The Two Thousand Feet Aviation Podcast

We meet Tony Dyer, who re-builds original World War II cockpits and keeps them in his living room. And in his garage. And in his hallways. And in his shed. And also, in the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection. How do you get hold of an original Spitfire control stick? And how do you put together a Hurricane cockpit from hundreds, thousands of different bits?Across the ocean, in Texas, Richard Gent has just solo-ed again. At the age of 90. After a 48-year gap in his flying career. Why? And what is it like, to learn to fly at that age?Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

In the last episode of 2019 we go back to the stars of The Two Thousand Feet Podcast's most popular episodes and ask them about their plans for 2020. We also look back at the main UK general aviation news of 2019 - and at some of the fun this podcast has had at airfields across the country. Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

2019 has been the year when even the sceptics accepted the need to do something about climate change.Among environmental activists, aviation has become a dirty word. Their figurehead, Greta Thunberg, famously chose to sail across the Atlantic, rather than fly.But how bad is aviation's contribution to the global climate crisis? And what is the solution? Should we all be going electric?Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

We go behind the scenes at Southend's Air Traffic Control to understand how controllers work and to ask them about LARS, infringements and instructions to remain outside controlled airspace. And a visit to Weather School shows that few pilots remember their PPL meteorology - which is, perhaps, only natural. But how much of a problem is it?Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

The Light Aircraft Association and the British Microlight Aircraft Association are proposing a merger. What will it mean for pilots? Will microlight owners be treated as poor relations in the new organisation? Will flexwing operators lose support and expertise? Steve Slater, CEO of the Light Aircraft Association, answers some of the most challenging questions around the merger.At Charlton Park where you land and park your aircraft right in front of a 17th century manor house, visiting pilots are sometimes greeted by the landowner himself, Lord Suffolk. We went to see him and talk about the history of his estate and the airfield.Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

At Pilot Careers Live, we talk about the realities of training for a commercial licence, and debunk some myths about flying professionally.And a flight in a highly capable aerobatic Extra 200 at British Aerobatic Academy serves as a prelude to a conversation about why the British aerobatic team has not beaten the French yet. Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

The flying season is all but over. So what can a pilot do on a rainy, miserable day in October? There are more options than just hibernating. I meet people who fly radio-controlled models capable of amazing tricks and explore one of the most niche bookshops in the country. Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

James Ketchell has returned from flying his gyrocopter around the world. What was his best day? His worst day? What's his advice to people who want to do something similar? And why does the IMSAFE mnemonic not work when you're circumnavigating the Earth?Edwin Brenninkmeyer is a businessman who flies historic jets - like the Folland Gnat - for fun. He talks about what they are like to operate; and how you can join the select group of vintage jet pilots.Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

Start here to get an idea of what to expect. This is a selection of what The Two Thousand Feet Aviation Podcast is all about. We love stories about flying, - told by people who love flying. Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

Do flexwings have a future in the 21st century? I ask Andrew Cranfield, former owner of P&M, Geoff Weighell, Chief Executive Officer of the British Microlight Aircraft Association, and some pilots. And my wife and I speak to Dr. Drew Tarmey, from the Manchester Medical School, about why she suffers from air sickness, and what can be done about it. Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

In this episode, I bring you the best of the annual LAA Rally at Sywell.- How long does it take to polish a Luscombe?- What are the LAA and the CAA planning to do about Brexit?- Why is Ivan Shaw's latest design not going to be the new Europa?And I have the best flying day of my aviation career so far - taking to the air inside the 1943 Catalina flying boat. Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

I spend a day at Old Sarum trying to figure out what the future holds fot the legendary WW1 airfield. And I meet The Flying Reporter, one of the leading aviation YouTube personalities, to ask him what it takes to run a successful YouTube channel about private flying. Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

I get up in the middle of the night to see some flying bicycles; and Nushin Elahi explains why women sometimes feel uncomfortable in the macho, spanner-wielding world of microlight flying. Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

We go behind the scenes at the Battle of Britain airshow. How do you run an event like this? What goes into preparing to fly formation? How do you commentate? What happens behind the closed doors at the pilots' briefing?And if you wanted to set up an airshow, how would you do that?I also talk to Mark Garner, who bought the Thruster brand, but then closed the doors on it. What went wrong? And what does his experience tell us about the future of microlighting? The British Microliight Aircraft Association offered a response.Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

In this episode, we talk to two pilots and one collector. The pilots are Anita, a student of one of the airline schools, and Craig, who flies for an airline in Asia. What's it like to fly commercially in the current booming market? What is the day-to-day life like for an airliner pilot? And why is airline theory so hard? Do you have to be an Einstein to pass those fourteen ATPL theory tests?We also meet Trevor Hoare, who runs one of the weirdest airfield museums in the UK: he collects, and displays, petrol pumps. Trevor explains why you'd put a petrol pump into your conservatory, and why a garage is so much more than just a place to buy petrol.Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first non-stop Transatlantic flight, I go to Ireland to look at flying boats and to fly a 737 simulator.And I talk to James Ketchell, who is flying his gyrocopter around the world. He describes flying in Russia (a flight plan just for doing circuits, anybody?) and counting whales in the Bering sea. To support this podcast, please go to patreon.com/2kft - any donation, big or small, very appreciated. All money will go towards making more aviation-related content. Thank you. Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

In this episode, we meet people who restore and fly vintage aircaft. What does it take to put the protorype Beagle Pup back in the air after 50 years at the back of a hangar? And how do you run a business based on Spitfires and Tiger Moths?Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

What to do when your engine fails, and you have nowhere to go apart from a steelworks spewing out flames? And how do you combine aviation and art? Artyom Liss talks to a pilot who got out of a very tricky situation, and to a sculptor who used light aircraft as part of an artistic statement. Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

In this special episode, I visit the General Aviation Safety Event at Duxford and the Microlight Trade Fair at Popham. What's the future of general aviation? How do you fly around the world if you're 80 years old? Why aren't there more female pilots? And where are all the microlights gone?Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

In this episode, I do the sums and arrive at the conclusion that group A is now cheaper than microlighting; we discuss Dan Subhani's unique astroturf runway; and Mike MIller-Smith and Harvey Matthewson explain how disabled people can learn to fly.Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

In Episode Three of the Two Thousand Feet Aviation Podcast, an LAA engineer explains how to prepare an aircraft for the season's flying after a winter break; and Richard Meredith-Hardy remembers his flight around Mt. Everest in a flexwing microlight. Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

In this episode, we meet Gerry Breen, - the man who invented the word "microlight". He talks abour his flying career, - which included hang-gliding from the world's highest waterfall and barely surviving a white-out in Iceland, - and explains why there is no reason to upset about the demise of the flexwing.We also talk about learning to fly abroad: does it really prepare you for piloting your aircraft in the UK airspace? Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)

In Episode One of the Two Thousand Feet Aviation Podcast, journalist and pilot Artyom Liss meets Rosie Simpson for an ice-cream. She tells him how to get back to flying after a winter's break and suggests some useful exercises. Expect some great tips and a moment of embarrassment. Artyom also talks to Max Couch, who is using a virtual reality-based flight simulator to recreate every flight his late father, a VC-10 captain, had ever taken. In real time. Mile by tedious mile.Support the show (http://patreon.com/2kft)