Aviation podcasts in German and English: formats and topics

On the way to the spot, while waiting for the long-haul jet or in the evening while sorting your photos: aviation podcasts fill exactly the gaps in which you do not want to look at a screen. The range goes from the casual weekly recap to a specialist show on engine maintenance. This overview shows you which formats exist, which shows in German and English are established and how to build a listening list that fits your life as a spotter.

Aviation podcasts: the short answer

For German-speaking listeners, the podcasts of aviation trade media are the most interesting – for example “Take-Off” from FLUG REVUE or “Luftraum” from aeroTELEGRAPH. If you understand English, you will find a much broader field: weekly news talks such as Airplane Geeks and Plane Talking UK, the pilot’s perspective at Airline Pilot Guy, industry analysis at Aviation Week and specialist formats for general aviation or the military. What matters is less which show is “the best” and more which format fits your listening situation.

The four basic formats

Before we get to individual shows, it is worth a look at the forms in which aviation podcasts come. They differ more than the episode titles suggest.

Format	Typical structure	Strength	Weakness
News talk	Several hosts discuss the week’s stories	current, sociable, good for listening on the side	long, facts often from memory
Interview	A guest from an airline, airport, manufacturer or authority	firsthand insights	guest often represents their company’s view
Explainer or topic episode	One episode, one topic, editorially prepared	dense, well researched, timeless	less connection to current events
Firsthand account	Pilots, controllers or technicians tell of their daily work	up close, many details on operations	personal view, not always transferable

Many shows mix these forms. Airplane Geeks, for example, combines news, a guest conversation, reports from correspondents and listener mail in one episode. For you as a listener, that means: look at the structure and length of a typical episode, not just the topic.

German-language aviation podcasts

In the German-speaking world the selection is manageable. The most reliable formats come from editorial teams that report on aviation every day anyway.

Take-Off – the FLUG REVUE podcast

The trade magazine FLUG REVUE publishes a new episode of “Take-Off – Der Luftfahrt-Podcast” (the aviation podcast) every two weeks. It is presented by editors of the magazine. The focus is on superlatives and history: the largest aircraft in the world, the most-built fighter jets, the longest flight routes or particularly curious designs. It is more of a knowledge format than a news show – ideal if you want background on types you see at the fence or have yet to tick off on your wish list.

Fitting here: you will find the Airbus A380 as one of the largest passenger aircraft and long routes with types like the Airbus A350-900 in our detailed profiles.

Luftraum – the aeroTELEGRAPH video podcast

The industry portal aeroTELEGRAPH runs “Luftraum” (German for “airspace”), a video podcast hosted by Christopher Scheffelmeier. It features conversations with guests from the industry: airline executives, former employees and experts. The topics range from airline strategy and company history through airport operations to air cargo. Examples from the archive are episodes about the baggage system at Frankfurt Airport, cargo operations with the Airbus A300 at DHL or Condor’s farewell to the Boeing 757.

For spotters this format is especially interesting because it explains the behind-the-scenes processes that you only see from the outside at the fence.

Smaller and irregular formats

Besides the editorial formats there are podcasts by individuals, clubs or pilots who record on the side. Many of them are worth listening to, but they appear irregularly or pause for months. Before you subscribe to such a show, it is worth checking the date of the latest episodes. You will often find local connections more easily through spotter clubs than through podcast directories.

English-language aviation podcasts

If you understand English, you have a much bigger selection. A side effect: you pick up the vocabulary used in international air traffic radio and in specialist forums such as PPRuNe along the way.

Airplane Geeks

Airplane Geeks appears weekly and has run since 2008. The show covers commercial, military and general aviation. A typical episode contains news, a conversation with a guest from the industry, reports from correspondents in Europe and Australia and listener feedback. It was founded by Max Flight and Courtney Miller; today’s team includes Max Trescott, a regular since 2014, and David Vanderhoof, among others. The archive now comprises over 900 episodes – enough material for many spotting days.

Plane Talking UK

Plane Talking UK is a British podcast that has discussed the week’s aviation news since 2013. A panel of hosts goes through stories on airlines, airports, routes and incidents, plus a military segment. In the segment “The Plane Truth,” the team explains how aircraft work from a passenger’s point of view. The show runs live on YouTube on Wednesday evenings and can be listened to at any time afterward. Because of the British angle, airports like London Heathrow come up frequently.

Airline Pilot Guy

On Airline Pilot Guy, an airline captain talks weekly about what he calls “the view from my side of the cockpit door.” Topics are weather and its effects on flight operations, flight safety, layovers, industry news and incidents and accidents. The host stresses that he speaks as a pilot, not as a journalist. That makes the show a good complement if you want to understand why an aircraft comes in differently in a crosswind or why the runway direction in use is changed.

Aviation Week: Check 6, Window Seat and MRO Podcast

The US trade magazine Aviation Week runs several podcasts with a clear division of labor:

• Check 6 covers aerospace with a strong focus on defense, new programs and technology.
• Window Seat analyzes the airline market – networks, cabins, partnerships and financial results.
• MRO Podcast is devoted to maintenance, repair and overhaul, the technical backbone of flight operations.

These shows are closer to industry analysis than to the hobby perspective. If you want to understand why airlines order certain types or why business models like that of low-cost carriers work, you get solid background here.

Aviation News Talk

Aviation News Talk with pilot and author Max Trescott is aimed at general aviation, that is, private and recreational pilots. Episodes usually combine an interview or a solo segment with current news. Typical topics are accident analyses, decisions in emergencies, flight instruction or avoiding turbulence. For spotters who are toying with the idea of a private pilot license, it is a good introduction to how pilots think.

Fighter Pilot Podcast

The Fighter Pilot Podcast is an audio and video format on military aviation. It covers missions, training, air combat, technology and history, presented by former fighter pilots, including a former TOPGUN instructor. If you photograph at airshows or military airfields, you get background here on the aircraft and procedures you have in front of your lens.

Which format suits you?

The question is less “which podcast” and more “in what situation do you listen.” The little finder helps you sort it out.

Combining podcasts with spotting in a useful way

A podcast only becomes truly valuable when you connect what you hear with your own observations. A few ways that have proven themselves:

Podcasts, YouTube and books compared

Podcasts are one medium among several. Depending on your goal, a different format has the advantage.

Medium	Good for	Less good for
Podcast	background, opinions, interviews while listening on the side	recognition features you have to see
YouTube	type differences, cockpit videos, spotting sessions	listening without a screen
Book	deep, structured treatment of a topic	current developments
Forum	specific questions, insiders’ detailed knowledge	reliable, verified information

The article Aviation on YouTube gives an overview of moving pictures, and you will find reading material under Books for aviation fans.

What to watch for while listening

• Talk is not a source. In free-flowing conversations, numbers are rounded, mixed up or quoted from memory. For fleet numbers and orders, the statement from the airline or manufacturer counts.
• Recognize speculation about accidents. Shortly after an incident, many shows speculate about causes. Only the report of the responsible investigation authority is reliable. How long the lessons from disasters last is shown, for example, by the story of Tenerife 1977.
• Put interviews in context. Guests from companies often speak for their employer. That does not make their insights wrong, but it does make them not neutral.
• Check how current it is. Older episodes stay in the archive. What was said there about routes or fleets may be long outdated – look at the release date.
• Keep the regional perspective in mind. US and British podcasts set different priorities than German media. Rules, authorities and customs cannot always be transferred one to one.

From listener to part of the community

Many podcasts live off their listeners: questions, tips and feedback are taken up in the shows, and some formats involve their audience through live chats. But if you are looking for exchange, you can also find it directly among spotters. How to find like-minded people in your region is described in the guide Finding your crowd. And if you want to produce something yourself, you will find inspiration in the article on starting your own plane spotting YouTube channel – many of the basic rules apply to audio too.

Conclusion

Aviation podcasts are the ideal companion for all the moments when you are not photographing. In German, the formats from the trade media FLUG REVUE and aeroTELEGRAPH are the most reliable choice; in English the range runs from long-running talk shows like Airplane Geeks and Plane Talking UK through the cockpit view at Airline Pilot Guy to the industry formats from Aviation Week. Choose by listening situation and format, combine current news with background – and check numbers at the source before you pass them on.