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Talking Flight

Alaska Airlines Captain Mike Swanigan interviews the interesting people he has met during his flying career.

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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 join me in welcoming Captain Ed Robertson to Talking Flight.

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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 Michael Hendrix each share firsthand accounts of how they dealt with some of the unusual situations that…

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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, and today Brendan his living that dream, flying Boeing 737s for Alaska Airlines. Also, a video project…

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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 experience she recounts in her gripping new book, Ditching the Sky . Captain Porch shares the highs and lows…

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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 positive attitude provided the fuel for a fantastic career.

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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 already earned his Private Pilot's License, Instrument Rating, and Commercial Pilot's License. Jaylen's…

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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 missed it, check out episode 27, where we dive deep into the early days of his career. In today's episode,…

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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 mistakes. That mentality helped him to survive several close calls in the air and on the ground. We shared a…

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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 a golf scholarship but later transferred to Arizona State University to enroll in their aviation degree…

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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 Carrier Operations and his experiences as a commercial airline pilot flying both Boeing and Airbus…

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