Explore every episode of the podcast Pilots of the Airwaves - Voices of a Generation Podcast

He started his radio career in Faraday Street and ended 55 years later in Collins Street. In between there was some panel operating, producing and news reading, but it was the love of announcing and creating a special rapport with his audience that gave him the greatest satisfaction. He is Peter Van. Enjoy!

A ‘one trick pony’ she definitely isn’t; a successful on air jock, a station programmer, a teacher and mentor, a podcaster………..and a soccer mum!  Toni Tenaglia has a story to tell! Enjoy!

She is ‘the better half’ of one of the most endearing radio duos to grace the Melbourne airwaves. Whether on AM or FM, breakfast or afternoons, presenting a music formal or talkback, Diane Dunleavy has a diverse wealth of broadcasting experience spanning over 37 years that has been appreciated and acknowledged by (almost!) everyone!  Enjoy!

He listened to radio stations, won prizes on radio stations, worked at a number of radio stations….then created his own radio station! To some, he’s known as Hans Kristian, but to most it’s Hans Torv.  Enjoy!

He enjoyed 50 great years in the industry, across 4 states, presenting a number of different formats as Superjock, Locko or simply Mike O’Loughlin. A man with many diverse strings to his bow.... and a story for them all. Enjoy!

3 states, 8 radio stations and a diverse career that has included a number of unique, successful (and at times challenging) experiences…..all with a story to go with them! Rod Spargo recalls them all in his own inimitable style!  Enjoy!

He was the king of Adelaide radio in the 60's, played a major role in ensuring the Beatles made it to the City of Churches in '64 and even had his own fan club! Get ready pussycats, it's Jim Slade! Enjoy!

He worked in 4 capital cities, presented a range of music formats, introduced a myriad of ‘special guests’ to his programs and today shared a full swag of great stories from a very full career! That’s Bernie Brittain! Enjoy!

Melbourne born, but an icon of Sydney radio through the 70’s and 80’s and the man responsible for taking Triple J to the nation, Barry Chapman’s career in radio has been anything but mainstream. Great stories and a history lesson rolled into one! Enjoy!

65 years in the media doesn’t happen by accident, it takes talent, persistence and maybe an ounce of luck every now and again. Whether it’s through television or radio, so many of us have grown up with Philip Brady, an Australian media icon. Enjoy!

From the highlands of Scotland,  to country Western Australia before eventually settling east, the journey to become the first woman in Australia to rate No 1 for a talk-back program on prime time radio, was an exciting one for our guest Muriel Cooper. Enjoy!

From living in the Middle East and relying on Radio Australia for his ‘radio fix’ to becoming the youngest drive time announcer in the history of Sydney radio, Mike Hammond has stories aplenty that span over 17 years of quality broadcasting. Enjoy!

He started his career in his home town of Shepparton, worked in 3 states at numerous capital city radio stations as well as stints in the UK and Solomon Islands! Mike Andrew’s 28 year radio career has been most diverse…..and most successful!  Enjoy!

From travelling through the country selling flair and body shirts to becoming  part of one of Melbourne’s most loved breakfast duos, today’s guest has had a unique radio journey that continues as strong as ever today. It’s Peter “Grubby’ Stubbs! Enjoy!

Ian Nicholls is a radio journeyman clocking up almost 70 years in the business. He has skipped across the Melbourne radio dial, as well as working in country Victoria, Tassie and his first appointment in Young NSW. A man of many talents and a load of stories!!  Enjoy!

He went from being one of the most influential music jocks in the 70’s and 80’s, putting together the famous 3XY Top 40 charts,  hosting the station's legendary Album Show and playing a part in the introduction of FM radio in Australia, to joining a Buddhist community in a Victorian country town. The journey (so far) of Chris Maxwell McGlone really is unique. Enjoy!

If you have been involved with 5 or 6 diverse formats, worked at both AM and FM stations and successfully transitioned between commercial radio and the ABC, you are a survivor! George Danes ticks all the boxes! Enjoy! (Tnx to Wayne Mac and David Oaten for some Mellow Music treasures!)

He's a Brisbane boy who paid his dues in the bush and eventually made his way to the big time in Sydney, before settling back in his home town. Even spending an hour with Graham Roberts for the first time, you really do feel like you are chatting with "your old mate, Robbo!" Enjoy!

He was born in Tasssie, became a 'Starr' on Melbourne radio, was part of the DB Music! revolution in the mid 70's then developed into one of this country's most astute program directors. He is, of course, commercial radio hall of famer, Greg Smith! Enjoy!

Besides serving his apprenticeship in Newcastle and helping to kick start 2JJ, Alan McGirvan made the Brisbane radio marketplace his own in the mid 70's to early 80's. He came, he saw, he conquered.......then moved on! Plenty of stories! Enjoy!

He started off spinning the discs and honing his broadcasting skills in the middle of N.S.W. in the mid 60's. However, it wasn't long before he became one of the most influential radio news reports in the country. He is a doyen of the industry....he is Denis O'Kane!

He roamed up and down the east coast of Australia presenting his special brand of broadcasting on 16 different stations throughout his career. He wasSydney's  Triple M  first breakfast jock and he even raced around the world in four days as part of a station promotion! He is Pete Rudder! Enjoy!

From being the office boy at 2UW, to having his voice booming across centre court at Melbourne Park or the MCG, Craig Willis is the voice of voice overs,  the master of MCs ......and has accumulated a very broad and successful body of work in broadcasting! Enjoy!

5 states and 14 stations over 36 years…. and a first day on the job at a brand new radio station that neither he nor anyone else at the station will ever forget! Dean Matters is a true radio journeyman with plenty of tales to tell!  Enjoy!

He started as a panel operator at 3DB, presented a top rating breakfast program in Melbourne but it was in Newcastle where David Jones really made his mark. A great jock? Yes! A ‘Derro’? Only sometimes!! Enjoy!

He started his radio career way back in 1976, has been involved in some of Sydney's top rating stations, has kept us company on many of our overseas trips, has even had his voice preserved for posterity....and he's still going strong today. He's Trevor Sinclair! Enjoy!

He has many strings to his media bow in both radio and television, including sport, news anchoring and talkback radio, but Tim Webster is still a music jock at heart  with many tales to tell! Almost 50 years in the biz and still going strong!  Enjoy! 

For Laurie Atlas it all started in his home state of Western Australia, then moved onto Melbourne and the Surf Coast of Geelong, and finally up north to the Sunshine Coast and Rockhampton! Along his journey, he also helped farewell one the most iconic radio stations in Australia. Enjoy!

He started off in Kalgoorlie, made his way across to north eastern Victoria, then down to Tassie before he dominated almost every teenager's transistor radio in Melbourne..... and then moved over to Adelaide. Monday to Friday, 7 - 10 pm, on 'The Greater',  there was no one bigger than Big Sam Anglesey! Enjoy (I certainly did!)       

This week's guest has worked at some of the most influential radio stations, in the biggest market places in Australia. However, no matter how far he roamed, Keith Harris always seemed to find his way back home to Launceston, 8 times in fact! Some great stories. Enjoy! 

As well as a Pilot of the Airwaves, Ian MacRae was also a Pirate of the Airwaves in the late 60s in the UK before returning to Australia to dominate breakfast radio in Sydney for almost decade. A great story from a legendary jock!  Enjoy!

He has one of the most familiar voices and faces in Australian television, but it was in radio that Pete Smith had his initial media experience, first at the ABC, then as a 3AK Good Guy. His versatility behind the microphone continued at 3UZ and even more so on FOX FM in the mid 90s. It's a great 55 minutes of reminiscing with "Pete Smith Speaking". Enjoy!

He kept us company at night, introducing us new music and the latest album tracks. He's dabbled in production, writing and stand up comedy........and his is also the first voice we heard on commercial FM radio in Australia. He is Peter Grace. Enjoy! 

Whether he was warming up a game show audience, using his dulcet on a voice over or spinning the discs at one of Melbourne's top radio stations, John Deeks always did it with passion, enthusiasm and a smile on his face! Enjoy!

If you were a teenager in the 70's, living on the east coast of Australia, there was only one month that really mattered....ROCKTOBER! Hans Torv, Lee Simon, Ian Macrae and Mark Irvine have a quick chat about their ROCKTOBER memories. Roll over ROCKTOBER!! Enjoy!

Trailblazer, innovator, trendsetter, ground-breaker, influencer, achiever ...... and very very good at her job.  Spend an hour chatting with Cherie Romaro and if you haven't had the pleasure of working with her, you certainly wish you had!  Enjoy!

He was a true pilot both on and off the airwaves, conquered the ratings in two capital cities and was one half of one of Australia’s most likeable radio duos. Mark Irvine is a ‘jack of all trades’ and master of many! Enjoy!

He was a high school student by day and a disc jockey on Melbourne's hottest radio station by night....not your conventional pathway into the industry but one that has served Craig Huggins very well over 40 year! Our chat with Huggie was.....GOLD! Enjoy!

A true pioneer of Australian radio from the 60's when television was the new kid on the block and radio had to be something special to survive. He was a 'Most Happy Fella', he is Jim Hilcke! Enjoy 

He moved around the country, taking his unique style of broadcasting to audiences in 4 states and 1 territory (sometimes as Con Vann) but it was at EON FM and Triple M in Melbourne where the Captain was most influential. He is of course Karl van Est!! Enjoy!

From Swan Hill to Launceston, to Adelaide and to Melbourne, then right across Australia with our own Top 40 .....or should I say Take 40 Countdown! One of Australia's great 'music minds' it was great to spend some time with Barry Bissell. Enjoy!

He moved from Panel Operator to Production at 3DB, Production to Mid Dawn Announcer on 3KZ and then on to legend status on Breakfast in Townsville. 30 years of early starts and still going strong! This Steve Price is no shock jock, just a bloody good bloke! Enjoy!  

He is a self confessed radio nomad, working across four states at numerous stations, both commercial and the ABC as well as being part of 'The biggest air-lift in Australia's history.' He is the poetry reading, story telling Ted Bull. Enjoy!

From Germany, to the Snowy Mountains, onto Melbourne then up to Sydney (and a few other places in between), the name might have changed at times but the dulcet tones never waived! He’s one of the pioneers of ABC Youth Radio, he is Holger Brockmann….Enjoy!

He was a disc jockey, a talent spotter, program director and a pioneer of Top 40 radio down the east coast of Australia. He drove fast cars and barefoot skied......and is a true legend of the industry. It could only be Bill Gates!! Enjoy!

He’s been a jock, a station manager, a producer and an author who has written three volumes of music facts and trivia that have become a point of reference for both industry professionals and people who just love music. He is the very versatile Steve Woods. Enjoy!

He’s one of the ultimate journeymen of Australian radio, 3 states, numerous stations and decades of great stories from a true radio survivor. From Sydney, to Tassie, then Melbourne, Perth, Melbourne and back to Perth, Brian Lehman is the Mann! Enjoy!

He started off in the mail room, made his way up to the board room and he has been a major influence in radio across three states.  Rather than a pilot, he is more of an air traffic controller, plotting the course for the pilots to follow and in his 57+ year in the business, he's seen it all...and that's no BS!!  It is a great 50 minutes or so with Brendan Sheedy.  Enjoy!

He survived 17 years and at least 3  format changes at the one radio station, played the hits, interviewed the pollies, worked with a King...as well as crossing to the Murray Bridge dogs! Denis Scanlan, a 3DB legend...enjoy!

He's the big man, with the big voice and a zillion stories to tell from his fabulous 47 year career (that is still going!) "Shhhhawn Cosgrove....Come On Down!!" Enjoy!