Episode 282 - Combat, Coast Guard, and Cruising Antarctica: Tony Lumpkin’s Story Part 1

Welcome to the Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS and 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! On today’s episode of The Hangar Z Podcast, Jack Schonely and guest host Bryan Smith are honored to welcome Tony Lumpkin, call sign “Lumpy,” for a compelling conversation. Tony has a truly unique aviation background, having flown multiple airframes across military and civilian sectors. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Tony was commissioned into the U.S. Marine Corps where he piloted the CH-46 and completed three tours in Iraq. He shares some of his incredible experiences and lessons learned from flying in the sandbox. But his story doesn’t end there. He later transferred into the U.S. Coast Guard where he piloted a Black Hawk, conducting high-risk rescues. After his military service, Tony invited Bryan to join him on a one-of-a-kind flying assignment: piloting a helicopter off a luxury cruise ship in one of the most stunning and unforgiving places on earth, Antarctica. A big thank you to Bryan Smith for leading this insightful conversation with his friend “Lumpy.” Please don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe to the Hangar Z Podcast. We appreciate your support. Thank you to our sponsors Night Flight Concepts , Summit Aviation and Robinson Helicopter .