Plane Crazy Down Under is an aviation podcast (Internet radio show) that has been looking at the world of aviation from an Australia/Pacific point of view since July 2009.
With 44 episodes already produced and more in the making, they have been downloaded more than 45,000 times by listeners around the world.
Produced by Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron, the goal of the show is to boost awareness of aviation within the Australia/Pacific region, promote Australian and New Zealand achievements and spread the message to people that flying is fun and achievable.
Guests on the podcast have included a number of pilots from all aspects of aviation, as well as analysts, air traffic controllers, adventurers, business owners and museum staff. Topics and areas covered in the podcast so far range from hot air balloons, recreational flying, warbirds and sport aerobatics through to charter operations, airlines and the military.
Guests of the show have included:
- Red Bull Air Race pilots Matt Hall, Nigel Lamb and Hannes Arch
- Around-Australia charity pilot Owen Zupp
- Globe Trotting adventurers Ken Evers & Tim Pryse
- Deborah Lawrie, the first female pilot with Ansett
- Dick Smith, pilot, adventurer and safety advocate
- Warren Truss, leader of the National Party and shadow minister for trade, transport and local government
- Aviation analysts Ben Sandilands and Saj Ahmad
Plane Crazy Down Under have also produced themed episodes covering a special topic including:
- Flying in & over Antarctica
- Coverage of the Perth Red Bull Air Race
- Air Traffic Controller training
- The B24 Liberator restoration project
Episodes are produced every one to two weeks and each one usually lasts between 60 to 120 minutes.
Audience members are typically aviation professionals and enthusiasts that are primarily located in Australia and New Zealand (about 75%) the USA and Canada (about 20%) and the balance are from the UK, Asia and other areas.
Visscher and McHerron also produce two additional audio products: A weekly aviation news segment for the Airplane Geeks podcast in the USA and a segment for the FlightTime Radio show, a weekly radio show on aviation that is broadcast every Saturday morning in Florida.
