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. Find AvGeek Chronicles on IG: https://www.instagram.com/avgeekchronicles/ Find your host on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hodge_che/?hl=en Find your host on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hodge_che Join the AvGeek Chronicles FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AvGeekChronicles --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

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! Find AvGeek Chronicles on IG: https://www.instagram.com/avgeekchronicles/ Find your host on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hodge_che/?hl=en Find your host on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hodge_che Join the AvGeek Chronicles FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AvGeekChronicles --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

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. Find AvGeek Chronicles on IG: https://www.instagram.com/avgeekchronicles/ Find your host on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hodge_che/?hl=en/ Find your host on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hodge_che/ Join the AvGeek Chronicles FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AvGeekChronicles/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

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. Find AvGeek Chronicles on IG: https://www.instagram.com/avgeekchronicles/ Find your host on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hodge_che/?hl=en Find your host on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hodge_che Join the AvGeek Chronicles FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AvGeekChronicles --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

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 Find AvGeek Chronicles on IG: https://www.instagram.com/avgeekchronicles/ Find your host on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hodge_che/?hl=en Find your host on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hodge_che Join the AvGeek Chronicles FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AvGeekChronicles --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

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! Find AvGeek Chronicles on IG: https://www.instagram.com/avgeekchronicles/ Find your host on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hodge_che/?hl=en Find your host on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hodge_che Join the AvGeek Chronicles FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AvGeekChronicles --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

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! Find AvGeek Chronicles on IG: https://www.instagram.com/avgeekchronicles/ Find your host on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hodge_che/?hl=en Find your host on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hodge_che Join the AvGeek Chronicles FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AvGeekChronicles --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

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!  Find AvGeek Chronicles on IG: https://www.instagram.com/avgeekchronicles/ Find your host on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hodge_che/?hl=en Find your host on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hodge_che Join the AvGeek Chronicles FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AvGeekChronicles --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

After a week off, the #AskTheAvGeek Show is back for another episode! This week we're moving to the military side of flying, as I have LTJG Steele Phillips on the show with me today. Steele is a MH-60S Pilot out of Virginia and is laying everything out there for #AvGeekNation on what it takes to become a Naval Aviator. There seems to be a lot of mystery on how people get those coveted Wings of Gold in the military, but Steele is giving everyone the information they need to decide if this is a career for them.  Not only is Steele giving the audience the steps he took, especially through ROTC, he also gives us the other ways you can receive a coveted Naval Aviator slot. It's people like Steele that keep our country safe everyday, so I appreciate everything that Steele and his fellow Sailors are doing to keep the United States safe!  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

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!!! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

Welcome back everyone for another weekly episode of the AvGeek Chronicles Podcast! I’m very excited for today’s episode because this is an episode my guests and I have been trying to schedule for a couple weeks now, Thankfully, we are finally making it happen! I am so excited to introduce AvGeek Nation to the Davis Family this week as they join me for a new episode of the #AskTheAvGeek Show. If you’re out there on Instagram and YouTube, you’ll know them formally as The “There By Air” Crew. I absolutely loved having the opportunity to have the Davis’s with me this week and I know all the listeners out there are really going to fall in love with this young family. As soon as I found them, I loved all the fun they were having! Not only are they sharing their passion of aviation with their own little family but they are documenting their travel journeys and bringing us along as for the ride…even if it means it may get a littttttttle windy.  I hope you all enjoy this weeks episode! Don't forget to give the new instagram profile a follow which you can find at @avgeekchronicles! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

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! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

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? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

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.   --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support

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! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avgeekchronicles/support