Talking Flight

Mar 03 2025 67 ep. 62 mins 15

Talking Flight Podcast artwork

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

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Episode 68: Captain Tad Santino

Mar 03 2025 76 mins

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.

Episode 67: USAF Academy Cadet Jaylen Palmer

Oct 17 2024 48 mins

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

Episode 66: Podcaster and Corporate Pilot Captain Rick Jones

Sep 22 2024 53 mins

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

Episode 65: Mr. Dexter Cox, Author of "Dancing With The Devil, Memoirs of a Pilot"

Jun 29 2024 69 mins

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

Episode 64: Captain Michael Rinehart

Jun 01 2024 67 mins

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 t

Episode 63: Captain Joe Kohler

Apr 27 2024 72 mins

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 a

Episode 62: US Army Chief Warrant Officer Ron Warren (retired)

Mar 11 2024 60 mins

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 performin

Episode 61: Alaska Airlines Captain Gary Ellington

May 25 2023 56 mins

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 Ala

Episode 60. Mr. Paul Salerno, CEO of OmniSMS

Dec 01 2022 57 mins

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 serve

Episode 59: Frontier Airlines Captain Michael Pittman

Jun 30 2022 77 mins

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