Top Landing Gear Top Landing Gear

Welcome to Top Landing Gear and our bonus edition of Full Flaps from Dunsfold Aerodrome. In our previous episode we spoke with Aviation Filming's owner Mike Woodley. In this episode we make our way out onto the apron and get guided tour around the three BA Boeing 747s with Aviation Filming Aerial Coordinator and Pilot Jamie Chalkley.
 
 

Welcome to Top Landing Gear Full Flaps and our full length interview with Mike Woodley, owner of Aviation Filming Ltd based at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey. 
The company specialises in aviation content for film and TV, including a huge number of the Bond films. Among Aviation Filming's fleet are three former BA Boeing 747s which are regularly used as film props and a very famous Douglas Dakota. 
We met up with Mike in his office beneath the control tower of Dunsfold in May 2023 to hear some of his incredible stories about the film and aviation industry. Enjoy! 

Welcome to Top Landing Gear as we turn our attention to an airfield that is close to all of us, both emotionally and geographically: Dunsfold Aerodrome, home of the Hunter and the Harrier.
It was also used as the studio and test track for BBC Top Gear (a poor man's version of Top Landing Gear - wheels instead of wings!), home to the sadly defunct annual Wings and Wheels airshow, and the base for Aviation Filming, which provides aircraft and facilities for the film and television industry, including most of the Bond films. It's run by our splendid guest, Mike Woodley.

Join the Top Landing Gear team as they are given a tour of Croydon Airport by A380 Captain Ian Walker, former chairman of the Croydon Airport Trust. 
 
Opening in the 1920s, Croydon was London's, indeed the UK's main
international airport. Arguably the birthplace of commercial air travel, it was also the starting point for many of aviation's historic records, including those set by Amy Johnson. 
 
Visit https://www.historiccroydonairport.org.uk/ to find out more, book your own visit and discover how you can support or volunteer for the Trust. 

Top Landing Gear returns as we continue series 5 by going further back in aviation history than we've ever gone before, to the earliest days of commercial air travel with our visit to the historic Croydon Aerodrome.
 
Opening in the 1920s, Croydon was London's, indeed the UK's main international airport, and as well as virtually being the birthplace of commercial air travel, it was also the starting point for many of aviation's historic records, including those set by Amy Johnson. So this is a real step back in time partly because it was so long ago when we recorded the interview with the man who knows everything there is to know about Croydon's history, Ian Walker. We'll bring you the full recording of our visit to Croydon in our Full Flaps Edition, but here we get back into the swing of things with our magazine edition and all the usual TLG stuff, including Ask James, Jez's Quick Facts all about Croydon Airport - and of course the Top Landing Gear Quiz! Enjoy!

We delivered our last podcast - as in most recent -back in May 2023 - when we were in the middle of series 5. We were literally on our way to Roy's studio to record our next editions when he told us not to bother - because his house was being razed to the ground after a tumble direr caught fire.
 
Because of that and Roy's constant touring with his band Scouting For Girls, this is the first time we've been able to get back together. So here's a quick catch-up with the 4 of us with all our latest news and some of the aviation headlines that have caught our eyes in recent months.
 
Thank you for sticking with us, or if you're new to TLG - welcome - have you any idea what you're letting yourself in for?!