Author: Xtended

Gerry Humphreys is a former RAF Wing Commander with over 2500 hrs on the Harrier. With over 10,000 total flying hours on everything from fast jets, general aviation, aerobatic, sport, land, sea, utility and training aircraft, he is now an organic beef farmer living in Limerick.

With limited funding available to the South Africa Air Force, we talk to Darren Olivier from African Defence Review about why their Saab Gripens are all grounded and what impact this is having on both flying training and operational readiness. On a wider front we discuss rotary wing and heavily lift capability and how this too is hindering SAAF operations.

Michael Napier is normally associated with fast jets and he is also a recognised author specialising in aviation history. Most notable for his book ‘Tornado Over the Tigris’, Mike’s military career spanned almost two decades but what is less known is that for 21 years Michael Napier was a pilot and captain at British Airways. We discuss how he migrated from military fast jet flying to the life of an airline pilot; flying the DC10, Boeing 777, the Airbus A320 family and the Boeing 787.

John ‘Rain’ Waters is a former USAF F-16 combat pilot and demo pilot. Now flying in the civilian world, John is the creator and host of the highly acclaimed and hugely popular ‘The Afterburn Podcast’.

We discuss the current news and analyse what can be taken from the early weeks of the conflict; the tactics, losses and impacts. Airliner issues are also on the agenda along with their impact on the supply chain and we finally move on to look at the space sector and some of the issues faced by the ISS team, ESA, NASA and the UK Space Agency.