On today's program: Pete Ricketts, U.S. Senator for Nebraska, discusses the latest news regarding Israel's war against Hamas, responds to threats from the Chinese Communist Party following U.S. military aid to Taiwan, and sets the record straight

On today's program: Victoria Marshall, Washington Watch Correspondent, reports on the damage caused by severe weather throughout many U.S. states. Tim Walberg, U.S. Representative for the 5th District of Michigan, responds to the continuing

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 …

On today's program, hosted by Jody Hice: Ben Cline, U.S. Representative for the 6th District of Virginia, responds to the continuing anti-Semitic protests on college campuses and discusses the need for earmark reform. Steve Marshall, Alabama

On today's program: Victoria Marshall, News Reporter for Washington Watch News, reports on the continued anti-Semitic demonstrations on U.S. college campuses. Raul Labrador, Idaho Attorney General, discusses his oral argument before the U.S. Supreme

On today's program: Michele Bachmann, Dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University and FRC board chair, discusses House Speaker Mike Johnson's trip to Columbia University in light of the increased anti-Semitism on U.S. college

On today's program: Ron Estes, U.S. Representative for the 4th District of Kansas, reacts to the continued anti-Semitic violence and demonstrations taking place on U.S. college campuses and unpacks the Biden administration's latest student loan

On today's program: Glenn Grothman, U.S. Representative for the 6th District of Wisconsin, discusses the foreign aid and national security legislation passed by the House of Representatives. Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Managing Director of the Coalition

Victoria Marshall, Washington Watch News Reporter, provides an update from Capitol Hill, as the House of Representatives advances foreign aid legislation. Chris Mitchell, Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN News, reports from Jerusalem following

Mike Waltz, U.S. Representative for the 6th District of Florida, discusses the foreign aid and national security legislation pending before Congress and explains why he opposes the motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson. Dr. Roger Marshall,

On today's program: Victoria Marshall, Washington Watch News Reporter, reports on the U.N. Security Council's expected vote this week to admit Palestine to the United Nations. Clay Higgins, U.S. Representative for the 3rd District of Louisiana,

Lindsey Graham, U.S. Senator from South Carolina, responds to Iran's unprecedented direct attack on Israel and discusses the foreign aid legislation Congress will consider in response. Ohad Tal, Member of the Israeli Knesset, reacts to Iran's attack

On today's program, hosted by Jody Hice: Chris Mitchell, Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN News, reports on the aftermath of Iran's unprecedented attack against Israel. Mark Alford, U.S. Representative from the 4th district of Missouri, shares his

On today's program: Dr. Andy Harris, U.S. Representative for the 1st District of Maryland, discusses the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) passing in the House of Representatives and outlines how Republicans must

On today's program: Chris Smith, U.S. Representative for the 4th District of New Jersey, offers guidance for the Republican response to the Left's pro-abortion propaganda. Dr. Rich McCormick, U.S. Representative for the 6th District of Georgia,

On today's program: Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senator from Tennessee, reacts to reports that President Biden plans to sign an executive order to reduce the flow of migrants into the country and discusses her recent trip to the border. Randy Weber, U.S.

On today's program: Ben Johnson, Washington Stand Senior Reporter and Editor, reports on a Dutch study showing two out of three children who experience gender dysphoria will eventually embrace their biological sex by adulthood. Mike Waltz, U.S.

On today's program: James Lankford, U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, discusses his recent trip to Israel and responds to former President Donald Trump's statement on life. Jody Hice, FRC Senior Vice President and former congressman, comments on the

On today's program, hosted by Jody Hice: Chris Mitchell, Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN News, reports from Israel following remarks from the Biden administration that undermine Israel's war against Hamas. Andrew Clyde, U.S. Representative for the

On today's program, hosted by Jody Hice: Gordon Chang, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, reacts to the NATO summit in Belgium, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that Ukraine will eventually join the U.S.-led

On today's program, hosted by Jody Hice: Buddy Carter, U.S. Representative for the 1st District of Georgia, discusses the Biden administration's misguided approach to health care and provides an update on issues facing Congress when they return from

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…

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 th…

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…

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 s…

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. Mike used hard work to achieve his dream of becoming a…

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 San Francisco, Ross was often the Technician who respon…

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 learned that flying in the former Soviet Union (Russia)…

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.By Mike Swanigan

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 work every day as he flies to the many destinations ser…

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 career with Alaska Airlines. Her Grandfather, the La…

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 the pilot hiring process. If you are aspiring to be a…

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 States from 1963 unit January of 1969. When her Foundatio…

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 growing up in a small town in West Texas and that some of …

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 Check Airman and an FAA Aircrew Program Designee. He…

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 hi…

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 rep…

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 journ…

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 …

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 1…

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 …

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 w…

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 dr…

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 …

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.By Mike Swanigan

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…