The Aviation Show

Hosted by Matt Bone

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145

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Welcome to The Aviation Show ! The Aviation Show celebrates aviation and aerospace, from the first attempts of people jumping off things to humans being fired into space. If it flies, we will cover the story behind those flights and the people who made them happen. Brought to you in association with the Pima Air and Space Museum. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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October 15, 202621 min

Exploring the WACO Air Museum: A Treasure Trove of Aviation History

On our recent journey through Ohio, we visited the WACO Museum in Troy, Ohio, and looked at the history of the WACO aircraft company and the museum’s preserved material from the original plant. We check out some early WACO aircraft, the wildly unsuccessful RPT trainer, and the wartime CG-4 Hadrian glider, including its construction, production, and combat use. We also cover later aircraft such as the Model 4, Model 9, and ATO, along with Harold Johnson’s “Red Baron” and several women pilots associated with WACO. To find out more about the WACO Education Centre and Air Museum, check out their website: https://www.wacoairmuseum.org/ Follow the museum on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/wacoeducationairmuseum/ Follow the museum on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/wacoairmuseum.org ----------------------------------------------------- 🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow ----------------------------------------------------- ✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials! Website: https://pimaair.org/ https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace https://www.instagram.com/pimaair https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/ 👕Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/ ----------------------------------------------------- The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International ----------------------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

October 1, 202643 min

Getting 'Beach City Baby' Ready to Fly Again - C-53 Skytrooper Tour

Join us as Jason Capra and the Vintage Wing Inc. team show us around 'Beach City Baby', a C-53 Skytrooper with an incredible history that takes in the early days of airlines in the United States, Air Transport Command's efforts in North Africa and her role in the growth of civil aviation in Ohio. She is getting a new set of wings, and you can find out how you can help too! Check out all the latest Beach City Baby news via their website and socials below: 🛩️ https://www.vintagewingsinc.com/ 🛫 https://www.facebook.com/groups/497180673794873/ 🛩️ https://www.instagram.com/vintagewingsinc/ Donate and help get those wings on and 'Beach City Baby' back in the air here: https://www.vintagewingsinc.com/donate Buy your 'Beach City Baby' merch here: https://stores.inksoft.com/VintageWingsInc/shop/products/all?page=1 👕Did you like the Douglas t-shirt? Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/ ----------------------------------------------------- 🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow ----------------------------------------------------- ✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials! Website: https://pimaair.org/ https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace https://www.instagram.com/pimaair https://x.com/pimaair https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/ ----------------------------------------------------- The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International ----------------------------------------------------- 0:00 Meeting Beach City Baby 4:24 Wartime Service 7:36 Inside the Cabin 13:03 Ohio Governor's Aircraft 18:37 Modern Avionics Upgrade 22:58 Finding the Derelict DC-3 25:11 Meet the Wing Crew 27:27 Rewinging the C-53 30:50 Keeping Her Airworthy 36:56 Families Reunited Aloft 42:07 Where to Follow Vintage Wings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September 3, 202614 min

Selling History? How WWII Signatures Became a Cash Grab

I promise this is the last video on autographs and signatures, but I recently bought a mostly lovely print of Frank Wootton's Typhoon Squadron, which had had all the signatures cut out of it. This led me down a rabbit hole of looking at the commoditisation of these signatures and autographs, where the very rarest are now sliced out and added to both new and old artwork, all in the name of "exclusivity". I mean, we look at a Rommel signature in this one... Erasing History Part 1: https://pod.fo/e/4276b7 Erasing History Part 2 with Dr Philip W Blood: https://pod.fo/e/55f3cb The HushKit Typhoon t-shirt is available here: https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/This-Machine-Hawker-Typhoon-D-Day-Woody-Gutherie-by-HushKit/159678494/e22z 👕 I've just ordered in a new batch of 909 Apparel t-shirts for my holiday, so you best get your aviation too! Check out the 909 Apparel website here: https://www.909apparel.com/ ----------------------------------------------------- 🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow ----------------------------------------------------- ✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials! Website: https://pimaair.org/ https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace https://www.instagram.com/pimaair https://x.com/pimaair https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/ ----------------------------------------------------- The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International ----------------------------------------------------- 0:00 Signatures as Commodities 2:56 Cutting Up Prints For Their Parts 5:19 Autographs on New Editions 8:07 No Historic Value 10:08 History for Sale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 20, 202658 min

Erasing History Part 2: Is A Signature Historic?

Dr Philip W. Blood, author of 'Birds of Prey', joins us in this follow-up to our recent episode where I erased the noted Luftwaffe ace, Gunther Rall, signature, off of a print by Robert Taylor. Phil and I delve into the truth about Luftwaffe complicity in the crimes of the Nazis during the Second World War and discuss the uncomfortable relationship with the regard to which those who survived were viewed. Grab your copy of Phil's Birds of Prey: Hitler’s Luftwaffe, Ordinary Soldiers, and the Holocaust in Poland and War Comes to Aachen: The Nazis, Churchill and the 'Stalingrad of the West' at The Aviation Show Bookshop. 10% of every sale supports the show and independent bookshops. Birds of Prey UK Link: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11015/9783838215679 US Link: https://bookshop.org/a/111804/9783838215679 War Comes to Aachen UK Link: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11015/9781911723691 US Link: https://bookshop.org/a/111804/9781911723691 You can listen to both parts of our Birds of Prey discussion with Dr. Philip Blood via the old History Hack podcast here on The Aviation Show website here: https://theaviation.show/hedge-hopping/ ----------------------------------------------------- 🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow ----------------------------------------------------- ✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials! Website: https://pimaair.org/ https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace https://www.instagram.com/pimaair https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/ 👕Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/ ----------------------------------------------------- The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International ----------------------------------------------------- 0:00 Erasing History Debate 1:49 Collecting Luftwaffe Prints 7:38 Luftwaffe and Nazi Ideology 15:08 Signatures and Historical Value 17:56 Mass Signatures Questioned 27:59 Rudel and War Myths 36:32 Commercial Versus Historic Autographs 38:54 Erasure as History 46:57 Public Memory and Hero Worship 49:17 Anti-Semitism in Luftwaffe Stories 54:35 Final Solution and Aftermath 56:31 Auschwitz Book Preview Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 6, 202624 min

Pima's B-36 Peacemaker Restoration Update

The final Convair B-36J Peacemaker ever built, 52-2827 'City of Fort Worth', has been moved to the @PimaAirSpaceMuseum restorations hangar for some TLC after nearly 20-years in the Arizona sun. Scott Marchand, the Pima Air and Space Museum's CEO, joins us from the cockpit of the B-36 to discuss what is going to happen over the coming months as the B-36 is stripped back to bare metal and then given many new coats of paint. Check out all the links to the Pima Air and Space Museum below! Be sure to give Boneyard Safari a follow! Many thanks to Ramon Purcell for allowing use of his aerials and images in this episode. Follow Boneyard Safari at: https://www.boneyardsafari.com/ https://www.facebook.com/BoneyardSafari https://www.instagram.com/boneyardsafari/ https://www.tiktok.com/@boneyardsafari ----------------------------------------------------- 🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow ----------------------------------------------------- ✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials! Website: https://pimaair.org/ https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace https://www.instagram.com/pimaair https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/ 👕Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/ ----------------------------------------------------- The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International ----------------------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 30, 20261 hr 2 min

Jimmy Stewart, Curtis LeMay, and the Selling of the Strategic Air Command

In 1955, Paramount Pictures released one of their tentpole VistaVision epics, Strategic Air Command, starring James Stewart and directed by his longtime collaborator, Anthony Mann. Strategic Air Command is peak, high-resolution, widescreen 1950s propaganda at its finest, and while not a great film (David and I argue about that aspect too!), its time and place in the building of the mythology of Curtis LeMay's US Air Force bombing arm offers a fascinating insight into the mindset of both LeMay and Jimmy Stewart. David, the host of The Cold War channel on YouTube, joins me to bring our long-running Bluesky debate about this film to the channel and look at a film that had US military cooperation at a level that would make Michael Bay and Tom Cruise green with envy. Check out The Cold War channel on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheColdWarTV Follow David on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/coldwarhost.bsky.social ----------------------------------------------------- 🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow ----------------------------------------------------- ✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials! Website: https://pimaair.org/ https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace https://www.instagram.com/pimaair https://x.com/pimaair https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/ 👕Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/ ----------------------------------------------------- The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International ----------------------------------------------------- 0:00 B-36 Takes Center Stage 5:25 Plot of a Propaganda Classic 12:13 LeMay Behind the Film 23:07 SAC’s Cold War Mission 31:24 LeMay’s Human Factor 36:27 From Hero to Ripper 42:42 Bombers, Missiles, and Madness 51:32 The Missing LeMay Biography 54:10 Weird Subplots and Standout Scenes 1:00:43 What’s Next for The Cold War? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 23, 20261 hr 15 min

'Beyond Blue Sky' Director and SpaceShipOne Project Engineer Interview

The new documentary, Beyond Blue Sky: The Untold Story of the First Private Astronauts, tells the story of Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites journey into space. In this episode we are joined by the film's director, Kevin Curran, and SpaceShipOne's Project Engineer, Matt Stinemetze, to discuss this incredible project that went from Burt Rutan announcing that they were going to space to winning the $10m Ansari X Prize in 2004. Beyond Blue Sky: The Untold Story of the First Private Astronauts is a fantastic documentary and is available now on Apple TV and Amazon Prime in the UK and US. Apple TV link: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/beyond-blue-sky/umc.cmc.3scqjpza3p8lkaz5tr55ksmu9 Amazon link: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0JIG217NYGEBJVVA0ESRKJ3NP2?ref_=atv_dp_share_cu_r All clips from Beyond Blue Sky are used courtesy of Focus on the Signal LLC. ----------------------------------------------------- 🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow ----------------------------------------------------- ✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials! Website: https://pimaair.org/ https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace https://www.instagram.com/pimaair https://x.com/pimaair https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/ 👕Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/ ----------------------------------------------------- The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International ----------------------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 16, 202649 min

Space Hazards with Dr. Ryan French

The Sun is constantly changing; it is not just a constant ball of fire. Dr Ryan French joins us to tell us about the Sun's behaviour, space weather, and the impact of space hazards on Earth. So if you've ever wondered how solar activity affects our technology, the risks of space junk, and the future of space safety, then this is the show for you! Check out Ryan's YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Sun.Scientist Find out more about Ryan French on his website at: www.ryanjfrench.com Follow Ryan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sun.scientist/ Follow Ryan on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanjfrench Follow Ryan on BlueSky: bsky.app/profile/ryanjfrench.bsky.social Grab a copy of Ryan's book, Space Hazards: Asteroids, Solar Flares and Cosmic Threats, at The Aviation Show Bookshop.org! 10% of all sales goes to supporting the show and independent bookshops. UK Link: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11015/9780008688172 US Link: https://bookshop.org/a/111804/9780008774660 ----------------------------------------------------- 🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow ----------------------------------------------------- ✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials! Website: https://pimaair.org/ https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace https://www.instagram.com/pimaair https://x.com/pimaair https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/ 👕Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/ ----------------------------------------------------- The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International ----------------------------------------------------- 0:00 Sun Misconceptions 4:18 Solar Flares Explained 8:14 Space Weather Impacts 15:28 Forecasting Solar Storms 23:06 Protecting Critical Systems 26:32 The Space Junk Problem 31:46 Avoiding Orbital Debris 35:59 Cleaning Up Orbit 37:43 Asteroids and Meteors 39:58 Tracking Dangerous Rocks 42:50 Impact Risks on Earth 45:43 Wrapping Up Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 2, 202617 min

The Typhoon and it's Rocket

The Hawker Typhoon and the 3" Rocket Projectile, the RP-3, have a special place in the annals of the Second World War. In this first part of a series looking at the Hawker Typhoon, we take a deep dive into the RP-3 and some of the realities of this legendary, if wonderfully inaccurate, weapon. Check out The Aviation Historian website and get your copy of the new annual edition here: https://www.theaviationhistorian.com/ If you want to see the RP-3 animation by Marcin Gabryelczyk used in this video, you can check it out here: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/game-art-3inch-rp-3-rockets-6-variants-4fb022462efb4d1d80417f15c311e3aa ----------------------------------------------------- 🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow ----------------------------------------------------- ✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials! Website: https://pimaair.org/ https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace https://www.instagram.com/pimaair https://x.com/pimaair https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/ 👕Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/ ----------------------------------------------------- The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International ----------------------------------------------------- 0:00 RP-3 Rocket Origins 2:24 Rocket Design Revealed 3:54 Early Typhoon Testing 5:06 Desert Tank-Buster Trials 7:57 Normandy Training Begins 10:27 Rockets Under Combat Fire 12:19 Witness at Mortain 13:06 Claims Versus Reality 15:06 Typhoon’s True Impact Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

June 4, 202617 min

Erasing History? The Trouble with Aviation Art

I was recently given two prints by the renowned aviation artist, the late Robert Taylor. One is going on the wall, the other... Well, that is the focus of this video, as why would I want the signature of a man like Günther Rall, an ardent servant of fascism, hanging on my wall? You can listen to both parts of our Birds of Prey discussion with Dr. Philip Blood via The Aviation Show website here: https://theaviation.show/hedge-hopping/ You can grab a copy of Birds of Prey by Dr. Philip W. Blood at The Aviation Show Bookshop. 10% of each sale supports the show. UK Link: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11015/9783838215679 US Link: https://bookshop.org/a/111804/9783838215679 Jonathan Glancy's 2004 Guardian interview with Rall can be found here: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2004/dec/30/1 Rall's obituary in The Daily Telegraph which includes Dr Richard P. Hallion's remarks, can be found via the Wayback Machine here: https://web.archive.org/web/20091015045404/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/6299837/Generalleutnant-Gnther-Rall.html Find out moe about the Foundation of Hamburg Memorials and Learning Centres and the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial on their YouTube channel @neuengamme.memorial and website here: https://www.gedenkstaetten-hamburg.de/en/ ----------------------------------------------------- 🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow ----------------------------------------------------- ✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials! Website: https://pimaair.org/ https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace https://www.instagram.com/pimaair https://x.com/pimaair https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/ 👕Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/ ----------------------------------------------------- The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International ----------------------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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