Story Stop Day 1: Beringer Aero and Michelin

Summary

The very first Story Stop Tour episode drops Shawn right into the action on Day One of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, tracking down two brands that flew with the "Runway to Oshkosh" delivery crew.

First stop: Beringer Aero, where Shawn learns how a French racing-brake company became a leading name in general aviation wheels and brakes — and gets a plain-English lesson in braking physics and heat dissipation from the technical team.

He also has a chance to sit down with Doma Andreka, Chief Delivery Pilot for Tecnam US, about how Beringer’s brakes and wheels were a part of “every stop along the journey” of the Runway to Oshkosh flight.

Second stop: a household name that's been part of aviation since before the Wright brothers, where Shawn traces the company's path from an 1908 volcano-top flying competition to Allied maps in WWII to the Space Shuttle — before landing on today's lighter, more sustainable aircraft tires.

Plus, we talk to Patrick McAlee from Extreme Flight and Justin von Linsowe from Full Throttle Formation team about the practical application of Michelin aircraft tires.

Key Points

Origin story: The Beringer started in 1985 as a racing brake manufacturer for cars and motorbikes before pivoting fully into aviation in the early 2000s, eventually selling off its non-aviation business to focus on the aircraft market.

The color has a purpose: The brand's signature bright red (and other bold colors) comes from an anodizing pigment originally developed for UV-resistant signage — it just happens to also resist fading on brake components.

Braking, explained simply: Braking converts kinetic energy into heat through friction; using aluminum instead of steel helps the system dissipate that heat faster, which is the core engineering thesis behind the product.

US manufacturing expansion: Beringer’s North American operations, based in Greenville, South Carolina, recently received FAA PMA approval to begin manufacturing in the US, with a target of bringing production over from France in the near term.

An unlikely neighbor: That same South Carolina hub sits just a couple of miles from Michelin's North American aviation operations — two French-born aviation suppliers now next door to each other in the US.