The Vertical MRO Podcast

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . What happens when the helicopter maintenance community comes together? At the 2026 Vertical MRO Conference in Kelowna, British Columbia, the answer was plenty of honest conversations, shared experiences, new connections, and a collective commitment to keeping the industry moving forward. In th...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . In Part Two of the Vertical MRO Podcast's conversation with Ryan Hader of iAERO , hosts David Kreutzkamp and Howie Murray dig into the realities behind supplemental type certificates and aircraft modifications. Starting with something as seemingly simple as a cup holder, Ryan explains why...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . In Part One of this two-part conversation, Vertical MRO host David Kreutzkamp and co-host Howie Murray sit down with Ryan Hader, founder of iAERO , to talk about the experiences that shaped his approach to aircraft maintenance, engineering, and modification. Ryan traces his path from a lifelon...

The Vertical MRO Conference kicks off tomorrow in Kelowna, British Columbia, and we're getting the crew together for a quick look at what's ahead. David Kreutzkamp is joined by Mike and Linda Reyno, Jon Gray, and Maddy Reyno to talk about what attendees can expect—from expanded technical education and hands-on training to leadership development, workforce initiatives, students, exhibitor...

This special crossover episode of the Vertical MRO Podcast comes from our sister show, The Helicopter Podcast, bringing an operator-focused conversation directly to the maintenance community. Recorded at VERTICON 2026, The Helicopter Podcast host Halsey Schider sits down with Joe LaRue of Prairie Air to discuss his path through aviation and the role quality maintenance has played in building a bus...

Welcome to another episode of Vertical MRO Tech Talk presented by Bell . In this episode of Bell Tech Talk, Vertical MRO's David Kreutzkamp is joined by Bell customer support engineers Eric Parent and Jason Estaphan for a deep dive into common Bell 505 maintenance questions coming from the field. Eric and Jason share practical guidance on servicing the Bell 505 live mount system, hydraulic pu...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . In this episode of Vertical MRO, hosts David Kreutzkamp and Scott Hayward are joined by Anneke Tucker of Attain Aviation for a conversation about human factors, leadership, mentorship, and building stronger maintenance organizations. Anneke shares her unconventional path into aviation, from se...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . In this episode of Vertical MRO, hosts David Kreutzkamp and Scott Hayward are joined by Anneke Tucker of Attain Aviation for a conversation about human factors, leadership, mentorship, and building stronger maintenance organizations. Anneke shares her unconventional path into aviation, from se...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus The Vertical MRO crew gets together for the first MRO Roundtable — a new recurring conversation bringing the hosts together to catch up, discuss current helicopter industry news, and look at what's ahead for the maintenance community. David Kreutzkamp is joined by Jon Gray, Ronnie Ries, and...

Welcome to another episode of Vertical MRO Tech Talk presented by Bell . In this episode of Vertical MRO Tech Talk presented by Bell, host Jon Gray continues the conversation on autopilot systems with Dawn Lehto and Tad Morley. This time, focusing on the Bell 407 Autopilot Flight Control System (AFCS) discussion. Building on the system overview from Part I, the team takes a deeper dive into troubl...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus What does one of the world's greatest endurance athletes have to teach the aviation maintenance industry? More than you might expect. In this episode of Vertical MRO, hosts Jon Gray and David Kreutzkamp welcome James Lawrence , better known as the Iron Cowboy, ahead of his keynote presentat...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . For this episode of Vertical MRO, recorded live at APSCON 2026 in Fort Lauderdale, hosts Jon Gray and Jack Schonely sit down with Nicolas Ianiero, aircraft maintenance engineer with Canadian Helicopters supporting the York Regional Police Air Support Unit and the recipient of the 2026 APSA Tec...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . In Part II of their conversation with aviation leader Ray Bennett, hosts Ronnie Ries and Faith Ortega take a deeper look at how the aviation industry responds when safety is put to the test. Drawing on firsthand experience supporting operators through major industry events, Ray shares his pers...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . For this episode of Vertical MRO, hosts Ronnie Ries and Faith Ortega sit down with aviation leader Ray Bennett for a conversation about the people, values, and experiences that shape safety in aviation. Drawing from a career that spans operators, maintenance organizations, manufacturers, and i...

Welcome to Vertical MRO Alerts, presented by Bell! In this Alert, Bell 429 Product Support Engineering Lead Sebastien Rousseau discusses Alert Service Bulletin 429-26-74 , which introduces a one-time inspection of certain Bell 429 main rotor mast assemblies for machining marks on the inner diameter. Sebastien explains Bell's investigation that these machining marks can affect mast fatigue lif...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . In Part II of their conversation, Jon Gray, Howie, and Reinaldo Caceres of Nabu Pro shift their focus to one of aviation maintenance's biggest long-term challenges: preserving knowledge before it leaves the industry. As experienced maintainers retire, decades of troubleshooting experience...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . For this episode of Vertical MRO, host Jon Gray and co-host Howie sit down with Reinaldo Caceres, founder and CEO of Nabu Pro , to explore how artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape aviation operations and maintenance. A commercial pilot turned technology entrepreneur, Reinaldo shares...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . In Part II of this conversation, Ronnie continues the discussion with Mike Kunkel of PG&E on the realities of building and sustaining a just culture in aviation operations. The episode focuses on the challenges organizations face when trying to move from compliance-driven safety programs t...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . In this episode, Ronnie sits down with Mike Kunkel, safety management system program manager at PG&E , to discuss his path through aviation and the experiences that shaped his approach to safety leadership. The conversation begins with Mike’s early flying experiences in Alaska and his time...

Welcome to another episode of Vertical MRO Tech Talk presented by Bell . In this episode of Vertical MRO Tech Talk presented by Bell, host Jon Gray is joined by Greg Judd, along with Gabriel Leveille and Jason Estaphan, to discuss the Garmin G1000. This conversation provides a deeper understanding of how the system can directly support maintainers in their day-to-day work. As avionics platforms co...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . For this episode, Jon Gray sits down with Don Lockie of Aviation Resources Group and Peter Van Dael, product manager at Navi-Gate , for a live conversation recorded on the show floor at Verticon 2025. While logistics often happens behind the scenes, it plays a critical role in keeping aircraft...

Welcome to Vertical MRO Alerts, presented by Bell ! In this Alert, Product Support Engineering (PSE) Manager Marc Dubé is joined by Gilbert Gaudreault, 407 PSE Lead, to discuss the release of Garmin G1000H NXi Software 24 and the associated service directives issued for Bell 407GXi operators. Marc and Gilbert explain why Bell released an Alert Service Bulletin for certain aircraft equipped with tw...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . Recorded live during the 2025 Vertical MRO conference, this panel discussion explores what continues to attract people to the helicopter maintenance industry—and what the industry must do to support the next generation of maintainers. Featuring insights from Dale Martel of Okanagan College , M...

Welcome to the Vertical MRO Podcast , brought to you by HeliCASTS and in partnership with Vertical Plus . In this episode of Vertical MRO, recorded live as part of the Blades of Valor 2026 tour, hosts Jon and Jack sit down with Jerry Zsigo, aircraft maintenance technician with Miami Dade Air Rescue . Jerry shares what it takes to maintain aircraft in one of the most demanding environments in aviat...

The Vertical MRO Podcast continues its special Flying Bulls conversation with Anthony Hill and Werner Horvath from the Red Bull Flying Bulls . Following Vertical MRO’s milestone 100th episode, hosts Jon Gray and Faith Ortega reconnect for part II with the Flying Bulls technical team in Salzburg, Austria, while recording from the Vertical MRO studio. Anthony and Werner take a deeper dive into the r...