Podcast Episodes

Flying the Red Flag

The Korean War had been a successful period for the US Air Force but a decade later in the Vietnam war their success rate had gone from 10:1 down to …

5 years, 5 months ago

RAF Form 414, Vol. 9

It is the beginning of 1981 but for me it was the conclusion of my first front line tour of duty. When my posting came I was devastated. I had been s…

5 years, 5 months ago

The Deutschendorfs

The Sound Barrier was first broken in 1947… by 1949 Convair had submitted its initial bid for the USAF’s first supersonic bomber. So much had to be l…

5 years, 5 months ago

Whether the Weather

Whether the weather be cold,

Or whether the weather be hot,

We’ll weather the weather,

Whatever the weather,

Whether we like it or not!

Nowadays, how…

5 years, 6 months ago

101 Seconds

The pride of the Air India fleet, their first Boeing 747 was named after the Emperor Ashoka. The first of the Maharaja-themed aircraft it epitomised …

5 years, 6 months ago

A Christmas Story

‘Twas the night after Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…

5 years, 6 months ago

RAF Form 414 Volume 8

It’s starting to look its age, it’s frayed at the edges, wrinkled and has bits that might fall off. No, not me, my first venerable old Royal Air Forc…

5 years, 7 months ago

Legend

Many of my aviation heroes are complicated people of nuance and contradiction but not this man. As I reflect on his life, so recently ended, I remind…

5 years, 7 months ago

Bravo November

The RAF Chinook helicopter has proved to be a versatile and determined workhorse for the British Armed services but none more so than the airframe Br…

5 years, 7 months ago

The Average Pilot

When examining pilot deaths in WWI it was discovered that 90% were put down to pilot errors whereas only 2% were due to enemy action! Things didn’t i…

5 years, 7 months ago