In this live “under the wing” episode of TSC at The REAL STOL FEST from the Real Aeroplane Club in Breighton Airfield - Yorkshire UK which took place on 17-18th May 2025, we talk first with William Newton, the master mind of RSF and then with @Indopilot Matt Dearden.

In his early 20’s and an air ambulance navigator, William is already an experienced pilot on rare vintage aéroplanes like the unique in the world Dart Kitten II from 1937 or the Aeronca Gap. He recently discovered a passion for farmstrips flying, backcountry aviation and beautiful bushplanes which ultimately lead him to organize the very first STOL Fly-In in the UK, The REAL STOL FEST 2025.

During the Fest, I had the chance to finally meet Matt Dearden aka @Indopilot, who very kindly accepted to record an awesome live episode in front of his beautiful 1953 PA-18 Super Cub. He shared with us his road to aviation and most of all his seven years experience as a PC-6 mountain and bush pilot for SUSI AIR in Papua. Please do not forget to checkout Matt’s website https://mattdearden.co.uk and especially his newly released book “Flying from Shangri-La”. And as this would not be enough, Matt is also an avid seaplane pilot having a deep experience and connection to one of the most beautiful flying boat in History: the PBY Catalina.

William‘s Book of the episode: "Sky Fever: The Autobiography of Sir Geoffrey de Havilland" - Sir Geoffrey De Havilland - Airlife, 1999 - ISBN: 184037148X

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=_vcfAQAAIAAJ&source=gbs_book_other_versions_r&cad=4

William‘s Song of the episode: “She sells sanctuary” - The Cult, 1985

Matt‘s Book of the episode: "Flying the knife edge: New Guinea bush pilot" - Matt MacLaughlin - 2016 - ISBN: 988140360X

https://backcountrypilot.org/features/category/tales-from-yesteryear/flying-the-knife-edge/68-flying-the-knife-edge

Matt’s own book: “Flying from Shangri-La” - Matt Dearden - 2024

https://mattdearden.co.uk/book/

Matt‘s Song of the episode: "Fortunate son” - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Upk41P7aw

As usual, don´t hesitate to check out the webpage of the episode on our website - .

You can shoot me an email to let me know what your thoughts are about the show and if you have any questions.

Music credits: "Slowly", Amon Tobin - Supermodified, 2000

Cover picture: The REAL STOL FEST

Design: Maxime Compagnon - The STOL Collective

Charter of the (European) Mountain Pilot:

As mountain pilot, I shall:

LOVE AVIATION FREEDOM and respect the freedom of others.

PREPARE MYSELF CONSCIOUSLY FOR MOUNTAIN LANDINGS by going on recce hikes.

AVOID NOISE DURING MY MOUNTAIN FLIGHTS so that others can also enjoy the mountains.

CAREFULLY BACK OFF when others want to enjoy the solitary silence.

NEVER AFRAID THE FAUNA and avoid flying over mountain huts, alpine pastures, and mountain villages.

NEVER DESTROY THE FLORA and enjoy the flowery alpine meadows.

RETURN FROM THE MOUNTAINS and join clubs to jointly preserve this freedom of flight.

MAKE MY CONTRIBUTION TO EUROPEAN MOUNTAIN PILOTS ASSOCIATIONS THROUGH COMMITMENT and preserve aviation glory.

In this episode of TSC, Dimitri Bella - former president, now vice-president of the French Mountain Pilot Association “AFPM” (https://www.afpm.fr/index0.php) and Stefan Rabensteiner, president of the Austrian Mountain Pilot Association “ÖGPV” (https://oegpv.at) share with us their road to aviation and especially mountain flying, the incredibly rich history of mountain flying in the European Alps, the peculiarities and new challenges faced by mountain pilots in the Alps, the dedication of all volunteers; including themselves to mountain pilot associations as well as the need to motivate a new generation of mountain pilots in continuing the work done to protect our passion - Mountain Flying in the European Alps.

Stefan’s Book of the episode: “Buschpilot in Alaska - Die vielen Leben des Don Lee” - Christoph Barszcewski - Aviator.at Verlag, 2013

Stefan’s Song of the episode: “Last Resort”, Papa Roach - Infest, 2000.

Dimitri's Book of the episode: "Vol de Nuit" - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - Harper & Brothers, 1939

Dimitri’s Song of the episode: “Cornfield Chase”, Hans Zimmer - Interstellar, 2014.As usual, don´t hesitate to check out the webpage of the episode on our website - https://www.thestolcollective.com.

You can shoot me an email to let me know what your thoughts are about the show and if you have any questions.

Music credits: "Slowly", Amon Tobin - Supermodified, 2000

Cover picture: Julien Jay - Jeunes Ailes Association

Design: Maxime Compagnon - The STOL Collective

From Louisiana - USA and based in Florida for several years, Maurice “Reese” d’Aquin is the One who loves to tell the story of other pilots; from FPV drones to paramotor to STOL aircrafts.

A studied graphic designer, photographer, filmmaker , and editor; he is a digital multimedia storyteller best known for his unscripted “in the moment” documentary style.

Maurice is also CEO and co-founder of FLYING HOME PRODUCTIONS L.L.C. (https://www.flyinghomeproductions.com ), which is a unique blend of creativity and technical precision, rolling out the cutting edge in aerial technology (UAV/UAS systems, or drones), aerial photography, and aerial cinematography to offer up dynamic solutions that can be individually tailored to any projects’ needs.

Sharing the same passion as his grandfather for aviation and waterskiing sports, Reese joined the AVIATOR PARAMOTOR (https://aviatorppg.com) team as a filmmaker in summer 2020 then soon after in 2022 the NATIONAL STOL SERIES (https://nationalstol.com).

In this episode of TSC, Maurice shares with us his road to aviation and film making with great insights about FPV drone racing, paramotor flying in USA, the National STOL Series and the newly created “Paramotor STOL Classics” competition.

We also touched on our common goal to make the FAI recognize our STOL competitions as official discipline.

Book of the episode: The Powered Paragliding Bible 1 to 7 - Jeff Goin - 2005/2019

Song of the episode: “RODEO”, Garth Brooks - Ropin’ the Wind, 1991.

As usual, don´t hesitate to check out the webpage of the episode on our website - https://www.thestolcollective.com. You can shoot me an email to let me know what your thoughts are about the show and if you have any questions.

Music credits: "Slowly", Amon Tobin - Supermodified, 2000

Cover picture: Maurice d’Aquin

Design: Maxime Compagnon - The STOL Collective

''Just when I convinced myself that this was basically a Super Cub with an overhead engine, the out of sync harmonics of the props winding down begin to create that distinct: ... THAT SOUND!" - Zane Jacobson in "THE PROTOTYPE"

Zane Jacobson is the founder/editor of Backcountry Pilot and currently flies a tailwheel Piper PA-22 Pacer around his newly adopted home area of Eveleth, Minnesota - USA. An Oregon native and former avid dirt bike rider, he has been a pilot for the better part of 25 years. Father of two young girls, he enjoys writing and producing articles and short films about anything to do with backcountry and bush flying, and makes baby steps on the build of his 4-place Bearhawk when time allows.

In this episode, Zane Jacobson shares with us his family roots which got him into flying, how the idea came to launch https://backcountrypilot.org/⁠ in late 2004 as an alternative to the many type-specific forums that were already popular at the time, his wish even right after getting is PPL to transcend the type focus forums and unite pilots' common interest in backcountry and bush flying, how he found his passion for film making unlike vlogging by bringing a more cinematographic touch to backcountry aviation videos, his passion for music and building synthesisers and many stories from past expeditions.

If you want to discover more content about Zane, go checkout this episode's page on our website: www.thestolcollective.com

Obviously don’t forget to visit Zane’s https://backcountrypilot.org/ as well as watch his awesome videos on https://youtube.com/@BackcountryPilot

Music credits: “Slowly”, Amon Tobin – Supermodified, 2000

Cover picture: Zane Jacobson - Backcountry Pilot

“Everywhere we are landing on water now [in Japan] is basically a first!” – Ben Kerr

Originally from Sydney - Australia, Ben Kerr moved to Japan almost thirty years ago, to pursue his dream of racing motorcars up to formula 3.

In this episode, Ben Kerr shares with us his love for Japan´s northernmost Island - Hokkaido, his dedication to grow the backcountry and float flying community in Japan as well as his constant search for new water spots all around the country.

If you want to discover more content about Ben, go checkout this episode's page on our website: www.thestolcollective.com

Music credits: “Slowly”, Amon Tobin – Supermodified, 2000

Cover Art: Ben Kerr 

‘’As a surfer or a snowboarder, we like to draw a line as an artist on a canvas’’ – Géraldine Fasnacht

Born in Lausanne - Switzerland, Géraldine Fasnacht is a world known freeride snowboarder, base jumper and wingsuit pilot. She is a pioneer who constantly draws new lines in the mountains with her snowboard and her wingsuit. Based in her favorite playground, Verbier, Switzerland, she gets inspired by the mountains and explores the most remote places on earth. Be it from the depths of Antarctica to the top of the Matterhorn, Switzerland.

In 2002 Géraldine Fasnacht won the most extreme freeride competition in the world; The Verbier Xtreme. That was when her snowboarding career took off. That same year, at the age of 21, five additional victories catapulted her to the top of the freeride world. Always ready to go beyond her limits, she took part in International Freeride Competition and the Freeride World Tour for eight years.

Géraldine loves discovering new horizons and experiencing new sensations. Since 2005 she has been carrying out groundbreaking expeditions to conquer the most beautiful summits. She has left traces with her snowboard on incredibly steep slopes, and has performed breath-taking wingsuit flights. Her high mountain knowledge gained with freeride snowboarding since the age of 15, combined with her experiences in parachuting since 1998, Géraldine performs world premieres in base jumping and wingsuit flying. Opening some of the most beautiful summits around the globe: Switzerland, France, Baffin Island, Greenland, Iran, Mali, China and Antarctica – from mythical peaks ranging from Les Drus in Chamonix - France, Holtanna - Antarctica, to the Matterhorn in Switzerland flying alongside great eagles.

Her life is about risk management, pushing  boundaries and team building. For about 10 years, Géraldine has given conferences worldwide, in French or in English, for individuals or companies. She shares her vision through the adventures and the experiences she has achieved. She keeps pushing the level of her passions higher perfectly managing the risks and she loves sharing her adventures through her conferences.

For more than 11 years, Géraldine has been flying UL/LSA airplanes. Four years ago, she had the opportunity to obtain her PPL, instantly followed by a mountain rating on skis and wheels. Constantly drawing lines in the mountains, either on her snowboard or in her wingsuit, an idea started to grow bigger after fulfilling her dream of owning her own mountain UL/LSA airplane, an ICP Savannah taildragger named "Roméo". This idea, first made visible through her series of videos "LinéAire", is to go on a constant quest to find and ride new lines, combining mountain flying and snowboarding deeper than ever.

In this episode, Géraldine shares with us her love for mountain flying and especially her constant quest to draw new lines with her beloved "Roméo" and on her snowboard, in the deep and immaculate powder snow of Swiss glaciers.

If you want to discover more content about Géraldine, go checkout this episode's page on our website: www.thestolcollective.com

Music credits: “Slowly”, Amon Tobin – Supermodified, 2000

Cover photography: Raphael Surmont