I seem to spend a lot of time driving these days – often the hour or so from home to Tyabb Airfield, and back. Listening to the radio is OK but usually I prefer some music, particularly if I’m going flying. So I have been building my ‘top tunes for flyers’ playlist on my iPod. So far, the list includes my personal top 10 as well as a whole list of others that didn’t quite make it. Whats your favourite flying music?

Here’s my top 10. Many of them have been covered by other artists but these are my personal favourites. I have included YouTube links to original videos (some of which are ‘vintage’ quality) and all these recordings are no doubt available through iTunes or your favourite music store.

1. Treetop Flyer – Stephen Stills. YouTube link: Treetop Flyer
2. Learning to Fly – Tom Petty. YouTube link: Learning to Fly
3. Fly One Time – Ben Harper. YouTube link: Fly One Time
4. The Yellow Piper – Kristina Olsen. YouTube link: The Yellow Piper
5. Early Morning Rain – Eva Cassidy. YouTube link: Early Morning Rain
6. Wind Beneath My Wings – Bette Midler. YouTube link: Wind Beneath My Wings
7. Leaving on a Jet Plane – Peter, Paul & Mary. YouTube link: Leaving on a Jet Plane
8. Snoopy vs the Red Baron – Royal Guardsmen. YouTube link: Snoopy vs the Red Baron
9. Watching Airplanes – Gary Allan. YouTube link: Watching Airplanes
10. Learning to Fly – Pink Floyd (different song from Tom Petty). YouTube link: Learning to Fly

Other worthy contenders but not top 10 material include: I’m a Pilot/Dos Gringos, Higher & Higher/Jimmy Barnes, Rocket Man/Elton John, Space Oddity/David Bowie, Jet Airline/Steve Miller Band, The Immelman Turn/Al Stewart.

And last but not least, a wonderfully soothing piece of choral work: Em dones força – feat Montserrat by Sergio Dalma (YouTube link: Em Dones Forca).

No doubt there are plenty of others I’ve missed. Happy listening!