We're excited to have US Air Force Academy Cadet Jaylen Palmer on Talking Flight to share his journey to earning admission to the prestigious Service Academy. At just 20 years old, Jaylen is our youngest guest yet. His aviation career started early—before even graduating high school, he had already earned his Private Pilot’s License, Instrument Rating, and Commercial Pilot’s License. Jaylen’s story is a testament to what a motivated and focused young person can achieve, with the added...

Mike Swanigan interviews Corporate Pilot and Podcaster Captain Rick Jones. Rick pilots a Dassault 7X jet for a private owner and is also the host of "The RMFJ Podcast", currently trending on Spotify and other podcast platforms.  Rick was a guest on a previous episode of Talking Flight. If you missed it, check out episode 27, where we dive deep into the early days of his career. In today’s episode, Rick shares his journey toward his dream of flying for Alaska Airlines and the dedication it...

Dexter Cox is the author of one of my favorite aviation books. Dancing with the Devil is a wild ride chronicling Dexter’s long career as a general aviation pilot. As a teenager entering the world of aviation, Dexter quickly realized the importance of learning from other people’s and his own mistakes. That mentality helped him to survive several close calls in the air and on the ground. We shared a few great stories from his book, but there is much more to discover within its pages.

Retired Alaska Airlines Captain Michael Rinehart is our guest on today's edition of Talking Flight. We have a great conversation about his childhood as an “Airline Brat,” including summers spent traveling with his dad, a Captain for Braniff International Airlines. Mike started college at UNLV on a golf scholarship but later transferred to Arizona State University to enroll in their aviation degree program. Michael shares his story of his rapid progression as a young pilot with Braniff...

Captain Joe Kohler is a former Naval Aviator who went to work for Northwest Airlines after leaving the U.S. Navy. Northwest Airlines later merged with Delta Airlines, where he finished his amazing flying career. We have a wide-ranging conversation with Joe where he tells us about Navy Aircraft Carrier Operations and his experiences as a commercial airline pilot flying both Boeing and Airbus Airliners.

Welcome to Season 2 of Talking Flight.   Our guest today is Chief Warrant Officer Ron Warren. He is a distinguished Army veteran with a career that has taken him from the Utah Army National Guard where he served as a Military Policeman, and later, he transferred to the Regular Army where he became a Dog Handler. Ron and his dog were later assigned to a Special Forces team performing combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The team was transported and protected by superbly skilled and...

Captain Gary "Duke" Ellington is a veteran Captain for Alaska Airlines. Gary went from being a high school football player to a pilot for the US Navy. After the Navy, Gary was hired by Alaska Airlines and has been there for over 20 years. Duke describes how he overcame some of his college and Naval Flight Training struggles. Captain Ellington is the recipient of the prestigious Alaska Airlines Legend Award in recognition of his exceptional service to his passengers and his fellow...

Paul Salerno and his brother Bruce started SalAir, a cargo airline in 1980 that served the salmon industry in Alaska. The company grew into to regional cargo airline that provided feeder air service to the major cargo airlines during the 1980s and 1990s. They began by building a fleet of the iconic DC-3 aircraft and later added several Convair 440s to the airline. Mr. Salerno served as the airline's owner and chief pilot, and they went 15 years without a major accident. Unfortunately, in 1995...

Michael Pittman is a Captain for Frontier Airlines. He is presently serving the company as a Line Check Airman and he lives in Mesa, Arizona. Captain Pittman graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Aviation Management, where he also obtained all of his flight ratings as part of his college education. Michael's first job as a high school student was being a baseball umpire. At the time, He had no idea that the skills that he learned running an officiating crew would later be...

We sit down with my long-time friend, Captain Mike Baumgartner. We met as classmates while attending Alaska Airlines 737-200 initial training in 1984. Captain Baumgartner's dream of becoming a pilot began when he was a young child traveling from Seattle to Switzerland to visit his grandparents. Mike used hard work to achieve his dream of becoming an airline pilot. He tells us about flying the DC3 and making landings and take-offs on several beaches in Alaska to haul loads of fish to...

Ross Belfiore is a 20-year veteran Aircraft Maintenance Technician at Alaska Airlines. He tells us what it takes to earn the proper FAA credentials to enter the Aircraft Maintenance Field and how he was able to achieve early seniority at Alaska Airlines. Whenever I had a maintenance problem in San Francisco, Ross was often the Technician who responded to fix the problem. If Ross says that your jet is fixed and ready to fly, you know that one of the best people in the business has solved...

Captain Mike Swanigan tells us the story of the most memorable trip of his career.  In June of 1991, Alaska Airlines started service from Anchorage, Alaska to the former USSR (Russia) flying a specially-equipped Boeing 727-200.  Mike was selected to be on the crew of the inaugural flight, and he learned that flying in the former Soviet Union (Russia) presented some unique challenges.

Chazmin "Chaz" Peters joins us on the podcast to tell about her transformation from a very shy little girl in elementary school to her present status as an experienced Airline Pilot. We recorded this interview just a couple of days before Chaz gave birth to her first child, a beautiful baby girl.  

Captain David Glick is one of the most respected pilots at Alaska Airlines. David tells us about the mindset it took for him to earn an Engineering Degree and graduate from USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) near the top of his class. Our listeners will enjoy the positivity that Captain Glick brings to work every day as he flies to the many destinations served by Alaska Airlines. He also flew for the Alaska Air National Guard, where he flew into the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan

Mike Swanigan interviews Captain Kisa Wiley. She is the Seattle Base Chief Pilot at Horizon Air, which is a subsidiary of the Alaska Air Group. Kisa is a 3rd generation pilot. Her Dad, Retired Captain Jim Wiley, had a long career with Alaska Airlines. Her Grandfather, the Late Colonel Jim Wiley, was a Tuskegee Airman who flew several combat missions in Europe during World War 2. Kisa fell in love with flying after her younger sister talked her into attending a pilot ground school course.

Getting hired by a major or Regional Airline is often a difficult and drawn-out process. The most intimidating part is facing a Pilot Hiring Board (Sometimes called a Captains Board). Mike Swanigan asked Captains Michael Dibello, George Boslinski, and Michael Hendrix to join this episode to discuss the pilot hiring process. If you are aspiring to be a Major or Regional Airline Pilot, there is a lot of helpful information on this program.

Captain Millison Fambles is from Longview, Texas and he was awarded a college scholarship from The Lady Bird Johnson foundation. Lady Bird was the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson, and she served as the first lady of the United States from 1963 until January of 1969. 29 years ago, he joined Alaska Airlines as a pilot. He is now a senior captain, he has built a reputation as a great pilot, but he is better known for his success in starting a flight Camp for inner-city children.

Captain David “D.R.” Smith is the second guest on our podcast named David Smith. There were two pilots named David Smith at Alaska Airlines, so we called this particular David Smith “D.R.” to minimize the confusion of which David Smith that we were referring to. David eventually became a pilot for Alaska Airlines, where he had a distinguished career as a pilot. He played a pivotal role in helping the Airline develop one of the best safety cultures in the Airline Industry.

This is one of my favorite Talking Flight Episodes. It was originally released in 2013. Blake Gibson is one of the most respected pilots at Alaska Airlines. He is a Check Airman and an FAA Aircrew Program Designee. Blake tells us how he achieved his childhood dream of becoming an Airline Pilot. He shares some exciting stories of his "Freight Dog" days flying around thunderstorms in the southern US. He also talks about how he got himself out of trouble at the Chicago O'Hare Airport.

Mike DiBello is a former Navy Squadron Commander, and he later served as the Boeing 737 Fleet Captain at Alaska Airlines. His first exposure to aviation came when his father took him to Boston's Logan International Airport to watch airplanes take off and land. High School and College did not come easy for him, but after some Navy ROTC advisors' counseling, he improved his study habits. He was accepted into US Navy Flight Training and went on the fly the A-7 attack jet.

David J Smith was hired by Braniff Airlines in the late 1970s . At that time, more than 70 percent of the pilots hired by US Airlines had a Military background. A few years after David joined Braniff Airlines, the company fell into financial hardship and David's job went away. His second chance to land an Airline job came when someone told him that a small company named Alaska Airlines was hiring pilots. David prepared himself, and did well at the hiring interview, and the rest was history.

Captain Michael Hendrix joins us on this edition of Talking Flight. He was our very first guest when we started the podcast. At the time, he was a First Officer at Alaska Airlines. He subsequently upgraded to Captain on the Boeing 737 and he retired in January of 2020. Michael tells us about the various training events that he went through during his career. When he upgraded to Captain at Alaska Airlines, he was shocked at how it differed from the world of being a First Officer.

Our guest today is Air Wisconsin First Officer Hunter Bevis. Hunter is the son of one of our previous guests, Mr. Bob Bonjukian, who was a Director of Flight Control for Alaska Airlines. Even though he grew up in an Airline family, Hunter did not start flight training until he was 35 years old. Before he started flying, Hunter was an officer in the US Army, and he tells us about how his service as a Tank commander later helped him in his transition into the world of aviation.