Akshay Sharma taught himself to fly, and make art out of wood. The AV geek can make you a bespoke, handcrafted airplane propeller that's a connoiseur's delight
Each propeller is 4ft and handcrafted from a single log of wood
At his apartment at Seven Bungalows, entrepreneur Akshay Sharma is designing his next creation inspired by Top Gun 2: Maverick trailer. It's a limited-edition propeller in solid teak with aged iron. Once a failed pilot (his borderline eyesight number killed his flying dreams), Sharma went on to be a hotelier and then a marketing professional amongst other things. In 2010, he took a sabbatical from work to learn to fly at the Dean International flying school in Miami and got a pilot license in a record 21 days. Since then, he travels to the US once a year to fuel his passion for flying.
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In 2014, Sharma got married and moved to his pad where he wanted something signifying his love for aviation. "The wings or tail would be too big, and anything else, too expensive. A propeller fit in perfectly. I bought one on eBay but it got lost in transit. I was frustrated because I had paid the money, waited it out and still didn't have the propeller. I decided to make one for myself," says Sharma.
A certified pilot and AV geek, Akshay Sharma channelled his passion into making teak and pine propellers. Pics/Sameer Markande
Every morning for an hour, he'd sit on the water tank in the building compound with a log of wood and try to come up with a shape, sometimes taking guidance from a local carpenter. One day, an old man in the adjoining building asked if he was making helicopter blades. "Of course, I wasn't, but I felt confident that I was heading in the right direction," laughs Sharma. When he put the half-done piece on the wall of his home, it left visitors fascinated. The appreciation led to experimenting with shapes and sizes on more logs of wood. "For more than a year, I'd lock myself in a workshop with people who worked with wood. They had no clue about propellers or aviation dynamics, but we worked in tandem. A year later, at a friend's store in Khar, I held a pop-up to show friends and family what I was up to. They loved it. Some clients at the store even bought pieces. It meant there was a market."
Woodfeather was born in 2016 and Sharma's workings got more formal—printing a catalogue and putting together a website. In hindsight, a piece that was lost in transit found me a passion for life." He works closely with his clients to understand their personality and discuss the space where the propeller will sit. He even involves them in the eight-week journey—of converting a log of wood to a pièce de résistance—by sharing pictures and videos of the making. "They can watch each piece as it is shaped, grained, polished and finished by master craftsmen. The process is tedious and all of it is done by hand. I want them to experience it," he says.
Yet, Woodfeather is not Sharma's career. He runs a full-time consultancy. Making propellers is his work of choice, a business that makes money but Sharma isn't interested in mass production and intends to keep it a bespoke, limited edition idea, meant for those who love aviation art. "It's not the same as a glass elephant or marble horse you can choose to have in your home. Our bespoke pieces are etched with a personal message— maybe a milestone or gift to yourself or someone on a special occasion. And it is this story that makes it heirloom, something to be proud of for generations to come."
The process
No two pieces are the same. The woodwork, carving and shape-making, done at the first workshop, take about a week. The other workshop is where the paintwork, polish, scrubbing and pigmentation to cure the polish and lacquer is done. Drying takes several days as the wood keeps reacting to the process. Trained metalsmiths cut thick sheets of brass to make the tips, then the badging and hooks are added. The customised etching job on the wood or laser cut stickers make up the final stage, a sort of cherry on the cake. The price for a piece starts at Rs 30,000.
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