Talking Flight

Episode 73: JSX First Officer Billy Kitchen

What does it take to go from college flight student to the flight deck of a jet? In this episode of Talking Flight, we sit down with First Officer Billy Kitchen, a 2024 g

Episode 72: Retired Alaska Airlines Captain Edward Robertson

Welcome to another episode of Talking Flight. Our guest today is Captain Ed Robertson, a retired Alaska Airlines Captain whose aviation journey spans military service, ai

Episode 71: Flight Situations

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

Episode 70: Alaska Airlines Captain and YouTube Creator Brendan ODonnell

Akaska Airlines Captain and YouTube creator Brendan ODonnell joins us on Talking Flight to share his story of growing up in Oregon and pursuing his dream of becoming an a

Episode 69: Captain Heidi Porch

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

Episode 68: Captain Tad Santino

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

Episode 67: USAF Academy Cadet Jaylen Palmer

We're excited to have US Air Force Academy Cadet Jaylen Palmer on Talking Flight to share his journey to earning admission to the prestigious Service Academy. At just 2

Episode 66: Podcaster and Corporate Pilot Captain Rick Jones

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

Episode 65: Mr. Dexter Cox, Author of "Dancing With The Devil, Memoirs of a Pilot"

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

Episode 64: Captain Michael Rinehart

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

Episode 63: Captain Joe Kohler

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

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

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

Episode 61: Alaska Airlines Captain Gary Ellington

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

Episode 60. Mr. Paul Salerno, CEO of OmniSMS

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

Episode 59: Frontier Airlines Captain Michael Pittman

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

Episode 58: Captain Mike Baumgartner

We sit down with my long-time friend, Captain Mike Baumgartner. We met as classmates while attending Alaska Airlines 737-200 initial training in 1984. Captain Baumgartn

Episode 57: Mr. Ross Belfiore, Aviation Maintenance Instructor

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

Episode 55: Flight to Russia

Captain Mike Swanigan tells us the story of the most memorable trip of his career.  In June of 1991, Alaska Airlines started service from Anchorage, Alaska to the forme

Episode 55: Alaska Airlines First Officer Chazmin Peters

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

Episode 54: Captain David Glick

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