which is "aimed at bringing together, aviators from around the world, to share their experiences, and to learn from one another.”

During our conversation, we talk about the awesome custom swag that Brotallion makes including the shirt design they developed for us as a collaboration. To check out the shirt go to the link on our website or go straight to Brotallion.com. 

For every item sold, we are donating 25% of the profits to The Brotallion Blue Skies Foundation.

The Brotallion Blue Skies Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing post-mishap support for the Army Aviation community and their families. In addition to providing financial support to the next-of-kin, they ensure that their legacies are never forgotten.

As always I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation and SHOTOVER as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Don’t forget to check out The Hangar Z YouTube channel where we post highlight segments from each episode of the podcast.

Lastly, if you have a question, you would like answered during an episode of the Hangar Z Podcast Slide into the DM’s with your questions or send it to Hangarzpodcast@gmail.com

Welcome to episode 72 of the Hangar Z Podcast.

This is a unique episode for a few reasons. Jason Quinn from the Real ResQ Podcast and I have teamed up to create a podcast mashup.

This will be episode 127 of the Real ResQ Podcast.

During this episode, Jason and I interview the crew of Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Aviation Unit Star 9 that won the Airborne Public Safety Association Captain, “Gus” Crawford Memorial Aircrew of the year award for 2022.

The crew consisted of Deputy Chad Marlatt acting as the PIC, Corporal Andy Rasmussen acting as the SIC, Deputy Drew Pigott acting as the Crew Cheif, Deputy Michael Edwards Rescuer, and Deputy Mike Doyle acting as the catcher.

I actually recorded a version of this episode in person at RSO’s annual safety fly-in this last year at their hangar. Due to some technical difficulties, the audio was unusable, unfortunately.

With us to re-record this episode is Corporal Marlatt.. Congratulations on the promotion to Corporal, Deputy Pigott, and Deputy Edwards.

In the interview, the Rescue 9 crew breaks down what ended up being an officer-down type rescue and incident.

For those who have not listened to The Real ResQ podcast, Jason Quinn goes behind the scenes of the rescue stories we hear and read about.

We interviewed Jason Quinn way back in episode 21. Jason is a former Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and host of The Real ResQ Podcast.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation and SHOTOVER as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 73 of the Hangar Z Podcast

In this episode, we sit down and chat with Samantha Poirier. Samantha is an EMS pilot flying for Reach Air Medical in Northern Colorado.

Samantha has a very impactful and inspirational story that led her to her position as an EMS pilot. 

Samantha's aviation career started working for a helicopter utility company in Alaska performing oil changes, sweeping hangar floors, and answering phones in exchange for flight time. From there she worked her way up to owning a helicopter wildlife capture company where she had the opportunity to fly in the world's most beautiful places that include Alaska. 

She owned the company with her husband where they did everything from capturing big game wildlife for scientific study to drying cherry trees, air tours of Hell's Canyon, wedding flights, photo flights, and wine tours. When she wasn’t flying she was running the company's business end.

Tragedy struck when her husband and 19-year-old cousin were involved in a terrible helicopter crash. The crash took the life of her cousin and catastrophically injured her husband. 

Samantha’s life was completely ripped out from underneath her. And she swore she was never going to fly again. 

Samantha’s passion for aviation would not allow her to stay away. She boldly built up the strength to get back in the seat where she put herself in the position to become an EMS pilot. 

Her motivation to become an EMS pilot stems from an ATV accident her sister was involved in. 

A Reach Air Medical airship responded to her sister's crash, which she credits with saving her sister's life. 

Samantha now works at the same base the ship launched from and with the same crew who saved her sister's life. 

This is an inspirational story you won’t want to miss. 

We would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation and SHOTOVER as well as our supporters on Patreon.

Don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel where we post shorter 10-20 min segments from. Each episode. 

Also if you could leave us a rating and a review on the platform you use to listen to the hangar Z podcast we would be very grateful.

Welcome to episode 74 of the Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

Last week a historic snowstorm began which eventually ended up dropping 10 feet of snow on our community.

Many people's homes and businesses fell victim to the weight of the snow as they saw their roofs and decks collapse. The weight of the snow has damaged many natural gas mains causing homes to burn down and even a few have exploded. 

My best friend's grocery store Goodwin and Son's Market which feed’s literally thousands of people and serves as the center of the community had its roof collapse. This collapse crushed the contents of the store and obviously forced their closure.

The volume of snow has made roads impassable and heavy equipment traditionally used to clear the roads ineffective. 

The impassable roads have trapped thousands of residents in their homes and has threatened our most vulnerable and fragile segments of the population who depend on these roads to get medication, food, and supplies. 

I felt that I needed to record an episode of the podcast to document what has happened to my community and in particular Goodwin's Market as they are not only great friends but a critical piece of infrastructure in our community.

This isn’t the traditional public safety aviation content that we typically cover. 

Join me as I interview Mike and Jessica Johnstone. They are some of the kindest and hardest working people you will meet on the face of this earth. 

During the interview, we talked about the storm, and they give us an overview of the path that led them to where they are in the family business that was established in 1946 in Crestline California. 

They provide a history of the business and talk about the heartbreak surrounding the collapse of the store's roof that has closed the store.

We would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies as well as our sponsors on Patreon.  

Welcome to episode 75 of the Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

I didn’t make it to HAI due to our snowpocalypse here in Southern California, Jeff was there and did an excellent job stepping in to host some episodes from the floor of HAI. This is the first of three episodes Jeff recorded at Heli Expo.

In This episode, we talk with Phil Cady and Matt Zadunich who work with our friend Nick Minx, from Tactical flying.

Phil is a retired San Diego PD officer and is now an instructor with Tactical Flying.

Matt Zadunich is the Chief Pilot for San Diego PD and is also an instructor for Tactical Flying teaching a course developed to teach TFOs how to teach new TFOs.

We love Tactical Flying and the training opportunities they offer. Check them out at Tacticalflying.com.

During this episode, they talk about the San Diego Tank Rampage of 1995 and cover a wide variety of other topics. 

We would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies as well as our sponsors on Patreon.  

Episode 76 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine is live.

I Didn’t make it to HAI due to our snowplcalypse here in Southern California, Jeff was there and did an excellent job stepping in to host some episodes from the floor of HAI. This is the second of three episodes Jeff recorded at Heli Expo.

Thanks to Ryan from the Flight Suit Friday Podcast and Quinny from the Real Resq podcast for the work they put into developing a recording booth that we all used to record from. 

The podcasts that we had the pleasure of collaborating with include Flight Suit Friday, The Real ResQ Podcast, The Pilots Lounge and the Forever on The Fly Podcast. 

So a huge thanks to the US Coast Guard for allowing us to use their booth to record.

In this episode, Jeff sits down to talk to Diane Dollar from the Forever on the Fly Podcast. She is also the executive director of the Forever on the Fly Non-Profit organization which is dedicated to inspiring and mentoring the next generation of aviators. 

During the episode, they talk about mentorship and what Forever on the Fly is doing to inspire today’s youth to pursue an aviation career. To learn more about the Forever on the Fly mission and information on how to become involved as a mentor go to www.foreveronthefly.com

Since I missed everyone at HAI I look forward to seeing everyone in person at PAvCon in Spain in June, APSCON in Florida in July, and the Echo Public Safety Aviation Conference in San Diego in October.

We would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies as well as our sponsors on Patreon.  

Lastly don’t forget to check out and purchase one of the Hangar Z shirt designs Brotallion created in a collaborative release. 

The proceeds of the shirt sales are being donated to the Blue Skies Foundation. 

Check out the shirts at Brotallion.com and the Brotallion Blue Skies Foundation to learn more.

Welcome to Episode 79 of the Hangar Z Podcast. Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

The episodes we are releasing this month center around physically and mentally surviving a career in public safety.


This conversation with Jack Schonely is part two of a two-part series we recorded. Part one (episode 70) was released on January 30th.  

This second episode will focus on the aftermath of the officer down call and how we take care of ourselves afterward. 

For those who don’t know Jack Schonely you will need to listen to his full episode #23. 

Jack is a 36-year Law Enforcement Veteran, with 31 years at LAPD 19 of which were spent in the Air Support Division as both a TFO and Command Pilot. Jack created and instructs a course titled “Apprehending fleeing suspects” Jack has also written a book available online with the same title.

I highly encourage you to seek out Jack’s course or to bring him to your agency or area for training. You can contact him and find more information on Jack through his website  Officertactics.com 

Jack will also be instructing at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Aviation fly in May 17th, 2023. 

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 


Lastly, if you could do us a favor and leave us a rating and review on the platform you use to listen to The Hangar Z Podcast we would greatly appreciate it. 

Episode 77 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine is live.

I didn’t make it to HAI due to our snowplcalypse here in Southern California, Jeff was there and did an excellent job stepping in to host some episodes from the floor of HAI. This is the last of three episodes Jeff recorded at Heli Expo.

Thanks to Ryan from the Flight Suit Friday Podcast and Quinny from the Real Resq podcast for the work they put into developing a recording booth that we all used to record from. 

The podcasts that we had the pleasure of collaborating with include Flight Suit Friday, The Real ResQ Podcast, The Pilots Lounge, and the Forever on The Fly Podcast. 

So a huge thanks to the US Coast Guard for allowing us to use their booth to record.

In the final episode recorded from the floor of HAI Heli-Expo 2023 in Atlanta, Jeff gets the opportunity to interview Amy McMullen and Shawn Bruton from Metro Aviation. 

This is one interview I truly missed. I had a chance to hang out with the Metro folks at APSCON in Reno and had a fantastic time. They truly are great people doing really cool things. 

During the episode, they preview Metro Aviation and some of the cool things they are doing.

If you are looking to work with some awesome people check out their website Metro aviation.com

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank its sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies, as well as Patreon. 

 Episode 78 of The Hangar Z Podcast is brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

 
This is one of our most important episodes ever. We got the opportunity to sit down with our friend RJ Garwood from Huntington Beach PD Air Support. 

RJ was the PIC on February 19th, 2022 flying over a fight call in Newport Beach, California. After establishing an orbit over the incident RJ and Nick Vella who was acting as the tactical flight officer on this night experienced an uncommanded right yaw. The aircraft ultimately crashed into the water off Newport Beach approximately a quarter mile from the incident they had been working.

Nick Vella did not survive the incident. RJ survived and is with us to talk about it. RJ is transforming a tragic situation into something that will spur change in the industry and save countless lives.

You won’t want to miss a minute of this impactful interview with RJ Garwood as he talks about surviving the incident and a career in public safety both mentally and physically.

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank its sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies, as well as Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 80 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this special episode, we sit down and chat with Dan Schwarzbach the Executive Director and CEO of the Airborne Public Safety Association, and Richard Bray who is the APSA President.

Both Dan and Richard give us some insight into the Airborne Public Safety Association annual conference referred to as ASPCON. 

This year APSCON and APSCON Unmanned (formerly the Public Safety Drone Expo) will be in Orlando Florida from July 17th thru July 22nd, 2023.

Registration is now open. To register go to APSA’s website publicsafetyaviation.org

The Hangar Z Podcast is a huge proponent of training and networking. This event is one you don’t want to miss.

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank its sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies, as well as Patreon. 

Welcome to Episode 81 Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine 

As we continue our series on surviving a career in public safety we bring you a conversation with Cameron Hardiman the author of Ten Feet Tall and not quite Bullet Proof.

Cameron served as a Victoria Police Officer where he worked as a patrol officer and as a tactical flight officer. He later became an Australian Federal Police Officer.

During the conversation, Cameron outlines his career as a police officer as well as his time as a tactical flight officer. We spend a good deal of time talking about PTSD and some of the forms of treatment that worked well for Cameron.

Our goal in having these conversations is that it will force each one of us to evaluate where we stand and provide some resources.

If you haven’t read Ten Feet Tall and not quite Bullet Proof I recommend you order it off Amazon to read and add to your library. 


We  would like to highlight the ECHO Fast Team. Their mission is to provide assistance & support to flight crew members involved in a critical incident as well as their immediate families.

• Services to assist affected flight crew, as well as immediate family members and flight programs, are provided at ZERO cost 

For more information on the ECHO, FAST TEAM go to their website https://www.echoflightcrew.org/fast

If you are a member of a flight crew and feel you need assistance, please don't hesitate to call or text the AIR FAST hotline 24/7. 1-833-AIR-FAST
1-833-247-3278

​

On the other end is a flight crew member who is part of ECHO FAST and not affiliated with your program. Communication is 100% confidential and free of judgment or bias. AIR FAST hotline services are not limited to critical aviation incidents, we are here to help through difficult calls, safety concerns, and various additional needs. 

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome, to episode 82 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this episode, we get to highlight some of the good work being done by the personnel we consider to be the backbone of our industry, our maintenance technicians. 

We had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Faith Ortega. Many of you will recognize her from her social media platform How to Helicopter.

During our conversation, Faith talks about earning her A&P through Southern Illinois University out of Carbondale Illinois. SIU has an outstanding aviation program where she graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Aviation Technologies with a specialization in helicopters.  

For our audience that is not familiar with the different positions in the maintenance technician world. The A&P (Airframe and Powerplant) certification refers to a certified mechanic who is authorized to perform maintenance and repairs on an aircraft's airframe, engines, and other related systems. 

On the other hand, an IA (Inspection Authorization) is a higher-level certification that allows an individual to perform and approve annual inspections and sign off on major repairs and alterations. 

In short, while an A&P can perform routine maintenance and repairs, an IA has the authority to inspect and approve the work performed by an A&P, and sign off on more complex repairs and alterations.

Faith began her career as an A&P out of college working for Helicopters Inc which is heavily involved in the ENG industry which stands for electronic news gathering. 

After gaining vast experience at Helicopters Inc. Faith joined us in the public safety aviation community as a HEMS base mechanic.

Faith has done a lot of work through her social media platform to promote the work being done by maintenance technicians and also to help recruit the next generation. In addition to that she volunteers her time at the Gateway Youth Aeronotical Foundation. 

During our conversation, we talk at length about the program at Southern Illinois University, she talks about the differences in working in the ENG industry vs the HEMS industry. We also discuss recruiting the next generation into the aviation community.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome, to episode 83 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this episode, we sit down with Luke Bowman, Utah DPS's chief pilot.

Utah DPS has an outstanding program and is frequently in the media regarding one of their rescues like the recent article by Vertical Valor written by Dan Magna. The title of the article sums up the success of the Utah DPS aviation program “Utah DPS helicopters hoist 18 people from flash flood in Buckskin Gulch canyon.”

During our conversation, Luke talks about his career and what led him to become the chief pilot for Utah DPS. He also outlines the Utah DPS aviation program and some of the significant incidents that helped shape its aviation program into what it is today.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon.

Welcome to episode 84 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this episode, we sit down with Brad Pedersen and Jack Harris from MD Helicopters. Brad Pedersen is the President & CEO at MD Helicopters and Jack is the Director of Public Safety Sales at MD Helicopters.

During the conversation, Brad and Jack talk about the positive changes that have come to MD Helicopters. They talk about the new leadership team and describe the company's focus and priorities as they move forward. 

Brad and Jack also talk about the path that led them to their current positions at MD.

Brad has more than 35 years of industry experience delivering accelerated growth and financial performance in leadership positions at Boeing Rotorcraft, Sikorsky Aircraft, Breeze-Eastern, and other aerospace and defense companies. 

Brad began his career at Hughes Helicopters and has almost 20 years of direct experience with the MD Helicopter product lines. 

Brad has led the turnaround of several private and publicly-owned companies in his career. He holds an MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Jack is a decorated retired law enforcement veteran with more than 33 years of experience climbing the ranks of the Columbus, Ohio, Division of Police – the largest police department in the state of Ohio. 


Jack is a Commercially rated helicopter pilot and holds a Private pilot rating in single-engine airplanes. He flew MD 500E and 530F as a law enforcement officer and served as a Tactical Flight Officer while assigned to the Aviation Section where his last assignment was Unit Commander.


 Jack is responsible for sales, market expansion, and revenues for the Public Safety and Commercial segments of the MD business in North America. He holds both a BA and MBA degree from Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 85 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this episode, we chat with Marc Foreman a Helicopter Technician A&P and IA from the Oklahoma City Police Department aviation unit, about an exhilarating mix of topics: tornadoes, wildfires, aviation advancements, and public safety. Discover the warning systems in place to protect residents from these natural disasters and how following evacuation orders during events like California wildfires can save lives. Marc shares his firsthand experience witnessing a tornado and the destructive power of these natural forces.

As a helicopter mechanic, Marc gives us an insider's look into the world of aviation, covering everything from the differences between fixed-wing and helicopter maintenance to the challenges and rewards of working on various aircraft. He also sheds light on the impact of technology on aviation, and the critical role mechanics play in maintaining safety and efficiency in the field. Plus, we discuss the benefits of having a supportive stepfather in the industry who passed down valuable knowledge and skills.

Finally, we delve into the public safety aspects of aviation as we explore the challenges faced by law enforcement aviation units and the importance of aircraft maintenance in firefighting operations. Marc shares some fascinating stories from his career and reflects on the passion and dedication that mechanics bring to their work. So grab a cup of coffee (or a Monster, if you're like Marc) and join us for this engaging conversation you won’t want to miss!

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 86 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance in such a high-stress industry like aviation and public safety? Join us as we unpack this crucial topic with flight medic and ECHO affiliate, Jonathan Carolla. He shares insights from his survey on stress and mental health in the workplace, highlighting the importance of addressing these issues, particularly in light of recent tragic events. Grab a beverage and settle in for an engaging conversation with Jonathan as we explore the challenges faced by professionals in our industry.

We also discuss Jonathan's journey to becoming a Flight Crew Assistance Support Team (FAST) member and his passion for mental health in EMS. Discover the success of Camp Echo in encompassing all facets of public safety aviation, and the resources provided by the FAST Team for post-accidents and other difficult calls. Jonathan shares his experiences with volunteer fire departments in  West Virginia, and how they shaped his career path.

In this timely and informative episode, we explore the challenges and rewards of working in public safety aviation with Jonathan Carolla. We chat about how the work-life balance in our industry affects medics, nurses, and other responders. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from an expert in the field who is dedicated to advancing mental health and addressing the issues of PTSD head-on.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 87 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

This is an exciting episode as it is the first episode done in collaboration with Vertical Valor Magazine for the APSCON Valor Issue.

Join us as we discuss the incredible training being provided by SR3 as they spend a week with the Riverside County Sheriff's Aviation Unit Our guests, Dave Callen and Rob Munday from SR3, along with Rescue 9 pilot Mike Calhoun and rescue tech Cory Allen from Riverside County Sheriff's Aviation Unit as they offer valuable insights into their training courses, real-life missions, and the importance of constant learning and evolution.

During the conversation, we dive into the various training courses offered by SR3, their collaboration with the Riverside County Sheriff's Aviation Unit in rescue operations, as well as their innovative safety audit program, and gear evaluation process. Get ready to be inspired by the dedication and passion of these professionals, who always strive to stay at the top of their game.

As we wrap up this thrilling episode, we reflect on the significance of passing on knowledge and experiences to others, being receptive to change, and seizing every training opportunity with enthusiasm.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 88 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this episode, we chat with Nick Sinopoli, the inventor of ICARUS, and Matt Johnson, a seasoned pilot and check airman from Metro Aviation. With them, we traverse a landscape of groundbreaking safety enhancements in aviation, discussing everything from their impacts on training and operations to the potential legacies they leave behind.

We then transition to explore Matt's aviation career. Matt flew as a full time law enforcement pilot before leaving to fly HEMS missions. Matt is a Designated Pilot Examiner for the FAA and  Check Airman for Metro Aviation.  His story provides a unique lens through which we discuss the extraordinary safety programs at Metro Aviation, the integral role of weather in flight operations, and the ways in which these experiences have shaped his career. As we move through the episode, the conversation circles back to Nick's innovative device, shedding light on its conception, benefits, and potential improvements.

As we wind down, we delve into the weighty topics of mentorship in aviation and the significance of leaving a positive footprint in the industry. We touch upon the life-saving potential of the ICARUS device, as the future of instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) training for aviation.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 89 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

Our guest, Erik Sabiston, developed a lifelong fascination with aviation as a young man. A former US Army Blackhawk pilot, author of the best-selling book "Dustoff 7-3 Saving Lives Under Fire in Afghanistan", the founder of RTAG,  co-founder of the ICARUS device, current airline pilot, and owner of Sabiston Consulting.  Erik takes us on his unique journey, from his early days in the music industry to living off the grid,  then to the military as a pilot, and ultimately to becoming a legacy airline pilot.

Erik’s dedication to the aviation industry extends beyond the cockpit. His experiences transitioning from military to civilian life inspired him to create RTAG, a charity focused on veteran hiring within the aviation industry. We explore the ups and downs of this transition period, and how Erik’s organization strives to support veterans in their journey. We also dive into discussing the process of becoming an airline pilot and the benefits of transition programs for military personnel. Erik talks about his exit from RTAG and what he is doing now with his consulting business where he is still helping veterans and civilians achieve their dream of a career in aviation.

The episode concludes with Erik sharing his personal encounters from his military service, including an unforgettable military medevac incident. We reflect on the significance of rigorous training and the role it plays in life-threatening scenarios.

This episode is part one of a two-part series. Stand by to hear part two.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon.

Welcome to episode 90 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

Join us for part two of this two-part series with Erik Sabiston. During the episode, he recounts a combat medevac mission under gunfire that results in a heavily damaged hydraulic system, Erik talks about the training they had recently done that ultimately saved the crew's life.

Erik talks about a mission that put himself and his crew into IIMC conditions and how that led to his involvement with the ICARUS view-limiting training device.

During the episode we talk about the transition from military to civilian life, we'll reflect on the importance of mentorship, debt management, and maintaining good relationships. We'll also reflect on the wisdom of Dale Carnegie's 'How to Win Friends and Influence People', and the value of an emergency fund to prepare you to chase your dream job.

Lastly, Erik shares his experiences across marketing, the music industry, running a charity, and aviation, which has put him in a unique position to offer consulting services for vets and civilians offering advice to veterans eager to take flight in the airline industry. 

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 92 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

We made it into Orlando a bit early for APSCON 2023 so we could swing by and talk to Sergeant Shawn McCook and Chief Tactical Flight Deputy Jason Sams from the Orange County Sheriff's Department. We had the opportunity to record on location at their hangar in Orlando, Florida which was really nice. 

McCook and Sams share their personal journeys into public safety aviation. They talk about the role of the Orlando Police Department in their staffing strategy and the positive impact they make on the community.

 We’ll delve into the crucial aspects of drone integration with aviation programs, the challenges brought about by Florida's weather, and the process for technology upgrades in the aviation field. 

During the episode, McCook and Sams offer insights into the benefits of airplane surveillance and integration with their helicopter program. We also talk about what they have done to improve their TFO selection and training process.

Check out the article written by Jen Nevans with photos by Mike Reyno on the Orange County Sheriffs Office titled Future Ready. The article was just released in the APSCON 2023 Special Issue. 

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 91 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

The Hangar Z Podcast was honored to be asked by the Airborne Public Safety Association (APSA) to join them at their national conference (APSCON) to Podcast from the convention floor in Orlando, Florida.

In this episode, we chat with the APSA CEO & Executive Director Dan Schwarzbach and APSA President Richard Bray. 

Dan Schwarzbach was a police officer and pilot for Houston PD for 39 years. He is now the CEO and Executive Director of APSA.

Richard Bray is the Chief Pilot for Alachua County Sheriff’s Office where he has served for over 25 years.

During the conversation, We talk about APSCON 2023. We get a preview of what is to come for APSCON 2024 & 2025.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 93 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

Join us from the floor of APSCON 2023 in Orlando Florida as we sit down and talk to Kris Kubasta, Christian Smith, and Nick Byrd from the San Jose Police Department's Air Support Unit. 

The San Jose Police Department Air Support Unit has an impressive program that has changed from an old-school flying club to a professional progressive and motivated Air Support Unit that is finding innovative ways to improve their program, their department, and most importantly put bad guys in jail while increasing safety margins for the folks on the ground.

As we talk with them they give us some insight into how they changed their unit and the importance they place on relentless training.

During the episode we profile their air support unit, revealing its size, operational scope, and the challenges they face. They talk about how they devise innovative strategies to combat local issues like side shows, street racing, and other criminal activity. 

The episode concludes with a discussion on the role of collaboration, adaptability, and team building within the police department, as well as a briefing on their TFO who won TFO of the year at this year's APSCON. 

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 94 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

This is the most unique episode that we have done to date. As we visited MD Helicopters in Mesa Arizona, Ashley Sanchez MD Helicopters Director of Marketing and Communications, had the genius idea for their CEO Brad Pedersen and North American Director of Sales Jack Harris to take over The Hangar Z Podcast booth at APSCON in Orlando Florida. 

Jeff and I began the conversation and were promptly booted from the podcast where they interviewed Roger Howard and Greg Kellough from the Columbus Police Aviation Unit. 

With their wealth of experience merging air and ground, they take us from the reality of an engine warning going off mid-flight, to the satisfaction of coaching new pilots and leaving a legacy. You'll hear how they propelled from the Air Force to the police force while honoring the legacy of great pilots that came before them, all underscored by the importance of preparation, support, and mentorship in aviation.

These law enforcement veterans unveil the  selection process for TFO’s and shine a light on the evaluation process for trainee TFOs. Packed with anecdotes that reveal the unique assistance they offer from the sky, they highlight the value of their airborne perspective. Rodger and Greg talk about their favorite calls, from adrenaline-fueled pursuits to the heartwarming success of finding missing kids and Alzheimer's patients. Our guests also discuss the significance of never quitting on your dreams, their personal struggles and triumphs, and the importance of continual learning in this high-stakes field.

As we wrap up our flight, we dive into the evolution of police aviation, from the days of searchlights to today's utilization of camera systems. We survey the benefits of investing in technology, the importance of educational programs for helicopter awareness, and consider the potential of a user conference. Join us for this exciting journey that blends inspiring stories, insightful reflections, and a hint of nostalgia. 

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 95 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

Can you imagine building a podcast from scratch with a 15-year-old laptop and a borrowed microphone? That's how our journey started three years ago. In this special anniversary episode, we're bringing you into our family circle with my wife, Shawna and dad, Mike Gray. We'll take you through our humble beginnings, sharing laughs over hot seat questions - and recounting some of the most memorable moments from our time in the helicopter industry.

Did you ever think your career might involve encounters with alien invasion believers, or bringing joy to children at Loma Linda Children's Hospital through annual 'Toys for Tots' events? That’s the crazy world of law enforcement we’ve lived and loved, and we're excited to share all the laughs, adrenaline rushes, and heartwarming moments with you. Alongside this, we'll talk about the incredible relationships we've built, including becoming a part of the Vertical Valor family, we talk about the inspiring legacy of Skip Robinson and the immense support from mentors and friends.

But it’s not all laughter and nostalgia, we'll also discuss the challenges faced, the losses mourned, and the resilience built over the years. We'll delve into the bittersweet memories of our last flight in October 2021, and the subsequent challenging year. Yet, amidst all of this, the podcast remained a beacon of positivity, inspiring us to seize opportunities in 2023. We get an opportunity to express gratitude to our friends and sponsors, who've walked with us on this journey.

So get ready as we toast to three years of the HangarZ Podcast and look forward to many more!

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies as well as our supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 96 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this episode, we sit down with Bell legends Terry Miyauchi and Steve Soliz and discuss the differences in the HEMS and Law Enforcement mission sets.

Terry's aviation career spans more than 30 years, where he served both as an Army Aviator and as a law enforcement pilot. Terry's public safety career culminated as commander of the Arizona Department of Public Safety Aviation Unit, where he lead a unit of over 65 personnel and a fleet of 14 aircraft. 

Steve Soliz has over twenty-five years of experience in military and civilian air medical. He is a retired air force commander and experienced senior business development executive. Commander of the largest aeromedical evacuation squadron in the US Air Force. leading over 200 personnel during multiple global wartime deployments as well as domestic disaster response. 

This is a fun and informative battle between HEMS and Law Enforcement so sit back with a nice beverage and enjoy.

Thank you to Bell for sponsoring this special episode of The Hangar Z Podcast. For more information about Bell go to www.bell.co/publicsafety

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 97 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this episode, we continue the conversation with Bell legends Terry Miyauchi and Steve Soliz and discuss the differences in the HEMS and Law Enforcement mission sets.

Thank you to Bell for sponsoring these special episodes of The Hangar Z Podcast.

Terry's aviation career spans more than 30 years, where he served both as an Army Aviator and as a law enforcement pilot. Terry's public safety career culminated as commander of the Arizona Department of Public Safety Aviation Unit, where he lead a unit of over 65 personnel and a fleet of 14 aircraft. 

Steve Soliz has over twenty-five years of experience in military and civilian air medical. He is a retired air force commander and experienced senior business development executive. Commander of the largest aeromedical evacuation squadron in the US Air Force. leading over 200 personnel during multiple global wartime deployments as well as domestic disaster response. 

This is a fun and informative battle between HEMS and Law Enforcement so sit back with a nice beverage and enjoy.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 99 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this episode, we are privileged to host Sergeant Jon Hess from the Kansas City Police Department Aviation Unit.

During the conversation, Jon Hess talks about the Kansas City Police Department and their aviation unit. Jon is a Purdue University Aviation program graduate, so we spend time talking about his education, and the road to the Kansas City Police Aviation Unit.

Kansas City being the home of the Kansas City Chiefs NFL Football team, we talked about how their operations are impacted by the crowds of the football season.

We also spend time talking about today's recruitment and retention issues and look at ways to work around the current problem.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 98 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this episode, we piggyback off Vertical Magazine’s article on ECHO’s Public Safety Aviation Conference in San Diego. We got to sit down with ECHO HEMS Director Travis Mason and ECHO Marketing Director Ashley Chitty. 

During the conversation, we talk about what ECHO is as an organization and most importantly we preview their annual conference that is going to be held in my favorite city San Diego October 2nd through 4th.

This year they have added a law enforcement track to the training curriculum in addition to all the other courses being offered that benefit anyone in public safety aviation regardless of segment.

In addition to the world-class training, the networking that takes place at the ECHO conference is something you do not want to miss.

To register for the conference go to ECHO’s webpage ECHOFlightcrew.org where you will find a registration link as well as other info on the conference.

The final day to book a room with the ECHO room rate is Friday, September 8th. 

Looking forward to catching you all at ECHO in San Diego

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 100 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

One thing that has been constant for The Hangar Z Podcast as we have grown over the last three years and 100 episodes is change. We have constantly worked to bring new and different types of interviews to our aviation community. Our hope in doing so is that the guest's stories will challenge you, motivate you, and work to strengthen our global public safety aviation community.

The guest we have in store for our 100th episode will definitely challenge and motivate you. This is part one of a two-part series.

During the Hangar Z Leadership Summit 2023, Jack Schonely introduced me to the book titled Touching the Dragon by Jimmy Hatch. After the leadership summit, I bought the book and found I could not put it down. 

Jimmy’s story is truly inspiring, Jimmy is a former Navy Seal, master naval parachutist, he was involved in over 150 missions between Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Africa. Jimmy was also an expert K9 trainer and handler as a NAVY SEAL.  

Jimmy writes about the battles he fought overseas as well as the battles he fought on the home front after being critically wounded while attempting to rescue ARMY deserter Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl. 

In Jimmy Hatch’s book Touching the Dragon as well as in our conversation, Hatch courageously discusses the ever-important topic of PTSD by opening up about his own battle as he worked to heal from the career-ending gunshot wound that exploded through his femur, requiring eighteen surgeries and twelve months of recovery in which he had to relearn how to walk.

Jimmy talks about the nonprofit K9 organization he developed to protect our nation's working dogs called Spikes K9 Fund. As a K9 handler on several deployments, James’ life was regularly spared by the work of K9s – one of the most memorable was Spike. And on James’ final deployment, the night he was critically wounded, a K9 Remco spared James’ life while losing his own. From that evening on, James oriented his life around the training, care, and preservation of working dogs. In addition to working as the founder and president of the fund, he works with local law enforcement to fine-tune their work.

Thank you for joining us over the last 100 episodes we look forward to continuing to bring inspiring stories and conversations like the one you will hear here with Jack Schonely and Jimmy Hatch.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 101 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine.

This is part two of two with Jimmy Hatch a former Navy Seal, founder of Spikes K9 Fund, and author of Touching the Dragon.

Jimmy’s story is truly inspiring, Jimmy is a former Navy Seal, master naval parachutist, he was involved in over 150 missions between Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Africa. Jimmy was also an expert K9 trainer and handler as a NAVY SEAL.  

Jimmy writes about the battles he fought overseas as well as the battles he fought on the home front after being critically wounded while attempting to rescue ARMY deserter Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl. 

In Jimmy Hatch’s book Touching the Dragon as well as in our conversation, Hatch courageously discusses the ever-important topic of PTSD by opening up about his own battle as he worked to heal from the career-ending gunshot wound that exploded through his femur, requiring eighteen surgeries and twelve months of recovery in which he had to relearn how to walk.

Jimmy talks about the nonprofit K9 organization he developed to protect our nation's working dogs called Spikes K9 Fund. As a K9 handler on several deployments, James’ life was regularly spared by the work of K9s – one of the most memorable was Spike. And on James’ final deployment, the night he was critically wounded, a K9 Remco spared James’ life while losing his own. From that evening on, James oriented his life around the training, care and preservation of working dogs. In addition to working as the founder and president of the fund, he works with local law enforcement to fine-tune their work.

As I mentioned in part one if you are like me and listen to podcasts in the car oftentimes with kids present this may be one of the episodes you excuse the kids from.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 102 of the Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS
 

Yes, Vertical HeliCASTS. You may wondering: What the heck is Vertical HeliCASTS?


It's an exciting new podcast network from Vertical and Vertical Valor magazines, the helicopter industry's leading publications.


The Hangar Z podcast is proud to be part of the new Vertical HeliCASTS family.
When Hangar Z host Jon Gray discovered podcasts, he loved them. He listened to them every day on his commute to the hangar. One problem he had was finding helicopter-related podcasts, so he spent time navigating podcast libraries looking for quality helicopter industry shows.
That problem has been solved with the creation of Vertical HeliCASTS, the go-to helicopter podcast network.

In this episode, Gray speaks with Mike Reyno, the creator of Vertical HeliCASTS and the owner of MHM Publishing (which produces Vertical and Vertical Valor magazines), along with Jason Quinn, the host of the Real ResQ Podcast; and Halsey Schider of The Helicopter Podcast. All three shows are now part of the Vertical HeliCASTS network. This discussion focuses on what Vertical HeliCASTS is and what they aim to do with it.
After you are done with the episode, check out the Vertical HeliCASTS webpage at verticalhelicasts.com. While there, you can check out the awesome content being created by Jason Quinn of The Real ResQ Podcast and Halsey Schider of The Helicopter Podcast.

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank its sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies, as well as its supporters on Patreon. 

Welcome to episode 103 of the Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS


Ever wished you could be a fly on the wall at a top-tier public safety aviation conference? Strap in and join us for an engaging rearview reflection on the enriching experience we had at the Echo Public Safety Aviation Conference in San Diego. Mrs. Z and I share how this unique gathering enabled us to collaborate and learn, strengthening bonds within the public safety aviation community.

The Hangar Z Podcast was asked to moderate the live ECHO Public Safety Aviation Safety Panel which was sponsored by Airbus. We were humbled to have been asked and honored to share the stage with RJ Garwood (retired Huntington Beach Police Aviation), Tony Webber (search and rescue/fire pilot with San Diego County Sheriff's), Jack Fulmer (Mercy Air flight paramedic), Dave Callen (retired Las Vegas Metro pilot and owner of SR3 Rescue Concepts), Rob Monday (SAR hoist operator Cougar Helicopters and SR3 hoist operations trainer) Dan Gillis (US Coast Guard Pilot), and Joe Lebrecque (ECHO Safety Team).

During the safety panel conversation we discussed over water flight operation considerations, Issues surrounding crew rest, and the pressure to respond.

This is the live recording of the safety panel so please excuse the audio interference that pops up from time to time. 

If you would like to hear more from our panel guests you can find their individual episodes on the Hangar Z Podcast here:

RJ Garwood, episode 78

Tony Webber, episode 12

Dave Callen, episode 25

Rob Munday, episode 63

Dan Gillis, episode 56

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank its sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 104 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

This episode is a rollercoaster of celebration, revelation and inspiration! We're excited to announce some groundbreaking milestones on our journey and welcome a new member to our podcast family. We raise a toast for joining forces with the MHM Publishing family, marking our third glorious year on air, launching our 100th episode, and stepping into the visual world of YouTube to share our entire podcast episodes.

We're also thrilled to introduce an industry stalwart as our new co-host. In addition to all of this, Jeff has some exciting news to share during the episode. Buckle up as we embark on uncharted territories together!

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank its sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 105 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In this episode, we sit down with Manny Dickerson, chief tactical flight officer (TFO) at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Dickerson is a Southern California native who joined the Marine Corps before becoming an LAPD officer. 

Throughout Dickerson’s distinguished career, he has had a dramatic positive impact on the program he was assigned to, as well as the folks assigned to work with him.  

That is evident in LAPD’s Air Support Division, where Dickerson has developed the training and standards for TFOs assigned to this legendary organization. 

This is part one of a two-part series. In part one we profile Dickerson’s career and talk about how he made his way to the air support division. We also talk about how LAPD recruits and trains their tactical flight officers amongst a bunch of other topics.

Thank you to our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 106 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

This is part two of our conversation with Manny Dickerson, chief tactical flight officer (TFO) in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Air Support Division. Dickerson grew up in Southern California and joined the Marine Corps before becoming an LAPD officer. 

Throughout Dickerson’s distinguished career, he has had a dramatic and positive impact on the program he was assigned to, as well as the people assigned to work with him.  

That is evident in the LAPD Air Support Division, where Dickerson developed the training and standards for TFOs assigned to this legendary organization. 

In this episode, we talk about LAPD’s TFO selection and training process, their formation flight cadre, and several other very interesting topics.

Thank you to our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 107 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In this three-part series, we sit down with Lt. Cody Klaehn, from the Texas Department of Public Safety Aircraft Division.  

Cody is a Texas native who joined the Marine Corp before joining Texas DPS 

Cody worked the highway as a patrol officer for ten years, before he was selected to the Driver License Fraud Unit stationed in Austin. He was later promoted to the Criminal Investigation Division as a Sgt in Narcotics and stationed in Laredo with the Drug Intelligence Unit. 

Welcome to episode 107 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In this three-part series, we sit down with Lieutenant Cody Klaehn from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Aircraft Division.  

Lt Klaehn is a Texas native who joined the Marine Corps before beginning his work with Texas DPS.

He worked the highway as a patrol officer for 10 years before he was selected to the Driver License Fraud Unit, stationed in Austin. He was later promoted to the Criminal Investigation Division as a sergeant in narcotics and was stationed in Laredo with the Drug Intelligence Unit. 

Lt Klaehn served on and off the SWAT team for approximately 12 years, during which time he advanced through various positions within the SWAT Team.

From there he transferred to the Texas DPS Training Academy in Austin as a recruit school instructor.

Lt Klaehn was selected as one of the two lieutenant team leaders for the Texas Ranger SWAT team.

In 2011, he transferred from the SWAT team to DPS Aircraft and presently works as a training lieutenant for tactical flight officers.

Lt Klaehn is one of two special mission instructors for the DPS Aircraft Division. He is also the lead instructor for Airborne Use of Force for Texas DPS. 

As you will find out, Lt Klaehn continues to develop and adapt the Airborne Use of Force Program for situations facing law enforcement today.

A very big thank you to our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 110 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

This is an episode recorded from the floor at the ECHO Public Safety Aviation Conference in San Diego. Host Jon Gray had another opportunity to sit down with Bell’s Terry Miyauchi to discuss what it takes to establish a new public safety aviation unit. 

Miyauchi’s aviation career spans more than 30 years, where he served both as an Army aviator and as a law enforcement pilot. Miyauchi's public safety career culminated as commander of the Arizona Department of Public Safety Aviation Unit, where he led a unit of over 65 personnel and a fleet of 14 aircraft. 

Currently, Miyauchi works for Bell as the company’s public safety segment manager, which takes him all over the world talking to various agencies in different states of development. His experience in this role gives him the unique ability to speak to the subject of new unit start-ups.  

To find more information on Bell and the resources they have available visit www.bell.co/publicsafety

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank sponsors Garmin, SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 112 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In this two-part series, we sit down with Dr. Keith Roxo and Dr. Dan Monlux, who founded Wingman Med. They are both F/A-18 pilots turned board-certified aerospace medicine physicians. 

Roxo is a Top Gun-trained adversary pilot turned aerospace medicine physician with over 2,000 hours in high-performance aircraft including the F/A-18, F-16, and F-5. He holds multiple military flight instructor qualifications, an airline transport pilot certificate and CFII. He is board-certified in aerospace and occupational medicine and is an FAA senior HIMS AME. Roxo provides aviation medical consulting with Wingman Med.

Monlux is an FAA senior HIMS AME who is board-certified in family medicine and aerospace medicine. He has helped thousands to maintain their flight medicine certifications. He started his career in the U.S. Navy and has more than 2500 flight hours including combat service in the F/A-18. A commercial pilot for more than 20 years, he is also a certified flight instructor for single-engine, multi-engine and instrument flight.

During our conversation, we profile their careers and talk about Wingman Med and how they keep you flying.

After years of helping friends and colleagues keep their medical certificates and stay in the air, they founded Wingman Med so they can do the same thing for you. One thing we know as career pilots is that our medical certificate is critical to our careers.  As pilots, they understand the imperative of maintaining your FAA medical certificate and the urgency of getting it back when you lose it. 

This is a fun and informative conversation with Dr. Keith Roxo and Dr. Dan Monlux. After you finish the podcast check out their website for more information at www.wingmanmed.com

Thank you to our sponsors SHOTOVER, Metro Aviation, and Garmin.

Welcome to episode 108 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

Thanks for joining us to continue this conversation with Lt Cody Klaehn from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).

In this episode, Lt Klaehn debriefs an inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions (IIMC) incident he was a part of as a tactical flight officer (TFO). We also continue the conversation on airborne use of force. 

Lt Klaehn is a Texas native who joined the Marine Corp before joining Texas DPS. 

He worked the highway as a patrol officer for 10 years, before he was selected to the Driver License Fraud Unit, stationed in Austin. He was later promoted to the Criminal Investigation Division as a sergeant in Narcotics and stationed in Laredo with the Drug Intelligence Unit. 

Lt Klaehn served on and off the SWAT team for approximately 12 years, during which time he advanced through various positions within the SWAT Team.

From there, Lt Klaehn transferred to the Texas DPS Training Academy in Austin as a recruit school instructor in Austin. He was selected as one of two lieutenant team leaders for the Texas Ranger SWAT team.

In 2011, Lt Klaehn transferred from the SWAT team to DPS Aircraft in 2011 and presently works as a training lieutenant for TFOs. He is one of two Special Mission instructors for the DPS

Aircraft Division and is the lead instructor for Airborne Use of Force for Texas DPS. 

As you will find out, Lt Klaehn continues to develop and adapt the Airborne Use of Force Program for the current situations facing law enforcement today.

We have a new sponsor that we are excited to announce. Thank you, Garmin for your support and for becoming a sponsor of The Hangar Z Podcast. “I have been a big fan of Garmin products for a long time so this is exciting,” said host Jon Gray. 

Without your support, and the support of our friends at  Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies this podcast would not be possible.

Welcome to episode 109 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

Thanks for joining us for part three of our conversation with Lt Cody Klaehn from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).

In this episode, we talk about the equipment Texas DPS is using for its airborne use of force program as we continue the conversation on airborne use of force. 

Lt Klaehn is a Texas native who joined the Marine Corp before joining Texas DPS. 

He worked the highway as a patrol officer for 10 years, before he was selected to the Driver License Fraud Unit, stationed in Austin. He was later promoted to the Criminal Investigation Division as a sergeant in Narcotics and stationed in Laredo with the Drug Intelligence Unit. 

Lt Klaehn served on and off the SWAT team for approximately 12 years, during which time he advanced through various positions within the SWAT Team.

From there, Lt Klaehn transferred to the Texas DPS Training Academy in Austin as a recruit school instructor in Austin. He was selected as one of two lieutenant team leaders for the Texas Ranger SWAT team.

In 2011, Lt Klaehn transferred from the SWAT team to DPS Aircraft in 2011 and presently works as a training lieutenant for tactical flight officers (TFOs). He is one of two Special Mission instructors for the DPS Aircraft Division and is the lead instructor for Airborne Use of Force for Texas DPS. 

As you will find out, Lt Klaehn continues to develop and adapt the Airborne Use of Force Program for the current situations facing law enforcement today.


If you get a chance to talk to CNC Technologies, and go through their social media, you will see they have a hand in developing the mission suites for Texas DPS’s new aircraft, so it’s awesome that they are sponsoring this episode of the Hangar Z podcast, along with our friends and sponsors Metro Aviation and SHOTOVER.

Welcome to episode 111 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In this episode, host Jon Gray celebrates the 50th episode of The Helicopter Podcast with Halsey Schider.

To mark the occasion, Gray takes over The Helicopter Podcast to interview Schider. 

Gray has been working behind the scenes and on the mic to help build MHM Publishing’s new Vertical Helicasts podcast network. 

Like Hangar Z, The Helicopter Podcast is also a proud member of the Vertical Helicasts family. The Helicopter Podcast features guests from every segment from within helicopter aviation. 

Schider is an engaging host who delivers casual conversations, answers questions, gives sound advice and talks shop with his guests. The Helicopter Podcast is produced by helicopter professionals for all types of helicopter people.

Schider started his aviation journey at age 14, when he joined the Civil Air Patrol. Eighteen years later, after having had the opportunity to fly in all kinds of different helicopter operations, including emergency medical services, his passion for aviation (specifically helicopters) is stronger than ever. 

Schider has also always had an entrepreneurial spirit, starting his first business at age 12 by mowing lawns. You will enjoy getting to know him during this interview. To listen to The Helicopter Podcast, visit the show page on the Vertical Helicasts website.

The Hangar Z Podcast is proud to thank its sponsors, who have made this episode possible. Thank you to sponsors Garmin, SHOTOVER and Metro Aviation.

 Welcome to episode 113 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In this two-part series, host Jon Gray sits down with Derek, Kyle and Tanya from the Calgary Police Service aviation unit, referred to as the HAWCS program. HAWCS stands for helicopter air watch for community safety. 

During this episode we have an opportunity to profile their careers, talk about the Calgary Police Service broadly and get into some of the technology that makes their program successful and efficient.

This episode piggybacks off an article written by Jen Nevans in June 2023 and published in Vertical Valor magazine. Within the article, you will find lots of multimedia content, including photos and video. 

The Hangar Z Podcast encourages everyone to familiarize themselves with sponsors who have made this episode possible. Thank you to Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and Garmin. We appreciate all you have done for The Hangar Z Podcast and public safety.

Welcome to Episode 114 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

This is Part Two of a series with Derek, Kyle and Tanya from the Calgary Police Service aviation unit, referred to as the HAWCS program. HAWCS stands for Helicopter Air Watch for Community Safety. 

In this episode, Hangar Z host Jon Gray and his guests continue their conversation about Calgary’s aviation program. They speak about the process for testing and selecting tactical flight officers in Calgary, and the history of the HAWCS program.

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Constable Rick Sonnenberg and his partner, who attempted to stop a reportedly stolen vehicle by laying down a spike belt.

Sadly, Constable Sonnenberg was struck by the speeding car and died instantly.

Constable Sonnenberg was with the Calgary Police Service for just under four years, and was about to announce his engagement to be married. He was also survived by his mother, his sister and his niece.

Following Constable Sonnenberg‘s death, his sister Lisa Stinson led a campaign to raise funds for a police helicopter. Because of her efforts, the Calgary Police Service acquired an MD 520N, known as HAWC1, in July 1995, and HAWC2 in April 2005.

The Hangar Z Podcast wishes to thank sponsors Garmin, SHOTOVER, and Metro Aviation.

Welcome to episode 115 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In this episode, host Jon Gray sits down with a few of the men from SR3, Stef Maier Rob Munday and Tony Webber — although Webber steps into the co-host shoes for this episode, recorded on location in San Diego Bay from the ECHO conference.

This episode is modeled after Flight Suit Fridays, a podcast about U.S. Coast Guard aviation. Flight Suit Fridays has “patio beer episodes,” where they freestyle content as they sit on a patio and drink amazing beer. This perfectly describes how Hangar Z approached this episode.

The Hangar Z Podcast wishes to thank sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies. All these companies are huge contributors to the overall growth and success of our industry. 

Welcome to episode 116 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In this three-part series, host Jon Gray sits down with Matt Szluka.

Szluka is a state trooper and fixed-wing aircraft pilot with the Illinois State Police in the Chicagoland area. 

Born and raised in Chicago, Szluka has lived in the city his entire life. Prior to joining the ISP Air Operations Bureau as a pilot, he was assigned as a K-9 handler to the ISP Statewide Anti-Violence Enforcement Team and the District 15 Criminal Patrol Team. 

Outside his law enforcement duties, Szluka works part-time as an instructor at a local college, teaching aviation classes to aspiring pilots.

Szluka has 12 years of law enforcement experience at three different police departments in the Chicago, Illinois, area.

Outside of being a pilot and K-9 handler, Szluka also has experience as a member of the ISP Chicago Region Crowd Control Team, K-9 instructor, K-9 crowd control instructor, field training officer and evidence technician. 

Before Szluka entered law enforcement, he was an airline captain at a large regional airline that served cities across North America and the Bahamas. 

During his time in the airlines, Szluka was a human factors facilitator and crew resource management instructor. 

He received a bachelor of science degree from the University of Illinois in Aviation Human Factors, which spurred his passion for human interaction with advanced technologies, particularly as it relates to aviation. 

Szluka now focuses his efforts on supporting his fellow brothers and sisters on the ground utilizing aircraft and other technologies for criminal enforcement, especially in the City of Chicago, a place he has proudly called home for 42 years.

The Hangar Z Podcast wishes to thank its sponsors Metro Aviation, Garmin and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 117 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In this three part series, we sit down with Matt Szluka. Matt is currently employed as a State Trooper and Fixed-Wing Aircraft Pilot with the Illinois State Police in the Chicagoland area. 

Matt was born and raised in the Chicago area, and has lived in the city his entire life. Prior to joining the ISP Air Operations Bureau as a pilot, Matt was assigned as a K-9 Handler to the ISP Statewide Anti-Violence Enforcement Team and the District 15 Criminal Patrol Team. 

Outside his law enforcement duties, Matt works part-time as an instructor at a local college teaching aviation classes to aspiring pilots.

Matt has 12 years of law enforcement experience at three different police departments in Chicago. 

Outside of being a Pilot and K-9 Handler, Matt has experience as a member of the ISP Chicago Region Crowd Control Team, K-9 Instructor, K-9 Crowd Control Instructor, Field Training Officer and Evidence Technician. 

Before Matt entered law enforcement he was an Airline Captain at a large regional airline that served cities across North America and the Bahamas. 

During his time in the airlines, Matt was a Human Factors Facilitator and Crew Resource Management instructor. 

Matt received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Illinois in Aviation Human Factors, which spurred his passion for human interaction with advanced technologies, particularly as it relates to aviation. 

Matt now focuses his efforts on supporting his fellow brothers and sisters on the ground utilizing aircraft and other technologies for criminal enforcement, especially in the City of Chicago, a place he has proudly called home for 42 years.

In part two of this three part series Matt talks about his time working as an interdiction trooper with his K9 partner and how that helped to shape the tactics he is employing in aviation.

Matt talks about how LPR technology helped him and the regional troopers recover a kidnapped 15 year old girl. 

Matt talks at length about some of the technology his agency is utalizing which includes license plate reading technology to make their aviation program a proactive airborne interdiction type unit.

We also talk about the importance of stat keeping in your aviation programs.

Thank you to our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies. 

Welcome to episode 118 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In Part Three of this three-part series, host Jon Gray resumes his conversation with Matt Szluka.

Szluka is a state trooper and fixed-wing aircraft pilot with the Illinois State Police (ISP) in the Chicagoland area, with extensive aviation and law enforcement experience.

He currently focuses on supporting his fellow brothers and sisters on the ground utilizing aircraft and other technologies for criminal enforcement, especially in the city of Chicago, a place he has proudly called home for 42 years.

In this episode, Szluka continues the discussion about the importance of stats to maintain and grow an air support unit. 

He speaks about the benefits of developing and maintaining positive relationships with the tower controllers that work in this area of operation.

He also discusses drone operations as a supplement and in conjunction with manned aviation programs.

Szluka and co-host Jack Schonely both have backgrounds in K-9 operations, and they speak about the benefits of training with K-9 teams.

Lastly, they discuss some of the technologies employed both airborne and ground-based law enforcement that increase officer safety.

The Hangar Z Podcast wishes to thank sponsors Garmin, SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 119 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

 
This episode is brought to you from the floor of the ECHO Public Safety Aviation Conference in San Diego, courtesy of conference sponsor Airbus Helicopters.

In this episode, host Jon Gray sits down with Mike Calhoun from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, as well as Matt Zdunich, chief pilot for the San Diego Police Department.

Both guests are experts and advocates in training tactical flight officers (TFOs) to train additional TFO candidates.

During the conversation, they discuss training philosophies for this task.

I would like to thank our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to Episode 120 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In this three-part series, host Jon Gray sits down with two outstanding Americans, Calvin Dockery and Dave Ritchie.

Both Dockery and Ritchie are U.S. Army veterans who flew MH-47 helicopters in the world-renowned 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment’s mission is to organize, equip, train, resource and employ Army special operations aviation forces worldwide in support of contingency missions and combatant commanders.

Known as “Night Stalkers,” these soldiers are recognized for their proficiency in nighttime operations. They are highly trained and ready to accomplish the very toughest missions in all environments, anywhere in the world, day or night, with unparalleled precision.

They employ highly modified MH-47 Chinook and MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, and the assault and attack configurations of A/MH-6 Little Bird helicopters.

Soldiers of the 160th have been actively and continuously engaged in combat operations since October 2001. Today, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment continues a sustained and active forward presence in the U.S. Central Command area of operations at multiple locations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The 160th also provides support to U.S. Southern, Pacific, Africa, and European commands.

Dockery is a now a pilot for Alaska Airlines, flying the Boeing 737 as a first officer.

Ritchie is now the chief of air operations for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

In this episode, Ritchie recounts his involvement as an Army Ranger in Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia. Many know of this operation from the movie Black Hawk Down. 

Ritchie and Dockery both speak about the 160th selection process and provide some detail on the ship they flew, the MH-47 Chinook.

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to Episode 121 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In Part Two of this three-part series, host Jon Gray resumes his conversation with Calvin Dockery and Dave Ritchie.

Both Dockery and Ritchie are U.S. Army veterans who flew MH-47 helicopters in the world-renowned 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment’s mission is to organize, equip, train, resource and employ Army special operations aviation forces worldwide in support of contingency missions and combatant commanders. 

Known as “Night Stalkers,” these soldiers are recognized for their proficiency in nighttime operations. They are highly trained and ready to accomplish the very toughest missions in all environments, anywhere in the world, day or night, with unparalleled precision. 

They employ highly modified MH-47 Chinook and MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, and the assault and attack configurations of A/MH-6 Little Bird helicopters.

In this episode, Dockery and Ritchie debrief a mission they were a part of in the Korengal Valley, also known as the Valley of Death.

They talk about how the 160th trains with cities within the U.S. like they did in Los Angeles, and discuss what makes the 160th different from other Army aviation units.

They also talk about a mission when they flew in to rescue Jimmy Hatch after he was shot and critically injured on a mission searching for Bowe Bergdahl.

Jimmy Hatch was a guest from episode 100, titled Touching the Dragon. If you haven’t heard that episode the recording, go back and listen to it,

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to sincerely thank sponsors Garmin, Metro Aviation and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 122 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicast.

In Part Three of this three-part series, host Jon Gray resumes his conversation with Calvin Dockery and Dave Ritchie.

Both Dockery and Ritchie are U.S. Army veterans who flew MH-47 helicopters in the world-renowned 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment’s mission is to organize, equip, train, resource and employ Army special operations aviation forces worldwide in support of contingency missions and combatant commanders. 

Known as “Night Stalkers,” these soldiers are recognized for their proficiency in nighttime operations. They are highly trained and ready to accomplish the very toughest missions in all environments, anywhere in the world, day or night, with unparalleled precision. 

They employ highly modified MH-47 Chinook and MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, and the assault and attack configurations of A/MH-6 Little Bird helicopters.

In this episode, Dockery and Ritchie speak about their mission deployment tempo when they were with the Night Stalkers.

They speak about the impact their service had on their families, and talk about the transition to civilian life and their current jobs. We also get to discuss what they are currently doing.

This podcast is complemented by an outstanding article Jen Boyer wrote for Vertical Magazine titled "Washington State Department of Natural Resources: First line of defense," with photos and video by Shawn Adams.

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank sponsors Garmin, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 123 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicast.

This episode was recorded from the floor of the ECHO Public Safety Aviation Conference in San Diego.

Host Jon Gray had the opportunity to speak with a good friend, Ken Fox.

Fox is a flight paramedic from the Big Bear Fire Department. Big Bear Fire has a unique relationship with Mercy Air to provide advanced life support to people in need in and around the Big Bear area, in the mountains of Southern California.

In this episode, Fox talks about the career path to becoming a flight medic and the unique area in which he operates.

They also talk about utilizing different methods to get weather information for areas that do not have many official weather reporting stations.

The conversation also touches on an in-flight medical emergency Fox was involved in, and how it could be avoided.

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 124 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

In this two-part series, we sit down with Dr. Keith Roxo and Dr. Dan Monlux, who founded Wingman Med. They are both F/A-18 pilots turned board-certified aerospace medicine physicians. 

Roxo is a Top Gun-trained adversary pilot turned aerospace medicine physician with over 2,000 hours in high-performance aircraft including the F/A-18, F-16, and F-5. He holds multiple military flight instructor qualifications, an airline transport pilot certificate and CFII. He is board-certified in aerospace and occupational medicine and is an FAA senior HIMS AME. Roxo provides aviation medical consulting with Wingman Med.

Monlux is an FAA senior HIMS AME who is board-certified in family medicine and aerospace medicine. He has helped thousands to maintain their flight medicine certifications. He started his career in the U.S. Navy and has more than 2500 flight hours including combat service in the F/A-18. A commercial pilot for more than 20 years, he is also a certified flight instructor for single-engine, multi-engine and instrument flight.

During our conversation, we profile their careers and talk about Wingman Med and how they keep you flying.

After years of helping friends and colleagues keep their medical certificates and stay in the air, they founded Wingman Med so they can do the same thing for you. One thing we know as career pilots is that our medical certificate is critical to our careers.  As pilots, they understand the imperative of maintaining your FAA medical certificate and the urgency of getting it back when you lose it. 

This is a fun and informative conversation with Dr. Keith Roxo and Dr. Dan Monlux. After you finish the podcast check out their website for more information at www.wingmanmed.com

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 125 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

Get ready for the first-ever Vertical HeliCASTS mashup! 

Halsey Schider from The Helicopter Podcast is joined by Jason “Quinny” Quinn from The Real ResQ and Jon Gray from The Hangar Z Podcast. 

In this captivating episode, the trio delves deep into crew resource management, sharing personal experiences and invaluable insights that offer a unique perspective on this critical aspect of the industry. With their diverse backgrounds, they provide wonderfully broad viewpoints on the subject, with excellent tips for new and experienced pilots alike.  

With plenty of laughs and great chemistry throughout the show, don’t miss out on this special episode of The Helicopter Podcast.

The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank sponsors Bell, Garmin, and Precision Aviation Group.

Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

This is part one of a three-part series. This series is important for all public safety aviation units, because we discuss the audit released by the LA City Controller’s office on the LAPD Air Support Division.

The LAPD Air Support Division is well equipped to deal with and respond to the report to justify its program based on the stats it keeps and the details of its program.

We many times have discussed how air support programs are the low-hanging fruit when it comes to politicians and bean counters. This three-part series will talk about LAPD’s air support program and how what they do will help shape the way your agency keeps track of stats and program information.

To discuss the audit we brought in Mike Daly, who retired from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) after nearly 34 years of service. If you ever went to LAPD’s Air Crew course, you most likely heard Daly’s course and his legendary one liners.  

Daly grew up in Latham, New York, enlisting in the military immediately after

graduating high school in 1976. After his discharge from active duty, he returned to

New York and attended college. In May 1983, he was hired by the LAPD and completed

nearly 34 years of service with the below listed assignments.

Daly worked his way to Air Support, having worked assignments in patrol, including 77th. He was a metro K9 handler, worked rampart as Gang Unit OIC sergeant and watch commander before he was selected to the air support division as a watch commander and command pilot.

Daly also completed 24 years of military service with the U. S. Army in both the active and reserve components. SSG Daly served over seven years on active duty including an 18-month combat tour in Iraq.

The L.A. City Controller’s audit questions the time and resources dedicated to the LAPD Air Support Division’s Regional Disaster Preparedness Training exercise, which is also known as the LAPD Chili Fly In. In this episode we talk about the importance of the exercise and how the documentation of the exercise more than justifies its existence.

Thank you to our sponsors Garmin, Precision Aviation Group and Technisonic.

Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

This is part two of a three-part series. This series is important for all public safety aviation units, because we discuss the audit released by the LA City Controller’s office on the LAPD Air Support Division.

The LAPD Air Support Division is well equipped to deal with and respond to the report to justify its program based on the stats it keeps and the details of its program.

We many times have discussed how air support programs are the low-hanging fruit when it comes to politicians and bean counters. This three-part series will talk about LAPD’s air support program and how what they do will help shape the way your agency keeps track of stats and program information.

To discuss the audit we brought in Mike Daly, who retired from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) after nearly 34 years of service. If you ever went to LAPD’s Air Crew course, you most likely heard Daly’s course and his legendary one liners.  

Daly grew up in Latham, New York, enlisting in the military immediately after graduating high school in 1976. After his discharge from active duty, he returned to New York and attended college. In May 1983, he was hired by the LAPD and completed nearly 34 years of service with the below listed assignments.

Daly worked his way to Air Support, having worked assignments in patrol, including 77th. He was a metro K9 handler, worked rampart as Gang Unit OIC sergeant and watch commander before he was selected to the air support division as a watch commander and command pilot.

Daly also completed 24 years of military service with the U. S. Army in both the active and reserve components. SSG Daly served over seven years on active duty including an 18-month combat tour in Iraq.

In this episode, we finish talking about the LAPD Air Support Division’s Regional Disaster Preparedness Training exercise, which is also known as the LAPD Chili Fly-In, by talking about the importance of the administrative portion of the training exercise. We get into discussing other concerns with the controller’s audit.

Lastly, we talk about the importance of keeping accurate and detailed logs so that when you are called on to defend the costs associated with your program you can do so.

Thank you to our sponsors Precision Aviation Group, Technisonic, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

This is part three of a three-part series. This series is important for all public safety aviation units, because we discuss the audit released by the LA City Controller’s office on the LAPD Air Support Division. 

The LAPD Air Support Division is well equipped to deal with and respond to the report to justify its program based on the stats it keeps and the details of its program.

We many times have discussed how air support programs are the low-hanging fruit when it comes to politicians and bean counters. This three-part series will talk about LAPD’s air support program and how what they do will help shape the way your agency keeps track of stats and program information.

To discuss the audit we brought in Mike Daly, who retired from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) after nearly 34 years of service. If you ever went to LAPD’s Air Crew course, you most likely heard Daly’s course and his legendary one liners.  

Daly grew up in Latham, New York, enlisting in the military immediately after graduating high school in 1976. After his discharge from active duty, he returned to New York and attended college. In May 1983, he was hired by the LAPD and completed nearly 34 years of service with the below listed assignments.

Daly worked his way to Air Support, having worked assignments in patrol, including 77th. He was a metro K9 handler, worked rampart as Gang Unit OIC sergeant and watch commander before he was selected to the air support division as a watch commander and command pilot.

Daly also completed 24 years of military service with the U. S. Army in both the active and reserve components. SSG Daly served over seven years on active duty including an 18-month combat tour in Iraq.

In this episode, we discuss using stats to prove your aviation program is essential and not a luxury.

We discuss some of the academic studies that document, through empirical evidence, that air support units reduce crime.

Lastly, we discuss the use of social media to promote aviation programs. 

Thank you to our sponsors Bell, Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing and SHOTOVER.

Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.


This is Part One of a two-part series with Tyler Boeddeker and Sean MacHale from Massif, and aviation apparel company that creates and produces some of the world’s finest flame-resistant (FR) gear.

Massif was founded in 1999 by two passionate visionaries who set the bar high for quality and excellence in everything they do. Randy Benham, one of Massif’s founders, was a Jenny Lake search-and-rescue (SAR) crew member in Grand Teton National Park who understood the demands of rugged, unpredictable and hazardous work conditions.

On a mission to fill the gap and solve the problem, Massif partnered with the specialized Los Angeles based knitting mill Antex, and a core group of extraordinarily dedicated people. 

Together, they invented never-before-seen FR fabrics and applied them to innovative clothing designs for numerous climates and contexts. 

Boeddeker is a U.S. Navy veteran, having served in the Navy for six years as a Naval Aircrewman, with three deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve. He has multiple certifications as a rescue swimmer, SAR Petty Officer, SERE graduate, and more. 

He’s now worked as a government sales manager for nearly four years. He is also a certified civilian rescue swimmer, EMT-B, and Wilderness EMT, and a licensed skydiver! 

MacHale is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, having served 10 years as a Marine Corps tiltrotor crew chief on the MV-22 Osprey. MacHale is in-tune with the aviation world. 

He has deployed with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and the 15th MEU in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2009 and Operation Inherent Resolve in 2015. MacHale is a licensed private pilot, skydiver and scuba diver, but will also indulge in sailing, surfing, and any outdoor activity!

In this episode, Boeddeker and MacHale talk about their military careers and their path to Massif. They also talk about some funny experiences during their active duty time.

Thank you to sponsors Metro Aviation, Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing and MD Helicopters.

Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

 

This is Part Two of a two-part series with Tyler Boeddeker and Sean MacHale from Massif, an apparel company that creates and produces some of the world’s finest flame-resistant (FR) gear.

 

Massif was founded in 1999 by two passionate visionaries who set the bar high for quality and excellence in everything they do. Randy Benham, one of Massif’s founders, was a Jenny Lake search-and-rescue (SAR) crewmember in Grand Teton National Park who understood the demands of rugged, unpredictable and hazardous work conditions.

 

On a mission to fill the gap and solve the problem, Massif partnered with the specialized Los Angeles based knitting mill Antex, and a core group of extraordinarily dedicated people.

 

Together, they invented never-before-seen FR fabrics and applied them to innovative clothing designs for numerous climates and contexts.

 

Boeddeker is a U.S. Navy veteran, having served in the Navy for six years as a Naval Aircrewman, with three deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve. He has multiple certifications as a rescue swimmer, SAR Petty Officer, SERE graduate, and more. He’s now worked as a government sales manager for nearly 4 years. He is also a certified civilian rescue swimmer, EMT-B, and Wilderness EMT, and a licensed skydiver!

 

MacHale is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, having served 10 years as a Marine Corps tiltrotor crew chief on the MV-22 Osprey. MacHale is in-tune with the aviation world. He has deployed with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and the 15th MEU in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2009 and Operation Inherent Resolve in 2015. MacHale is a licensed private pilot, skydiver, and scuba diver, but will also indulge in sailing, surfing and any other outdoor activity!

 

In this episode, Boeddeker talks about a rescue operation he was a part of involving two pilots who ejected from their stricken fighter jet.

 

Hangar Z host Jon Gray and his guests also spend time talking about FR gear, which includes flight suits, and get into some of the tech behind FR materials.

 

Lastly, they talk about some of the safety considerations that go along with the proper use of flame-resistant flight suits and apparel. 

 

Thank you to sponsors MD Helicopters, Collins Aerospace’s Goodrich, and Robinson Helicopters.

Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

This is a two-part series where we honor the memory and legacy of flight nurse Stacie Morse in partnership with ECHO Heliops, The First Responder Whiskey Society, Morse’s aunt Susan Morse deLucia, and her best friend Cindy Pratt, to honor and discuss the legacy of flight nurse Stacie Morse.

Flight nurse Stacie Morse, flight paramedic Margaret Langston, and pilot Patrick Coyle perished on Jan. 29, 2019, while responding to a call for fixed-wing patient transport. 

As ECHO's second member from Alaska, she was known as "Alaska 2," and had a strong passion for learning. In addition, Morse had a vast love for the outdoors and volunteered to better the community in which she lived. 

Morse worked in various settings between emergency room and intensive care unit nursing before beginning her career as a flight nurse in Juneau, Alaska.

Thank you to our sponsors Collins Aerospace’s Goodrich, Metro Aviation, and Robinson Helicopters


About the Stacie Morse Education Scholarship
https://www.echoflightcrew.org/staciemorse

Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.

 This is a two-part series where we honor the memory and legacy of flight nurse Stacie Morse in partnership with ECHO Heliops, The First Responder Whiskey Society, Morse’s aunt Susan Morse deLucia, and her best friend Cindy Pratt, to honor and discuss the legacy of flight nurse Stacie Morse.

Flight nurse Stacie Morse, flight paramedic Margaret Langston, and pilot Patrick Coyle perished on Jan. 29, 2019, while responding to a call for fixed-wing patient transport. 

As ECHO's second member from Alaska, she was known as "Alaska 2," and had a strong passion for learning. In addition, Morse had a vast love for the outdoors and volunteered to better the community in which she lived. 

Morse worked in various settings between emergency room and intensive care unit nursing before beginning her career as a flight nurse in Juneau, Alaska.

Thank you to our sponsors Aero Brigham, Metro Aviation, and Robinson Helicopters.

About the Stacie Morse Education Scholarship
https://www.echoflightcrew.org/staciemorse