The Hangar Z Podcast

• Episodes 306 - The Future of MD Helicopters: Strategic Upgrades and Leadership Part I

  Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast and The Helicopter Podcast mashup, brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS, in partnership with Vertical Valor magazine.Listen closely for your chance to win awesome prizes from Heli Life! Throughout 2025, every episode of The Hangar Z Podcast will reveal a secret word. Once you catch it, head to contests.verticalhelicasts.com to enter!This two-part series is unique, in that we have an opportunity to talk to the president and CEO of MD Helicopters, co-hosted with my friends and co-workers Halsey Schider (host of The Helicopter Podcast) and Brent Bundy, a retired Phoenix Police Department pilot and a senior correspondent at Vertical magazine. In this engaging conversation, we talk with MD Helicopters president and CEO Ryan Weeks. Weeks has a diverse background that began with a passion for cars and motorcycles, leading him to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. He started his career with Textron's automotive division, where he gained valuable experience. Over time, he transitioned into product line management and earned an M.B.A. to enhance his strategic skills. Weeks' career path took him through various roles at Textron, including a significant stint at Bell Helicopter, where he contributed to product development and aftermarket business improvements. In 2019, he joined Honeywell Aerospace, and by 2022 he was recruited to help MD Helicopters improve its aftermarket operations. His leadership and strategic vision have been instrumental in shaping MD's path.During our conversation, we discuss the challenges MD faces in the aftermarket and supply chain. The discussion also delves into leadership insights, and the importance of regular product updates to maintain competitiveness in the helicopter industry. We talk about the exciting developments at MD Helicopters, a company with nearly 80 years of history. We’ll discuss the revitalization of the legendary MD 530N, now equipped with the powerful Rolls-Royce C30 engine, as well as the new MD Super D20B upgrade that boosts performance and payload for legacy MD 500 models.We'll explore how these advancements are delivering more power, greater payloads, and improved safety, even in the toughest environments, ensuring the fleet remains mission-ready for years to come. Stay tuned as we break down what these upgrades mean for operators, maintenance crews, and the future of helicopter aviation.This podcast was recorded on Tuesday, Oct. 21. At the time of recording, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had yet to approve the first of the supplemental type certificates (STCs) associated with the fielded fleet upgrades discussed in this recording. Three days later, the FAA approved the STC for the Super D20B, and the first Super D20B went into service on Wednesday, Oct. 29.Thank you to our sponsors Astronautics Corporation of America, BLR Aerospace and Precision Aviation Group.

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• Episode 305 - Blades of Valor Tour 2025: Inside Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Aviation Part 2

  Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS, in partnership with Vertical Valor magazine.Listen closely for your chance to win awesome prizes from Heli Life! Throughout 2025, every episode of The Hangar Z Podcast will reveal a secret word. Once you catch it, head to contests.verticalhelicasts.com to enter!The 2025 Blades of Valor Tour continues in Las Vegas, Nevada, visiting the Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) Air Support Unit. LVMPD has an incredible hangar located on North Las Vegas Airport. This unit covers 8,000 square miles of Clark County, Nevada, with a population of 2.3 million. Seventy percent of Nevada’s population resides inside Clark County. Add 40 million visitors a year and this unit has a great deal of responsibility in both patrol functions and search-and-rescue.With only five aircraft, they flew over 4,000 patrol hours and responded to 91 rescue calls in 2024. It is not unusual to complete a rescue in the snow-covered mountains, respond to a rescue in Lake Mead, and then handle a pursuit, all in the same shift.Our conversation with pilot Blake Farris and tactical flight officer Brad Bear was fascinating. We discuss training, unit dynamics, the mixed fleet of aircraft, mission profiles, and the full time search-and-rescue team located inside the hanger facility.Brad shares an impactful story of working as a patrol officer, where having skilled air crew overhead kept him safe. He knew exactly where he wanted to work someday and now, he is living that dream.Be sure to watch for the article by Brent Bundy about Las Vegas Metro’s air support unit in Vertical Valor magazine.Special thanks to Airbus and Massif for the incredible support of this year’s Blades of Valor Tour. We could not do this tour without them.Thank you to our sponsors Airbus, Becker Avionics USA and BLR Aerospace.

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• Episode 304 - Blades of Valor Tour 2025: Inside Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Aviation Part 1

  Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS, in partnership with Vertical Valor magazine.Listen closely for your chance to win awesome prizes from Heli Life! Throughout 2025, every episode of The Hangar Z Podcast will reveal a secret word. Once you catch it, head to contests.verticalhelicasts.com to enter!The 2025 Blades of Valor Tour continues in Las Vegas, Nevada, visiting the Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) Air Support Unit. LVMPD has an incredible hangar located on North Las Vegas Airport. This unit covers 8,000 square miles of Clark County, Nevada, with a population of 2.3 million. Seventy percent of Nevada’s population resides inside Clark County. Add 40 million visitors a year and this unit has a great deal of responsibility in both patrol functions and search-and-rescue.With only five aircraft, they flew over 4,000 patrol hours and responded to 91 rescue calls in 2024. It is not unusual to complete a rescue in the snow-covered mountains, respond to a rescue in Lake Mead, and then handle a pursuit, all in the same shift.Our conversation with pilot Blake Farris and tactical flight officer Brad Bear was fascinating. We discuss training, unit dynamics, the mixed fleet of aircraft, mission profiles, and the full time search-and-rescue team located inside the hanger facility.Brad shares an impactful story of working as a patrol officer, where having skilled air crew overhead kept him safe. He knew exactly where he wanted to work someday and now, he is living that dream.Be sure to watch for the article by Brent Bundy about Las Vegas Metro’s air support unit in Vertical Valor magazine .Special thanks to Airbus and Massif for the incredible support of this year’s Blades of Valor Tour. We could not do this tour without them.Thank you to our sponsors Airbus, CNC Technologies and Metro Aviation.

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• Episode 303 - Why should I go to the ECHO Public Safety Aviation Conference?

  Welcome to the Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS, in partnership with Vertical Valor Magazine.This episode was recorded on location at the ECHO 2025 Public Safety Aviation Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Listen closely for your chance to win awesome prizes from Heli Life! Throughout 2025, every episode of The Hangar Z Podcast will reveal a secret word. Once you catch it, head to contests.verticalhelicasts.com to enter!This discussion features: Andrew Baity, law enforcement co-director at Every Coast Helicopter Operations (ECHO) and Virginia State Police pilot; Jeff Ratkovich, Hangar Z co-host and pilot for the Tennessee Highway Patrol; and Jack Schonely, instructor of the Tactical Solutions course and retired Los Angeles Police Department officer, helicopter pilot, and Hangar Z host.Here, we debrief the conference by highlighting the training, education, and connections that made ECHO 2025 so exceptional.The cornerstone of the training was the two-day Airborne Tactical Solutions course, taught by Clay Lacy and Jack Schonely and attended by nearly 70 motivated public safety aviation professionals.The "Airborne Tactical Solutions" course provided over 16 hours of comprehensive training for public safety personnel, including patrol officers, tactical flight officers, K-9 handlers, SWAT team members, and aircrew. Through multimedia presentations with real-life video examples, participants learned about contemporary suspect tactics, perimeter containment strategies, and criminal evasion techniques. The course emphasizes officer safety, systematic search techniques, and practical airborne skills like crew coordination, managing vehicle pursuits, and thermal imagery searches. Real-life scenarios and debriefs help reinforce critical incident preparedness and effective communication, ultimately enhancing tactical decision-making and the overall effectiveness of law enforcement operations.Thanks to Bell and Metro Aviation for sponsoring the Tactical Solutions course, as well as Airbus, Axnes, and Dallas Avionics for supporting the generous lunch provided to the students of the Tactical Solutions course. In addition to the two-day Tactical Solutions course, the conference featured a variety of one-hour breakout courses led by a wide range of experts, including Andrew Nicoletti. Thank you to everyone who took the time to prepare for and teach at ECHO 2025.Make sure to look for announcements regarding ECHO’s 2026 conference location and law enforcement educational track in the months to follow.Last, but not least, we extend a heartfelt thank you to ECHO and their leadership team — a group of highly motivated public safety aviation professionals who volunteer their time to provide high-quality, high-fidelity training that is accessible and affordable.Thank you to our sponsors Garmin, Robinson Helicopter and Wysong Enterprises.

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• Episode 302 - APSA Robert L. Cormier Award – Michael Sill Part 2

  Welcome to The Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS, in partnership with Vertical Valor magazine.Listen closely for your chance to win awesome prizes from Heli Life! Throughout 2025, every episode of The Hangar Z Podcast will reveal a secret word. Once you catch it, head to contests.verticalhelicasts.com to enter!In this special episode, we recorded from the floor of APSCON 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona, at the Vertical Valor / Hangar Z booth. Joining us today are Deputy Pilot Mike Sill and Deputy Pilot Johnny Reyes from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Air Support Unit.Sill is this year’s recipient of the prestigious Robert L. Cormier Memorial Award, recognizing outstanding achievement in the advancement of aircraft in public service. A charter member of the Fresno County Air Support Unit, Sill recently retired after 25 years of flying—a career defined by dedication, skill, and humility. He often describes himself as “blessed, lucky, and fortunate,” but his success is a direct result of years of hard work and flying challenging, high-risk missions across some of California’s most unforgiving terrain—from just 337 feet at the valley floor to 14,000-foot peaks in the Sierra Nevada.In this conversation, Sill and Reyes share incredible insights from their careers, discussing the power of mentorship, the value of developing personnel from within, the importance of experienced pilots in shaping a new aviation unit, and the critical role of an exceptional maintenance program. They also recount some remarkable high-altitude, life-saving rescues that truly highlight the skill and heart behind their unit’s work.Hangar Z Podcast subscriber numbers have been climbing rapidly and we appreciate your support. If you have not yet subscribed on your favorite podcast platform and on the Vertical HeliCASTS YouTube page, please take a second and do that. That small action makes a big difference for the podcast.Enjoy these episodes from APSCON 2025.Thank you to our sponsors CNC Technologies, Metro Aviation and Spectrolab, Inc.

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