Plane Tales
343 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 143 ratingsThe View from Our Side of the Cockpit Door
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Episodes
High Flight
December 10, 2016 23:17 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBUS Pilots Fly in the Eagle Squadrons During WW II
I Believe He Is Dead
December 02, 2016 23:14 - 13 minutes - 12 MBA routine flight turn into desperate fight for survival as the Captain dangles precariously from the cockpit with his cabin crew doggedly hanging onto his legs. A British Airways BAC111. Image under Creative Commons licence, UK Gov, AAIB and Przemysław Jahr, Poland.
Mitchell’s Fighter, Mitchell’s Fight
November 25, 2016 22:59 - 12 minutes - 11 MBThe RAF desperately needed a modern fighter to counter the Luftwaffe in WWII.. Reginald Mitchell, despite failing health, steps up. R J Mitchell. The Supermarine SB6. Images displayed under a Creative Commons licence. Imperial War Museum and unknown sources.
Try Sweeping it Biggles
November 18, 2016 02:15 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MBFast aircraft have swept wings... of course they do! Buy why?
Hunting the Foxbat
November 11, 2016 02:12 - 16 minutes - 15.3 MBThe West is stunned by the appearance of a new Soviet fighter capable of a huge altitude and incredible speed. Suddenly, one is placed right into their laps! The passport of Viktor Belenko. Images courtesy of Creative Commons licence, US Gov.
Flight…In a Bird Dog
November 05, 2016 02:04 - 15 minutes - 13.8 MBDuring the fall of Saigon in 1975, Major Bung Lee escapes in a Bird Dog. Images attributed to USN and used under a Creative Commons licence.
CJ Hemmer Interview
October 28, 2016 20:14 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBAn interview with C130 pilot, the amazing CJ Hemmer, who reveals what those Special Forces Hercules pilots get up to!
The Cock that Never Flew
October 21, 2016 20:06 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBAmongst the rafters of Colditz Castle during the Second World War an audacious escape plan is being prepared! The title image by Lee Carson is the only known photograph of the actual Cock and is used under the Creative Commons licence.
Brothers in Arms
October 15, 2016 19:55 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBTwo brothers both become fighter pilots and serve at the same time in the RAF during the Second World War, their fates are linked in more ways than one.
Lost
October 07, 2016 19:23 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MBA remarkable piece of navigational deduction by Air New Zealand Capt Vette rescues a lost aircraft over the Pacific ocean. Title image by Dtom under Creative Commons licence.
Into the Vortex
September 23, 2016 19:20 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBA Phantom crew barely escape with their lives after a wake turbulence encounter.
Elyse Anderson Interview – Part 2
September 16, 2016 19:00 - 9 minutes - 8.97 MBThe second half of Capt Nick's interview with Elyse Anderson, an Australian flying instructor, on how she got started in aviation
The Aerodynamics of Death
September 09, 2016 18:58 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MBA young Air Cadet receives a hard lesson on the dangers of flying and how a stall happens. Title image under Creative Commons license - Photographer Barry Lewis.
Elyse Anderson Interview – Part 1
September 02, 2016 18:55 - 9 minutes - 8.31 MBCapt Nick interviews Elyse Anderson an Australian flying instructor on how she got started in aviation.
Whoosh, Bang, Oops!
August 20, 2016 02:27 - 15 minutes - 21 MBA Phantom crew make a small, little, indeed tiny mistake whilst carrying live missiles on an exercise... unfortunately the results are fairly dramatic!
From Humble Beginnings
August 19, 2016 18:51 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBThe life of Sir Frank Whittle and his development of the turbojet engine. The Gloster E28-39. Images through Creative Commons - Crown Copyright.
The Greatest Stick and Rudder Man Who Ever Lived
August 12, 2016 18:48 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBA tribute to the amazing Bob Hoover.
Black Bucks over the Atlantic
August 05, 2016 18:38 - 16 minutes - 22.1 MBOperation Black Buck. The remarkable effort made by the RAF to attack Stanley airfield from Ascension Island, using aged Vulcan V Bombers, during the Falklands war in 1982. A Vulcan bomber over Ascension Island. The refuelling plan for the Black Buck mission. The damage assessment of Stanley airfield. Images licensed by Creative Commons. Vulcan by Ken Griffiths, Stanley airfield Crown Copyright.
Just Another Day at Work
July 29, 2016 18:33 - 12 minutes - 11.3 MBCapt Nick recounts his past and describes how Quick Reaction Alert functioned and follows an RAF Phantom through a scramble to intercept two Soviet Tu144 Bears. A Phantom FG1 is armed up ready to be used on QRA. Q1 sits quietly in the shed after being 'cocked' by it's crew. Intercept complete.
Down the Black Hole
July 18, 2016 18:10 - 13 minutes - 12 MBThe dangers of spatial disorientation for the pilot community. Title picture by Alain R under Creative Commons licence.
Tumble Down Dick
July 09, 2016 18:04 - 13.8 MBPreparation for the APG meetup at Farnborough with a little history of the area. Title image The Posting House Tumbledown Dick, a watercolour of the pub painted in 1782 by Thomas Rowlandson. Creative commons image licence.
The Sovereign of the Skies
July 02, 2016 17:38 - 16 minutes - 14.7 MBYears before Sully ditched his A320 in the Hudson, Captain Ogg performed a similar feat in his Pan Am Stratocruiser in the open ocean between Honolulu and San Francisco. A remarkable story. Images by William Simpson, US Coast Guard - US Coast Guard Photo, Public Domain.
Miss Tilly’s Orifice
June 25, 2016 17:32 - 6 minutes - 5.93 MBSome history of Farnborough prior to the 2016 Meetup, including the delightful story of Miss Tilly's Orifice! Title image by JAW at English Wikipedia - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
The 6th of June 1944
June 17, 2016 17:26 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBThe first men to land at Normandy on D Day flew in Horsa gliders as part of a daring raid to capture a bridge. This is the remarkable story of their mission. Title image created and released by the Imperial War Museum on the IWM Non Commercial Licence.
An Avon over the Thames
June 10, 2016 16:59 - 14 minutes - 12.9 MBA disgruntled RAF officer flys his Hunter up the Thames and round Parliament before finishing up with a spectacular stunt. Wiki Creative Commons Licence. CC BY-SA 2.5
St. Martin in the Woods
June 04, 2016 01:11 - 14 minutes - 13.1 MBThe story of the quiet hero of a Sabena DC4 crash in a remote part of Newfoundland. US Army Doctor Sam Martin organised one of the first ever helicopter rescues and treated the injured survivors in the most dire of circumstances.
An Interview with Andy Anderson – Part 4
May 31, 2016 01:03 - 11 minutes - 15.8 MBThe final part of the Andy Anderson interview.
An Interview with Andy Anderson – Part 3
May 21, 2016 02:12 - 10 minutes - 9.71 MBNick's conversation with his father continues.
An Interview with Andy Anderson – Part 2
May 12, 2016 02:11 - 13 minutes - 18.5 MBNick's conversation with his father continues.
An Interview with Andy Anderson – Part 1
May 06, 2016 02:09 - 11 minutes - 15.8 MBCapt. Nick's father Andy Anderson talks about his start in aviation.
The Woman Who Flew the V1
April 29, 2016 02:06 - 10 minutes - 14.7 MBThe story of Hanna Reitsch the Nazi test pilot who flew the V1 flying bomb. Image via Wikimedia Commons licence, Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-B02092.
The Last of the Phantoms
April 22, 2016 02:03 - 10 minutes - 13.7 MBNick reads a passage from Ian Black's book The Last of the Phantoms - Nick's Scottish Phantom.
Mt. Fuji and Flight 911
April 16, 2016 02:00 - 13 minutes - 17.9 MBThe crew of a BOAC B707 finds out the hard way how dangerous mountain wave effect can be, as they fly past Mt Fuji in Japan. Image by By Jon Proctor - Gallery page https://www.jetphotos.com
A Tall Story
April 08, 2016 01:43 - 9 minutes - 8.7 MBA new way to look at the sky from an ACME Red Airbus. A story written at the beginning of April!
An Engineer’s Story
April 01, 2016 01:41 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBLost over East Africa, Captain Alcock takes the only course of action available and lands in a narrow river, ripping open the hull of his Imperial Airways flying boat Corsair. This is the story of how a small team of engineers brave the African jungle to repair the aircraft, not once but twice!
Hey Buddy, Can You Give Me a Push?
March 26, 2016 01:37 - 8 minutes - 12.3 MBDuring the Vietnam war, Captain Bob Pardo finds an unusual way to help his buddy after being hit by anti-aircraft fire. Title image, “Pardo’s Push” by S.W. Ferguson
First Corinthians 13:13
March 21, 2016 01:34 - 12 minutes - 17.6 MBThe story of three lone Sea Gladiator biplanes and their brave pilots who defended the besieged island of Malta during WWII.
Flying ‘Round the Egg
March 20, 2016 01:28 - 9 minutes - 12.7 MBA little lesson in basic combat manoeuvres for the budding Phantom pilot.
Death of a Pilot
March 14, 2016 01:25 - 9 minutes - 12.7 MBThe year was 1976 and, for the RAF, it wasn't a good year and it wasn't a bad year. However, in that year the RAF lost 43 aircraft and 27 personnel, one of which was a fellow student.
Tsar Bomba
March 04, 2016 02:09 - 6 minutes - 8.51 MBMajor Andrei Durnovtsev was about to get airborne in his TU95 Bear. Hanging from the white painted aircraft was a 27 Ton monster, the largest nuclear bomb ever devised. It was so vast that he didn't even know if he would survive the explosion when he delivered the Tsar Bomba. The site of the detonation. The Tsar Bomba's fireball which reached 5 miles in diameter. The mushroom cloud of the Tsar Bomba the crown of which reached 45 miles up into the atmosphere. Images under Creati...
Eric “Winkle” Brown
February 28, 2016 16:45 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBA tribute to one of the most remarkable pilots who ever lived. Qualified on 487 types of aircraft he also completed an unmatched 2,407 carrier deck landing... a record that is never likely to be bested.
Taffy Holden’s Lightning
February 13, 2016 16:20 - 5 minutes - 5.35 MBThe RAF Wing Commander who flew a Lightning jet fighter. An unremarkable event except for the fact that he wasn't a pilot! Taffy Holden's Mk1A Lightning XM135 can be seen at the Duxford Aircraft Museum in Cambridgeshire in the UK.
Who Was Joe Gilmore?
January 29, 2016 20:57 - 2 minutes - 2.61 MBThe Moonwalker and Joe Gilmore. The story of how a barman from a London Hotel become involved in the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first men on the moon? 1 measure of grapefruit juice 1 measure of Grand Marina 2 dashes of rose water Shaken well and drained into a wine glass which was then filled with champagne