MIKAEL CARLSON: A TRUE AVIATOR. AN INSPIRING MECHANIC

“It’s always a pleasure to meet up with people who have a real passion for their work and who take pleasure in using our tools. Mikael Carlson is just such a man.”

Mikael is an aviator who lives in Skåne, Sweden. He has his own hangars, a private landing strip and the kind of superb, fully-equipped work shop he needs to build his own planes.

Mikael was born in 1959 and says he was fascinated by all things to do with flying, aviation and especially vintage aircraft, from a very early age. Like so many kids he started with small projects, making models from scratch. He always enjoyed the process of making something from basic, original parts and engines.

His first full-sized aircraft was a Swedish 1919 fighter-trainer called Tummelisa that he finished when he was just 23. Since then he has found the time to recreate further aircraft, including Bleriot XIs and a Fokker Dr 1.

Mikael is one of the few people in the world who can build and fly these types of old aircraft. He believes that old planes should be flown as they once were!

When he’s not building aircrafts in his hangars, he spends his time flying commercial passenger planes all around Europe.

This man eats, sleeps and breathes aircraft.

This is the first in a series of portraits where Bahco is capturing dedicated and extraordinary professionals all around the globe. The common denominator for all these professionals is their passion for genuine craft and the use of proper tools.