Top Landing Gear

Welcome to the second magazine episode of Series Three, all about the magnificent county of Lincolnshire and its long-standing aviation connections. Lincolnshire was the base for our incredible T.L.G trip last year where we visited NX611 'Just Jane' at the Lincolnshire Heritage Aviation Centre (see the last episode!), visited the BBMF and the Typhoon squadron at RAF Conningsby, watched the Red Arr...

Hello and welcome to our second Full Flaps episode featuring the fabulous ‘Just Jane’ NX611 Avro Lancaster based at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre. In this second bonus episode the TLG team are allowed inside the Lancaster… James takes the captains seat and is put in charge of the brakes. While Just Jane’s owner and museum visionary Andrew Panton gives us an interior tour of the aircraf...

With the Avro Lancaster celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2021, what better time to feature this iconic aircraft on Top Landing Gear. The whole of series three is built around TLG’s road trip to Bomber County, Lincolnshire, which is the base not only for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and their Lancaster, PA474 ‘City of Lincoln’, but also for another very special Lancaster which could be...

We’re delighted to be back with a brand new series of podcasts. This series is built around our recent trip to Lincolnshire, Bomber County, and our visits to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and Typhoon Squadrons at RAF Coningsby, our Dam Busters tour at RAF Scampton, our microlight and gliding adventures, and a dinner to remember at our base for the trip, The Petwood Hotel , which was once t...

The wait is finally over..... Well almost.... One week to go.  Series Three lands next week - On TLG Tuesday of course! In this trailer Rob gives you a brief glimpse into some of the many aviation audio treats we have planned for the coming months... And to really whet the appetite we then re-run one of our favourite interviews from 2020. Our Full Flaps extended conversation is with David Williams...

We’re now well in to 2021 so we thought it was high time we produced our first podcast of the year. And how timely, just as Boris announces the roadmap out of Lockdown, we’ve recorded a Lockdown Special with our favourite aviation-themed films, books, TV programmes, websites and podcasts which we hope will inspire you as you look to fill some of those dreary lockdown hours, days, nights, weeks. I...

Happy Christmas! And we're ending 2020 and Series 2 with a real highlight. A Full Flaps interview with the brand new Red 1 - Team leader for the mighty Red Arrows -  Squadron Leader Tom Bould.  As Team Leader, Tom is primarily responsible for all aspects of the display, from running the training programme to choreographing the show. He leads the nine-aircraft aerobatic display. After being streame...

Welcome to part two of our ‘Ask James’ Christmas Special, where our aviation expert James Cartner endeavours to answer at least some of the wonderful questions our listeners have sent in. (You’ve sent in so many great questions we’ll do some more in the New Year.) And if you did send one in, stay tuned as we’ll announce who’s won the prize for the best question as judged by us. We hit a spectacula...

On Saturday 5th December 2020, retired BA Boeing 747-400 G-BNLY made its final flight from Cardiff to Dunsfold aerodrome in Surrey. This aircraft was destined for the scrapheap, but because it is one of BA’s ‘retro jets’, Lima Yankee is painted in the iconic Landor livery, there was an enthusiastic campaign, which Top Landing Gear signed up to, to save it. Then the excellent news reached us that M...

Seasons Greetings, and welcome to the first of our Top Landing Gear Christmas Specials! Our next two episodes are devoted to our aviation expert and pilot James Cartner. By ‘devoted’, what we really mean is James will be taking centre stage answering the many excellent questions our listeners have sent in, as well as some of our own. And of course we are all extremely devoted to Jimbo. What James...

This edition of the Top Landing Gear podcast has an appropriately seasonal feel as we approach winter, its theme being the Cold War, which lasted from 1947 until 1991. The Cold War saw the rapid development of aviation beginning with concepts such as new wing designs and powerplants and ending with digitalised avionics and stealth technology. All this to gain the upper hand in the event of a hot w...

This edition of the Top Landing Gear podcast has an appropriately seasonal feel as we approach winter, its theme being the Cold War, which lasted from 1947 until 1991. The Cold War saw the rapid development of aviation beginning with concepts such as new wing designs and powerplants and ending with digitalised avionics and stealth technology. All this to gain the upper hand in the event of a hot w...

A bonus episode to accompany our podcast about the 1969 Daily Mail Great Transatlantic Air Race. Rolf Richardson flew one of the winning civilian entries in the air race in a BOAC Super VC10. Here he tells us what was involved, and how, although he was operating a scheduled commercial flight from New York to London, they really pushed the limits, and even got special treatment from air traffic con...

This week on Top Landing Gear we're turning the clock back to 1969 with our FULL FLAPS unedited interview with the WINNER of the 1969 Daily Mail Air Race - Lieutenant Commander Peter Goddard.  He tells us about his career in the Royal Navy and how he managed to get from the top of the Empire State Building to the top of the Post Office Tower in London (now the BT Tower) in 5hrs and 11 mins.  Once...

This week on Top Landing Gear we’re turning the clock back to 1969, a hugely significant year for aviation and aerospace, with the first flights of Concorde and the 747 Jumbo Jet, and of course the first man on the moon. But it was also the year of the Daily Mail Transatlantic Air Race, probably one of the last great aviation adventures.    The race was between the top of the Post Office Tower in...

Welcome to Part Two of our Full Flaps interview with bestselling author and historian Rowland White . Previously best known for his edge of the seat blockbuster (and Jez's favourite book of all time!) Vulcan 607.  He has now turned his attention to another airborne operation with the gripping account of the role that the Sea Harrier and its pilots played during the Falklands conflict. Today he tal...

Welcome to Part one of our Full Flaps interview with bestselling author and historian Rowland White . Previously best known for his edge of the seat blockbuster (and Jez's favourite book of all time!) Vulcan 607.  He has now turned his attention to another airborne operation with the gripping account of the role that the Sea Harrier and its pilots played during the Falklands conflict. Today he tal...

The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is one of the most iconic and most loved of all British aircraft. Entering service with the Royal Navy in 1980, the informally know ‘SHAR’ vertically took off into our hearts after its success in the Falklands conflict, where three squadrons of just 28 SHARS shot down 20 Argentine aircraft whilst defending the fleet and supporting the ground invasion.    In this e...

Following our Boeing 747 ‘Queen of The Skies’ episodes is our FULL FLAPS extended interview with David Williams. A captain with Virgin Atlantic, who in 2014 was involved in a major incident when the 747-400 he was flying developed an unprecedented systems failure resulting in only part of the landing gear locking down for landing. David tells us in jaw-dropping detail how, for over three hours, he...

The Boeing 747 ‘Jumbo Jet’ changed the face of air travel forever. But after 50 years of impeccable service the ‘Queen of The Skies’ is being hastily retired in favour of more economical twin jets. The 747 won the hearts of those who flew it and of its passengers, and there is universal sadness at its passing. Top Landing Gear pays tribute to this magnificent aircraft, recalling our first experien...

As we continue to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, we have the perfect guest for our Top Landing Gear ‘Battle of Britain Special’Full Flaps podcast. It’s aviation historian and BoB specialist Dilip Sarkar MBE. Having been fascinated by the Second World War for a lifetime, Dilip Sarkar has been prolific in writing works focused on the Battle of Britain - particularly the human el...

Top Landing Gear is back with series 2, kicking off with a momentous moment in history – The Battle of Britain. 2020 marks its 80th anniversary - the Battle of Britain not Top Landing Gear - and if there are any gaps in your BoB knowledge, then Jez’s ‘quick’ facts will fill in every detail. We’re delighted the aviation historian and Battle of Britain specialist Dilip Sarkar MBE has agreed to be ou...

What can we say? We missed you... And just couldn't wait for the start of Series Two before we talked again. So we got together to discuss recent aviation events including Virgin Galactic's plans for a new Mach 3 supersonic aircraft, the horrific 737-800 crash in Kerala and what we have planned for the Autumn... AND... No quiz!  Huge thanks to everyone who has listened and supported us this year....

This week's special guest created his own legendary moment in April 1968, when he flew his Hawker Hunter fighter jet through Tower Bridge in London. Flt Lt Alan Pollock of No1 Sqn RAF, was incensed that as defence cuts bit ever harder, the RAF was denied a flypast to mark its 50th anniversary. So Pollock decided to let the Government of the day know just how he, and many others felt, by buzzing We...

Every so often our imaginations are fired by someone doing something extraordinary, something so audacious that it’s cemented into folklore. Our latest podcast, ‘Aviation’s Most Audacious Feats’ touches on some of the most outrageous escapades ever to unfold, from the fearless wingwalker of the 1920s who changed an aircraft’s wheel in mid-air, to the brilliant and heroic life-saving exploits of a...