The Hangar Z Podcast

Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts. This is Part Two of a two-part series with Tyler Boeddeker and Sean MacHale from Massif, an apparel company that creates and produces some of the world’s finest flame-resistant (FR) gear. Massif was founded in 1999 by two passionate visionaries who set the bar high for quality and excellence in everything they do. Randy Benham, one of Massif’s founders, was a Jenny Lake search-and-rescue (SAR) crewmember in Grand Teton National Park who understood the demands of rugged, unpredictable and hazardous work conditions. On a mission to fill the gap and solve the problem, Massif partnered with the specialized Los Angeles based knitting mill Antex, and a core group of extraordinarily dedicated people.  Together, they invented never-before-seen FR fabrics and applied them to innovative clothing designs for numerous climates and contexts.  Boeddeker is a U.S. Navy veteran, having served in the Navy for six years as a Naval Aircrewman, with three deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve. He has multiple certifications as a rescue swimmer, SAR Petty Officer, SERE graduate, and more. He’s now worked as a government sales manager for nearly 4 years. He is also a certified civilian rescue swimmer, EMT-B, and Wilderness EMT, and a licensed skydiver!  MacHale is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, having served 10 years as a Marine Corps tiltrotor crew chief on the MV-22 Osprey. MacHale is in-tune with the aviation world. He has deployed with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and the 15th MEU in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2009 and Operation Inherent Resolve in 2015. MacHale is a licensed private pilot, skydiver, and scuba diver, but will also indulge in sailing, surfing and any other outdoor activity! In this episode, Boeddeker talks about a rescue operation he was a part of involving two pilots who ejected from their stricken fighter jet. Hangar Z host Jon Gray and his guests also spend time talking about FR gear, which includes flight suits, and get into some of the tech behind FR materials. Lastly, they talk about some of the safety considerations that go along with the proper use of flame-resistant flight suits and apparel.   Thank you to sponsors MD Helicopters, Collins Aerospace’s Goodrich, and Robinson Helicopters.

Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.This is Part One of a two-part series with Tyler Boeddeker and Sean MacHale from Massif, and aviation apparel company that creates and produces some of the world’s finest flame-resistant (FR) gear.Massif was founded in 1999 by two passionate visionaries who set the bar high for quality and excellence in everything they do. Randy Benham, one of Massif’s founders, was a Jenny Lake search-and-rescue (SAR) crew member in Grand Teton National Park who understood the demands of rugged, unpredictable and hazardous work conditions.On a mission to fill the gap and solve the problem, Massif partnered with the specialized Los Angeles based knitting mill Antex, and a core group of extraordinarily dedicated people. Together, they invented never-before-seen FR fabrics and applied them to innovative clothing designs for numerous climates and contexts. Boeddeker is a U.S. Navy veteran, having served in the Navy for six years as a Naval Aircrewman, with three deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve. He has multiple certifications as a rescue swimmer, SAR Petty Officer, SERE graduate, and more. He’s now worked as a government sales manager for nearly four years. He is also a certified civilian rescue swimmer, EMT-B, and Wilderness EMT, and a licensed skydiver! MacHale is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, having served 10 years as a Marine Corps tiltrotor crew chief on the MV-22 Osprey. MacHale is in-tune with the aviation world. He has deployed with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and the 15th MEU in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2009 and Operation Inherent Resolve in 2015. MacHale is a licensed private pilot, skydiver and scuba diver, but will also indulge in sailing, surfing, and any outdoor activity!In this episode, Boeddeker and MacHale talk about their military careers and their path to Massif. They also talk about some funny experiences during their active duty time.Thank you to sponsors Metro Aviation, Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing and MD Helicopters. 

Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts. This is part three of a three-part series. This series is important for all public safety aviation units, because we discuss the audit released by the LA City Controller’s office on the LAPD Air Support Division.  The LAPD Air Support Division is well equipped to deal with and respond to the report to justify its program based on the stats it keeps and the details of its program. We many times have discussed how air support programs are the low-hanging fruit when it comes to politicians and bean counters. This three-part series will talk about LAPD’s air support program and how what they do will help shape the way your agency keeps track of stats and program information.To discuss the audit we brought in Mike Daly, who retired from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) after nearly 34 years of service. If you ever went to LAPD’s Air Crew course, you most likely heard Daly’s course and his legendary one liners.  Daly grew up in Latham, New York, enlisting in the military immediately after graduating high school in 1976. After his discharge from active duty, he returned to New York and attended college. In May 1983, he was hired by the LAPD and completed nearly 34 years of service with the below listed assignments.Daly worked his way to Air Support, having worked assignments in patrol, including 77th. He was a metro K9 handler, worked rampart as Gang Unit OIC sergeant and watch commander before he was selected to the air support division as a watch commander and command pilot. Daly also completed 24 years of military service with the U. S. Army in both the active and reserve components. SSG Daly served over seven years on active duty including an 18-month combat tour in Iraq.In this episode, we discuss using stats to prove your aviation program is essential and not a luxury.We discuss some of the academic studies that document, through empirical evidence, that air support units reduce crime. Lastly, we discuss the use of social media to promote aviation programs.  Thank you to our sponsors Bell, Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing and SHOTOVER.

Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts. This is part two of a three-part series. This series is important for all public safety aviation units, because we discuss the audit released by the LA City Controller’s office on the LAPD Air Support Division. The LAPD Air Support Division is well equipped to deal with and respond to the report to justify its program based on the stats it keeps and the details of its program. We many times have discussed how air support programs are the low-hanging fruit when it comes to politicians and bean counters. This three-part series will talk about LAPD’s air support program and how what they do will help shape the way your agency keeps track of stats and program information.To discuss the audit we brought in Mike Daly, who retired from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) after nearly 34 years of service. If you ever went to LAPD’s Air Crew course, you most likely heard Daly’s course and his legendary one liners.  Daly grew up in Latham, New York, enlisting in the military immediately after graduating high school in 1976. After his discharge from active duty, he returned to New York and attended college. In May 1983, he was hired by the LAPD and completed nearly 34 years of service with the below listed assignments.Daly worked his way to Air Support, having worked assignments in patrol, including 77th. He was a metro K9 handler, worked rampart as Gang Unit OIC sergeant and watch commander before he was selected to the air support division as a watch commander and command pilot. Daly also completed 24 years of military service with the U. S. Army in both the active and reserve components. SSG Daly served over seven years on active duty including an 18-month combat tour in Iraq. In this episode, we finish talking about the LAPD Air Support Division’s Regional Disaster Preparedness Training exercise, which is also known as the LAPD Chili Fly-In, by talking about the importance of the administrative portion of the training exercise. We get into discussing other concerns with the controller’s audit. Lastly, we talk about the importance of keeping accurate and detailed logs so that when you are called on to defend the costs associated with your program you can do so. Thank you to our sponsors Precision Aviation Group, Technisonic, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts. This is part one of a three-part series. This series is important for all public safety aviation units, because we discuss the audit released by the LA City Controller’s office on the LAPD Air Support Division. The LAPD Air Support Division is well equipped to deal with and respond to the report to justify its program based on the stats it keeps and the details of its program. We many times have discussed how air support programs are the low-hanging fruit when it comes to politicians and bean counters. This three-part series will talk about LAPD’s air support program and how what they do will help shape the way your agency keeps track of stats and program information.To discuss the audit we brought in Mike Daly, who retired from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) after nearly 34 years of service. If you ever went to LAPD’s Air Crew course, you most likely heard Daly’s course and his legendary one liners.  Daly grew up in Latham, New York, enlisting in the military immediately aftergraduating high school in 1976. After his discharge from active duty, he returned toNew York and attended college. In May 1983, he was hired by the LAPD and completednearly 34 years of service with the below listed assignments.Daly worked his way to Air Support, having worked assignments in patrol, including 77th. He was a metro K9 handler, worked rampart as Gang Unit OIC sergeant and watch commander before he was selected to the air support division as a watch commander and command pilot. Daly also completed 24 years of military service with the U. S. Army in both the active and reserve components. SSG Daly served over seven years on active duty including an 18-month combat tour in Iraq.The L.A. City Controller’s audit questions the time and resources dedicated to the LAPD Air Support Division’s Regional Disaster Preparedness Training exercise, which is also known as the LAPD Chili Fly In. In this episode we talk about the importance of the exercise and how the documentation of the exercise more than justifies its existence. Thank you to our sponsors Garmin, Precision Aviation Group and Technisonic.

Welcome to episode 125 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicasts.Get ready for the first-ever Vertical HeliCASTS mashup! Halsey Schider from The Helicopter Podcast is joined by Jason “Quinny” Quinn from The Real ResQ and Jon Gray from The Hangar Z Podcast. In this captivating episode, the trio delves deep into crew resource management, sharing personal experiences and invaluable insights that offer a unique perspective on this critical aspect of the industry. With their diverse backgrounds, they provide wonderfully broad viewpoints on the subject, with excellent tips for new and experienced pilots alike.  With plenty of laughs and great chemistry throughout the show, don’t miss out on this special episode of The Helicopter Podcast.The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank sponsors Bell, Garmin, and Precision Aviation Group.

Welcome to episode 124 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, an airline transport pilot certificate and CFII. He is board-certified in aerospace and occupational medicine and is an FAA senior HIMS AME. Roxo provides aviation medical consulting with Wingman Med. Monlux is an FAA senior HIMS AME who is board-certified in family medicine and aerospace medicine. He has helped thousands to maintain their flight medicine certifications. He started his career in the U.S. Navy and has more than 2500 flight hours including combat service in the F/A-18. A commercial pilot for more than 20 years, he is also a certified flight instructor for single-engine, multi-engine and instrument flight. During our conversation, we profile their careers and talk about Wingman Med and how they keep you flying. After years of helping friends and colleagues keep their medical certificates and stay in the air, they founded Wingman Med so they can do the same thing for you. One thing we know as career pilots is that our medical certificate is critical to our careers.  As pilots, they understand the imperative of maintaining your FAA medical certificate and the urgency of getting it back when you lose it.  This is a fun and informative conversation with Dr. Keith Roxo and Dr. Dan Monlux. After you finish the podcast check out their website for more information at www.wingmanmed.comThe Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 123 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicast.This episode was recorded from the floor of the ECHO Public Safety Aviation Conference in San Diego. Host Jon Gray had the opportunity to speak with a good friend, Ken Fox. Fox is a flight paramedic from the Big Bear Fire Department. Big Bear Fire has a unique relationship with Mercy Air to provide advanced life support to people in need in and around the Big Bear area, in the mountains of Southern California. In this episode, Fox talks about the career path to becoming a flight medic and the unique area in which he operates. They also talk about utilizing different methods to get weather information for areas that do not have many official weather reporting stations. The conversation also touches on an in-flight medical emergency Fox was involved in, and how it could be avoided. The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

Welcome to episode 122 of The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicast.In Part Three 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 worldwide in support of contingency missions and combatant commanders. Known as “Night Stalkers,” these soldiers are recognized for their proficiency in nighttime operations. They are highly trained and ready to accomplish the very toughest missions in all environments, anywhere in the world, day or night, with unparalleled precision.  They employ highly modified MH-47 Chinook and MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, and the assault and attack configurations of A/MH-6 Little Bird helicopters.In this episode, Dockery and Ritchie speak about their mission deployment tempo when they were with the Night Stalkers.They speak about the impact their service had on their families, and talk about the transition to civilian life and their current jobs. We also get to discuss what they are currently doing.This podcast is complemented by an outstanding article Jen Boyer wrote for Vertical Magazine titled "Washington State Department of Natural Resources: First line of defense," with photos and video by Shawn Adams.The Hangar Z Podcast would like to thank sponsors Garmin, SHOTOVER, and CNC Technologies.

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 worldwide in support of contingency missions and combatant commanders. Known as “Night Stalkers,” these soldiers are recognized for their proficiency in nighttime operations. They are highly trained and ready to accomplish the very toughest missions in all environments, anywhere in the world, day or night, with unparalleled precision.  They employ highly modified MH-47 Chinook and MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, and the assault and attack configurations of A/MH-6 Little Bird helicopters.In this episode, Dockery and Ritchie debrief a mission they were a part of in the Korengal Valley, also known as the Valley of Death.They talk about how the 160th trains with cities within the U.S. like they did in Los Angeles, and discuss what makes the 160th different from other Army aviation units.They also talk about a mission when they flew in to rescue Jimmy Hatch after he was shot and critically injured on a mission searching for Bowe Bergdahl.Jimmy Hatch was a guest from episode 100, titled Touching the Dragon. If you haven’t heard that episode the recording, go back and listen to it,The Hangar Z Podcast would like to sincerely thank sponsors Garmin, Metro Aviation and CNC Technologies.