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Ultimate Aviators

Ultimate Aviators

Written by: Jonny Henderson
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Welcome to the Ultimate Aviators where we pair interesting guests with a unique question to master our craft and demystify the aviation industry

Harper Aviation 2025
Episodes
  • #005 Rick Harper | What Does a Union Rep Do for the Airlines? | The Ultimate Aviators Podcast
    Dec 16 2025

    In this episode, I sit down with Rick Harper—Air Force cargo pilot, longtime instructor, airline captain, and the founder and namesake of Harper Aviation! Rick shares how a simple problem in the cockpit led him to design the Ultimate Kneeboard®, turning a pilot-built solution into a family-run aviation business passed from one military officer to another. With over 18,000 flight hours and decades of service in the Air Force, Air National Guard, and now at Delta Airlines, Rick reflects on leadership, aviation culture, and building something that lasts—both in the air and beyond it.

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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • #004 Steve Leflar | What makes a good mountain search-and-rescue team? | The Ultimate Aviators Podcast
    Aug 1 2025

    Soon-to-be-retired 1SG Steve Leflar talks about building the hoist rescue program in the Colorado Army National Guard. He talks standardization, safety, systems, collaboration, and teamwork in what has become a phenomenal program shaping the US Army's future in hoist rescues.

    Resources:

    • Documentary featuring Steve: Crestone Needle | Fourteener Hoist Rescue | Making Dangerous Things Look Easy | Blackhawks in Action
    • Steve's business: Illuminated Industries
    • Colorado Hoist Rescue Team (CHRT)
    • International Commission for Alpine Rescue (ICAR)
    • The Keep Colorado Wild Pass funds search and rescue
    • Jungle penetrator
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    58 mins
  • #003 Thad King | What makes a special operations aviator? | The Ultimate Aviators Podcast
    Jun 4 2025

    CW5 (ret.) Thad King has 4500+ hours and 2100+ NVG hours across a career of flying the Black Hawk including 11 years in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. We talk special operations, what makes a good pilot, and Thad's own podcast, Alone and Unafraid, which focuses on military mental health.

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    48 mins
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