PODCAST · leisure
Talking Flight
by Mike Swanigan
Alaska Airlines Captain Mike Swanigan interviews the interesting people he has met during his flying career.
Episodes
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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 graduate of Arizona State University's flight program who is now flying professionally with JSX. Billy gives us a firsthand look...
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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, airline leadership, and a lifelong passion for flying. It's a story of perseverance, service, opportunity, and leadership. Please...
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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 Airlines Captain Michael Pittman, retired Delta and Northwest Airlines Captain Heidi Porch, and retired Alaska Airlines Captain...
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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 airline pilot. His path ito aviation took several unexpected turns, but he stayed focused and never gave up. It all paid off…
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Episode 69: Captain Heidi Porch
In this episode of Talking Flight, we sit down with retired Delta A330 Captain Heidi Porch. She began flying at 16 and quickly found herself ferrying small aircraft across the Pacific. One of those flights ended in a dramatic ocean ditching 500 miles off the coast of Hawaii — a harrowing…
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Episode 68: Captain Tad Santino
Retired Captain Tad Santino joins us on this episode of Talking Flight. He shares the story of his journey from being a gate agent for a regional airline to becomming a Captain for Alaska Airlines. Tad had many adventures along the way and tells us how hard work, solid relationships, and a…
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Episode 67: USAF Academy Cadet Jaylen Palmer
We're excited to have US Air Force Academy Cadet Jaylen Palmer on Talking Flight to share his journey to earning admission to the prestigious Service Academy. At just 20 years old, Jaylen is our youngest guest yet. His aviation career started early—before even graduating high school, he had…
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Episode 66: Podcaster and Corporate Pilot Captain Rick Jones
Mike Swanigan interviews Corporate Pilot and Podcaster Captain Rick Jones. Rick pilots a Dassault 7X jet for a private owner and is also the host of "The RMFJ Podcast", currently trending on Spotify and other podcast platforms. Rick was a guest on a previous episode of Talking Flight. If you…
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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 teenager entering the world of aviation, Dexter quickly realized the importance of learning from other people's and his own...
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Episode 64: Captain Michael Rinehart
Retired Alaska Airlines Captain Michael Rinehart is our guest on today's edition of Talking Flight. We have a great conversation about his childhood as an "Airline Brat," including summers spent traveling with his dad, a Captain for Braniff International Airlines. Mike started college at UNLV on…
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Episode 63: Captain Joe Kohler
Captain Joe Kohler is a former Naval Aviator who went to work for Northwest Airlines after leaving the U.S. Navy. Northwest Airlines later merged with Delta Airlines, where he finished his amazing flying career. We have a wide-ranging conversation with Joe where he tells us about Navy Aircraft...
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Episode 62: US Army Chief Warrant Officer Ron Warren (retired)
Welcome to Season 2 of Talking Flight. Our guest today is Chief Warrant Officer Ron Warren. He is a distinguished Army veteran with a career that has taken him from the Utah Army National Guard where he served as a Military Policeman, and later, he transferred to the Regular Army where he became…
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Episode 61: Alaska Airlines Captain Gary Ellington
Captain Gary "Duke" Ellington is a veteran Captain for Alaska Airlines. Gary went from being a high school football player to a pilot for the US Navy. After the Navy, Gary was hired by Alaska Airlines and has been there for over 20 years. Duke describes how he overcame some of his college and…
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Episode 60. Mr. Paul Salerno, CEO of OmniSMS
Paul Salerno and his brother Bruce started SalAir, a cargo airline in 1980 that served the salmon industry in Alaska. The company grew into to regional cargo airline that provided feeder air service to the major cargo airlines during the 1980s and 1990s. They began by building a fleet of the…
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Episode 59: Frontier Airlines Captain Michael Pittman
Michael Pittman is a Captain for Frontier Airlines. He is presently serving the company as a Line Check Airman and he lives in Mesa, Arizona. Captain Pittman graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Aviation Management, where he also obtained all of his flight ratings as part of…
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Episode 58: Captain Mike Baumgartner
We sit down with my long-time friend, Captain Mike Baumgartner. We met as classmates while attending Alaska Airlines 737-200 initial training in 1984. Captain Baumgartner's dream of becoming a pilot began when he was a young child traveling from Seattle to Switzerland to visit his grandparents....
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Episode 57: Mr. Ross Belfiore, Aviation Maintenance Instructor
Ross Belfiore is a 20-year veteran Aircraft Maintenance Technician at Alaska Airlines. He tells us what it takes to earn the proper FAA credentials to enter the Aircraft Maintenance Field and how he was able to achieve early seniority at Alaska Airlines. Whenever I had a maintenance problem in…
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Episode 55: Flight to Russia
Captain Mike Swanigan tells us the story of the most memorable trip of his career. In June of 1991, Alaska Airlines started service from Anchorage, Alaska to the former USSR (Russia) flying a specially-equipped Boeing 727-200. Mike was selected to be on the crew of the inaugural flight, and he...
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Episode 55: Alaska Airlines First Officer Chazmin Peters
Chazmin "Chaz" Peters joins us on the podcast to tell about her transformation from a very shy little girl in elementary school to her present status as an experienced Airline Pilot. We recorded this interview just a couple of days before Chaz gave birth to her first child, a beautiful baby girl.
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Episode 54: Captain David Glick
Captain David Glick is one of the most respected Pilots at Alaska Airlines. David tells us about the mindset it took for him to earn an Engineering Degree and graduate from USAF Pilot Training (UPT) near the top of his class. Our listeners will enjoy the positivity that Captain Glick brings to…
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Episode 53: Horizon Seattle Base Chief Pilot Captain Kisa Wiley
Captain Kisa Wiley is the Chief Pilot at the Seattle Base of Horizon Air. Horizon Air is a subsidiary of the Alaska Air Group, and the airline coordinates its schedules and traffic feed with Alaska Airlines. Captain Wiley is a third-generation pilot. Her Dad, retired Captain Jim Wiley, had a long...
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Episode 52: Pilot Hiring Boards
Getting hired by a Major or Regional Airline is often a difficult and drawn-out process. The most intimidating part is facing a Pilot Hiring Board (Sometimes called a Captains Board). Mike Swanigan asked Captains Mike Dibello, George Boslinski, and Michael Hendrix to join this episode to discuss...
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Episode 51: Alaska Airlines Captain Millison "Mill" Fambles
Alaska Airlines Captain Millison Fambles joins us on this episode of Talking Flight. Millison is from Longview, Texas and he was awarded a college scholarship from the Lady Bird Johnson Foundation. Lady Bird was the wife of President Lyndon Johnson, and she served as First Lady of the United…
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Episode 50: Retired Alaska Airlines Captain David "D.R." Smith
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 "D.R.," tells us about…
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Episode 9: Alaska Airlines Captain Blake Gibson
This is one of my favorite Talking Flight Episodes. It was released in 2013, but it was lost due to storage problems on my podcast platform. We are thrilled to rerelease it to share with our listeners who may not have heard it. Blake is one of the most respected pilots at Alaska Airlines. He is a...
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Episode 49: Retired Alaska Airlines Captain Michael DiBello
Talking Flight is proud to present this interview with Retired Alaska Airlines Captain Michael (Dibs) Dibello. Mike 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...
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Episode 48: Retired Alaska Airlines Captain David J. Smith
Our guest on this episode is Retired Alaska Airlines Captain David J. Smith. I first met David Back in 1983, when he began training as a newly hired pilot at Alaska Airlines. That meeting resulted in David becoming my longtime friend. David has an interesting story about our first meeting, which…
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Episode 47: Captain Michael Hendrix Returns to Talking Flight
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 made the decision…
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Episode 46: Air Wisconsin First Officer Hunter Bevis
Our guest today is Air Wisconsin First Officer Hunter Bevis. Hunter is the son of one of our previous guests, Mr. Bob Bonkukian, former Director of Flight Control at Alaska Airlines. Even though he grew up in an airline family, Hunter did not start his flight training until age 35. Before flying,...
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Episode 45: Mr. Stefan Holt, WNBC Anchor and Private Pilot
Stefan Holt is one of the News Anchors at WNBC Television in New York City. He is also a Private Pilot with an Instrument Rating. Stefan tells us about his lifelong interest in aviation, and how he worked as a busboy in New York City to earn money for his flying lessons. His experience as a pilot...
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Episode 44: Alaska Airlines Captain Elliot Wilson
Our guest on this show is my long time friend, Alaska Airlines Captain Elliot Wilson. I have known Elliot since he was a young child, and he has always had the goal of flying jets for Alaska Airlines. His father was a close friend of mine, and sadly, he passed away several years ago. Elliot tells...
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Episode 43: Mr. Tom Clark, General Aviation Pilot
Mike sits down with his long time friend, Tom Clark, to talk about his passion for flying airplanes. Tom has had an amazing broadcast career and he is presently working as the Film Commissioner for the State of South Carolina. He has a Commercial Pilot Certificate and a Certified Flight…
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Episode 42: Retired Alaska Airlines Captain Mike Swanigan
Mike Swanigan is his own guest on Talking Flight. His longtime friend, Tom Clark, interviews him on this podcast. Tom is a veteran broadcaster and he is the voice on the intro to Talking Flight. He is presently serving as the Commissioner of the South Carolina Film Commission. Mike tells us how…
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Episode 41: Alaska Airlines Captain Kevin Kay
Captain Kevin Kay is the first former Fighter Pilot to join us on Talking Flight. Kevin took an unusual path to become a USAF pilot. He was accepted to Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) after applying through the Air National Guard. Kevin tells us about how he built a network of...
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Episode 40: Beth Ruggiero York Tells Us About Her Book, Flying Alone
We sit down with writer Beth Ruggiero York and talk about her new book Flying Alone, a memoir. Beth's aviation journey begins in the mid-1980s when she started taking flying lessons and started a job as a line person at the local airport. Her book takes us on a wild ride that shows the…
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Episode 39: Alaska Airlines Captain Ron Limes
Today's episode is an interview with Alaska Airlines Captain Ron Limes. He is one of the two Chief Pilots at the Seattle Pilot Base. Captain Lines shares his story about growing up in New York City, and how his 5th grade teacher got him interested in flying airplanes. It was his High School...
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Episode 38: Nigel Sargent, Alaska Airlines Director/Flight Simulation
Mr. Nigel Sargent is the Director/Flight Simulation at Alaska Airlines. He is considered to be one of the foremost experts in the field of Flight Simulation. Mr. Sargent grew up in England and worked on Simulators all over the world before joining Alaska Airlines. He started his career right…
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Episode 37 Retired Alaska Captain Phil Pope
Captain Phil Pope joined Alaska Airlines in 1964. He started in Ground Operations and worked his way into becoming a Flight Engineer on the Lockheed Super Constellation. He later flew the Lockheed C-130, the Boeing 727 and the Boeing 737. Phil tells us about his part in helping to build Alaska...
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Voice Blog 2: Do Next
Captain Mike Swanigan talks about how he helped his Niece get through a stressful day. He would sometimes use the same strategy near the end of a long day of flying.
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Episode 36: Alasska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden
We sit down for a long-form conversation with Mr. Brad Tilden, CEO of Alaska Airlines. Brad tells us about his life journey that eventually lead to him to become the Chief Executive Officer at Alaska Airlines. We learn about how Brad approaches leadership, and how his late Father still has a...
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Episode 7: Captain Phil Parrish
Captain Phil Parrish tells us about his amazing journey to become Captain for Alaska Airlines. (Previously released in 2014).
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Episode 35: Alaska Airlines Seattle Base Chief Pilot Captain Dave Mets
Captain David Mets is presently one of the two Seattle Base Chief Pilots for Alaska Airlines. David tells us about his career as a USAF Pilot and about his transition to a Pilot career at Alaska Airlines. We also learn that he had a three-year stint serving as Rocket Scientist at Cape Canaveral....
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Mike Swanigan Voice Blog 1: Tire Rotation
This is this first in a series of short Voice Blogs from Mike Swanigan. Don't worry, we will still feature our usual long-form interviews. This is an added feature to our Talking Flight Podcasts. A lot of people gave me some great advice during my career. I am trying to pay it forward by…
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Episode 34: Horizon Air Captain Kevin Nigbur
Captain Kevin Nigbur is the first Horizon Air Pilot to appear on Talking Flight. He is currently flying the Embraer 175 Regional Jet on Horizon's route system. Kevin earned an Aviation Degree in College, but he had to put his flying dreams on the back burner when he was needed in his family...
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Episode 33: Ms. Trish Barney, Duty Manager Pilot Scheduling
One of the most complex pieces of running an airline is making sure that that qualified and rested pilots are available to fly the airplanes. We rarely hear about the men and women who are behind the scenes working to make sure that your flight is flown by a crew of qualified and rested pilots.…
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Episode 32: Alaska Airlines Captain James "JP" Wilson
Our Guest today is Alaska Airlines Captain JP Wilson. He flies the Boeing 737 out of Alaska's Portland Oregon pilot crew base. In addition to his Captain duties at Alaska Airlines, JP is now the Manager of Pilot Development at Alaska's sister airline, Horizon Air. He works with Colleges and…
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Episode 31: Retired Alaska Airlines Captain Tom Crank
Captain Tom Crank tells us about his life as a Military and Commercial Aviator. Tom tells us about his struggles at the USAF Academy, and how he unexpectedly became an Air Force Pilot. Captain Crank began his airline career at Eastern Airlines, and he flew the Boeing 727 until the airline started...
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Episode 30: Doctor Larry Greenblatt, Senior Aviation Medical Examiner
One of the most feared aspects of being a pilot is the requirement to pass an FAA Physical exam to keep your license active. Doc Greenblatt is a Senior FAA Aeromedical Examiner, and he has conducted thousands of medical exams on pilots. He has a successful Family and Sports Medicine practice in...
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EPISODE 29: Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant Mary Kesselring
Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant Mary Kesselring joins Captain Mike Swanigan to tell our audience about her 34-year career with the Airline. Mary grew up in an Airline family. Her dad was a Veteran Captain and Check Airman for United Airlines. He Mom was a former "Stewardess" (that is what they...
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Episode 28: Captain Debbie Waingrow
We sat down with Captain Debbie Waingrow two days before her retirement flight at Alaska Airlines. Captain Waingrow made history at Alaska Airlines by becoming the first Woman to be selected as a Check Captain to train, evaluate, and certify her fellow pilots. Debbie comes from a family with deep...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Talking Flight have?
Talking Flight currently has 72 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Talking Flight about?
Alaska Airlines Captain Mike Swanigan interviews the interesting people he has met during his flying career.
How often does Talking Flight release new episodes?
Talking Flight has 72 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Talking Flight?
You can listen to Talking Flight on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Talking Flight?
Talking Flight is created and hosted by Mike Swanigan.
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