AvGeek Chronicles

The 1st episode of #AskTheAvGeek in 2021 has arrived! This week on the podcast I am happy to welcome Garry-James Knight, from Icon Aircraft. Stoked to have Gary-James on the podcast this week and it's been long overdue. Our schedules finally aligned and we were able to link up. In this episode, Gary-James and I talk about his aviation background, our lives in aviation sales, personal branding, social media and how we deal with work life balance in our busy jobs. Happy listening and I hope you all enjoy this weeks episode of the AvGeek Chronicles Podcast.

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I appreciate Chris Quiocho & Doug Foley having me on as a guest for the Marketing @FL300 Live Show & Podcast! This was my first guest appearance on another podcast and I'm happy to bring it to you all, here on the AvGeek Chronicles Podcast. It was great to talk about helicopters, Bell, aviation, sales, marketing, personal branding and the age old question people always ask... Who's a better pilot: Helicopter Pilots or the Fixed-Wing Pilots? My answer might just shock you!

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It's the 1st episode of 2021 and I'M BACK! As I want to kick off 2021 the right way, I have to give a huge shout out to you the listeners. 2020 was a huge year for me but it also meant I had to put a pause to the podcast. In this episode I go into full detail about what was going on in my life in 2020, the amazing stats the podcast received (even though I only published 1 episode) and whats coming in 2021. I'm so excited to be back producing the show and I think you all will enjoy whats to come. Thank you for being a listener! It is truly you all that made me bring it back and I'm stoked to make it even better for you all. Make sure you direct message me for your recommendations and please leave a rating & review on the podcast.

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It's the 1st episode of 2020! As I want to kick off 2020 in a big way, as promised, I am kicking off a new segment on the AvGeek Chronicles Podcast. Welcome to the first episode of #ShortFinal. "Short Final" is a way for me to take a random aviation topic and just have a short conversation about it. Most of these will be my random thoughts or things I see as I'm in and around airports. With today being the first episode, we're kicking it off with "What's In Your Flight Bag?" Today we're going to talk about what aviators carry around with them in their flight bag. The mysterious flight bag! In this episode I go through everything I have in my bag and I'd love for you to compare it to how your bag is packed. Everyone packs differently so I'd love to hear what you prefer to pack! Hit me up over on social media, on this episodes post, to let me know what you pack in your flight bag.

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THE PODCAST IS BACK!! AvGeek Nation, I am so stoked to rev the podcast back up and bring you a refreshed AvGeek Chronicles. After a break in the podcast due to personal and family reasons, it's time to bring it back. I know you all have loved following all the episodes, so I'm ready to be back with a refreshed vision. I do this podcast for you all and I can't wait to hear what you all have to say. This week on the podcast we are coming back with a bang! I am so happy to have Sam Eckholm and Swayne Martin on for a groupisode, to kick things back off. If you don't know these two now, you sure will very soon with all the work they're doing. Sam Eckholm is the Public Affairs Officer for the United States Air Force F22 Raptor Demonstration Team. As the Public Affairs Officer, Sam is responsible for photography  & videography while also managing community & media outreach for the team. Sam's documentation and creative media has already made a mark inside the Air Force. Sam's work and passion has increased the F22 Demonstration Team's Instagram following by almost 90,000 fans, in less than one season. Sam is changing the script on not only on what it means to be a Public Affairs Officer in the military, but what it means to be apart of a military aviation demonstration team. Sam know's what it takes to grab the attention of people around the world and he's only getting started.  Swayne Martin is currently an Airline Pilot flying for Envoy Air. Wildly known for his creative work on YouTube, Instagram and Boldmethod, Swayne is giving the world the inside look at what it actually means to be a Professional Pilot. At a young age, Swayne couldn't find any inspiration online specifically around what it took to become an airline pilot. Since then, he's made it his personal mission to de-mystify what it means to be a "professional pilot." From training, day-to-day operations, lifestyle and benefits, Swayne is giving us all the important information we need to understand this career better. Swayne believes his work is his way of helping solve a small portion of the pilot shortage. He's proving that even if you're young, you can accomplish amazing things as a pilot.  Both in their early 20's, Sam and Swayne are prime examples that show to be successful in aviation, it takes time and hard work. They fully believe in following your passion and never giving up. Keep fighting for what you want and what you believe in. 

Swayne Martin IG: https://www.instagram.com/swayne.martin/

Swayne Martin YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVT_dmXuWdhwrkuqPG3pFQg

Sam Eckholm IG: https://www.instagram.com/2ltsam/

F22 Raptor Demonstration Team YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDjvi-_c_ffte2LaNaE2j8g

F22 Raptor Demonstration Team Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/F22DemoTeam/ F22 Raptor Demonstration Team Twitter: https://twitter.com/f22demoteam?lang=en

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The #AskTheAvGeek Show is bringing another great story for you all today. We've all known that the Aviation Industry has had a history of being an environment that lacks diversity and inclusion. Thankfully, there are organizations out there like "Fly For The Culture" who are trying to change this paradigm and bring about change to our great industry. I'm so stoked to have Jerome Stanislaus on the show today, from Fly For The Culture, to talk about the change they are bringing about. This change is catching a lot of big support too! We chat about life, Fly For The Culture, Jerome's personal beliefs and what it was like to be on National TV with CBS Evening News. Jerome not only loves his craft but he's willing to put aside his short term dreams to make sure that others can achieve their dreams in aviation. This is not an episode that you want to miss!

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Coming in hot with another episode of the #AskTheAvGeek Show! This week on the show I am happy to introduce another DFW native, Mr Brandon Maso to the audience! Lucky for you all, this is Brandon's 2nd time on the podcast but 1st as a solo guest. Brandon is bringing a lot of great aviation experience to the podcast today even though he is still so young! Brandon has and still instructs, he's flown sim's, small jets, Part 135 and now finds himself in the right seat of a Boeing 767 with a Cargo Carrier! Not only does he have a plethora of experience, but he's bringing it to us with his entertaining attitude. Brandon is becoming a good friend of mine and an aviator I think you guys will really enjoy hearing from! Like Brandon, make sure your not taking yourself so serious all the time!

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The podcast is back after a 2 week break but were coming back with a great episode of the #AskTheAvGeek Show. This week on the show I am so happy to have Ian Rodriguez on the podcast!  Ian is with me and we are digging into the topic of what it's like living the Flight Instructor life. Ian has had a very interesting path to his CFI/I but he is giving everyone the whole story. Ian is bringing so much truth in this episode! We really dig into some topics that are very important to student aviators when it comes to their work and relationships with CFI's. I believe everyone will take something away from his story or his experience and this is one you don't want to miss! 

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So if you've followed the podcast, back in Ep. 027, I spoke with my wife about how one should introduce someone new to aviation. Today, I'm actually going to go through step-by-step exactly what I do, when I introduce someone to flying. This is such an important topic today as more people are gaining an interest in this industry, primarily driven by the fact that the pilot job market is booming. Doing introductory flights is not about your skills or what you want to do, it's about your guests total experience. I want to thank my Pastor Luke Davidson for being an awesome co-pilot and testing me with so many questions during our flight. It's an awesome experience introducing somebody new to aviation, but you have to take the right steps to make sure your guests feel as safe and as comfortable as possible...especially if your guest has a wife and 5 kids!!!

After last weeks solo pod, talking about a topic that not all aviators enjoy talking about, I've got another #AskTheAvGeek Show for everyone! This week on the podcast I am happy to introduce #AvGeekNation to Ryan Hunt! Ryan joins me all the way from Georgia. If you've been following the podcast, you'll remember that Ryan has a pretty big relation to another #AskTheAvGeek Alum. If you don't know what I mean, you'll have to listen to today's episode. Ryan is a commercial pilot, A&P, warbird pilot, and a member of the AOPA Fly By Crew. Ryan is another young, successful, and accomplished aviator. Ryan epitomizes doing the right thing is always the right thing. What's crazy about Ryan's story is it share's a lot of similarities to my story, but he knew aviation was his calling. Following his families footsteps laid an important foundation for his future. You'll always find Ryan at the airport and you'll probably see Cayla out there with him flying and advocating for youth in aviation. Ryan is another great addition to the podcast as he shares the same purpose this podcast was built on. Ryan just wants to share his passion with the rest of #AvGeekNation!

This week I’m dropping a solo pod and were talking about a topic that every aviator knows very well… how exactly should you pay for Fixed-Wing Flight Training. I recently had a listener send me a DM over on Instagram asking me if I could talk about this topic as he had it on his mind and if I could get some opinions on it. I told him the topic was perfect for the podcast! I took his question and am going to break it into 2 different podcast episodes. This week, we are going to talk about whether you should take out loans for Fixed-Wing Flight School! I’m going to devote this episode to Fixed-Wing Training and I’ll follow up with an episode on Rotorcraft Training. I feel they each deserve an episode because they are so different. I give my opinion and then I bring in the opinions of a few of my past #AskTheAvGeek Show guests. What’s your opinion about this topic?

After last weeks group episode of the #AskTheAvGeek Show, I'm bringing in another new guest this week. This week on the podcast I am happy to introduce #AvGeekNation to Cayla McLeod. Cayla joins us all the way from Georgia. Cayla is the youngest guest featured so far on the podcast but she boasts an already incredible aviation resume! Cayla is a Private Pilot, a member of the AOPA Fly By Crew, Communications Coordinator for Triple Tree Aerodrome, the Liberty Foundation Tour Coordinator, and doing this all while being a student at the University of West Georgia. We all have our stories on how we got into aviation and Cayla's story started with Candler Field Museum Youth Aviation Program. If you've seen Cayla on Instagram, you could probably guess that her passions are "Planes and People". She now wants to bridge those passions to help the next generation of pilots accomplish exactly she did. You'll always find Cayla and her boyfriend Ryan Hunt out there flying and advocating for youth in aviation. Cayla is another great addition to the podcast and proving once again that it will be the younger generation that keeps pushing the aviation industry forward. In this episode, Cayla shares her passion and energy with all the listeners.

On this episode I'm doing something I haven't yet done on the podcast.. welcoming 2 guests on 1 episode! I'm very thankful to have the opportunity to have both Aaron David and Brandon Maso on the show this week for a special edition of the #AskTheAvGeek Show. As you all know I had Aaron on last year as a solo guest on the #AskTheAvGeek Show but this time he came to Dallas/Fort Worth for Type Training, so I couldn't help but get him back on the podcast. I'm also welcoming new comer Brandon Maso to the podcast, as we've become good pilot friends here in DFW. On this episode of the podcast we talk about all the in's, out's, good, and bad of Type Training and thee whole process. Luckily, Brandon has tackled Type Training from the Cargo side while Aaron is tackling Type Training from the Corporate side. Both their views made for a great podcast episode. I hope you all enjoy the information just like I did!

So I haven't done a solo podcast in a while and it just so happened that a listener asked a very great question while he was giving me some feedback on a recent episode. That listeners name is Isaiah and at the end of the conversation, he asked a really great question... That question was “So is there an episode where we get to hear your story and how you got started, your struggles and your story first starting off?”  So this whole podcast episode is devoted to answering Isaiah’s question.  Let me tell you, at least to me, it’s a crazy interesting story. So, Isaiah, thank you for being a part of AvGeek Nation and following the podcast but I also appreciate your honest feedback. I hope everyone enjoys this story and if you have anymore questions for me, don't hesitate to find me on social and strike up a conversation.

This week on the podcast I’m bringing you another great episode of the #AskTheAvGeekShow and I am happy to have Pilot Sergio on as my guest this week. I’m stocked to have Sergio on this week because he’s the first airline pilot that I’ve had on the show. If you’ve flown regionally out of Miami, you may have seen him on one of your recent flights. Sergio is a great example of someone putting a passion and dream in motion at a very young age. If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to be young and fly for the airlines, this is an episode you don’t want to miss. Sergio is sharing some great experiences and advice that everyone should listen to. If you’ve seen Sergio on Instagram, you know his personality is full of energy and passion. Through this episode, Sergio just wants to share that passion and energy with all the listeners.

As promised, I am releasing a new segment on the podcast with the help of one of my very good friends Eli Maloy. Eli was my very first guest on the #AskTheAvGeek Show but now in 2019, we are starting a new segment together. We don't have a name yet but that doesn't matter, this episode was all about just getting it out to the audience. This segment is all about being real with our hopes and dreams in aviation. Not everything is as great as it seems.. we all have our truths and problems. I'm hoping this new segment helps others realize that being real is freeing and being real as a young aviator, is even better! Eli and I noticed there is a lot of fronting' going on with young aviators but we want to keep it real. We don't know what the future holds for this segment but we know its going to be fun! Come along with us as 2 young aviators just talk about out struggles and truth in aviation!

We are back for 2019!! I'm back from a little break with family and we are ramping up the AvGeek Chronicles Podcast for the New Year. To start off the new year, I'm bringing in an amazing guest today and I was super excited for this episode with Mr. Kodiak himself.. Mark Brown! Mark is the Chief Pilot & Marketing Director for Quest Kodiak and is an aviator whose journey in this crazy world is definitely not by the books. Not only does Mark brings us the story of how he became one of the faces of the Kodiak brand but he brought us his personal story of how he got into aviation and the sacrifices he had to make to bring his dreams to life. Mark was a great guest to kick off the first episode of 2019 and I hope his story can be a catalyst for you to jump start your aviation career.