The Hangar Z Podcast had the honor of being asked by the Airborne Public Safety Association (APSA) to join them at their national conference (APSCON) to Podcast from the convention floor in Reno Nevada.

In this episode we chat kinda live from the conference floor with Bryan Smith.  This is our first ever in person interview. To keep the spirit of the live interview in tact these episodes have zero to very little editing.

For a full profile of Bryan Smith check out our previous conversation with Bryan in episode 16.

Bryan is the APSA Safety Program manager and lover of all thing's aviation.

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

Welcome to episode 42 of the Hangar Z Podcast. In this episode we sit down and chat with Arizona Department of Public Safety State Trooper Flight Medic Michael Allen.

Michael began his public safety career as a firefighter.  During his fire service career, he rose to the rank of captain and became an expert in all things rescue. 

Like most of us Michael had a dream to be involved in aviation. To pursue his dream, he left the fire service and joined Arizona DPS to join their air rescue unit as a flight medic.

Through hard work and dedication, he accomplished his dream and now serves the citizens of Arizona as a state trooper paramedic assigned to the air rescue unit.

During our conversation he talks about both his career in the fire service as well as his career as a state trooper paramedic with Arizona DPS. 

He also talks about the growth of their aviation program and the unique opportunities it will present to those who want to join their air rescue program.

Episode 41 is live with Rob Purdy a 26-year Army aviator and pilot with Life Flight in Houston Texas.

In with this episode, we chat with American patriot and US Army veteran Rob Purdy. Rob has over 6500 flight hours in a variety of airframes but most notably in the Cobra, the Apache and the Airbus H145.

During our conversation he talks about becoming a Warrant officer and pilot for the US Army as well as his experience flying the Cobra and Apache helicopters over the span of his 26-year Army career. Rob talks about the transition from his military career to civilian life and about his career flying EMS with Life Flight in Houston Texas.

This was a fun conversation with a fantastic person so sit back and enjoy.

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

We are proud to announce episode 40.

In this episode we chat with Nick Nguyen from San Diego PD and Robert Ochoa from the Riverside County Sheriffs Department.

Nick founded the First Responders Whiskey Society which is a non profit 501(c)(3) charity. They provide support and honor the fallen for those in public safety through spirits. 

I was introduced to them after Huntington Beach PD’s Nick Vella passed away on duty after their helicopter crashed off the coast of Newport Beach, California during a patrol flight.

The First Responders Whiskey society had a memorial bottle made in Nick’s memory as a fundraiser for his family as well as to provide a way for family friends and coworkers to know that even though Nick is no longer with us on earth he can live on as we raise a raise a glass to him and share his stories.

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon .

This episode is dedicated to Nick Vella.

Welcome to episode 39 of the Hangar Z podcast. In this episode we chat with Travis Tinsey from Airbus and Mike Calhoun who is the chief pilot for a Southern California sheriffs agency that has flown their H145 for just over one year. When they received the H145 I was curious to see what they thought one year later so here we are.

During this episode Travis talks about his aviation career which includes time he spent flying in Alaska as well as Africa.

Mike talks about his take away after spending one year flying and Utilizing the H145.

The Hangar Z podcast would like to thank Airbus for sponsoring this episode as well as Metro Aviation for being the podcast sponsor and we definitely cannot forget about our supporters on Patreon.

In this episode we chat with Coast Guard pilot Wryan Webb. 

Wryan is a graduate of the Coast Guard academy and is currently stationed in beautiful Alaska. 

During this episode we chat about the admissions process and life at the Coast Guard Academy. We talk about the unique role of the US coast guard.  Wryan also talks about the challenges of flying in Alaska with its rugged terrain and extreme weather. 

We get to talk to Wryan about his love of photography and how he is using his skills as a photographer to positivity promote Coast Guard Aviation. 

Thank you to our sponsor Metro Aviation and our supporters on Patreon.

Hanging with the crew from the Brotallion and hosts of the Pilot's Lounge Podcast!

Join us as we sit down and chat with Spencer Payne and Brett Kroll, two Army Aviators who are founding members of the Brotallion.

Brotallion is a veteran-owned company that provides military aviation-inspired apparel, gear, study material, and mentorship for aviators by aviators. At the heart and soul of Brotallion lies the Army Aviation community, and in 2020 the founders of Brotallion successfully achieved 501c3 status for their charitable organization the Brotallion Blue Skies Foundation. The foundation provides post-mishap support to Army Aviation Gold Star families.

These guys are amazingly motivated entrepreneurs, who are not only running a successful business, but they also produce the Pilot's Lounge Podcast, which is the podcast that inspired the Hangar Z Podcast, after their interview with our friend and fellow law enforcement aviator, Scott Hebble.

We know you're going to enjoy our chat with these amazing guys! Please visit the links above and give them a like and follow. Also, add the Pilot's Lounge Podcast to your podcast listening library!

As always, we want to thank our sponsor, Metro Aviation 

Join us in the Hangar for episode 35 as we sit down and chat with former law enforcement pilot, turned utility helicopter pilot, Brad Isaacs.

Listen in as Brad walks us through his aviation journey, which started in his teens, with the support of his parents. He then charted a path into the cockpit of a law enforcement helicopter, where he flew for the Gwinnett County (GA) Police Department.

After a handful of years of chasing bad guys and the occasional wayward cow outside Atlanta, Brad was offered the opportunity to make the transition to utility helicopter flying. Brad describes how social media networking led him to this opportunity with HLH Aviation. He also describes the career lifestyle and training it takes to work in this dynamic sector of aviation.

Whether you’re looking to start a career in airborne law enforcement or are a current law enforcement aviator looking to retire, or transition into a new flying career, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

Check out the cool stuff Brad is doing over at his Instagram and YouTube channels.

https://www.instagram.com/bjisaacs/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFD4Wvlr_HJQrQ-xQr0qEtA

Episode 35 of the Hangar Z Podcast is available on all the popular podcast apps or can be found on our website at www.hangarzpodcast.com.

As always, we’d like to thank our sponsor, Metro Aviation as well as our supporters on Patreon.

Before we introduce our next guest and episode we would like we would like to formally announce our newest Podcast sponsor Metro Aviation.

We are extremely proud and humbled to partner with such a high caliber company that contributes so much to the aviation industry.

This episode is dedicated to Officer Nick Villa from Huntington Beach PD Air Support

Our guest for this episode is Daniel Flores who is a longtime Texas resident.

He enlisted into the U.S. Army in February 1985, attending Basic and Infantry training at the U.S. Army’s, Home Of The Infantry at Ft. Benning Georgia. He served with the 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Carson Colorado.

After his active duty enlistment he then returned to the Houston area and was accepted into the Texas Army National Guard’s Special Forces unit, Company G. 143rd Infantry LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol).

While serving with that unit he did several missions along the Texas/Mexico border against the drug trafficking organizations and had also trained alongside the British SAS.

In January 1990 Mr. Flores was accepted to the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Candidate and Helicopter flight school to become a pilot with the attack helicopter squadron, 7th Squadron 6th Cavalry Regiment, based in Conroe Texas.

During his time as an attack helicopter pilot he survived a crash in the Apache helicopter in 1995.

He did several missions along the Texas/Mexico border against the drug trafficking organizations, and was deployed to fight the war on Terrorism in 2006 in Afghanistan.

During his one year tour he was tasked as the attack asset for the 10th Mountain division. He was witness to the resurgence of the Taliban and was involved in numerous gun battles and had his aircraft hit several times during those battles.

One of those battles was featured on “The Military Channels” series “My War Diary” which told about an American convoy that he helped rescue from a Taliban ambush.

He wrote a book that tells about his experiences, and was instrumental in the success of the movie "Apache Warrior" as a Co-Executive producer.

The title of that book is “South of Heaven, My Year in Afghanistan.”

From his book the multiple award winning film Above the Best was made. The film features actual footage taken from his helicopter in combat.

He is the recipient of  the "Air medal” and “Bronze star.”

He retired from the Army, as a Chief Warrant Officer 4, after over 26 years of service.

In 2020 he retired as a jet and helicopter pilot with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as an Air Interdiction Agent. He flew numerous counter drug and terrorism missions throughout the U.S., Mexico the Caribbean and Colombia.

He currently flies for Air Methods as an EMS pilot in the Houston area.

During this episode, Daniel provides insight into the boarder issues we have in the US along the southern boarder.

He talks about a crash he was in with the Apache and what it was like getting back into the saddle after the crash.

He goes into detail on some of the battles he was a part of while in Afghanistan which you won’t want to miss.

He also gives insight into his newest career as an EMS pilot.

This episode definitely has something for everyone.

Thanks for tuning in and please don’t forget to give us a like and a 5 star review on the Apple podcast app, It helps us out big time!

I would like to take a minute to honor the life , contributions and sacrifices of Officer Nick Villa from Huntington Beach PD Air Support who tragically passed away after the aircraft he was in crashed in the water off of Newport Beach California, on  February 19th, 2022. 

The pilot did an amazing job of putting the aircraft down without striking any people, boats or homes in a highly congested area.

Metroaviation.co