Talking Flight

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 Flight Schools on developing the next generation of airline pilots for Alaska and Horizon. JP tells us the story of how followed his dream to become a pilot for a major airline. He also shares a few suggestions for aspiring pilots to improve their chances of being hired by an airline.

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 to fail as a result of financial difficulties. After Eastern Airlines, Tom headed west and went to work for Alaska Airlines. Tom also tells us how he handled some leadership challenges that he had as a Captain. Tom's motto is "It's not the mistake, it is the recovery."

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 Bellevue Washington. A family tragedy changed his life forever, and his path to becoming a Physician was not always easy. But he never gave up, and he has been a vital source of support for his patients. We discuss the FAA medical examination process, and we talk about some of the issues that can affect the status of a pilot's application for a medical certificate.   Dr. Greenblatt gives us some strategies for staying healthy, and he tells us why it is vital for a pilot to deal with potential health problems early.  

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 were called at the time) for United. When she was in College, the realization came that she was about to reach the age where she would lose the travel benefits from her Dad's employment at United Airlines. Mary decided to solve that problem by entering the airline career field and began applying for Flight Attendant positions at United Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Alaska hired her, and the rest was history.  This interview is a wide-ranging discussion about Mary's journey and the rewards and difficulties of being in the Flight Attendant field.

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 roots in aviation. As a child, she was always at the airport hanging around with her cousin, Jill Richardson, who also later became an Alaska Airlines Captain. They spent a lot of time riding horses near the airport and hanging around their family's aviation business. The two girls were always taking flights in the family airplanes, and they had their solo flights on the same day.  Please join us as Captain Debbie Waingrow shares the story of her amazing career in aviation.        

Captain Rick Jones is the first Corporate Pilot to appear on Talking Flight.  I first met Rick when I was working as a Flight Engineer Instructor for Alaska Airlines. We were in Vancouver, British Columbia, and we were using the B727 Flight simulator at Canadian Pacific Airlines. My good friend, Captain Dick Jones was the Captain Instructor, and he brought his 12 year old son, Rick, along to watch us at work training flight crews. We became very good friends, and I began to mentor Rick towards a career as a professional pilot. Rick tells us about his remarkable journey into aviation, and the lessons that he learned along the way. I know that you will enjoy his sense of humor as he tells us about his interesting adventures.

  Our Guest today is Retired American Airlines Captain Greg Jones. He is the first pilot from American Airlines to join us on Talking Flight.  Greg's interest in aviation began when he flew with his family on a Martin 404 from Ohio to New Jersey when he was just 5 years old. His fascination with airplanes continued when he began building and flying model airplanes as a teenager. When he was in High School, he joined the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program, and learned more about airplanes, navigation, and aviation weather.  After graduating from The Ohio State University, Greg served in the USAF as a pilot. He later made the decision to leave the active Air Force to pursue his ultimate dream of becoming a Commercial Airline Pilot. But he ran into several setbacks, including a gear up landing incident that almost derailed his efforts to be hired by a commercial airline. But Greg relied on his religious faith to keep him motivated, never gave up, and he ultimately achieved his goal.  Captain Jones tell us about his

Today we are visiting with my longtime friend, Captain Barry Copeland. Barry and I were hired into the same Alaska Airlines Pilot Class in April of 1980. It was the beginning of a long friendship as we both progressed through our careers. We learn how Barry started his work life as a Electronics Salesman in Southern California after graduating from The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in Asian Studies and Business. Barry became interested in Aviation during his transition from High School to College. During his time working in the Electronics Industry, he became more and more intrigued by the idea of becoming an Airline Pilot. He had been advised by one of his pilot mentors to avoid the Airline Pilot profession because of the stringent medical requirements. But Barry decided to follow his heart and go after his dream. Early in his flying career, Barry made a major mistake, and severly damaged a turboprop engine. But he took responsibility for the mistake, and it did not hold him ba

Today's program is an interview with Alberto Arroyo. He is a Senior Program manager for Microsoft and has had a long and distinguished career in the Software Business. A couple of years ago, Alberto was inspired to persue his Private Pilot's license. Most people begin their flight training in a basic airplane like a Cessna 152. But he fell in love with the Cirrus SR20 and decided that he would start his training in that airplane. The SR20 is a high performance single engine airplane with a very sophisticated glass cockpit display. When Alberto told me that he was going to start his training in the Cirrus, I was concered that it would be too much airplane for a beginner. But he proved me wrong, and he did just fine. I thought that it would be fun to have Alberto as a guest on the show to tell us about his experiences training on the Cirrus. It is a great interview that looks at flying from the perspective of one of our new members of the pilot community. We hope that you enjoy it!

Our guest today is Retired Alaska Airlines Captain David Crawley, MD. David folllowed his mother's advice and spent years in school preparing to be a Doctor. He finished school and started his working career as a Medical Doctor, practicing Emergency Medicine and Aeromedical Medicine. But a childhood adventure had a profound effect on David. A visit to his Grandmother's house planted a dream that would not go away. Grandma's neighbor, Braniff Airlines Captain Warren Larsen invited David to join him when he went out to the airport to clean the plane that he had flown the night before. Captain Larsen put little David in the Captain's seat and told him that he could play with the controls, with the exception of a few buttons and levers. That day was the start of a journey that would lead him to Medical School and ultimately to the Flight Deck of an Alaska Airlines MD80. David's adventure is chronicled in his latest book "Steep Turn: A Physician's Journey from Clinic to Cockpit". You can find his book on Amazon or

One of the best kept secrets in the Airline Industry is the Aircraft Dispatcher career field. These are the men and women who do the preliminary work of planning your next airline flight. They go to work hours before flight time analyzing the factors that will lead to a safe and comfortable flight. The FAA requires that the Dispatcher and the Captain agree that a flight can be operated safely and conform to Federal Air Regulations. Both the Captain and the Dispatcher must certify that they are in agreement with the plan before the flight can depart. Mr. Tom Lynch has been a Aircraft Dispatcher for Alaska Airlines for 30 years. He is also a FAA Designated Dispatch Examiner, and he administers the FAA practical checks to graduates of training programs in the Seattle area. Tom started in the airline business as an airplane cleaner for Huges Airwest. His work ethic and positive attitude helped him to move up and ultimately rise to the level of Aircraft Dispatcher. Please join us as we sit down and have a great co

John Steinnes almost flunked out of The University of Washington. His Dad was very worried. He encouraged John to enroll in the Air Force ROTC program that was offered by the University. He was hoping that the ROTC program would motivate John to do better in his studies. It turns out that Father knows best, and John turned his performance around and began to excel. After graduation from college, John entered the USAF and went to Air Force Pilot Training at Randolph AFB near San Antonio, Texas. He worked his way up the ranks, and later became the commander of the 1st Military Airlift Squadron. That is the squadron that is the home of Air Force 1. The Presidential Aircraft. After retiring from the Air Force, John went to work as a Pilot for Alaska Airlines. He had a rapid rise to Captain, and he later was qualified as a Instructor/Check Airman. He was forced into retirement from Alaska by the FAA's age 60 rule. John then went on to work for the Boeing Commercial Aircraft Company as a simulator instructor. He is

We visit with Retired American Airlines Vice President/Corporate Communications John McDonald. His fascination with airplanes started when he was a boy spending summers with his family in Cape Cod. He hung around the airport watching airplanes come and go, while waiting for this father to return from business trips. John started his airline career as a Flight Attendant with TWA. After a few years on the line, he became a Flight Attendant Supervisor and ultimately worked his way into the TWA Corporate Communications Department.  John served as as the TWA Corporate Spokesman during some of the most difficult times for this legendary airline. He tells us what it was like dealing with the aftermath of the crash of TWA 800. That crash resulted in some major operational changes to the entire airline industry that are still in effect today. Mr. McDonald also held corporate communications positions with General Motors and United Airlines before moving to America West Airlines, which later merged with American Airline

Captain Mike Swanigan sits down with Captain Carlos Zendejas to talk about his life and his career. Carlos moved to the Untied States from Mexico with his family when he was a 5th grader. Spanish was his first language,but he found out by accident that he could speak and read english. Their new home was in the traffic pattern of Laughlin AFB Texas, and he was amazed by the T-37 jets flying over him. He decided then and there that he was going to figure out a way to fly them. In this podcast, Carlos tells us about the hard work that it took for him to get through USAF Pilot Training, and what it was like to be the Aircraft Commander on KC-10 refueling mission.  Carlos inherited his parents amazing work ethic and applied it to all areas of his life. Carlos is now one of the Seattle Base Chief Pilots for Alaska Airlines. He serves the 1000 Alaska Airlines pilots based in Seattle Washington. We get an inside look at what it takes to keep an airline operation running smoothly and safely. I came away from this inte

It is just Captain Mike Swanigan on today's episode. He offers some training tips to help the beginning pilot. This Podcast is a close cousin to Ace Your Next Check Ride. That program was designed to help the advanced aviator get through military or airline training. This Podcast is designed to help newer pilots ease the learning process, and to advance through their beginning flight lessons at a faster rate. Mike's theory is that you can learn some of the hardest parts on the ground while "chair flying". We hope that our brnad new pilots will find this podcast to be helpful

Our guest on this Podcast is Garin Tentschert. He is the Seattle Base Chief Pilot for Alaska Airlines, and he is currently serving as a Colonel in the USAF Reserve. Garin shares his remarkable journey that started when he was a "Surfer Dude" in Southern California.  He mistakenly enrolled in an Aviation class at San Diego State University. On the first day of school, he realized that the class was actually an Air Force ROTC course. He immediately knew that he was going to drop that class as soon as he could. But the Professor saw something in Garin, and talked him into staying. As they say, the rest was history! Garin tells us about the leadership lessons that he learned along the way, and the struggles that he had early on in Air Force Pilot Training. Captain Tentschert says "Part of being a great leader is knowing how to follow. Sometimes, you have to shut up and listen".

Bob Bonjukian joins us on Talking Flight and introduces our audience to the Airline Dispatcher and Flight Control Career Field. He just finished an amazing career at Alaska Airlines. Bob dreamed of becoming a pilot when he was in High School, but life got in the way. So he found a workaround and entered the prestigious field of Airline Dispatching and later became one of the "Field Generals" who makes the critical minute to minute decisions to keep the Alaska Airlines operation running smoothly. We learn about the behind the scenes efforts of our Dispatcher to assist the Pilots in making their flights safe and efficient. The Dispatchers begin to work on a flight long before the pilots arrive at the airport. They are a major reason why the Airline Business has built such a great safety record. Bob says "Don't let anyone tell you that you can't achieve your dreams".  

Captain Mike Swanigan visits with his boss, Alaska Airlines Chief Pilot, Captain John Hornibrook. They have a great conversation about John's aviation journey, and what it takes to become a pilot for Alaska Airlines. John shares his adventures as a young pilot flying for Great Lakes Aviation in the upper midwest of the USA. We learn about the people who mentored John, and we talk about the importance of relationships in aviation.  

We visit with Empire Airlines Captain Mark Holden. Mark is one of our regular listeners, and he reached out to us at www.talkingflight@gmail.com. Mark graciously agreed to appear on this episode of Talking Flight and he is the very first Regional Pilot to appear on our program. Mark talks about his early days flying as a Student Pilot at the Redmond Roberts Field in Redmond Oregon. He met the Airport Manager, Carrie Novick, and she encouraged him to persue his dream of becoming a Professional Aviator. After getting his Private Certificate as a High School kid, Mark went on to Embry Riddle University to obtain his advanced certificates and his College Degree. Mark tells us about his varied flying background, including his time as a Freight Pilot, and later progressing into the Medical Airlift Business.  Mark is currently a Captain for Empire Airlines, and he is flying ATR42-500 in the Hawaiian Islands. The Airlines serves as a feeder for Hawaiian Airlines under the brand name of "Ohana by Hawaiian". When I ask

Captain James "Zip" Trower visits us at Talking Flight. Zip is a Retired Naval Officer and a Retired Alaska Airlines Captain. My friendship with Zip goes back more than 30 years. He is an amazing leader with a wicked sense of humor! In this Podcast, we talk to Zip about his Naval career. We learn about the rigorous training, and what it is like to land a jet on an Aircraft Carrier. Zip also tells us about his duties as a Landing Signal Officer (LSO), and what happens when you have a fake Admiral on your plane. After leaving the Active Duty Navy, Zip went to Alaska Airlines to begin his civilian career. He had to learn the differences and nuances between Military flying and flying a Commercial Airliner with 140 passengers on board. Captain Don Fox took him under his wing, and showed him the real way that an airliner should be flown. Zip was part of the Check Airman team that indroduced the MD-83 Aircraft to Alaska Airlines. He later became the Fleet Captain on that jet. We discuss the challenges that they face