For Flying Out Loud

In this episode, I’m absolutely thrilled to welcome a Stuart McInally, whose story is as bold and inspiring as they come. At the highest level of professional sport, he stood not only as a world-class rugby player but also as a captain representing his country. He earned 49 caps for Scotland, captained the national team at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, and was a respected figure on fields acr...

In this episode, we dive into the incredible story of Wings for Warriors, a charity giving wounded veterans a future worth fighting for—literally.  From one of our guests who survived a sniper attack in Afghanistan and found purpose in the cockpit, to another, who overcame the loss of a limb to achieve his dream of becoming a commercial pilot. From battlefield to flight deck, my two guests in this...

In this episode we welcome Lieutenant’s Michael Vivian and Scott Sunderland to the For Flying Out Loud podcast. They are two serving members of the Royal Navy, both serving as Fleet Air Arm pilots on the Wildcat helicopter. In 2024, these two pilots embarked upon a challenging but as you’ll learn, extremely rewarding journey to re-launch the display of the Wildcat Helicopter in an exhilarating pai...

Daniel Robinson is a former RAF fighter pilot who started his career flying the Tornado F3. One of Britain’s top fighter pilots, In 2006, recognised for his outstanding flying ability and natural flair for building effective teams, he was chosen as the first non-US citizen to fly the 5th Generation F22 Raptor for the US Air Force.   In 2006, a life-defining moment and intersection of time, educati...

In August 2021 at just 19 years old, Zara Rutherford started on a journey to fly solo around the world in a Shark ultralight aircraft. In Jan 2022, 155 days later, this was completed. And in doing so, she broke the Guinness World Record for the youngest woman flying solo around the world and also reduced the gender gap of this record by 11 years between the current youngest male who was 18 and the...

Lucy Silvester is a former cabin crew member who started her career in Monarch Airlines, before transitioning to recruitment, training and development with British Midland International and Heathrow Airport. For the last 10 years, she has been instrumental in the acquisition of talent in a range of specialist areas across the business for the globally recognised British Airways. In 2023 her natura...

Aviation is such a great community of likeminded people, but some people just have that knack of bringing that community together in a way that is truly inspirational. I first came across today’s guest on instagram, drawn in by his infectious character, unique presenting style and his ability to make the ‘behind the scenes’ of an airport come to life for millions of people around the world. Mohamm...

In 2023, British Airways launched the Speedbird Pilot Academy, the first time in many years since British Airways had launched a fully funded cadet scheme, giving the realistic option for anyone aged 18-55 to become a pilot. Remaining committed to further increasing diversity in the aviation industry, British Airways was determined to increase awareness and visibility to people from all background...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)    Katherine Moloney is the Marketing Director of Transair Flight Equipment, an Aviation Ambassador for the Department for Transport two years running and a private pilot with helicopter and fixed wing licences. She also has an admirable following of more than 230,000 followers on Instagram and is founder of Elevate(he...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)    Roger Cruickshank is a former Eurofighter Typhoon pilot who served in the Royal Air Force for 21 years, completing 2 front line tours. He has been deployed operationally all over the world, including Iraq, Syria and Baltic Air Policing out of Estonia and Romania. In 2017, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cros...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)    Chris, or "Captain Chris"  is an International Airbus A330/A350 Training Captain and Examiner, having logged over 25,000 flying hours, flying for 6 different airlines in his 40 year career as a pilot. From humble beginnings in Melbourne Australia where he saved as a young boy for flying lessons, he qualifi...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)            Ben Murphy is a former Royal Air Force front line fighter pilot, who also served as leader of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows. Having hung up his fast jet flying boots and swapped them for a pair of high performance unlimited aerobatic flying shoes in 2013, in 2016 he took a massive leap o...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)            My guest and old friend in this interview developed a flying career after leaving the military, having completed multiple high intensity tours in conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Bosnia with an elite army unit. In his two fascinating ‘working’ roles today he has an unparalleled view out of the front wi...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)      Richard Browning is a former oil trader and Royal Marines reservist who, over the period of several years, created a concept that would enable us to break the bonds of Gravity without the need for wings to take us into the realm usually reserved only for birds and aircraft. It’s certainly been a journey of ups (an...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)            He is one of the best known aviation personalities out there, a journalist, broadcaster and author of 16 acclaimed books including the book that set me on the path to achieving my dream - “Tornado Down”. He has just released his latest book “Tornado - In The Eye Of The Storm”, an incredibly emotional account...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)        Being able to take flight and pilot an aircraft is something that any pilot feels incredibly privileged to do. The airborne environment is one that I’ve often referred to as one of “active meditation” - a place where many of the pressures and challenges of life on the ground simply melt away. I have been so luck...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)            There can be few passenger aircraft more iconic than the mighty jumbo 747 - an engineering marvel and one of the most successful airliners ever built. I’ve flown some amazing aircraft in my career and would love to fly the 747, but for me, that chance will probably never come. Today though, we are going to h...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)            Have you ever looked up at the sky and seen a bird of prey circling effortlessly, feeling the air with its wings - truly ‘free as a bird’? Most people at some point in their lives will have had a dream that they were flying, completely unaided, or looked to the sky and wondered what it might be like to soar...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)            Aviation is such a diverse profession and pastime and every person that has ever taken flight will remember one or two really special moments from their aviation life, whether that’s their first solo, or the first time they took their Gran flying! I feel so lucky to have achieved my childhood dream of becomi...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)            In this episode, we go “international” and speak with no less than 4 guests! All of them are inspirational characters, with some awesome backgrounds; from law and politics to a social media marketer and everything in-between! All have 2 things in common though - they form the 5-10% of female aviators enterin...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)            Rory is a former BBC sound man who, over a period of 10 years, self-funded his dream to become a professional pilot. Putting his previous career to good use, he also hosts a really fun YouTube channel " Rory on Air " detailing his journey to achieving his ultimate goal of becoming a commercial heli...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)            It could be argued that any true pilot will LOVE Top Gun! For those not old enough to remember it, or for those that haven’t seen it, you HAVE to check out one of the most iconic opening scenes to any movie EVER! Steam catapult launches and landings onboard the floating airfield that is an aircraft carrier -...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)            Becoming an Airline Pilot can be a real "journey" with lots of twists and turns along the way. In this episode we interview Ben, or 'Plane Old Ben' as he's known to his thousands of YouTube followers! This interview is for anyone that has ever dreamt of becoming a pilot, but thinks i...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)            Once upon a time (and many years ago!) I stared upward in awe at the red, white and blue streams of smoke trailing behind the blazing red aircraft as they executed high energy manoeuvres, seemingly impossibly close formation and daring high speed passes. It was easy to forget that behind this precision forma...

If you enjoy this episode, please consider showing your support at this link :)            Once upon a time, a young lad from Stoke had a dream to become a fighter pilot. However, he was told by his school careers teacher that "...people from around here don't do stuff like that". 30 years later, already a distinguished frontline Harrier pilot, he is now a highly regarded pilot and...