Welcome to Episode 121 of The Hangar Z Podcast , brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . In Part Two of this three-part series, host Jon Gray resumes his conversation with Calvin Dockery and Dave Ritchie. Both Dockery and Ritchie are U.S. Army veterans who flew MH-47 helicopters in the world-renowned 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment’s mission is to organize, equip, train, resource and employ Army special operations aviation forces worldwid...
Dec 21, 2023•56 min•Ep. 121
Welcome to Episode 120 of The Hangar Z Podcast , brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . In this three-part series, host Jon Gray sits down with two outstanding Americans, Calvin Dockery and Dave Ritchie. Both Dockery and Ritchie are U.S. Army veterans who flew MH-47 helicopters in the world-renowned 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment’s mission is to organize, equip, train, resource and employ Army special operations aviation forces worldwid...
Dec 19, 2023•54 min•Ep. 120
Welcome to episode 119 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . This episode is brought to you from the floor of the ECHO Public Safety Aviation Conference in San Diego, courtesy of conference sponsor Airbus Helicopters. In this episode, host Jon Gray sits down with Mike Calhoun from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, as well as Matt Zdunich, chief pilot for the San Diego Police Department. Both guests are experts and advocates in training tactical flight officers ...
Dec 14, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 119
Welcome to episode 118 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . In Part Three of this three-part series, host Jon Gray resumes his conversation with Matt Szluka. Szluka is a state trooper and fixed-wing aircraft pilot with the Illinois State Police (ISP) in the Chicagoland area, with extensive aviation and law enforcement experience. He currently focuses on supporting his fellow brothers and sisters on the ground utilizing aircraft and other technologies for criminal enfor...
Dec 12, 2023•55 min•Ep. 118
Welcome to episode 117 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . In this three part series, we sit down with Matt Szluka. Matt is currently employed as a State Trooper and Fixed-Wing Aircraft Pilot with the Illinois State Police in the Chicagoland area. Matt was born and raised in the Chicago area, and has lived in the city his entire life. Prior to joining the ISP Air Operations Bureau as a pilot, Matt was assigned as a K-9 Handler to the ISP Statewide Anti-Violence Enforc...
Dec 07, 2023•48 min•Ep. 117
Welcome to episode 116 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . In this three-part series, host Jon Gray sits down with Matt Szluka. Szluka is a state trooper and fixed-wing aircraft pilot with the Illinois State Police in the Chicagoland area. Born and raised in Chicago, Szluka has lived in the city his entire life. Prior to joining the ISP Air Operations Bureau as a pilot, he was assigned as a K-9 handler to the ISP Statewide Anti-Violence Enforcement Team and the Distri...
Dec 05, 2023•49 min•Ep. 116
Welcome to episode 115 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . In this episode, host Jon Gray sits down with a few of the men from SR3, Stef Maier Rob Munday and Tony Webber — although Webber steps into the co-host shoes for this episode, recorded on location in San Diego Bay from the ECHO conference. This episode is modeled after Flight Suit Fridays, a podcast about U.S. Coast Guard aviation. Flight Suit Fridays has “patio beer episodes,” where they freestyle content as ...
Nov 30, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 115
Welcome to Episode 114 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . This is Part Two of a series with Derek, Kyle and Tanya from the Calgary Police Service aviation unit, referred to as the HAWCS program. HAWCS stands for Helicopter Air Watch for Community Safety. In this episode, Hangar Z host Jon Gray and his guests continue their conversation about Calgary’s aviation program. They speak about the process for testing and selecting tactical flight officers in Calgary, and the...
Nov 28, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 114
Welcome to episode 113 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . In this two-part series, host Jon Gray sits down with Derek, Kyle and Tanya from the Calgary Police Service aviation unit, referred to as the HAWCS program. HAWCS stands for helicopter air watch for community safety. During this episode we have an opportunity to profile their careers, talk about the Calgary Police Service broadly and get into some of the technology that makes their program successful and effic...
Nov 21, 2023•52 min•Ep. 113
Welcome to episode 112 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . In this two-part series, we sit down with Dr. Keith Roxo and Dr. Dan Monlux, who founded Wingman Med . They are both F/A-18 pilots turned board-certified aerospace medicine physicians. Roxo is a Top Gun-trained adversary pilot turned aerospace medicine physician with over 2,000 hours in high-performance aircraft including the F/A-18, F-16, and F-5. He holds multiple military flight instructor qualifications, a...
Nov 16, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 112
Welcome to episode 111 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . In this episode, host Jon Gray celebrates the 50th episode of The Helicopter Podcast with Halsey Schider. To mark the occasion, Gray takes over The Helicopter Podcast to interview Schider. Gray has been working behind the scenes and on the mic to help build MHM Publishing’s new Vertical Helicasts podcast network . Like Hangar Z, The Helicopter Podcast is also a proud member of the Vertical Helicasts family. Th...
Nov 14, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 111
Welcome to episode 110 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . This is an episode recorded from the floor at the ECHO Public Safety Aviation Conference in San Diego. Host Jon Gray had another opportunity to sit down with Bell’s Terry Miyauchi to discuss what it takes to establish a new public safety aviation unit. Miyauchi’s aviation career spans more than 30 years, where he served both as an Army aviator and as a law enforcement pilot. Miyauchi's public safety career cul...
Nov 09, 2023•49 min•Ep. 110
Welcome to episode 109 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . Thanks for joining us for part three of our conversation with Lt Cody Klaehn from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). In this episode, we talk about the equipment Texas DPS is using for its airborne use of force program as we continue the conversation on airborne use of force. Lt Klaehn is a Texas native who joined the Marine Corp before joining Texas DPS. He worked the highway as a patrol officer for...
Nov 07, 2023•59 min•Ep. 109
Welcome to episode 108 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . Thanks for joining us to continue this conversation with Lt Cody Klaehn from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). In this episode, Lt Klaehn debriefs an inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions (IIMC) incident he was a part of as a tactical flight officer (TFO). We also continue the conversation on airborne use of force. Lt Klaehn is a Texas native who joined the Marine Corp before j...
Nov 02, 2023•55 min•Ep. 108
Welcome to episode 107 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . In this three-part series, we sit down with Lt. Cody Klaehn, from the Texas Department of Public Safety Aircraft Division. Cody is a Texas native who joined the Marine Corp before joining Texas DPS Cody worked the highway as a patrol officer for ten years, before he was selected to the Driver License Fraud Unit stationed in Austin. He was later promoted to the Criminal Investigation Division as a Sgt in Narcot...
Oct 31, 2023•59 min•Ep. 107
Welcome to episode 106 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . This is part two of our conversation with Manny Dickerson, chief tactical flight officer (TFO) in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Air Support Division. Dickerson grew up in Southern California and joined the Marine Corps before becoming an LAPD officer. Throughout Dickerson’s distinguished career, he has had a dramatic and positive impact on the program he was assigned to, as well as the people assign...
Oct 26, 2023•59 min•Ep. 106
Welcome to episode 105 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . In this episode, we sit down with Manny Dickerson, chief tactical flight officer (TFO) at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Dickerson is a Southern California native who joined the Marine Corps before becoming an LAPD officer. Throughout Dickerson’s distinguished career, he has had a dramatic positive impact on the program he was assigned to, as well as the folks assigned to work with him. That is evid...
Oct 24, 2023•59 min•Ep. 105
Welcome to episode 104 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts . This episode is a rollercoaster of celebration, revelation and inspiration! We're excited to announce some groundbreaking milestones on our journey and welcome a new member to our podcast family. We raise a toast for joining forces with the MHM Publishing family, marking our third glorious year on air, launching our 100th episode, and stepping into the visual world of YouTube to share our entire podcast episod...
Oct 12, 2023•58 min•Ep. 104
Welcome to episode 103 of the Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS Ever wished you could be a fly on the wall at a top-tier public safety aviation conference? Strap in and join us for an engaging rearview reflection on the enriching experience we had at the Echo Public Safety Aviation Conference in San Diego. Mrs. Z and I share how this unique gathering enabled us to collaborate and learn, strengthening bonds within the public safety aviation community. The Hangar Z Podcast was...
Oct 10, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 103
Welcome to episode 102 of the Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS Yes, Vertical HeliCASTS . You may wondering: What the heck is Vertical HeliCASTS ? It's an exciting new podcast network from Vertical and Vertical Valor magazines, the helicopter industry's leading publications. The Hangar Z podcast is proud to be part of the new Vertical HeliCASTS family. When Hangar Z host Jon Gray discovered podcasts, he loved them. He listened to them every day on his commute to the hangar. ...
Oct 02, 2023•29 min•Ep. 102
Welcome to episode 101 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . This is part two of two with Jimmy Hatch a former Navy Seal, founder of Spikes K9 Fund, and author of Touching the Dragon. Jimmy’s story is truly inspiring, Jimmy is a former Navy Seal, master naval parachutist, he was involved in over 150 missions between Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Africa. Jimmy was also an expert K9 trainer and handler as a NAVY SEAL. Jimmy writes about the battles he fought overseas ...
Sep 26, 2023•56 min
Welcome to episode 100 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . One thing that has been constant for The Hangar Z Podcast as we have grown over the last three years and 100 episodes is change. We have constantly worked to bring new and different types of interviews to our aviation community. Our hope in doing so is that the guest's stories will challenge you, motivate you, and work to strengthen our global public safety aviation community. The guest we have in store fo...
Sep 19, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 100
Welcome to episode 99 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . In this episode, we are privileged to host Sergeant Jon Hess from the Kansas City Police Department Aviation Unit. During the conversation, Jon Hess talks about the Kansas City Police Department and their aviation unit. Jon is a Purdue University Aviation program graduate, so we spend time talking about his education, and the road to the Kansas City Police Aviation Unit. Kansas City being the home of the Ka...
Sep 12, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 99
Welcome to episode 98 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . In this episode, we piggyback off Vertical Magazine’s article on ECHO’s Public Safety Aviation Conference in San Diego. We got to sit down with ECHO HEMS Director Travis Mason and ECHO Marketing Director Ashley Chitty. During the conversation, we talk about what ECHO is as an organization and most importantly we preview their annual conference that is going to be held in my favorite city San Diego October 2...
Sep 01, 2023•48 min•Ep. 98
Welcome to episode 97 of The Hangar Z Podcast brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . In this episode, we continue the conversation with Bell legends Terry Miyauchi and Steve Soliz and discuss the differences in the HEMS and Law Enforcement mission sets. Thank you to Bell for sponsoring these special episodes of The Hangar Z Podcast. Terry's aviation career spans more than 30 years, where he served both as an Army Aviator and as a law enforcement pilot. Terry's public safety career culminate...
Aug 29, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 97
Welcome to episode 96 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . In this episode, we sit down with Bell legends Terry Miyauchi and Steve Soliz and discuss the differences in the HEMS and Law Enforcement mission sets. Terry's aviation career spans more than 30 years, where he served both as an Army Aviator and as a law enforcement pilot. Terry's public safety career culminated as commander of the Arizona Department of Public Safety Aviation Unit, where he lead a unit of o...
Aug 22, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 96
Welcome to episode 95 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . Can you imagine building a podcast from scratch with a 15-year-old laptop and a borrowed microphone? That's how our journey started three years ago. In this special anniversary episode, we're bringing you into our family circle with my wife, Shawna and dad, Mike Gray. We'll take you through our humble beginnings, sharing laughs over hot seat questions - and recounting some of the most memorable moments from...
Aug 13, 2023•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 95
Welcome to episode 94 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . This is the most unique episode that we have done to date. As we visited MD Helicopters in Mesa Arizona, Ashley Sanchez MD Helicopters Director of Marketing and Communications, had the genius idea for their CEO Brad Pedersen and North American Director of Sales Jack Harris to take over The Hangar Z Podcast booth at APSCON in Orlando Florida. Jeff and I began the conversation and were promptly booted from th...
Aug 08, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 94
Welcome to episode 93 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . Join us from the floor of APSCON 2023 in Orlando Florida as we sit down and talk to Kris Kubasta, Christian Smith, and Nick Byrd from the San Jose Police Department's Air Support Unit. The San Jose Police Department Air Support Unit has an impressive program that has changed from an old-school flying club to a professional progressive and motivated Air Support Unit that is finding innovative ways to improve...
Aug 01, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 93
Welcome to episode 92 of The Hangar Z Podcast Brought to you by Vertical Valor Magazine . We made it into Orlando a bit early for APSCON 2023 so we could swing by and talk to Sergeant Shawn McCook and Chief Tactical Flight Deputy Jason Sams from the Orange County Sheriff's Department. We had the opportunity to record on location at their hangar in Orlando, Florida which was really nice. McCook and Sams share their personal journeys into public safety aviation. They talk about the role of the Orl...
Jul 24, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 92
