Welcome to episode 91 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . The Hangar Z Podcast was honored to be asked by the Airborne Public Safety Association (APSA) to join them at their national conference (APSCON) to Podcast from the convention floor in Orlando, Florida. In this episode, we chat with the APSA CEO & Executive Director Dan Schwarzbach and APSA President Richard Bray. Dan Schwarzbach was a police officer and pilot for Houston PD for 39 years. He is now the ...
Jul 18, 2023•41 min•Ep. 91
Welcome to episode 90 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . Join us for part two of this two-part series with Erik Sabiston. During the episode, he recounts a combat medevac mission under gunfire that results in a heavily damaged hydraulic system, Erik talks about the training they had recently done that ultimately saved the crew's life. Erik talks about a mission that put himself and his crew into IIMC conditions and how that led to his involvement with the ICARUS ...
Jul 17, 2023•59 min•Ep. 90
Welcome to episode 89 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . Our guest, Erik Sabiston, developed a lifelong fascination with aviation as a young man. A former US Army Blackhawk pilot, author of the best-selling book " Dustoff 7-3 Saving Lives Under Fire in Afghanistan ", the founder of RTAG , co-founder of the ICARUS device, current airline pilot, and owner of Sabiston Consulting. Erik takes us on his unique journey, from his early days in the music industry to livin...
Jul 06, 2023•59 min•Ep. 89
Welcome to episode 88 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . In this episode, we chat with Nick Sinopoli, the inventor of ICARUS, and Matt Johnson, a seasoned pilot and check airman from Metro Aviation. With them, we traverse a landscape of groundbreaking safety enhancements in aviation, discussing everything from their impacts on training and operations to the potential legacies they leave behind. We then transition to explore Matt's aviation career. Matt flew as a ...
Jul 03, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 88
Welcome to episode 87 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . This is an exciting episode as it is the first episode done in collaboration with Vertical Valor Magazine for the APSCON Valor Issue. Join us as we discuss the incredible training being provided by SR3 as they spend a week with the Riverside County Sheriff's Aviation Unit Our guests, Dave Callen and Rob Munday from SR3, along with Rescue 9 pilot Mike Calhoun and rescue tech Cory Allen from Riverside County ...
Jun 27, 2023•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 87
Welcome to episode 86 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance in such a high-stress industry like aviation and public safety? Join us as we unpack this crucial topic with flight medic and ECHO affiliate, Jonathan Carolla. He shares insights from his survey on stress and mental health in the workplace, highlighting the importance of addressing these issues, particularly in light of recent tragic events. Grab a beverage an...
Jun 26, 2023•58 min•Ep. 86
Welcome to episode 85 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . In this episode, we chat with Marc Foreman a Helicopter Technician A&P and IA from the Oklahoma City Police Department aviation unit, about an exhilarating mix of topics: tornadoes, wildfires, aviation advancements, and public safety. Discover the warning systems in place to protect residents from these natural disasters and how following evacuation orders during events like California wildfires can sav...
Jun 19, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 85
Welcome to episode 84 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . In this episode, we sit down with Brad Pedersen and Jack Harris from MD Helicopters. Brad Pedersen is the President & CEO at MD Helicopters and Jack is the Director of Public Safety Sales at MD Helicopters. During the conversation, Brad and Jack talk about the positive changes that have come to MD Helicopters. They talk about the new leadership team and describe the company's focus and priorities as the...
Jun 05, 2023•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 84
Welcome, to episode 83 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . In this episode, we sit down with Luke Bowman, Utah DPS's chief pilot. Utah DPS has an outstanding program and is frequently in the media regarding one of their rescues like the recent article by Vertical Valor written by Dan Magna. The title of the article sums up the success of the Utah DPS aviation program “ Utah DPS helicopters hoist 18 people from flash flood in Buckskin Gulch canyon. ” During our con...
May 22, 2023•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 83
Welcome, to episode 82 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . In this episode, we get to highlight some of the good work being done by the personnel we consider to be the backbone of our industry, our maintenance technicians. We had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Faith Ortega. Many of you will recognize her from her social media platform How to Helicopter . During our conversation, Faith talks about earning her A&P through Southern Illinois University ...
May 08, 2023•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 82
Welcome to Episode 81 Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine As we continue our series on surviving a career in public safety we bring you a conversation with Cameron Hardiman the author of Ten Feet Tall and not quite Bullet Proof. Cameron served as a Victoria Police Officer where he worked as a patrol officer and as a tactical flight officer. He later became an Australian Federal Police Officer. During the conversation, Cameron outlines his career as a police officer as well as his time as a...
Apr 24, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 81
Welcome to episode 80 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . In this special episode, we sit down and chat with Dan Schwarzbach the Executive Director and CEO of the Airborne Public Safety Association, and Richard Bray who is the APSA President. Both Dan and Richard give us some insight into the Airborne Public Safety Association annual conference referred to as ASPCON. This year APSCON and APSCON Unmanned (formerly the Public Safety Drone Expo) will be in Orlando Fl...
Apr 11, 2023•59 min•Ep. 80
Welcome to Episode 79 of the Hangar Z Podcast . Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine. The episodes we are releasing this month center around physically and mentally surviving a career in public safety. This conversation with Jack Schonely is part two of a two-part series we recorded. Part one (episode 70) was released on January 30th. T his second episode will focus on the aftermath of the officer down call and how we take care of ourselves afterward. For those who don’t know Jack Schonely ...
Apr 10, 2023•48 min•Ep. 79
Episode 78 of The Hangar Z Podcast is brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . This is one of our most important episodes ever. We got the opportunity to sit down with our friend RJ Garwood from Huntington Beach PD Air Support. RJ was the PIC on February 19th, 2022 flying over a fight call in Newport Beach, California. After establishing an orbit over the incident RJ and Nick Vella who was acting as the tactical flight officer on this night experienced an uncommanded right yaw. The aircraft u...
Apr 03, 2023•2 hr 34 min•Ep. 78
Episode 77 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine is live. I didn’t make it to HAI due to our snowplcalypse here in Southern California, Jeff was there and did an excellent job stepping in to host some episodes from the floor of HAI. This is the last of three episodes Jeff recorded at Heli Expo. Thanks to Ryan from the Flight Suit Friday Podcast and Quinny from the Real Resq podcast for the work they put into developing a recording booth that we all used to record from...
Mar 25, 2023•41 min•Ep. 77
Episode 76 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine is live. I Didn’t make it to HAI due to our snowplcalypse here in Southern California, Jeff was there and did an excellent job stepping in to host some episodes from the floor of HAI. This is the second of three episodes Jeff recorded at Heli Expo. Thanks to Ryan from the Flight Suit Friday Podcast and Quinny from the Real Resq podcast for the work they put into developing a recording booth that we all used to record fr...
Mar 20, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 76
Welcome to episode 75 of the Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . I didn’t make it to HAI due to our snowpocalypse here in Southern California, Jeff was there and did an excellent job stepping in to host some episodes from the floor of HAI. This is the first of three episodes Jeff recorded at Heli Expo. In This episode, we talk with Phil Cady and Matt Zadunich who work with our friend Nick Minx, from Tactical flying. Phil is a retired San Diego PD officer and is now an in...
Mar 13, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 75
Welcome to episode 74 of the Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine. Last week a historic snowstorm began which eventually ended up dropping 10 feet of snow on our community. Many people's homes and businesses fell victim to the weight of the snow as they saw their roofs and decks collapse. The weight of the snow has damaged many natural gas mains causing homes to burn down and even a few have exploded. My best friend's grocery store Goodwin and Son's Market which feed’s lite...
Mar 07, 2023•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 74
Welcome to episode 73 of the Hangar Z Podcast In this episode, we sit down and chat with Samantha Poirier. Samantha is an EMS pilot flying for Reach Air Medical in Northern Colorado. Samantha has a very impactful and inspirational story that led her to her position as an EMS pilot. Samantha's aviation career started working for a helicopter utility company in Alaska performing oil changes, sweeping hangar floors, and answering phones in exchange for flight time. From there she worked her way up ...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 73
Welcome to episode 72 of the Hangar Z Podcast. This is a unique episode for a few reasons. Jason Quinn from the Real ResQ Podcast and I have teamed up to create a podcast mashup. This will be episode 127 of the Real ResQ Podcast. During this episode, Jason and I interview the crew of Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Aviation Unit Star 9 that won the Airborne Public Safety Association Captain, “Gus” Crawford Memorial Aircrew of the year award for 2022. The crew consisted of Deputy Chad Marl...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 72
Welcome to episode 71 of The Hangar Z Podcast. This is another one of our shorter content-focused episodes where we get to sit down and chat with the Brotallion Brothers Brett Kroll AKA "CHERUB" and Spencer Payne AKA "SMOKEY." To hear how they got their call signs and more about their aviation careers, plus how Brotallion was created check out episode 36 of The Hangar Z Podcast . You can also catch Spencer, Brett, and the other Brotallion Brothers on the Pilots Lounge Podcast, which is "aimed at...
Feb 06, 2023•58 min•Ep. 71
Welcome to Episode 70 of the Hangar Z Podcast . The start of 2023 has already been traumatic for law enforcement as Riverside County Sheriff’s lost two deputies within a matter of weeks. This episode is dedicated to Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Isaiah Cordero EOW December 29th, 2022, and Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Darnell Calhoun EOW January 13th, 2023. Our hearts go out to their family, friends, and coworkers at RSO as well as the neighboring agencies. This episode was inspired by t...
Jan 30, 2023•57 min•Ep. 70
Welcome to episode 69 of The Hangar Z Podcast. In this episode we brought the industries best leaders together to discuss leadership and leadership challenges facing public safety aviation today. This group of leaders include Clay Lacey from Texas DPS, Terry Miyauchi retired Arizona DPS and currently at Bell Flight, Jack Schonely retired from LAPD, Bryan Smith a current law enforcement pilot in Florida and previous Safety Program Manager for the Airborne Public Safety Association and Eric Weidne...
Jan 23, 2023•2 hr 24 min•Ep. 69
Episode 68 of the Hangar Z podcast is live. In this episode we sit down and chat with Sergeant pilot Jerry Hunter and Senior Deputy and TFO Eric Johnson from the Kings County Sheriff’s Department. Prior to aviation Sgt. Hunter worked Patrol as a field training officer developing the next generation of patrol officers. He was a K9 handler, was a member of the SWAT team and was also assigned to gangs. As a K9 handler he found that is agency had very limited access to air support so he spent a cons...
Jan 09, 2023•2 hr 13 min•Ep. 68
Welcome to episode 67 of the Hangar Z Podcast. In this episode we sit down and chat with Richard Brandon from the London Metropolitan Police Department. Richard worked his way from the streets of London to the skies of the London Metropolitan Police Department or MET as they refer to it. Richard served the department for a total of 30 years as a police officer and is continuing to serve the UK as the Aviation Capability Manager for the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) looking at police avia...
Dec 19, 2022•2 hr 10 min•Ep. 67
Welcome to episode 66 of the Hangar Z Podcast. In this episode we sit down and chat with Andrew Baity from the Virginia State Police. Andrew is a Virginia Military Institute grad who joined the Marine Corps and became a Bell AH-1Z Cobra pilot. After Andrew's active service time, he was hired as a civilian pilot for the Virginia State Police. On top of that, Andrew still flys the Bell AH-1Z Cobra as a Marine Force Reservist. During this episode Andrews talks about his experience at the Virginia M...
Dec 05, 2022•2 hr 9 min•Ep. 66
Welcome to episode 65 of The Hangar Z Podcast. In this episode we talk with the Uber talented aerial photographer and journalist Scott Dworkin. Aerial photographers and journalists like Scott and publications like Vertical Magazine provide a valuable service to public safety aviation by providing positive publicity and by telling the stories of what we do to our peers, the powers that control the purse strings of our programs as well as to the general public who has no idea what we do half the t...
Nov 21, 2022•2 hr 44 min•Ep. 65
Welcome to episode 64 of The Hangar Z Podcast. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Jeff’s birthday than by bringing his *childhood best friend and enemy onto the show. What’s really fun about this episode is that Jeff had absolutely no clue who the mystery guest was until he came into the interview. The guest and Jeff worked and tormented each other at Riverside PD, where he worked his way through the department. He worked patrol as an officer and a field training officer, he was selec...
Nov 10, 2022•2 hr 23 min•Ep. 64
Welcome to episode 63 of the Hangar Z Podcast! In this episode we get to hang out and have a blast with Rob Munday. Rob is a world class hoist operator working for Blackcomb Helicopters in British Columbia. Rob also works with SR3 Rescue Concepts where he is spreading his vast knowledge of all things Rescue to students and agencies worldwide. Rob is an Australian native and has a super diverse background including time spent as a wild land firefighter both in Australia and Canada. Relax and enjo...
Nov 01, 2022•2 hr 39 min•Ep. 63
In this episode we sit down and talk with Nick Minx. Nick is the owner of tactical flying who specializes in providing airborne law enforcement units with the most advanced thermal imaging and aircrew tactical training available. In addition to owning Tactical Flying, he also works for San Diego PD where he is a sergeant, he has worked a wide variety of assignments including air support where he was both a pilot and TFO. He worked the gang unit, beach patrol and various patrol assignments across...
Oct 23, 2022•2 hr 17 min•Ep. 62
