MAVGEEKS: A Military Aircraft Obsession

Got an obsession with aircraft that’s impossible to contain? Worried you might be as maniacal about big metal birds as that bloke that sat on a car park by Heathrow Airport filming everything during that storm? Power down your radar, you’ve arrived! MavGeeks: A Military Aircraft Obsession is back and bigger then ever for series 5! Join Gini Carlin, Jamie Gordon and another load of their aviation mates for the lowdown on history’s most iconic flying machines with the real-life superheroes who fly them.

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We want to hear your aviation tale! Reach out at [email protected]. 

This International Women's Day, our Gini takes to the skies with none other than the decorated Colonel Kim Campbell. The pair trace Kim's extensive career, from a storied 24-year stint in the American Air Force flying the A-10 Thunderbolt (AKA the Warthog) to her success as a keynote speaker and author in the present day. Happy International Women's Day!

To tie a knot on this fourth series of MavGeeks, Gini and Jamie come good on a promise they made way back in one of its earliest episodes. That's right, they've tracked down Llewis Ingamells, Chief Pilot of the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance! Llewis was incredibly generous with his time and wisdom, imparting reams of insider knowledge on this fascinating, daring and ultimately unsung world of heroic work.

Lincs and Notts, like your local Air Ambulance service, exists thanks to generous donations! To donate, head to https://www.ambucopter.org.uk/.

We want to hear your aviation tale, what you made of our fourth series, and the flying machines you want us to cover in our fifth! Get in touch via [email protected], and feel free to leave us a glowing review.

This week, Gini joins Jamie from her new Canadian digs for an otherwise classic slice of MavGeeks. Earlier this year, the pair managed to pin down ex-Harrier pilot turned author Chris Burwell for a three-person natter about fast jet flight, Chris' excellent book "Nine Lives: The Compelling Memoir of a Cold War Harrier Pilot", and that fabled awkward moment in which one's required to exit an aircraft a little early...

As winter hits hard and we weather enough storms with names to crew an Avro Lancaster, Gini and Jamie take a look back on (marginally) sunnier times and climes in this RIAT retrospective. Gini was at the Royal International Air Tattoo in July with a microphone and a mission: chat to as many pilots as possible. She caught up with aircrew of the B52, the F15, the “Weatherbird” WC130-J, and loads more; even the elusive Lockheed U-2.

Jamie’s in the cockpit today for a long-overdue natter with Mandy Hickson. Rightly described by Gini as a “Queen of the skies”, Mandy’s a decorated Tornado GR-4 pilot with over 30 years of aviation experience, three tours of duty and 45 missions over Iraq to her name. After leaving the RAF, she authored the 2020 bestseller “An Officer, Not A Gentleman”. Jamie got the scoop on her fascinating, varied career.

This week, we celebrate spooky season! First, Gini catches up with Richard Craig, keen aviator and ghost tour guide at the UK's most haunted castle, Chillingham. Richard shares all manner of hair-raising aviation tales, as does Rachel Parsons of the Retford Ghost Hunters. When they spoke last year, Rachel told Gini all about a recent encounter with RAF Metheringham's resident apparition, the Metheringham Lass. Gini gets an update on that spookiest of aviators, and much, much more. Happy Halloween!

Introducing Near Death, a brand-new podcast from BFBS Creative. How do you come back from the brink? A close encounter with a body bag, an out-of-body experience or a flight through a wall of fire. Some people know what it’s like to come back from death’s door. Near Death explores some of the darkest stories of human survival. Follow now and never miss an episode at bfbs.com/neardeath, or your favourite podcast platform.

We’re feeling smug this week as Gini Carlin blasts off for an out-of-this-world chat with Britain’s first “official” astronaut Tim Peake! The pair touched on everything from common misconceptions around spacewalking, to deceptively huge characters in the otherwise serious world of space exploration, to Tim’s brand new book: Space: The Human Story.

It’s back to basics this week for a nuts-and-bolts Mavs classic. Our Jamie was lucky enough to be offered a guided tour of the iconic Avro Shackleton by none other than Squadron Leader Retired Brian Withers MBE; the very one he flew on, in fact! Jamie learned all about this giant of the sky and the curious foibles that come with it.