This aviation enthusiast creates wooden propellers and furniture made of aircraft parts

Akshay Sharma’s fascination with aviation led him to design wooden propellers and furniture made of aircraft parts

An aircraft in the living room? Fans of aviation would argue that there is something satisfying about drinking their coffee at a table made of an Antonov 12 engine. Or perhaps, entertaining guests on a leather sofa made of an 18-feet long MIG 21 Drop Tank — even if it occupies a large chunk of the room.

Aircraft are beautiful things, says Akshay Sharma, founder, Woodfeather and Airborn. The former offers handcrafted wooden propellers, while the latter has furniture made of aircraft components. Here, retired commercial planes and fighter jets assume a new life. Wings become tables, windows become clocks, Air India galley carts are transformed into plush trolley bars wrapped in Napa leather...

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

Interestingly, atleast 75% of his clients are not connected to aviation. “Which goes to show that people want something that looks good and starts a conversation. Clients want something hatke (different),” he says.

An aviation enthusiast, Akshay wanted to become a pilot but his eyesight forced him to take up a different career. He got into media marketing but was always driven by his childhood passion. He earned himself a Private Pilot License from the US. While setting up his home in Mumbai, he wanted aviation-inspired decor for his living room. “I ordered a propeller off a website in the US but the shipment got lost in transit. I was heartbroken. I tried to find something similar in this part of the world but could not find anything. So, I decided to make one. Got a log of wood, and everyday before going to work I would sand it, polish it and experiment with it,” says Akshay, adding that he reached out to craftsmen and learnt the nitty gritty of woodwork.

Eventually, Woodfeather was born in 2017. Starting with seven to eight pieces, the brand then created annual collections. The first one was four feet. The sizes are bigger now ranging from six to 10 feet. “A client from Riyadh ordered a 10 feet, three blade propeller; that was a challenge I enjoyed,” he adds. The propellers are made with Burma teak as the base. “We use reclaimed wood; some of these logs are 60-80 years old,” informs Akshay, .

The biggest fillip came when we got the Top Gun deal. “I kept watching the trailer on loop and wanted to make propellers inspired by the helmet, patches etc that you see in the movie,” he says. After a lot of obsessively asking around, Akshay found someone who was acquaintances with an employee at Paramount Pictures. After four months of back and forth, he sent them four fresh designs which the team liked and one day, Akshay woke up to a confirmation contract in his inbox. “I wept like a child. I am not a big brand. But to have my logo sit side by side with Top Gun was unbelievable. I made the official Top Gun propellers and it opened up international markets for me,” he says over a video call from Mumbai.