MAVGEEKS: A Military Aircraft Obsession (BFBS Radio)

Gini and Jamie celebrate World Space Week 2023 by catching up with some of the most pioneering space figures on - and off - Earth. Jamie’s mind is blown by Delian Asparouhov of Varda Space Industries, Melissa Quinn tells Gini all about her time running Spaceport Cornwall and her current role keeping space clean at Seradata, and Jamie pins down none other than Dr. Paul Bate, the CEO of the UK Space Agency.

This week's MiniMav sees our Gini with her old Mav man Alex Gill talking to Former Royal Navy pilot Andrew Neofytou. Andrew now flies the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and has his own business (flightdeckwingman.com), but there was a time when Andrew flew the mighty Sea Harrier, a plane which, to be honest, could be as stroppy as a teenager with no WiFi. Join our Mavs as they listen like two dweeby kids at summer camp to stories of smashed canopies at 30,000 feet, engine malfunctions, and of course, being flung off the side of an aircraft carrier. You won't want to miss this...

Get in touch. Email us via mavgeeks@bfbs.com

This is an original podcast series from BFBS. 

Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon.

Yes! It's the time of the year when our MavGeeks set their eyes on the skies to follow the Big Man himself. Gini and Jamie learn all about what it takes to track the world's most famous aviator and his reindeer as they navigate the globe.

Get in touch. Email us via mavgeeks@bfbs.com

This is an original podcast series from BFBS. 

Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon.

This week, we celebrate spooky season! First, Gini catches up with Richard Craig, keen aviator and ghost tour guide at the UK's most haunted castle, Chillingham. Richard shares all manner of hair-raising aviation tales, as does Rachel Parsons of the Retford Ghost Hunters. When they spoke last year, Rachel told Gini all about a recent encounter with RAF Metheringham's resident apparition, the Metheringham Lass. Gini gets an update on that spookiest of aviators, and much, much more. Happy Halloween!

Helicopters are sadly, sorely neglected by us here at MavGeeks towers, but no longer! The mononymous Russ is a former door gunner on the Westland Lynx Mk7 and Mk9, amongst other rotary aircraft, with several tours of Aghanistan and Iraq under his belt. He was instrumental in keeping his crew and aircraft safe. Conveniently, he's also a neighbour of our Gini Carlin over in Canada. Russ was incredibly generous with his time and his wisdom, imparting a load of lessons learned during his time in the air and sharing a number of hair-raising stories along the way.

For obvious reasons, Gini, Jamie and Russ discuss topics that may be difficult and sensitive for some: Iraq, Afghanistan and conflict. If that sounds like you, support is available at https://www.bfbs.com/audience-support.

We want to hear your aviation tale! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. Also, feel free to leave us a glowing review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps us out!

You can join Gini and Jamie for more MavGeeks fun with a heavyweight pilots’ playlist soundtrack every Tuesday from 6pm - 7pm (UKT) on BFBS on DAB in the UK, or online at https://radio.bfbs.com/stations/bfbs-uk.

This International Women's Day, our Gini takes to the skies with none other than the decorated Colonel Kim Campbell. The pair trace Kim's extensive career, from a storied 24-year stint in the American Air Force flying the A-10 Thunderbolt (AKA the Warthog) to her success as a keynote speaker and author in the present day. Happy International Women's Day!

Got an obsession with aircraft that’s impossible to contain? Worried you might be as maniacal about big metal birds as that bloke that sat on a car park by Heathrow Airport filming everything during that storm? Power down your radar, you’ve arrived! MavGeeks: A Military Aircraft Obsession is back and bigger then ever for series 5! Join Gini Carlin, Jamie Gordon and another load of their aviation mates for the lowdown on history’s most iconic flying machines with the real-life superheroes who fly them.

Follow now so you never miss an episode!

We want to hear your aviation tale! Reach out at mavgeeks@bfbs.com. 

The Royal Canadian Air Force turns 100 this year! In that spirit, Canada resident Gini Carlin takes the lead for a guided tour of the fabulous Force's history. At this year's Royal International Air Tattoo, she caught up with several RCAF pilots and engineers, as well as the masterminds behind its centennial celebrations. She even had a long chat with Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny himself, Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force himself since 2022. Strap in!

We want to hear your aviation tale! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. Also, feel free to leave us a glowing review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps us out!

You can join Gini and Jamie for more MavGeeks fun with a heavyweight pilots’ playlist soundtrack every Tuesday from 6pm - 7pm (UKT) on BFBS on DAB in the UK, or online at https://radio.bfbs.com/stations/bfbs-uk.

Here at MavGeeks towers, we’re preparing for take off on Series 3 of our weekly aviation geek-out. But, this Friday, we're bringing you tales of haunted hangars and freaky flights - that’s right, we launch Series 3 with MavGeeks’ Halloween Special! From then on, we stick to the fly pro as usual, as we chat with the pilots, air crew and ground crew who flew, fixed, loved and sometimes even loathed our favourite flying machines.

Gini's flying solo this week as she brings you a brand new “MiniMav" episode! Speaking to Sqn Ldr Al Spence from 30 Squadron, Gini learns all about the A400 Atlas, how it flies, and how it compares to Al's previous career with fast jets. Then, on the first midair refuelling of an A400, by the RAF, what it's like to when a big old Voyager gets up close and personal and the sky seems a whole lot smaller...

Get in touch. Email us via mavgeeks@bfbs.com

This is an original podcast series from BFBS. 

Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon.

Airline food gets a bad rap. For some of us, no other words paint so vivid a picture of bullet-hard potatoes and custard lumpier than a regional runway. However, one man has mad it his mission to upend these assumptions.

Luckily for our Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon, that man is none other than MavGeeks alumnus and Season 4, Episode 1 all-star Al Bridger! Al’s a pathological overachiever: a BAE Hawk and F1 Phantom veteran turned Director of Flight Operations at British Airways. As such, Gini and Jamie couldn’t in all good faith act too surprised when he recently reached out to let us know he’s penned a fabulous recipe book named Flavour of Flight: The Food and Drink of British Airways. Over 129 plush pages, Flavour of Flight elegantly illustrates the decades of class, skill and expertise that has gone into your midair meal. You’ll then be taught how to craft these delicacies for yourself.

Those with a taste for travel will find all sorts to savour in this episode. Take a seat, roll up your sleeves and tuck in. There’s a little something on your chin, by the way.

Flavour of Flight: The Food and Drink of British Airways by Al Bridger is available now from Amberley Books, just in time for Christmas: https://www.amberley-books.com/flavour-of-flight.html

We want to hear your aviation tale! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. Also, feel free to leave us a glowing review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps us out!

You can join Gini and Jamie for more MavGeeks fun with a heavyweight pilots’ playlist soundtrack every Tuesday from 6pm - 7pm (UKT) on BFBS on DAB in the UK, or online at https://radio.bfbs.com/stations/bfbs-uk.

This week, Gini joins Jamie from her new Canadian digs for an otherwise classic slice of MavGeeks. Earlier this year, the pair managed to pin down ex-Harrier pilot turned author Chris Burwell for a three-person natter about fast jet flight, Chris' excellent book "Nine Lives: The Compelling Memoir of a Cold War Harrier Pilot", and that fabled awkward moment in which one's required to exit an aircraft a little early...

MavGeeks is back! This time we talk the F-4 Phantom, BAE Hawk and Boeing 747 with British Airways' Director of Flight Operations Allister Bridger.

With a career spanning both military and civil aviation, Al’s one of the most experienced and enthusiastic guests we’ve ever had. Equally generous with his wisdom and time, he even took Gini for a flying lesson in the British Airways’ Boeing 777 simulator (strap in for a bumpy landing!). Al shares some brilliant insights into flying RAF fast jets and explains why civil aviation still leaves him feeling like a giddy little kid. 

We want to hear your aviation tale! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. 

Hilariously, bizarrely, Denver International Airport is something of a lightning rod for conspiracy theories: in the mind of the open-eyed, the Illuminati’s clubhouse shares a wall with an alien-infested catacomb. While it’s true that unofficial mascot Mustang killed his creator, Senior Vice President of Communications, Marketing and Customer Experience Stacey Stegman was keen to put to bed unearned rumours about the fabulous workplace she loves so dearly as Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon offered up the wildest DIA-centric conspiracies they could find.

Off the back of that, Jamie went toe-to-toe with THE Danny Robins, whose runaway hit podcast and TV series Uncanny catapulted him to the rank of Britain’s pre-eminent ghost hunter. Danny was good enough to explain how this kind of paranoid and paranormal thinking takes hold, and from there, the two chatted all things spooky aviation. 

Listen with the lights on!

We want to hear your aviation tale! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. Also, feel free to leave us a glowing review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps us out!

You can join Gini and Jamie for more MavGeeks fun with a heavyweight pilots’ playlist soundtrack every Tuesday from 6pm - 7pm (UKT) on BFBS on DAB in the UK, or online at https://radio.bfbs.com/stations/bfbs-uk.

You may be cool, but are you "a teenager going for a ride in a Harrier flown by your Dad cool?” Nah, thought not. Our guest this week IS that cool! Ian Black is a former Pilot and Navigator on the Phantom and Lightning, and is now an author and photographer. In fact, Ian liked the Lightning so much, he actually bought one. After hearing this, we MavGeeks needed a lie down in a darkened room...

Get in touch. Email us via mavgeeks@bfbs.com

This is an original podcast series from BFBS. 

Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon.

It’s the 60th anniversary year of the RAF's Red Arrows aerobatics team, and with the commemorations taking in our Gini’s far-flung Canada, it felt only right that we celebrate them in style. Gini and Jamie were lucky enough to catch up with current Red 6 Flight Lieutenant Stuart Roberts and Red 9 Flight Lieutenant Patrick ‘Paddy’ Kershaw about the privilege of donning the red overalls and making their three years with the team count. They also caught up with Wing Commander Stewart Campbell who was, at the time of recording, OC 617 Squadron - “The Dambusters” (!) - about his time with the Reds ten years ago, flying as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations and what he’s been up to since. Finally, we hear a brief word from the original Red Arrow himself, Red 6 Henry Prince, whom we sadly lost in August of this year. 

We want to hear your aviation tale! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. Also, feel free to leave us a glowing review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps us out!

You can join Gini and Jamie for more MavGeeks fun with a heavyweight pilots’ playlist soundtrack every Tuesday from 6pm - 7pm (UKT) on BFBS on DAB in the UK, or online at https://radio.bfbs.com/stations/bfbs-uk. 

This week, Gini and Jamie chat with Tom Cruise's bff. No, it's not Maverick, but Jo Salter MBE! Not only is she rubbing shoulders with Hollywood's elite but she's also Britain's first female fast jet pilot, a motivational speaker and Director of Global Transformative Leadership at a massive UK corporation. Join our MavGeeks as they fangirl/fanboy a true British aviation icon.

Get in touch. Email us via mavgeeks@bfbs.com

This is an original podcast series from BFBS. 

Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon.

Earlier this year, Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon caught up with none other than Scott Bateman MBE. An RAF veteran with a storied career as Hercules Captain, Scott was perfectly poised to introduce us to what’s formally the Lockheed C-130, but will forever be the Hercules of our hearts. 

In May of 2024, Scott published Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller “Hercules: The story of an RAF legend.” Needless to say, Gini and Jamie insisted on hearing a couple of teaser tales from Scott’s Hercules career as featured in the brilliant book.

Strap in for a nuts-and-bolts MavGeeks classic!

We want to hear your aviation tale! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. Also, feel free to leave us a glowing review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps us out!

You can join Gini and Jamie for more MavGeeks fun with a heavyweight pilots’ playlist soundtrack every Tuesday from 6pm - 7pm (UKT) on BFBS on DAB in the UK, or online at https://radio.bfbs.com/stations/bfbs-uk.

Our MavGeeks liftoff Series 3 with something a little out there… that’s right, it’s time for 2022’s MavGeeks Halloween Special! In what’s now an annual tradition, Gini Carlin and her new co-pilot Jamie Gordon welcome brilliant guests for the lowdown on some terrifying tales that defy aviation explanation.

Get in touch. Email us via mavgeeks@bfbs.com

This is an original podcast series from BFBS. 

Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon.

This week's MiniMavs sees Gini and her old mav man Alex Gill stick their toes into the civil aviation world to become CavGeeks! They speak to RAFAC Officer and Airline First Officer Katy Lee MBE all about her work as a human factors specialist, flying instructor, charity trustee and of course, flying the Boeing 737 Max for a living.

Get in touch. Email us via mavgeeks@bfbs.com

This is an original podcast series from BFBS. 

Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon.

Introducing Near Death, a brand-new podcast from BFBS Creative. How do you come back from the brink? A close encounter with a body bag, an out-of-body experience or a flight through a wall of fire. Some people know what it’s like to come back from death’s door. Near Death explores some of the darkest stories of human survival. Follow now and never miss an episode at bfbs.com/neardeath, or your favourite podcast platform.

Something a bit different this week, dearest MavMates! Gini and Jamie enjoyed a natter with Tony Gaunt, Business Development Executive at Martin-Baker. Informally, they're THE ejector seat people, though Tony corrects our podcast co-pilots' terminology, offers an idiot's guide to testing an escape system, walks us through one of the most hair-raising use cases of Martin-Baker's work to date and really reiterates that when his work saves one life, it saves many. This conversation was fascinating and life-affirming in equal measure: strap in!

We want to hear your aviation tale! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. Also, feel free to leave us a glowing review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps us out!

You can join Gini and Jamie for more MavGeeks fun with a heavyweight pilots’ playlist soundtrack every Tuesday from 6pm - 7pm (UKT) on BFBS on DAB in the UK, or online at https://radio.bfbs.com/stations/bfbs-uk.

To tie a knot on this fourth series of MavGeeks, Gini and Jamie come good on a promise they made way back in one of its earliest episodes. That's right, they've tracked down Llewis Ingamells, Chief Pilot of the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance! Llewis was incredibly generous with his time and wisdom, imparting reams of insider knowledge on this fascinating, daring and ultimately unsung world of heroic work.

Lincs and Notts, like your local Air Ambulance service, exists thanks to generous donations! To donate, head to https://www.ambucopter.org.uk/.

We want to hear your aviation tale, what you made of our fourth series, and the flying machines you want us to cover in our fifth! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com, and feel free to leave us a glowing review.

It’s back to basics this week for a nuts-and-bolts Mavs classic. Our Jamie was lucky enough to be offered a guided tour of the iconic Avro Shackleton by none other than Squadron Leader Retired Brian Withers MBE; the very one he flew on, in fact! Jamie learned all about this giant of the sky and the curious foibles that come with it. 

We’re back, baby! To all MavGeeks old and new: welcome! Man, it feels good to be home. Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon are absolutely buzzing to begin a bumper new sequence of excuses to natter about their military aircraft obsession and bring you along for the ride. To kick things off, Gini shares some interviews she conducted with an assortment of heroic pilots at this year’s Royal International Air Tattoo. She caught up with crews from the F-35, KC-10, C-17 Globemaster, Grypen, even an F-16 test pilot. Coolest job ever? We think so!

We want to hear your aviation tale! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. Also, feel free to leave us a glowing review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps us out!

You can join Gini and Jamie for more MavGeeks fun with a heavyweight pilots’ playlist soundtrack every Tuesday from 18:00 - 19:00 (GMT) on BFBS on DAB in the UK, or online at https://radio.bfbs.com/stations/bfbs-uk. 

Got an obsession with aircraft that’s impossible to contain? So maniacal about military aviation your friends are concerned for your wellbeing? Stop searching, you’re home! MavGeeks: A Military Aircraft Obsession is back and bigger then ever for series 4! Join Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon as they get familiar with the most iconic planes in the sky and meet the superheroes who fly them. Listen to MavGeeks on bfbs.com/podcasts, and subscribe on your favourite podcast platform.

We want to hear your aviation tale! Reach out at mavgeeks@bfbs.com. 

Known affectionately as the Aardvark for its reputation as a terrain-hugger with a big nose, the General Dynamics F-111 was one of the United States Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force’s go-to combat aircraft. Mike Crain spent years in its cockpit for the latter, starting at the hilariously young age of 21! Our Jamie Gordon caught up with Mike for the lowdown on this striking and unique machine, its rare side-by-side co-piloting configuration, its spaceship-style ejection method, and even one or two epic dogfight stories along the way.

We want to hear your aviation tale! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. Also, feel free to leave us a glowing review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps us out!

You can join Gini and Jamie for more MavGeeks fun with a heavyweight pilots’ playlist soundtrack every Tuesday from 18:00 - 19:00 (GMT) on BFBS on DAB in the UK, or online at https://radio.bfbs.com/stations/bfbs-uk. 

Jamie’s in the cockpit today for a long-overdue natter with Mandy Hickson. Rightly described by Gini as a “Queen of the skies”, Mandy’s a decorated Tornado GR-4 pilot with over 30 years of aviation experience, three tours of duty and 45 missions over Iraq to her name. After leaving the RAF, she authored the 2020 bestseller “An Officer, Not A Gentleman”. Jamie got the scoop on her fascinating, varied career.

Attracting weird looks because you're totally nerdy about planes? Come and join your tribe! MavGeeks: A Military Aircraft Obsession is back for a third series. Join Gini Carlin and new boy Jamie Gordon as they get ready to geek out over some iconic military aircraft with some of the people who fly them. Hit follow to join them in the jump seat!

We’re feeling smug this week as Gini Carlin blasts off for an out-of-this-world chat with Britain’s first “official” astronaut Tim Peake! The pair touched on everything from common misconceptions around spacewalking, to deceptively huge characters in the otherwise serious world of space exploration, to Tim’s brand new book: Space: The Human Story.

Ho ho holy ****, Christmas snuck up quicker than a Sopwith on skis! With gift-giving on the MavMind, the final episode of series five sees Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon meet Dale Luckhurst, Head of Brand at Airfix. Gini and Jamie got the full geek's guide to the legendary brand, the forensic research and development process that goes into its ultra-detailed model aircraft and loads more. Merry Christmas MavGeeks!

We want to hear feature your aviation tale in series six! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. Also, feel free to leave us a glowing review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps us out!

You can join Gini and Jamie for more MavGeeks fun with a heavyweight pilots’ playlist soundtrack every Tuesday from 6pm - 7pm (UKT) on BFBS on DAB in the UK, or online at https://radio.bfbs.com/stations/bfbs-uk.

Gini takes us back to this year's Duxford Air Show, where she saw the Vampire, the Bristol Blenheim and the fully electric Pipistrel Velis. Listen in as she chats to Master Sergeant Jeremy Hall of the 351st Air Refuelling Squadron, pilot Sam Whatmough, Bristol Blenheim restorer John "Smudge" Smith and Wing Commander Martin "Tin Tin" Tesli of the Norwegian Air Force. Meanwhile, Jamie reminisces about a flight he once took with a popstar!

In this week's episode, Canada-based Gini pays our Jamie a little visit, which can only mean one thing... ROADTRIP! (Gini's driving permitting, of course). Reunited at last at RAF Coningsby, they catch up with a selection of its regular visitors: the enthusiastic amateurs and quintessential MavGeeks themselves, the planespotters! Talk about finding your tribe! Then, Gini checks in with a spokesperson for the incoming generation aviation fanatics, the wonderful Polina, better-known as Girl Who Loves Planes - @lifeabroad1 on TikTok. Together, they try to get to the bottom of why aviation captures the imagination in the way it does.

It's a full-blown spotters' special this week!

We want to hear your aviation tale! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. Also, feel free to leave us a glowing review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps us out!

You can join Gini and Jamie for more MavGeeks fun with a heavyweight pilots’ playlist soundtrack every Tuesday from 6pm - 7pm (UKT) on BFBS on DAB in the UK, or online at https://radio.bfbs.com/stations/bfbs-uk.

Join us on a road trip to maybe the coolest RAF station ever, RAF Fylingdales. It's 30 years since those iconic golf balls gave way to the pyramid that sees into space, but the mission remains the same: Vigilamus (Latin for “We Are Watching”). These people are dedicated to keeping the UK safe from ballistic missiles and space junk. Space analyst Lacey Harrison and Flight Lieutenant Richie Weeks talk us through what it truly means to have your eyes on the skies 24/7, and how RAF Fylingdales plays its part in protecting those who live and work up there from some seriously heavy-duty space clutter.

Get in touch. Email us via mavgeeks@bfbs.com

This is an original podcast series from BFBS. 

Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Jamie Gordon.

This week, our Gini Carlin enjoyed a blast from the past in several senses. She paid a visit to the delightfully well-preserved 100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum at RAF Thorpe Abbotts, where she volunteered as a young lass potty about planes. Reg Wilson, the museum's Chair of Trustees and Deputy Curator was kind enough to give Gini a guided tour of its exhibits and history of both the museum and the "Bloody 100th" itself, packed with discussion about the impact of smash-hit series Masters of the Air, based on the 100th Bomb Group's story. On that, listen to the end for a surprise.

Close your eyes and settle in for a touching tribute to the brave lads who lost their lives for the 100th Bomb Group; the real Masters of the Air.

We want to hear your aviation tale! Get in touch via mavgeeks@bfbs.com. Also, feel free to leave us a glowing review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps us out!

You can join Gini and Jamie for more MavGeeks fun with a heavyweight pilots’ playlist soundtrack every Tuesday from 6pm - 7pm (UKT) on BFBS on DAB in the UK, or online at https://radio.bfbs.com/stations/bfbs-uk.

As winter hits hard and we weather enough storms with names to crew an Avro Lancaster, Gini and Jamie take a look back on (marginally) sunnier times and climes in this RIAT retrospective. Gini was at the Royal International Air Tattoo in July with a microphone and a mission: chat to as many pilots as possible. She caught up with aircrew of the B52, the F15, the “Weatherbird” WC130-J, and loads more; even the elusive Lockheed U-2.

Our MavGeeks have a truly spiritual experience this week as they speak to Our Sacred Lady of the Fat Albert, Reverend (Sqn Ldr) Alice McDermott – Pilot turned Padre -about her time flying the venerable C130 Hercules. Alex brings up a less than sanctified topic about praying to the Lockheed Martin gods down the big white telephone after a few bumpy trips down route, Gini comes to the confessional to admit she has also come close to offering up those prayers after a few spins around the Rock of Gibraltar in the back of the venerated Lockheed Lady; three Hail Hercules and a stiff cup of tea and peace is restored. Join our Mavs and the divine Rev Alice, as they chat through making bacon and eggs mid-flight, the J or the K, delivering tubes of Pringles to warzones and meeting “Ally McMeal”. For what you are about to receive, may the Loadies/Lockheed Martin make us truly thankful… This is an original podcast series from BFBS. Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Alex Gill Email us mavgeeks@bfbs.com

Our Mavgeeks bring you a very special festive episode, as they track the World’s greatest aviator with NORAD and RAF Fylingdales. Join Gini and Alex as they find out about the F-18 escort that Santa gets over North America, How the heat signature of a ballistic missile is the same heat signature that’s in Rudolph’s nose and just how the big man uses OSA (Official Santa Act) technology to get across the globe. So grab a mince pie, a glass of cheer and wrap yourself up in gawdy 1980s foil decorations as the Mavgeeks Track Santa.

Get in touch. Email us via mavgeeks@bfbs.com

This is an original podcast series from BFBS. 

Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Alex Gill

This week our Mavgeeks are taking it right back to the old school, speaking to Flight Lieutenant Andy Bell of 70 Sqn at RAF Brize Norton about his time on arguably the RAF’s most well-known Maritime patrol aircraft, The Hawker Siddeley Nimrod. The Mavgeeks hear how it was developed from the world’s first commercial jet airliner, the need for a cast iron stomach when the Nimrod was low level cresting the waves, and just casually popping a window open to take a selfie mid-flight - no filter needed.

Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Alex Gill. Email us mavgeeks@bfbs.com.

Our MavGeeks are out of aviation hibernation and ready to be “navgeeked” as aviation and travel vlogger Noel Phillips joins Gini and Alex to kick off series two. Noel spills the beans about landing on the side of a mountain, travelling in a 40 year old Russian airliner around the Soviet block and recreating the Dambusters iconic practice flight over a Derbyshire dam. 

SPOILER ALERT: There’s even talk of train spotting, or as we like to call it.. travgeeks. 

It's the final MavGeeks for this season and there's a definite "End of Summer camp" vibe going on. Alex is taking selfies, crying into a hankie and promising to keep in touch with everyone, while Gini is handing out homemade wristbands to make sure we are all MavGeeks friends forever. Gini and Alex take a look back at some special aircraft from this summer’s Duxford Airshow, including the Catalina Flying Boat (Say whaaat!) the B-17 Flying Fortress (swoon) with a nod to the fantastic Tiger Moth (taking it back to the old school). Gini speaks with owners and pilots of these fabulous aircraft, and manages not to annoy them too much or get herself arrested… try harder next time Mavgirl! It may be this season’s final episode, but our Mavs are back with a Halloween Special and more obsessing over Military aircraft up to Christmas. Please don't judge them, they didn't choose the Mavlife, the Mavlife chose them. This is an original podcast series from BFBS. Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Alex Gill Email us: mavgeeks@bfbs.com

Our Mavgeeks get all Scooby Doo on this Halloween Special episode. Gini is trying not to go full Derek Acorah and Alex is geeking out about the King of Bahrain's 747... does it have a gold toilet? Hear a different kind of MavGeeks this week as our intrepid twosome share spooky stories of ghostly flight deck crew, weird goings on at the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum and someone at RAF Cottesmore pranking someone about a ghost... only to get trolled by said ghost... confused? You will be... Happy Halloween.

Written, presented and produced by Gini Carlin and Alex Gill. Email us at mavgeeks@bfbs.com.