The STOL Collective

#S2 E6 - The REAL STOL FEST live in Breighton with William Newton & @Indopilot Matt Dearden

In this live “under the wing” episode of TSC at The REAL STOL FEST from the Real Aeroplane Club in Breighton Airfield - Yorkshire UK which took place on 17-18th May 2025, we talk first with William Newton, the master mind of RSF and then with @Indopilot Matt Dearden. In his early 20’s and an air ambulance navigator, William is already an experienced pilot on rare vintage aéroplanes like the unique in the world Dart Kitten II from 1937 or the Aeronca Gap. He recently discovered a passion for farmstrips flying, backcountry aviation and beautiful bushplanes which ultimately lead him to organize the very first STOL Fly-In in the UK, The REAL STOL FEST 2025. During the Fest, I had the chance to finally meet Matt Dearden aka @Indopilot, who very kindly accepted to record an awesome live episode in front of his beautiful 1953 PA-18 Super Cub. He shared with us his road to aviation and most of all his seven years experience as a PC-6 mountain and bush pilot for SUSI AIR in Papua. Please do not forget to checkout Matt’s website https://mattdearden.co.uk and especially his newly released book “Flying from Shangri-La”. And as this would not be enough, Matt is also an avid seaplane pilot having a deep experience and connection to one of the most beautiful flying boat in History: the PBY Catalina. William‘s Book of the episode: "Sky Fever: The Autobiography of Sir Geoffrey de Havilland" - Sir Geoffrey De Havilland - Airlife, 1999 - ISBN: 184037148X https://books.google.co.in/books?id=_vcfAQAAIAAJ&source=gbs_book_other_versions_r&cad=4 [https://books.google.co.in/books?id=_vcfAQAAIAAJ&source=gbs_book_other_versions_r&cad=4] William‘s Song of the episode: “She sells sanctuary” - The Cult, 1985 Matt‘s Book of the episode: "Flying the knife edge: New Guinea bush pilot" - Matt MacLaughlin - 2016 - ISBN: 988140360X https://backcountrypilot.org/features/category/tales-from-yesteryear/flying-the-knife-edge/68-flying-the-knife-edge [https://backcountrypilot.org/features/category/tales-from-yesteryear/flying-the-knife-edge/68-flying-the-knife-edge] Matt’s own book: “Flying from Shangri-La” - Matt Dearden - 2024 https://mattdearden.co.uk/book/ [https://mattdearden.co.uk/book/] Matt‘s Song of the episode: "Fortunate son” - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 1969 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Upk41P7aw [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Upk41P7aw] As usual, don´t hesitate to check out the webpage of the episode on our website - . You can shoot me an email to let me know what your thoughts are about the show and if you have any questions. Music credits: "Slowly", Amon Tobin - Supermodified, 2000 Cover picture: The REAL STOL FEST Design: Maxime Compagnon - The STOL Collective

#S2 E5 - Mountain flying in the European Alps with Dimitri Bella (AFPM - vice president) and Stefan Rabensteiner (ÖGPV - president)

Charter of the (European) Mountain Pilot: As mountain pilot, I shall: LOVE AVIATION FREEDOM and respect the freedom of others. PREPARE MYSELF CONSCIOUSLY FOR MOUNTAIN LANDINGS by going on recce hikes. AVOID NOISE DURING MY MOUNTAIN FLIGHTS so that others can also enjoy the mountains. CAREFULLY BACK OFF when others want to enjoy the solitary silence. NEVER AFRAID THE FAUNA and avoid flying over mountain huts, alpine pastures, and mountain villages. NEVER DESTROY THE FLORA and enjoy the flowery alpine meadows. RETURN FROM THE MOUNTAINS and join clubs to jointly preserve this freedom of flight. MAKE MY CONTRIBUTION TO EUROPEAN MOUNTAIN PILOTS ASSOCIATIONS THROUGH COMMITMENT and preserve aviation glory. In this episode of TSC, Dimitri Bella - former president, now vice-president of the French Mountain Pilot Association “AFPM” (https://www.afpm.fr/index0.php [https://www.afpm.fr/index0.php]) and Stefan Rabensteiner, president of the Austrian Mountain Pilot Association “ÖGPV” (https://oegpv.at [https://oegpv.at/]) share with us their road to aviation and especially mountain flying, the incredibly rich history of mountain flying in the European Alps, the peculiarities and new challenges faced by mountain pilots in the Alps, the dedication of all volunteers; including themselves to mountain pilot associations as well as the need to motivate a new generation of mountain pilots in continuing the work done to protect our passion - Mountain Flying in the European Alps. Stefan’s Book of the episode: “Buschpilot in Alaska - Die vielen Leben des Don Lee” - Christoph Barszcewski - Aviator.at [http://aviator.at/] Verlag, 2013 Stefan’s Song of the episode: “Last Resort”, Papa Roach - Infest, 2000. Dimitri's Book of the episode: "Vol de Nuit" - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - Harper & Brothers, 1939 Dimitri’s Song of the episode: “Cornfield Chase”, Hans Zimmer - Interstellar, 2014.As usual, don´t hesitate to check out the webpage of the episode on our website - https://www.thestolcollective.com [https://www.thestolcollective.com/]. You can shoot me an email to let me know what your thoughts are about the show and if you have any questions. Music credits: "Slowly", Amon Tobin - Supermodified, 2000 Cover picture: Julien Jay - Jeunes Ailes Association Design: Maxime Compagnon - The STOL Collective

#S2 E4 - Filming National STOL Series and paramotoring with Maurice “Reese” d’Aquin

From Louisiana - USA and based in Florida for several years, Maurice “Reese” d’Aquin is the One who loves to tell the story of other pilots; from FPV drones to paramotor to STOL aircrafts. A studied graphic designer, photographer, filmmaker , and editor; he is a digital multimedia storyteller best known for his unscripted “in the moment” documentary style. Maurice is also CEO and co-founder of FLYING HOME PRODUCTIONS L.L.C. (https://www.flyinghomeproductions.com [https://www.flyinghomeproductions.com/] ), which is a unique blend of creativity and technical precision, rolling out the cutting edge in aerial technology (UAV/UAS systems, or drones), aerial photography, and aerial cinematography to offer up dynamic solutions that can be individually tailored to any projects’ needs. Sharing the same passion as his grandfather for aviation and waterskiing sports, Reese joined the AVIATOR PARAMOTOR (https://aviatorppg.com [https://aviatorppg.com/]) team as a filmmaker in summer 2020 then soon after in 2022 the NATIONAL STOL SERIES (https://nationalstol.com [https://nationalstol.com/]). In this episode of TSC, Maurice shares with us his road to aviation and film making with great insights about FPV drone racing, paramotor flying in USA, the National STOL Series and the newly created “Paramotor STOL Classics” competition. We also touched on our common goal to make the FAI recognize our STOL competitions as official discipline. Book of the episode: The Powered Paragliding Bible 1 to 7 - Jeff Goin - 2005/2019 Song of the episode: “RODEO”, Garth Brooks - Ropin’ the Wind, 1991. As usual, don´t hesitate to check out the webpage of the episode on our website - https://www.thestolcollective.com [https://www.thestolcollective.com/]. You can shoot me an email to let me know what your thoughts are about the show and if you have any questions. Music credits: "Slowly", Amon Tobin - Supermodified, 2000 Cover picture: Maurice d’Aquin Design: Maxime Compagnon - The STOL Collective

#S2 E3 - Marie-Sophie, Ingo ... and (little) Anton Maier

"And then came Anton... three days before his birth we flew to Locarno (Italy) to eat some pizza and ten days afterwards we went again!" - Ingo and Marie-Sophie Maier Marie-Sophie and Ingo are becoming, if not already, a legendary flying German couple. Both south-west Germany natives from the beautiful Black Forest region, Marie-Sophie first discovered aviation thanks to her father as they lived several years in Canada during her childhood. Back in Germany and now a 17 year old finishing highschool where she already met Ingo, Marie-Sophie got the unique opportunity to get her PPL and support her father in his position as CEO of Haas Schleifmaschinen GmbH in flying the companý´s Beechcraft Bonanza F33A.  This was the birth of a common burning passion for aviation followed by Ingo´s PPL, instrument ratings, Marie-Sophie´s CPL and not to mention successful university studies in mechanical engineering. For more than a decade, Marie-Sophie and Ingo are working for Adelbert Haas GmbH (formerly Haas Schleifmaschinen GmbH), a family owned business, leader in grinding technologies. In this episode, Marie-Sophie and Ingo share with us their personal family story which got them into aviation and transformed their life. From flying the company's Beechcraft Bonanza in all kinds of challenging VFR and IFR conditions to upgrading to the twin turboprop Beechcraft King Air and finally discovering backcountry and bush flying in Europe.  Marie-Sophie and Ingo finally achieved their dream of owning not only one taildragger Zlin Aviation Savage but two, since last year came a second one so that little Anton could travel with his parents in more comfort and fun of course. From very long cross-country navigations in the different company airplanes on business trips as well as delivering support in Ukraine (https://multigrind.com/en/blog/detail/support-for-the-ukraine-air-rescue-comes-from-trossingen) up to participating in STOL competitions in France, those two symbolize the essence of aviation at its best. If you are interested in engineering, don´t forget to visit the family´s company website https://multigrind.com/en/haas-schleifmaschinen to learn more about their leading grinding technology and much more. As usual, don´t hesitate to shoot me an email to let me know what your thoughts are about the show and if you have any questions. Music credits: "Slowly", Amon Tobin - Supermodified, 2000Cover Cover picture: Ingo Maier Cover design: Maxime Compagnon - The STOL Collective

#S2 E2 - It´s all about Harmonics with Zane Jacobson from backcountrypilot.org

''Just when I convinced myself that this was basically a Super Cub with an overhead engine, the out of sync harmonics of the props winding down begin to create that distinct: ... THAT SOUND!" - Zane Jacobson in "THE PROTOTYPE" Zane Jacobson is the founder/editor of Backcountry Pilot and currently flies a tailwheel Piper PA-22 Pacer around his newly adopted home area of Eveleth, Minnesota - USA. An Oregon native and former avid dirt bike rider, he has been a pilot for the better part of 25 years. Father of two young girls, he enjoys writing and producing articles and short films about anything to do with backcountry and bush flying, and makes baby steps on the build of his 4-place Bearhawk when time allows. In this episode, Zane Jacobson shares with us his family roots which got him into flying, how the idea came to launch https://backcountrypilot.org/⁠ [https://backcountrypilot.org/] in late 2004 as an alternative to the many type-specific forums that were already popular at the time, his wish even right after getting is PPL to transcend the type focus forums and unite pilots' common interest in backcountry and bush flying, how he found his passion for film making unlike vlogging by bringing a more cinematographic touch to backcountry aviation videos, his passion for music and building synthesisers and many stories from past expeditions. If you want to discover more content about Zane, go checkout this episode's page on our website: www.thestolcollective.com [www.thestolcollective.com] Obviously don’t forget to visit Zane’s https://backcountrypilot.org/ [https://backcountrypilot.org/] as well as watch his awesome videos on https://youtube.com/@BackcountryPilot [https://youtube.com/@BackcountryPilot] Music credits: “Slowly”, Amon Tobin – Supermodified, 2000 Cover picture: Zane Jacobson - Backcountry Pilot