Talking Flight

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 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 and got his degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He was accepted into US Navy Flight Training and went on the fly the A-7 attack jet. Captain DiBello tells us how the Navy trains pilots to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier. He later became one of the most respected pilots at Alaska Airlines.

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 I will neither confirm or deny. David was one of the small numbers of civilian pilots who were able to break into the airlines back 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. David was furloughed, and the company later went out of business. His second chance to land an Airline job came when someone told him that a small company named Alaska Airlines was hiring pilots. David 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 made the decision to become an airline pilot at age of 40. At the time, people advised him that he was too old to be successful in getting hired by a major airline. Fortunately, he decided to go for it anyway. Captain Hendrix 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 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, Hunter was a US Army officer, and he tells us how his service as a Tank Commander later helped him as he transitioned into the world of aviation. Hunter is the host of the podcast Time In Flight.  

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 has helped him in his televisions news career to report on aviation stories with a higher level of insight and accuracy.

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 us about growing up with his Dad and about his journey to becoming a successful Airline Captain.

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 Instructor License.  Tom does a lot of flying and he instructs pilots on how to fly vintage "Tail Dragger" airplanes.

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 his aviation dream was almost derailed when he was a 16-year-old High School Student, and how he overcame many obstacles in his quest to become an airline pilot.

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 connections at Air National Guard units around the country to help him figure out what it took to be selected for the program. This is a great story about how hard work and perseverance helped Kevin to Achieve his dream job of flying the F-16. 

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 exhilaration of flying airplanes and the dangers of having to work for a few unscrupulous aviation companies. Beth shares her story with a striking level of honesty. She was not afraid to write about some of the flying mistakes that she made that could have taken her life. The underlying theme of this book is how a young woman did all of the hard work that it took to be hired as a pilot for a major airline.

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 Guidance Counselor who told him how to get his aviation dreams off of the ground. Captain Limes also had a brilliant career in the USAF Reserves, ultimately commanding a C-17 squadron.

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 after high school when he landed an intern position with the British company, Redifon. The company later changed its name to Rediffusion Flight Simulators. Nigel tells us about his career and the exciting changes happening in the world of Simulators.

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 Airlines into the Major Carrier that it is today.

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.

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 profound influence on how he solves problems that come up at the airline. Brad shares some excellent advice on how to be successful in business and life.

Captain Phil Parrish tells us about his amazing journey to become Captain for Alaska Airlines.  (Previously released in 2014).

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. Several events that initially appeared to be disappointments, turned out to be some wonderful opportunities for Captain Mets and his family.

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 recording these Voice Blogs. If it helps just one person, it will be well worth the effort. If you find any of this to be helpful, please pass it on. Be Excellent to Each other  

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 business. Captain Nigbur tells us the amazing story of how he restarted his flying career after the age of 40. 

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. On this episode, we sit down with Ms. Trish Barney. She is the Duty Manager Pilot Scheduling for Alaska Airlines. Trish tells us the background story of how she got into the pilot scheduling world and she gives an inside look at how her Pilot Scheduling Team works their magic.