This aviation fanatic creates picket propellers and furnishings made from plane elements

An plane in the lounge? Fans of aviation would argue that there’s something satisfying about consuming their espresso at a desk made from an Antonov 12 engine. Or maybe, entertaining company on a leather-based couch made from an 18-feet lengthy MIG 21 Drop Tank — even when it occupies a big chunk of the room.

Aircraft are lovely issues, says Akshay Sharma, founder, Woodfeather and Airborn. The former gives handcrafted picket propellers, whereas the latter has furnishings made of plane elements. Here, retired business planes and fighter jets assume a brand new life. Wings turn out to be tables, home windows turn out to be clocks, Air India galley carts are remodeled into plush trolley bars wrapped in Napa leather-based…

With a clientele together with pilots, aviation geeks, and celebrities like Gauri Khan, Mahesh Babu, Ranveer Singh, Ratan Tata, Vijay Kirloskar, and Niranjan Hiranandani amongst others, Akshay says, “India has been a terrific story for us”. And now 60% of his propellers are being exported outdoors India.

Interestingly, atleast 75% of his shoppers are usually not linked to aviation. “Which goes to point out that folks need one thing that appears good and begins a dialog. Clients need one thing hatke (totally different),” he says.

An aviation fanatic, Akshay wished to turn out to be a pilot however his eyesight pressured him to take up a unique profession. He acquired into media advertising and marketing however was all the time pushed by his childhood ardour. He earned himself a Private Pilot License from the US. While establishing his dwelling in Mumbai, he wished aviation-inspired decor for his lounge. “I ordered a propeller off a web site within the US however the cargo acquired misplaced in transit. I used to be heartbroken. I attempted to seek out one thing comparable on this a part of the world however couldn’t discover something. So, I made a decision to make one. Got a log of wooden, and on a regular basis earlier than going to work I’d sand it, polish it and experiment with it,” says Akshay, including that he reached out to craftsmen and learnt the nitty gritty of woodwork.

Eventually, Woodfeather was born in 2017. Starting with seven to eight items, the model then created annual collections. The first one was 4 ft. The sizes are greater now starting from six to 10 ft. “A shopper from Riyadh ordered a ten ft, three blade propeller; that was a problem I loved,” he provides. The propellers are made with Burma teak as the bottom. “We use reclaimed wooden; a few of these logs are 60-80 years previous,” informs Akshay, .

The largest fillip got here once we acquired the Top Gun deal. “I saved watching the trailer on loop and wished to make propellers impressed by the helmet, patches and many others that you just see within the film,” he says. After a whole lot of obsessively asking round, Akshay discovered somebody who was acquaintances with an worker at Paramount Pictures. After 4 months of forwards and backwards, he despatched them 4 recent designs which the crew favored and sooner or later, Akshay woke as much as a affirmation contract in his inbox. “I wept like a toddler. I’m not an enormous model. But to have my brand sit facet by facet with Top Gun was unbelievable. I made the official Top Gun propellers and it opened up worldwide markets for me,” he says over a video name from Mumbai.

Soon, Akshay wished to maneuver past propellers and use plane elements to make furnishings. Accessing these elements have been a problem however along with his contacts in aviation and the air pressure, he says he managed to supply a whole lot of elements — “after paying a bomb for them” — and saved them in a godown 5 years in the past. “On these plane elements you can’t use the standard instruments, cutters, polishers and many others. There’s a lot tech that goes into even a easy rivet in an plane, its thoughts boggling. It took me years to refurbish. That’s how Airborn took form. Everything right here, is one thing that has flown, spent its lifetime within the sky, finished 20-30 years of service,” he provides.

The burgeoning assortment contains fireplace extinguisher desk lamps, oxygen bottle flooring lamps, combustion chamber chandelier, flap desk, Boeing wheel espresso tables, spinning compressor rotor tables, plane pores and skin tags, bullions… He is continually scouring for extra elements, and says, “This is my approach of bringing these iconic planes to life once more.”

Prices begin at ₹2.5 lakh. Available on woodfeather.com

Published – May 02, 2025 02:45 pm IST