On the Step with thatmallardguy

By Dan Bolton

Personal Journals Society & Culture Hobbies Aviation

What's On the Step with thatmallardguy about?

On the step is the ultimate one stop podcast for all thing’s floatplanes and flying boats. It’s my mission, to interview people within our industry to get you the most interesting, amazing and relevant stories.

Download our free app to listen on your phone

On the Step with thatmallardguy episodes:

03.31.2024
#72 - Around Australia in a Searey with David and Cathy
Retracing the steps of an historic flight around Australia 100 years ago, David Geers and Cathy Babis are on a journey around our great nation in a Searey Amphibian.
09.04.2023
#71 - Seabee Owner and Former Fighter Pilot Jim Whalley
Jim Whalley is a retired FA-18 hornet pilot, graduate of the Empire Test Pilots School and co-founder of a successful aeronautical industries company Nova Systems. But coolest thing of all, he owns a great example of a Republic Seabee flying...
06.13.2023
#70 - 23yo Aussie Flying Floats in Alaska, Ollie O'Halloran
At just 23 years old, Aussie seaplane pilot Ollie O'Halloran already has a huge amount of experience and is living his best life flying the iconic de Havilland Beaver in the majestic surrounds of the Alaskan Wilderness.
05.31.2023
#69 - John Ramsden and Mallard's, Twin Otters, Buccaneers and the rest!
A self-confessed lucky bugger who answered a phone call back in the early 80’s that changed the direction of his career forever, John Ramsden took that opportunity and has flown seaplanes around the world including both the radial and turbine...
04.08.2022
#68 - Icon A5 Dealer Gary-James Knight
It’s time to get into another fun episode with todays guest, Gary-James Knight. Gary is part of the sales team at Icon aircraft, selling the beautiful A5 two seat flying boat all across America and having an absolute blast while...
04.01.2022
#67 - My wife Jenna Bolton! Helicopter Pilot and Mallard Business Manager
Today's guest is my wife, Jenna. Jenna’s story is a cracker. It’s a story of career changes, adventure, experience and breaking the one rule you set for yourself, don’t date a pilot. I’m certainly glad she broke that one!
03.25.2022
#66 - Gweduck Flying Boat with Walter Fellows
My guest today is Walter Fellows, and he is part of the team involved in the revolutionary Gweduck aircraft. Slightly bigger than a Widgeon, slightly smaller than a Goose, the Gweduck is an all-composite aircraft bringing twin engine flying boats...
03.18.2022
#65 - Katie Cowley's Career So Far
Katie has a great story to share, from her troubled upbringing to making big decisions at an early age, Katie jumped into aviation thanks to her experiences in the snowboarding world!
03.11.2022
#64 - The Turbine Albatross with Amphibian Aerospace Industries CEO Dan Webster
Dan Webster is the CEO of Amphibian Aerospace Industries and has the incredibly challenging but super exciting job of bringing back to life one of the world’s most popular and capable flying boats, the Grumman Albatross.
02.18.2022
#63 - Seaplane Insurance with Ian Tait
Ian Tait is well known and very highly regarded in Australia as the go to man for Aviation Insurance. His company, Aviation Insurance Australia is the country’s leading independent aviation insurance agency providing specialist insurance assistance to a wide range...
02.11.2022
#62 - South Coast Seaplanes Owner Tim Gilbo
Today I speak with South Coast Seaplanes owner, a seaplane flight instructor and all round experienced and great bloke, Tim Gilbo.
01.21.2022
#61 - Aviat Husky Seaplane Dealer Kevin Oaks
Kevin Oaks is an aircraft sales manager whose day job is to show off the incredibly capable Aviat Husky. On both floats and wheels, the Husky is the true adventurer’s aircraft!
01.14.2022
#60 - Old Pilot Bold Pilot Blaine Bjarnarson
Blaine Bjarnarson is another Canadian legend who has over 40 years flying experience on the Twin Otter alone! The Twin Otter has taken Blain to some incredible places around the world, but an adventure into a ground effect vehicle changed...
01.08.2022
#59 - Dr Ben Williams, Private Seaplane Owner
Ben Williams has become a great mate of mine over the last few years here in Darwin. Just being my friend doesn’t mean you get a gig on this show, only people with epic stories do and Ben is one...
08.18.2021
#58 - Flying Boat Film Creator Dirk Braun
The long awaited (especially for seaplane mad people like myself) release of the Flying Boat Film is over after the Movie was released at AirVenture 2021. I have the man behind the film, Dirk Braun on the show to talk...
07.24.2021
#57 - Seaplanes at EAA AirVenture 2021
I speak with Seaplane Pilots Association Executive Director Steve McCaughey about the 2021 EAA AirVenture Airshow from a seaplane aspect and what you can expect to see at this years event.
07.12.2021
#56 - Grumman Widgeon Owner Mike Rutter
Like the majority of the 3 other Grumman Twin Engine Flying boats, the Widgeon is just as rare and unlikely to be seen gracing our skies. That makes Mike Rutter’s restoration of his antique aircraft even more special and one...
06.25.2021
#55 - New Zealand Radial Otter Pilot Steven Newland
Steven Newland has had a career full of adventure, fun and floats. This Kiwi will inspire you to chase your dream and laugh along the way. A true legend of our industry with so much more to come in his...
06.15.2021
#54 - Angle of Attack founder Chris Palmer
Alaskan Chris Palmer is the incredible host behind Angle of Attack, the online ground school that also contains a great following on Instagram, YouTube and a very informative podcast called Aviator Cast.
05.28.2021
#53 - Chalk's Ocean Airways Senior Captain Arthur Campbell
For a Mallard pilot, Chalks is somewhat of a holy grail company, alongside Antilles air boats or the Virgin Island Seaplane Shuttle, or, maybe even Paspaley Aviation. To interview and talk with an ex-chalks pilot was amazing and Arthur Campbell...
05.21.2021
#52 - Mark Muscat: My first floatplane job was at age 49!
Mark Muscat got into seaplane flying and actually just flying in general later in life, getting his first seaplane job at the age of 49. Since then his highlight has definitely been flying the single turbine otter in the paradise...
05.07.2021
#51 - Two Grumman Flying Boats and a FireBoss before age 35: Peter Klein
Not knowing what he wanted to do for a career, Peter Klein knew he wanted to stay close to the coast, so seaplanes made sense... now he is one of the few FireBoss pilots in the world!
02.10.2021
Australian Seaplane Pilot Conference 2021
This April 2021 the Seaplane Pilots Association of Australia is hosting its biannual conference in the beautiful Whitsunday Islands! I speak with SPAA president David Geers about the event including the Mallard Safari.
01.22.2021
#50 - Sydney Seaplanes CEO Aaron Shaw
Aaron Shaw is the CEO of Sydney Seaplanes. He has seen the company develop from a mixed bag of operators competing for clients to one of Australia's leading seaplane operators.
01.15.2021
#49 - 24 year old Caravan Amphib Pilot Alex Fisher
Alex Fisher is a young enthusiastic Seaplane Pilot creating his own opportunities in the industry, after getting into aviation at a very young age.
01.08.2021
#48 - Chief Pilot of the Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures Emma Holdgate
Emma Holdgate is a kiwi born seaplane pilot who is now the chief pilot of arguably Australia’s biggest seaplane operation, Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures.
01.01.2021
#47 - Alaskan Beaver Pilot and Seaplane Instructor Chris Turner
Chris Turner has found his passion in float flying, spending 6 months of the year as a seaplane instructor and the other 6 months bashing around Alaska in a Beaver.
12.25.2020
#46 - Sharks in the Runway Author Paul Harding
For over 20 years, Paul Harding made the paradise of the Bahamas his workplace, flying his Maule floatplane all around the archipelago of islands. He is now retired and has written a book about his life called "Sharks in the...
12.18.2020
#45 - Seawings Dubai founder Peter Groves
Peter Groves is a Canadian seaplane pilot at heart, however due to certain events throughout his career path, Pete went into the airline system, however, he shares with us the story of starting a seaplane company in one of the...
12.11.2020
Seaplane Scares 2
Seaplane Scares! This episode is full of stories from past guests who share a new story about a time they had a scare in a seaplane and what they learnt from the experience.
12.06.2020
Stranded Catalina "Miss Pick Up" now safely back home
6 weeks ago we heard the news of the Catalina flying boat Miss Pick Up being stranded on Loch Ness. Now she is home safe and Matt Dearden is back to update us on how it all went.
12.04.2020
#44 - Seaplane Instructor Abbie Kellett
Abbie Kellett is a seaplane instructor at Jack Browns and is also the co-host of the Seaplane Pilots Association podcast Water Flying.
11.27.2020
#43 - Building a replica 1927 Supermarine S5 Seaplane
A bunch of UK aviation enthusiasts are rebuilding the 1927 Schneider Trophy winning Supermarine S5 seaplane! Hear about their progress and goals with project manager, Will Hosie.
11.20.2020
#42 - Martin Mars Water Scooping Captain Peter Killin
Peter Killin has lived out everybody's dream, flying the enormous WWII era Martin Mars flying boat for over 17 years as a water scooping and fire-bombing captain.
11.13.2020
#41 - CL-415 Water Bombing Captain Al Hymers
Al Hymers is a CL-415 EAF water bombing Captain flying for Bridger Aerospace in Canada and the United States of America. His experience is regarded as some of the best in the family of Canadair water scooping flying boats.
11.06.2020
#40 - Canadian Legend Steve Stackhouse
Steve Stackhouse is a Canadian seaplane legend! His logbook includes the likes of Turbo Beavers, Twin Otters, CL-415 water bombers, and he was even the chief pilot of the Martin Mars operation for a short period. And he loves to...
10.30.2020
#39 - Best of Both Aviation crew Kyler and Brendan
Best of Both Aviation is a concept created by Kyler Nachtigall and Brendan Kochanski. These best mates are both starting their careers in aviation, one going down the seaplane route, the other going down the wheeled plane route.
10.27.2020
Update on broken Catalina "Miss Pick Up" with Matt Dearden
Last week the seaplane world heard the news that one of the last Catalina Flying Boats "Miss Pick Up" was stuck on Loch Ness Scotland lake now requiring an engine change. Co-owner Matt Dearden joins me to share an update...
10.23.2020
#38 - Beaver's, Twin Otter's and B747's?! Steve Pemberton's story so far
From Maldivian Twin Otter float flying to the Queen of the skies and now back to floats as the Chief Pilot of Air Whitsunday, Steve Pemberton shares stories from his incredible aviation career so far.
10.16.2020
#37 - Australian FireBoss Pilot Craig Patton
Spending most of his career as an agricultural pilot, Craig Patton turned his low flying spraying skills into those required to fight fires on the Air Tractor FireBoss!
10.09.2020
#36 - Cessnateur's 10 most Unique Seaplanes
Jason McDowell runs arguably the most interesting Instagram page around (@cessnateur), when it comes to unique aircraft content. On episode 36, he shares his top 10 most unique seaplanes in history! The list will blow you away!
10.02.2020
#35 - Fire Bossing in Sweden with Eder Navacerrada
Eder Navacerrada grew up in Spain and was exposed to fire bombing flying thanks to his father from a very young age. He is now helping out Sweden with their fire efforts flying the incredible Fire Boss!
09.25.2020
#34 - Chad Banfield's seaplane career
Chad Banfield is one of the guys I have worked with most in my career. HIs seaplane journey has taken him from Beaver's and Caravan's to Ag Cat floatplanes and Turbine Mallards. Chad shares his aviation career to date.
09.18.2020
#33 - We SURVIVED Gear Down Water Landings
On this episode, I have two guests on to share their accounts of being inside an amphibian seaplane when it lands with the gear down on the water. One as a passenger, one as the pilot flying. You won't stop...
09.11.2020
#32 - Tropic Ocean Airways Pilot Joshua Maddox
Joshua Maddox thought he would go down the route of most pilots, joining the airlines. But the dream of flying seaplanes was too big and now Josh calls Florida based seaplane operator Tropic Ocean Airways his career job.
09.04.2020
#31 - Jack Brown's Seaplane Base President Ben Shipps
Jack Brown's Seaplane Base is one of the worlds most popular seaplane training facilities! Forming in 1963 and training over 25,000 pilots, Ben Shipps joins me to talk all about the company and his own incredible journey.
08.28.2020
#30 - DC-3 floatplanes with Jakob McKenney
Jakob McKenney is an aviation enthusiast who is writing a book all about the history of DC-3 and C-47 floatplanes and shares his knowledge about the unique amphibian.
08.25.2020
#29 - President of the Seaplane Pilots Association Steve McCaughey
Steve McCaughey, President of the Seaplane Pilots Association joins me to talk all about the organisations efforts to a safer seaplane flying community, as well as his own seaplane journey in his long career.
08.21.2020
#28 - My own story with a guest host!
I got asked by a past guest to share my own story, and he put up his hand to be my guest host! Hear all about my career flying floats and how I became a captain on the Turbine Grumman...
08.18.2020
#27 - Grumman Goose pilot Connor Doucette from Wilderness Seaplanes
Wilderness Seaplanes operates three Grumman Goose flying boats in Port Hardy, Canada. As a kid, Connor Doucette dreamed of flying the Goose and now he does, following in not only his Dad's steps, but also his Grandfathers!

What's On the Step with thatmallardguy about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

On the Step with thatmallardguy episodes:

#72 - Around Australia in a Searey with David and Cathy

#71 - Seabee Owner and Former Fighter Pilot Jim Whalley

#70 - 23yo Aussie Flying Floats in Alaska, Ollie O'Halloran

#69 - John Ramsden and Mallard's, Twin Otters, Buccaneers and the rest!

#68 - Icon A5 Dealer Gary-James Knight

#67 - My wife Jenna Bolton! Helicopter Pilot and Mallard Business Manager

#66 - Gweduck Flying Boat with Walter Fellows

#65 - Katie Cowley's Career So Far

#64 - The Turbine Albatross with Amphibian Aerospace Industries CEO Dan Webster

#63 - Seaplane Insurance with Ian Tait

#62 - South Coast Seaplanes Owner Tim Gilbo

#61 - Aviat Husky Seaplane Dealer Kevin Oaks

#60 - Old Pilot Bold Pilot Blaine Bjarnarson

#59 - Dr Ben Williams, Private Seaplane Owner

#58 - Flying Boat Film Creator Dirk Braun

#57 - Seaplanes at EAA AirVenture 2021

#56 - Grumman Widgeon Owner Mike Rutter

#55 - New Zealand Radial Otter Pilot Steven Newland

#54 - Angle of Attack founder Chris Palmer

#53 - Chalk's Ocean Airways Senior Captain Arthur Campbell

#52 - Mark Muscat: My first floatplane job was at age 49!

#51 - Two Grumman Flying Boats and a FireBoss before age 35: Peter Klein

Australian Seaplane Pilot Conference 2021

#50 - Sydney Seaplanes CEO Aaron Shaw

#49 - 24 year old Caravan Amphib Pilot Alex Fisher

#48 - Chief Pilot of the Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures Emma Holdgate

#47 - Alaskan Beaver Pilot and Seaplane Instructor Chris Turner

#46 - Sharks in the Runway Author Paul Harding

#45 - Seawings Dubai founder Peter Groves

Seaplane Scares 2

Stranded Catalina "Miss Pick Up" now safely back home

#44 - Seaplane Instructor Abbie Kellett

#43 - Building a replica 1927 Supermarine S5 Seaplane

#42 - Martin Mars Water Scooping Captain Peter Killin

#41 - CL-415 Water Bombing Captain Al Hymers

#40 - Canadian Legend Steve Stackhouse

#39 - Best of Both Aviation crew Kyler and Brendan

Update on broken Catalina "Miss Pick Up" with Matt Dearden

#38 - Beaver's, Twin Otter's and B747's?! Steve Pemberton's story so far

#37 - Australian FireBoss Pilot Craig Patton

#36 - Cessnateur's 10 most Unique Seaplanes

#35 - Fire Bossing in Sweden with Eder Navacerrada

#34 - Chad Banfield's seaplane career

#33 - We SURVIVED Gear Down Water Landings

#32 - Tropic Ocean Airways Pilot Joshua Maddox

#31 - Jack Brown's Seaplane Base President Ben Shipps

#30 - DC-3 floatplanes with Jakob McKenney

#29 - President of the Seaplane Pilots Association Steve McCaughey

#28 - My own story with a guest host!

#27 - Grumman Goose pilot Connor Doucette from Wilderness Seaplanes