Xtended

In this episode, we welcome back award-winning author Mark Piesing who has recently attended the inaugural UK Space Power Conference.

From satellite communications and navigation to intelligence, missile warning and the ability to launch payloads into orbit when required, the UK’s future in space is now a serious national-security and industrial question. 

Mark discusses what he observed and whether the UK is finally beginning to treat space as a strategic domain in its own right.

In this episode, we welcome back historian and author Robert Forsyth, whose newbook ‘The Luftwaffe’s Mavericks: Jagdverband 44’ reveals the story behind thisextraordinary squadron the ace pilots, the new ME262 jet and their role towardsthe end of World War Two.

Drawing on conversations with Adolf Galland and the men who flew alongside him, Robert also interviewed the American crews they attacked bringing an independent analysis of this unique unit.

We talk about the Me 262, the pilots learning to fight in it, the bitter disputes that brought them together and what they achieved inthe final weeks of the...

In this episode of Aviation Xtended, we welcome back Matt Falcus the person behind AirportSpotting.com, one of the best-known websites for anyone who enjoys airports, airliners and the ever-changing world of commercial aviation. 

Matt is an aviation writer, author, private pilot and the creator of the Airport Spotting Guides series, 

He’s spent more than two decades travelling to airports around the world in search of interesting aircraft, new routes and the best places to watch the action. 

He just returned from Oshkosh, so couldn’t miss the chance to see what a Brit...

In this episode of Aviation Xtended, we welcome back Grant McHerron and Steve Visscher from the excellent Plane Crazy Down Under podcast. Grant is also the host for the Australian Defence Magazine podcast. 

Australia has always mattered in aviation and defence, but over the past couple of years it has become much more visible on the world stage. From AUKUS and submarines to long-range strike, autonomous aircraft, maritime surveillance and the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific region, there is a great deal going on.

Grant and Steve share with us, what this means, how aerospace c...

In this episode of Aviation Xtended, we talk to Helen Webb about the new UK airshow – The Hampshire Air Festival at Thruxton Aerodrome, 12th & 13th September 2026.

Something for everyone – A family event with a full air display, dusk flying display and an evening drone show (on Saturday). 

Key for aviation enthusiasts is a unique flying display that faces north for great photography opportunities. (The Mig 17-F will be flying at dusk so watch out for that afterburner)!

There is also a business networking event on the Friday (11th September) at Thruxton, whilst aircraft are a...

In this episode of Aviation Xtended, we talk to Lindsay Rumbold about aviation thriller, Banshee. It is a cracking Cold War story with the Vulcan very much at its heart. Its part aviation, part mystery and part spy thriller.

Lindsay talks about her love of the V-bombers, why the Vulcan was the right aircraft for this tale. We also explore how she went about making the flying, the people and the period feel so believable.

We also get into the often-overlooked world of the engineers, fitters and ground crews, the people who make the aircraft...

In this episode we take you behind the scenes of one of the Fleet Air Arm Museum’s most important restoration projects - the return of Fairey Barracuda DP872.

During a special visit to the museum, Pieter teams up with Dave Homewood from the Wings Over New Zealand podcast to explore the latest progress on the aircraft, which remains the world’s only surviving Barracuda.

Joining us are Dave Morris and Will Gibbs from the Fleet Air Arm Museum restoration team, who share an update on the work taking place inside the workshop.

From...

Jonathan “Jonny” McNee BEM is an aviation historian and military aviation archaeologist from Northern Ireland whose work has literally brought lost Second World War aircraft (and their stories) back into the light.

Drawing on years of research and licensed excavations, he has helped uncover wartime aircraft that came down over Northern Ireland and along the Irish border.

His aviation work is voluntary and fits around a demanding day job as a Senior Marine Officer.

 In this episode, we talk with Jonny about what aviationarchaeology looks like. He explains how licensed digs are planned and c...

In this episode Pieter steps away from our usual format to introduce Constant Endeavour – RAF Coastal Command, the first ebook and audiobook to emerge from the podcast.

He reflects on why the team has been quieter on the main feed, and how turning episodic content into a complete story offers a different way to explore the air war at sea.

He also explains how the long-running Coastal Command series developed into a full narrative, drawing on years of conversations with historians, authors, and researchers who followed Coastal Command from the Battle of the Atlantic through th...

In this episode of Aviation Xtended, host Pieter Johnson is joined by Bob Davy and Keith Wilson, authors of 'Warbirds to Workhorses'.

Together, they explore aviation beyond the headlines, following the journey of the book from iconic warbirds to the quieter, often overlooked aircraft that shape everyday flying.

The conversation looks at judgement, workload, and the human realities of operating and photographing aircraft across very different eras.

Rather than chasing heroics, Bob and Keith reflect on what these aeroplanes really teach you once the romance fades and why honest storytelling matters in aviation...

The Xtended team welcomes back historian and author Jane Gulliford Lowes to discuss her latest book, The Invisible Campaign: Bomber Command Gardening Operations 1940–1945, with host Pieter Johnson.

Drawing on Air Ministry and Admiralty archives, squadron records and veteran testimony, Jane reveals how RAF Bomber Command’s aerial minelaying campaign (codenamed“gardening”) quietly sank or damaged hundreds of Axis ships and in fact destroyed more tonnage of enemy shipping than direct air attack. Yet it remains one of the least understood aspects of the air war.​

In this episode, Pieter and Jane explore why mining operations were devel...

We talk to Rod Dean about ‘Fifty Years of Flying Fun’ which covers his half-century career in the air, from joining the RAF in 1962 to his work as a general aviation and airshow pilot.

Over his career Rod logged more than 7,000 hours on 59 different types of aircraft, including military jets like the Hunter and Jaguar, as well as vintage planes such as the Spitfire.

This is a fascinating reflection from flying fast jets through to warbirds.

For full show notes visits www.aviation-xtended.co.uk

Colonel Mike Mullane flew three Space Shuttle missions as a Mission Specialist and is a retired US Air Force weapon systems operator, flying 134 combat missions in Vietnam. 

He wrote the award-winning children's book Liftoff and the outrageously amusing and often times tragic “Riding Rockets”. 

He is a speaker on leadership, teamwork, and safety. He uses his experiences to explain the "normalisation of deviance," the tendency to take shortcuts and accept lower standards under pressure. 

Listen to Gareth’s interview with Mike, on the best and sadly some of the tragic elements of being a Space S...

This is a moving interview with Earl Moorhouse, crash survivor and author.

‘Wake Up, It’s A Crash – The Survivors’ Stories’ is his account of the world’s first Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet disaster, in November 1974.

For full show notes, visit:

www.xtended.co.uk

In this episode, Tim talks to Award-winning aviation historian Victoria Taylor about her new book ‘Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain’.

Recorded 9th April 2025

For full show notes and imagery please visit https://aviation-xtended.co.uk/

In this episode we have Mike Napier back to talk about his latest book ‘Over Cold War Seas - NATO and Soviet Naval Aviation, 1949–89’ - a fascinating review of Cold War naval aviation.

Mike shares his approach to the topic, explains the evolution of naval technology and how the conflicting cold war scenario’s lead to new evolving aviation developments.

And, of course there are aircraft galore. Some new, some well known and some not so well known or successful! predominantly in the northern hemisphere.

Recorded 8th May 2025

Buy a copy from the...

In this episode, we look at how aviation and aerospace items are converted to art and furniture pieces, and we welcome Stuart Abbot, the founder of Stu Art Furniture. 

Stuart trained as an Airframe Engineer in the RAF working on the Tornado F3. After leaving the RAF he continued as an airframe engineer with several international airlines and started Stu Art Furniture in 2012. 

His products are all hand-made and original and more affordable than some recent market entrants copying the model.  His pieces are shipped all around the world and Stuart has appeared on TV mul...

First flying in 1954, some 71 years ago, the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules has become a iconic aviation legend.

Beginning as a military transport, it has evolved into otherroles, including gunship, weather research, special operations, firefighting and more – and it is still in production today.

We talk to former RAF C-130 pilot Scott Bateman about ‘Hercules – First in, Last Out’ and the men and womenof the tightly knit Herc Force and its incredible history. 

 Scott Bateman MBE is an aviation professional, TV producer/presenter and ex-RAF Loadmaster and C-130 captain with 47 Sqn. Hercules will be out in pap...

Since its formation in 1957 the Army Air Corps has played a prominent role in almost every British Army operation. We get to talk to the authors of ‘Ops Normal Volume 1, The Authorised Operational History of the Army Air Corps, 1957-2017’ and they take us through the evolution of the Corps, how it was founded and its theatres of operations during this time.

Mike Peters is a former Army Air Corps soldier and officer, serving both as Groundcrew and as an Air Door Gunner. During his 34 years in the Corps, he served in Northern Ireland, Cypr...

Air Marshal ‘Black’ Robertson CBE BA FRAeS FRSA flew all the RAF’s front-line fast jets and also qualified as a helicopter pilot.

Now retired, he also completed five tours in Whitehall, which he describes as his time as a ‘Whitehall Warrior’. He is a well published author, including ’Fighters in the Blood’, ‘A Spitfire Named Connie’ and ‘From Spitfires to Vampires and Beyond’.

Today ‘Black’ joins us to talk about his latest book, ‘Flying through the Ranks: The Extraordinary Experiences of Airmen to Air Marshals from the Cold War to the Gulf’, his own flying experiences and how he...

Garth Barnard joins us to talk about his work cataloguing Bomber Command OTUs during WWII around central England. 

Aerodromes such as RAF Barford St John, RAF Bicester, RAF Chipping Warden, RAF Croughton, RAF Finmere, RAF Hinton-in-the-Hedges, RAF Silverstone, RAF Turweston and RAF Upper Heyford.

Training crews flew aircraft such as the Hampden, Blenheim, Wellington, Mosquito and Boston.  Sadly, there were over 400 aircraft losses within a 15-mile radius of Brackley. 

Recorded 3rd September 2024

For full show notes please visit:

https://avia...

A new biography is being written on Claude Grahame-White. One that this will give more depth to the story behind the man who was a British aviation legend in his time and one who was sadly downtrodden and outcast by the government of the day.

Joining us is Alison White who has taken on the task of correcting the historical record and resetting our perception of the man 

Recorded 7th August 2024 

Contact Us: [email protected]

For full show notes ple...

Although we finished the main content of the Cold War Coastal Command series in the last chapter, a story emerged that we just couldn’t resist. 

Stephen Bridgewater, Deputy Editor for Aerospace Magazine and good friend of the show mentioned that he had in fact purchased an RAF Nimrod directly from the RAF back in 2010.

After Steve’s story, Gareth joins the feature as he was there the day XV232 arrived in Coventry.

Recorded 29th July 2024 

Contact Us: [email protected]

For full show notes...

In our final Chapter of the Cold War Coastal Command series, we are honoured to speak to Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge, KCB, CBE, ADC, FCMI, FRAeS.

Sir Brian takes us not only through flying the Nimrod and Nimrod operations in the Cold War period, but also explains how the Nimrod was used strategically in theatres such as the Falklands War, Operation Telic and the Iraq War, as well as drug running in the Caribbean. This feature is a fitting conclusion to the Cold War Coastal Command series and a real insight to the s...

Nimrod XV250 is based at the Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington near York. She was dedicated by the Archbishop of York to stand as a permanent tribute to the 14 British servicemen killed in Afghanistan when Nimrod XV230 crashed near Kandahar in September 2006.

Her team of volunteers keep her in a ground running condition to remember all Aircrew and Groundcrew who served on "The Kipper Fleet".

Ken Bannister joins me today to talk about The Maid of Moray, his RAF career with the Nimrod and to help us better understand the Nimrods capabilities as an Anti-Submarine...

The Shackleton replacement now started to become more urgent.

For years the Air Staff and Ministries had argued over what type should replace the Shackleton, including variants of the Vulcan, Britannia, VC10 and Trident, before settling for the Nimrod in 1964

We return to Chris Gibson, author of the brilliant book 'Nimrod’s Genesis' to learn how the process unfolded.

Recorded 19th June 2024

Contact Us: [email protected]

You can buy a copy of 'Nimrod's Genesis' and help both Xtended and local UK Books...

There is a Shackleton that still ‘Growls’ and this chapter features Shackleton MR2 WR963, currently based at Coventry but with a major project underway to move her to Elvington and the Yorkshire Air Museum.

We speak to Richard Woods the driving force behind the project all about the aircraft and how to engineer the airframe when very few original engineers are still with us.

Recorded 25th July 2024

Contact Us: [email protected]

Shackleton WR693

·         Facebook https://www.facebook.com/avro.shackleton/

·         GoFundMe Shackleton WR963 move to...

In this feature we talk to Ian Chisolm, Secretary of the Coastal Command and Maritime Air Association, about the RAF’s Avro Shackleton.

Ian logged over 3,000 hours as an Air Electronics Officer (AEO) in charge of a team of five SNCO Air Electronics Operators who manned the Radio, Radar and Underwater Acoustics systems as well as the 20mm Hispano cannons fitted in the nose turret and the pyrotechnics launchers for the night illumination system.

Hear what it was like on those long, arduous, noisy missions in the ‘Old Grey Lady’.

Recorded 7th July 2024

...

At the end of World War Two RAF Coastal Command faced the same challenges of all the British military services, one of reduction, cutbacks and a return to a peaceful world.

The threat from the axis powers had been effectively squashed but there was a new threat emerging, in the form of the Soviet Union.

 Coastal Command had to start learning about new adversaries once again, adapting and performing immediately, to protect British interests initially in the northern Atlantic, but rapidly elsewhere.

 For almost 60 Cold War years, the RAF relied heavily on two ai...

Ever wondered how you go about marketing one of the worlds premier airshows, an air display act, or an airport?

Helen Webb, Founder and Director at International Airshow Marketing, joins us to tell us how it all fits together.

Recorded 30th July 2024

Contact Us: ⁠[email protected]⁠ 

Xtended Link Tree https://linktr.ee/aviationxtended

Contact Xtended: [email protected]

International Airshow Marketing

We speak to the inspirational founder of Elevate(Her), Katherine Maloney. Katherine eloquently speaks up for a more diverse workforce across the aviation sector.

Elevate(Her) is growing exponentially due to the demand for the work they do, encouraging, nurturing and assisting the future generations of aviation employees.

Recorded 18th July 2024

 Contact Us: ⁠[email protected]⁠ 

Xtended Link Tree https://linktr.ee/aviationxtended

Contact Xtended: [email protected]

Elevate(Her)

We talk to Chris Wroblewski and Garth Barnard about their in depth investigation of the 1943 B-24 Liberator crash, that killed Polish General Sikorski and dispel the myths and conspiracies around assassination or accident being the cause.

 Recorded 4th June 2024

Contact Us: [email protected]

You can buy a copy of the book at our bookshop making a small donation to local bookshops and helping out Xtended https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11161/9781911667902

Sabotage

Grubstreet Book https://grubstreet.co.uk/product/sabotage/     Audiobook https://www.a...

The Xtended team finally all assemble to talk about 200 episodes of the podcast, recent sad news from the aviation world, Ellie's trip to Normandy for the D-Day 80th commemorations and more.

Believe it or not, this is the first time all four members of the team have managed to record together - hopefully we will do it again soon!

Recorded 3rd June 2024

 Contact Us: ⁠[email protected]⁠ 

Xtended Link Tree https://linktr.ee/aviationxtended

Contact Xtended: [email protected]

This episode is dedicated to Sqn Leader...

Amanda Harrison has always wanted to recreate the footsteps of Amy Johnson, flying solo in a Tiger Moth from the UK to Darwin, Australia in just 20 Days.

Listen in as she tells us the tale of the attempt and how things unfolded. From Dracula’s Castle to Mediterranean wonders!

Although a professional pilot, Amanda is also dyslexic, an additional challenge in planning and executing this journey.

Recorded 24th May 2024

 Contact Us: [email protected]

 Please leave us a review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your podcast playing app. Here...

Mick Oakey, Robert Forsyth and Chris Gibson come back to the History Round Table to answer listener questions. We discuss what books do not get written, what they would love to read, their proudest work and what do they think about graphics and photos in books and articles.

Along with advice for budding aviation authors this is an enjoyable roundtable that book enthusiasts and those interested in aviation history will enjoy.

Oh and there are a few outtakes right at the end!

Recorded 23rd April 2024

...

There is a new podcast focused on RAF Bomber Command in World War Two hosted by Writer and Military Historian Jane Gulliford Lowes and Historian and co host James Jefferies. It is of course 'Never Mind The Dambusters'! 

In this, our landmark 200th episode, we get the opportunity to talk to Jane and James about Bomber Command and the challenges the aircrews faced in their multi tasked environment. We share views of the aircraft, the people and the effects of their activities. It is an insight and sometimes personal look at Bomber Command.  

Samuel de Korte is a graduate student of Utrecht University, where he studied an MA in the Cultural History of Modern Europe.

He wrote his Master's thesis about the representation of black Americans during the Second World War, indicating that although they formed a substantial part of the American armed forces, they don't receive an equal share in the representation in contemporary media.

His new book ‘Tuskegee Airmen - Dogfighting with the Luftwaffe and Jim Crow’ is published by Pen and Sword. 

We focus o...

Finalising our focus on how the use of AI, data and machine learning is changing the sector, we are joined by Andy Taylor, the Chief Solutions Officer at NATS.  

NATS it is the UK's leading provider of air traffic control services as well as providing air traffic services to airports, airlines, air traffic service providers and governments across parts of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. 

Recorded 27th March 2024  

Contact Us: [email protected]  

NATS 

Web https://www.nats.aero/  

Podcast https...

In 2023 Dave Homewood from the Wings Over New Zealand podcast visited the UK to record and document Kiwi aviation involvement in World War Two by visiting some of our historic aircraft, museums, airfields and memorials.  

Dave is returning in 2024 but with a slightly different agenda. We caught up with Dave as he planned the return ‘Wings Over Britain’ visit. 

Recorded 19th March 2024  

Contact Us: [email protected]  

Wings over Britain  

Wings Over New Zealand show - https://cambridgeairforce.org.nz/WONZShow/  

WONZ 276 – Wings...

Steven Bailey discovered that the story of the U.S. Navy airstrikes on Japanese-held Hong Kong during the final year of World War II had never been told.

Operation Gratitude involved nearly 100 U.S. Navy warships and close to a thousand planes.

His new book ‘Target Hong Kong’ brings this massive operation down to a human scale, recounting the air raids through the experiences of seven men whose lives intersected at Hong Kong in January 1945. 

Steven joins us to share the story and help us better understand the Operation, its people and it...