Welcome to The Vertical MRO Podcast, brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS!

In this two-part series, Hangar Z Podcast hosts Jack Schonely and Jon Gray take over the Vertical MRO Podcast to sit down with Kris Stone, owner and handler of K9 Torque and the Huey Vets crew from EMU Inc.

EMU Inc. derives its name from the radio call sign of a unique unit in Army aviation history, the 135th Assault Helicopter Company.

The 135th was a typical Vietnam-era Assault Helicopter Company with the major exception that it was composed of both U.S. Army and Royal Australian Navy personnel. Because of this unique composition, the 135th was considered an Experimental Military Unit, hence its call sign E.M.U. or EMU.

In this conversation, the EMU Crew discusses the challenges and maintenance considerations of operating and restoring the Huey helicopter. 

The EMU Crew also shares their work with Huey Vets, an organization that uses helicopters to raise awareness about the forgotten heroes of the Vietnam War.

EMU 309 Geoff Carr, a Vietnam vet, and his team, discuss the battle damage and life expectancy of the aircraft during the Vietnam War. They also discuss the nonprofit nature of their organization and their mission to support veterans and raise awareness about PTSD.

They also discuss their work with K9 Torque, a detection dog trained to find electronic storage devices. Torque specializes in finding flash drives and SD cards to help investigators gather evidence against child sexual predators and traffickers. Torque is also a therapy dog, providing comfort and support to veterans and children in hospitals and schools.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Vertical Aviation International and Bell.