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 Enforcement Team and the District 15 Criminal Patrol Team. 

Outside his law enforcement duties, Matt works part-time as an instructor at a local college teaching aviation classes to aspiring pilots.

Matt has 12 years of law enforcement experience at three different police departments in Chicago. 

Outside of being a Pilot and K-9 Handler, Matt has experience as a member of the ISP Chicago Region Crowd Control Team, K-9 Instructor, K-9 Crowd Control Instructor, Field Training Officer and Evidence Technician. 

Before Matt entered law enforcement he was an Airline Captain at a large regional airline that served cities across North America and the Bahamas. 

During his time in the airlines, Matt was a Human Factors Facilitator and Crew Resource Management instructor. 

Matt received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Illinois in Aviation Human Factors, which spurred his passion for human interaction with advanced technologies, particularly as it relates to aviation. 

Matt now focuses his efforts on supporting his fellow brothers and sisters on the ground utilizing aircraft and other technologies for criminal enforcement, especially in the City of Chicago, a place he has proudly called home for 42 years.

In part two of this three part series Matt talks about his time working as an interdiction trooper with his K9 partner and how that helped to shape the tactics he is employing in aviation.

Matt talks about how LPR technology helped him and the regional troopers recover a kidnapped 15 year old girl. 

Matt talks at length about some of the technology his agency is utalizing which includes license plate reading technology to make their aviation program a proactive airborne interdiction type unit.

We also talk about the importance of stat keeping in your aviation programs.

Thank you to our sponsors Metro Aviation, SHOTOVER and CNC Technologies.