The Bearded Pilot Podcast

"Aerotiques is a labour of love.  Founded by Daren Hales and Darren Lewington in 2016, Aerotiques' aim is to bring the art of aviation into your life."

In this episode I got a chance to sit down and chat with one half of the team behind the Aerotique company, Darren Lewington and I was lucky enough to chat about his background in aviation, the flying that he's accomplished and ultimately the story behind the business and how these phenomenal creations are brought to life.

We talk about where some of these aviation parts are sourced, the meticulous polishing required to achieve the mirror shine, the customers who request specific pieces and its clear to see just how passionate Darren is behind the idea.

From their website
"The duo quickly combined their passion for aviation and flair for design and set about sourcing a supply of materials and components to transform into aviation art and practical furniture.  The concept isn't entirely new, with 'upcycling' being the buzzword in design at the moment, but Aerotiques seeks to produce unique, bespoke pieces combining the sleek, flowing aerodynamic lines of aircraft components with the highest quality materials to produce a wide range of exceptional quality objects suitable for all budgets and locations

From large, boardroom centrepieces, through functional furniture to simple, aviation-themed gifts, the pair want the end user to enjoy the products as much as they enjoy creating them.  Daren H says; "Sourcing, repairing and preparing our pieces is very time consuming.  We want that work that goes into them to inspire our clients."  

Darren L added; "Almost anything aeronautical will have clean, sleek, aerodynamic lines and our aim is to take those iconic shapes and bring them into our clients' homes and businesses.  Saving old aeroplanes, otherwise destined for scrap, means the beauty of flight will live on."

Recycling old aeroplanes is probably one of the most environmentally friendly things you can do.  The irony of the fact our pieces come from aircraft - not generally known for their green credentials - is not lost on us.  Wherever possible, we try to use recycled packing materials to ship our pieces too and we encourage you to do the same!"

If you’re interested in finding out more about Aerotiques, head over to their website at www.aerotiques.co.uk, or find them on Facebook and Instagram

In this episode, I talk about how my flight instruction course has gone. Did I pass my assessment of competence? Am I now an instructor? What were my expectations? Was I truly ready for the course and find out about my new found respect and admiration for my fellow instructors.

I was also joined by my brother Matthew who had some insightful questions about what I do for a living. Will he come flying with me again?

As always I would love to hear from you all, if you would also like to be a part of the next episode head over to thebeardedpilot.com and get in touch with me there or over on Instagram @goughythepilot.

Hello All,

Welcome to episode eight of The Bearded Pilot Podcast. In this episode I was lucky enough to have a sit down chat with Paddy and Sarah and have them explain to me what Helipaddy is and how it came about. Its a great story!

Below I have broken down the show into the different segments, so if there is a particular part of the show you want to head straight over to, then you can follow these time stamps and get there immediately. 

Intro - 00:23
What is Helipaddy - 04:46
How many sites? - 08:45
2020 plan - 10:06
Availability of Helipaddy - 10:34
Using Helipaddy - 13:50
How has Helipaddy changed helicopter pre-flight planning - 18:00
The community - 21:40
Ethiopia story - 22:43
Helipaddy accuracy of helicopter sites - 30:06
Social sharing of landing sites -32:32 
Skydemon integration - 34:55
Future of Helipaddy - 36:21
It's more than a database - 40:05
Job market & a community forum - 42:05
Join the Helipaddy community - 43:05
I get interviewed - 44:08
COUPON CODE - 46:36

As always, Thank You all for listening, we have reached our 1000 listener mark which is phenomenal achievement and quite simply this wouldn't have happened had it not been for my guests and you as my listeners to continue to download and enjoy the show!

Join me in the next one! Bye Bye!

Welcome back all,

In this episode I have a sit down chat with Rachel Ramsay. She is a freelance copywriter and has numerous published pieces of work all over the place. If you're a fan of the show, i'm suspecting that you may also read Pilot magazine and Flyer magazine, a place where you can find some of Rachel's work.

Rachel was kind enough to go through the history of where she started to get the bug for flying and how it all lead to the world of helicopters. 

First off, WOW!

This one was a real treasure to put together. A work colleague knew Charlie and recommended I get in touch to get him on the show. 

Charlie was more than happy to oblige and with us both having very busy schedules we finally found a day where both I was free and Charlie was up in Coventry working on the project. 

In this episode I get a one to one with Charlie himself talking all about the project and you can see just how enthusiastic he is about the whole thing. He is profoundly passionate about getting this right and having a completed aircraft brought back to her original glory. Its transpired that the team have missed deadlines in the past, not through lack of anything, but rather a desire to get everything as perfect as humanly possible. Deadlines simply dont work with that ethos and boy are they doing it right. 

After my interview with Charlie, Neil shows me around the inside of the machine talking to me about what it would have been like back when she was flying her missions and gives me a real insight into the history of the C-47. Finally Charlie then gives me the exterior walk around of the C-47 which was fantastic to get an insight into the level of detail the team are working to, and sharing some great stories along the way.

Check out the extra show notes over at thebeardedpilot.com where I have shared a number of photos from the day out at Coventry Airport. 

Hey, what is up guys! 

This episode is a little off topic/schedule.

I have been working incredibly hard the last few weeks on getting my Flight Instructor course completed. It has involved a huge tonne of work, revision of old notes and preparation for flights etc and that's drawn me away from the editing of my episodes that I have already in the pipeline for you. 

As such, rather than rush out work that I'm not 100% happy with, I thought it'd be cool to give you an update with whats new, where I am currently and what I have ready in the coming weeks as well as what I have planned with "others" in the coming months. 

Don't forget to check me out online at thebeardedpilot.com and on Instagram @goughythepilot. Please if you're enjoying the content, it'd be awesome if you can share it, please give me a rating on iTunes and get in touch!

As always, fly safe and i'll see you in the next one! BYE BYE!

Well hello and welcome to episode five! In this episode I chat to a very good friend of mine, Henry. 

Henry has been on the helicopter scene, so to speak, for the last 18 months and in that time Henry's been around the block, gained tonnes of experience and is well on his way to completing his Commercial Pilot Licence. In this episode I catch up with Henry talking about his flying experiences, the aircrafts he's flown so far, the trips we've done together and find out how he's getting on with his ATPL exams. 

With me reaching the fifth episode of The Bearded Pilot Podcast, I just want to thank all of you so far who have listened to the show and those who have commented or engaged in anyway on the episodes. I've loved the messages you've sent me showing your love and support for the show. I must admit, I did not expect the show to grow as fast as it has done, with it currently sitting at No.6 in the UK aviation podcast charts.

Remember, if you would like to be a part of an episode, whether flying related or not, I want to hear from you. In the future I hope to hold a LIVE podcast episode where I will have a number of guests on the show, talking all sorts in an effort to raise some money for charity so please stay tuned for this great project to come.

Furthermore, I will soon be releasing my first set of Bearded Pilot t-shirts in the store section of the website which will be officially open for business real soon! 

In this episode I was lucky enough to be invited to speak to Richard, the owner of G-LIKK, a Robinson R66 with quite simply an amazing paint scheme.

Rich was kind enough to invite me into his home and just talk helicopters, flying in the UK and into Europe and get the low down on the paint scheme that just cannot be ignored.

Once you've listened to the show and want to find out more on Rich's R66 and to see what he's been up to, please head over to Instagram and follow him @g_likk. Here's the link https://www.instagram.com/g_likk/  

This one's a bit of an impromptu episode. As many may know already and new pilots will soon learn. Many of your flights will come with very short notice. As a commercial pilot you’re at the mercy of the bookings that come your way and as a private pilot you’re mainly at the mercy of the weather. This predicament came about Thursday evening. It transpired that the best weather we were due to have for the next 3 or 4 days was going to be tomorrow, the Friday. This meant heading to collect the aircraft in the car, check over everything you need to paperwork wise, check weather, check NOTAMS, check airfield closures and off we go.  

In this episode we chat to PPL(H) holder and regular flyer, Bill Gilkison. Bill's a great friend of mine who loves nothing more than to talk all about flying. We chat about his flying experiences, lessons he's learnt over the years and he shares with us some of his pictures from his trips. 

Remember to follow me on Instagram and see what I'm up to. Remember if you wish to be included in a future episode, please contact me.