Welcome back to the Valor Flight Crew Podcast, hosted by ECHO and brought to you by Vertical Helicasts and Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this episode, we’re joined by Dave Weber, who opened the 2025 ECHO Conference with a powerful keynote on leadership and teamwork. We take a deeper look into his five core principles for building stronger teams — take ownership, lose your ego, keep it simple, stay focused, and empower your team.

Dave reminds us that true leadership isn’t about titles or rank — it’s about trust, humility, and giving your people a voice. Whether you’re leading a flight crew, maintenance crew, a communications team, or a clinical operation, this conversation is packed with real, actionable takeaways you can put into practice today.

Thank you to our sponsors Airbus, Precision Aviation Group and Coptersafety..

Welcome back to the Valor Flight Crew Podcast, hosted by ECHO and brought to you by Vertical Helicasts and Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this episode, we’re joined by Dave Weber, who opened the 2025 ECHO Conference with a powerful keynote on leadership and teamwork. We take a deeper look into his five core principles for building stronger teams — take ownership, lose your ego, keep it simple, stay focused, and empower your team.

Dave reminds us that true leadership isn’t about titles or rank — it’s about trust, humility, and giving your people a voice. Whether you’re leading a flight crew, maintenance crew, a communications team, or a clinical operation, this conversation is packed with real, actionable takeaways you can put into practice today.

Thank you to our sponsors Airbus, Precision Aviation Group and Night Flight Concepts.

Welcome back to the Valor Flight Crew Podcast, hosted by ECHO and brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS and Vertical Valor magazine.

In this episode, we explore another non-traditional helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) program with an inside look at JEMSTAR in New Jersey.

This unique program isn’t just any medevac team—these crews blend law enforcement precision with life-saving medical expertise to answer some of the state’s most critical calls.

From high-stakes missions and cutting-edge aircraft operations to the teamwork and innovation that keep every patient safe, today’s conversation gives you an all-access pass to the stories, strategies, and people behind public safety aviation in New Jersey.

So buckle up as we explore how JEMSTAR’s mission is serving and protecting in more ways than one!

Thank you to our sponsors Airbus, Metro Aviation and Precision Aviation Group.

Welcome to the Valor Flight Crew Podcast, hosted by ECHO and brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS and Vertical Valor Magazine.

In this live episode from the ECHO Louisville 2025 conference, we sit down with US Army pilot and ECHO Safety Team member Sean Gavin from the New York Air National Guard.

Together, we explore the art of briefing and debriefing — what makes them effective, how humility drives accountability, and why learning from every mission, win or loss, matters. There are so many lessons to be learned from each mission and it is important to have open and honest conversations about each flight. Being able to highlight the good, bad or indifferent can help flight crews continue to grow and create a safer environment.

From military precision to civilian application, this episode dives into communication, culture, and the leadership mindset that keeps aircrews safe and growing.

Thank you to our sponsors Airbus, Metro Aviation and Night Flight Concepts.

Welcome back to the Valor Flight Crew Podcast, hosted by ECHO and brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS and Vertical Valor magazine.

In this episode, we sit down with Jack Schonely, co-host of The Hangar Z Podcast and respected voice in aviation and public safety, to explore one of the most vital aspects of our profession: Risk management.

Together, we dive deep into the human factors that shape decision-making, the balance between leadership and ego, and the importance of a culture where every crew member feels empowered to speak up. Through personal stories and hard-earned lessons from Jack’s extensive law enforcement aviation career, this conversation uncovers the difference between simply managing risk—and truly understanding it.

From accountability and communication to the continuous pursuit of improvement, this episode challenges us all to rethink what it means to fly safely, lead effectively, and to go beyond the FRAT.

Thank you to our sponsors Airbus, Night Flight Concepts and Precision Aviation Group.

Welcome back to the Valor Flight Crew Podcast, hosted by ECHO and brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS and Vertical Valor magazine.

In this episode, we sit down with Jack Schonely, co-host of The Hangar Z Podcast and respected voice in aviation and public safety, to explore one of the most vital aspects of our profession: Risk management.

Together, we dive deep into the human factors that shape decision-making, the balance between leadership and ego, and the importance of a culture where every crew member feels empowered to speak up. Through personal stories and hard-earned lessons from Jack’s extensive law enforcement aviation career, this conversation uncovers the difference between simply managing risk—and truly understanding it.

From accountability and communication to the continuous pursuit of improvement, this episode challenges us all to rethink what it means to fly safely, lead effectively, and to go beyond the FRAT.

Thank you to our sponsors Coptersafety, Metro Aviation and Precision Aviation Group.

Welcome back to the Valor Flight Crew Podcast, hosted by ECHO and brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS and Vertical Valor magazine.

In this episode, we sit down with two incredible clinicians from Boston MedFlight, Jamie Eastman and Widmac (Wid) Laterion. Together, they take us inside the daily mission and operations of one of the nation’s most respected critical care transport programs.

From the challenges of neonatal and pediatric transports to the transition from military service into civilian medicine, Jamie and Wid share amazing insights from their unique journeys. You’ll hear about the training and preparation that keep their teams ready for the most complex cases, including high-fidelity simulation, rigorous onboarding, and the importance of crew resource management.

We’ll also explore Boston MedFlight’s transition to the Airbus H145 D3 and how this advanced airframe helps them deliver safe, effective care to critically ill and injured patients. Along the way, our guests reflect on memorable missions, collaboration across Massachusetts healthcare systems, and what it means to be part of a program dedicated to the highest standards of patient care. Thanks for tuning in, let’s get into it!

Thank you to our sponsors Airbus, Coptersafety and Spectrum Aeromed.

Welcome back to the Valor Flight Crew Podcast, hosted by ECHO and brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS and Vertical Valor magazine.

In this episode, we sit down with two incredible clinicians from Boston MedFlight, Jamie Eastman and Widmac (Wid) Laterion. Together, they take us inside the daily mission and operations of one of the nation’s most respected critical care transport programs.

From the challenges of neonatal and pediatric transports to the transition from military service into civilian medicine, Jamie and Wid share amazing insights from their unique journeys. You’ll hear about the training and preparation that keep their teams ready for the most complex cases, including high-fidelity simulation, rigorous onboarding, and the importance of crew resource management.

We’ll also explore Boston MedFlight’s transition to the Airbus H145 D3 and how this advanced airframe helps them deliver safe, effective care to critically ill and injured patients. Along the way, our guests reflect on memorable missions, collaboration across Massachusetts healthcare systems, and what it means to be part of a program dedicated to the highest standards of patient care. Thanks for tuning in, let’s get into it!

Thank you to our sponsors Airbus, Metro Aviation and Technisonic Industries.