Flying Wild Alaska

TMetzinger

TMetzinger

Final Approach
Joined
Mar 6, 2006
Messages
9,660
Location
Northern Virginia
Display Name
Display name:
Tim
Just saw some of this show today... Pretty neat operation.

I like all the airplanes and the insight into the operations up there.

Definitely going into the DVR. Neat episode where the main guy lost the left rudder pedal on the left side of his 180. So he switched to the right seat.
 
I watched it on-line earlier this evening. http://www.megavideo.com/?v=XMD1XP0Q Our church has been sending high schoolers up to Unalakleet for summer mission trips for the last 4 years or so, and our youngest son went last summer. He fell in love with the place. Can't wait for him to watch this.
 
I set the DVR and watched it last night. What a cool show, I just hope they dont mess with it like they did with American Chopper and Ice Road Truckers. Too much created drama. I think with the weather in Alaska and the issue there they should be able to have enough real drama to sustain them.
 
Quite a collection of planes. First show shows promise. Typical reality "drama" but great flying and detail.
 
silver-eagle said:
Quite a collection of planes. First show shows promise. Typical reality "drama" but great flying and detail.
Click to expand...
Ditto. I realize they have to manufacture some drama for the non-flying public, but other than that I enjoyed it. There's a clip in the opening sequence of someone landing a Cessna in what looks like a 30+ knot left quartering headwind...looking forward to seeing that one. Gotta be a great stick and rudder guy up there.
 
I'd like to know that with that "overstuffed" 207 flying out of the hunting camp... Where did they put the cameraman???

I also like the show. Dame Tweedo and the young girl are entertaining to watch.
 
AggieMike88 said:
I'd like to know that with that "overstuffed" 207 flying out of the hunting camp... Where did they put the cameraman???

I also like the show. Dame Tweedo and the young girl are entertaining to watch.
Click to expand...
I did have to wonder how much creative editing they're doing with the kid; I have a hard time believing someone could grow up in an aviation family and not know that planes are to be parked into the wind.
 
AggieMike88 said:
I'd like to know that with that "overstuffed" 207 flying out of the hunting camp... Where did they put the cameraman???
Click to expand...

I did notice that when he used his sat-phone to call in a flight plan he said "3 souls". There was the pilot and 3 hunters, plus whatever members of the production crew that all needed to be shuttled back and forth. It's amazing what editing can do.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Where did they put the cameraman???
Click to expand...

Matthew said:
I did notice that when he used his sat-phone to call in a flight plan he said "3 souls". There was the pilot and 3 hunters,
Click to expand...

He should have said "4 souls". I noticed that too. As far as the camera crew, I think they used strategically placed cameras and didn't need cameramen to do that.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
He should have said "4 souls". I noticed that too. As far as the camera crew, I think they used strategically placed cameras and didn't need cameramen to do that.
Click to expand...

I didn't count how many were actually in the plane at the same time. My assumption was "3 souls", that he would be making multiple trips, and that creative editing handled the rest.

Reminds me of a line from the movie "The Stuntman". Peter O'Toole is the director of a movie that hires a guy on the run from the law. The feds look at some of the dailies and, through the use of creative editing, the stuntman never appears in any of the footage even though he was right in the middle of all the action. Later, the director says, "If God could do half the things I can, he'd be a happy man."
 
if you watch really closely, you can get a glimpse of a camera mounted up in the windscreen in a couple of scenes.
 
Veritas said:
I did have to wonder how much creative editing they're doing with the kid; I have a hard time believing someone could grow up in an aviation family and not know that planes are to be parked into the wind.
Click to expand...

That's just part of the manufactured "drama" that they put in the show. There's no way she didn't know that.
 
Capt.Crash'n'Burn said:
That's just part of the manufactured "drama" that they put in the show. There's no way she didn't know that.
Click to expand...

Kids are kids, those Indian kids pay no more attention airplanes than your kids do to your car.

I'll bet she didn't pay any attention to the family business until daddy told her she had to be part of the program.
 
I'm not going to nitpick. Geeze, two shows about aviation in Alaska! They can put in whatever they want, its got airplanes!
 
Agreed. These programs have allowed me to experience scud running in the wilderness and landing on gravel bars / highways / glaciers / mountain ridges without taking any risk!
 
Palmpilot said:
Agreed. These programs have allowed me to experience scud running in the wilderness and landing on gravel bars / highways / glaciers / mountain ridges without taking any risk!
Click to expand...

It's just not the same with out the pucker factor.
 
Hey, the fun without the fear! What's not to like?
 
Tom-D said:
It's just not the same with out the pucker factor.
Click to expand...

Some of us live in places where such flying isn't possible, and don't have the financial wherewithal to pilot an aircraft in such conditions. So stop being such a buzzkill.
 
dmccormack said:
Actually, you can!

There's a long prop, big tires group that does off-airport stuff in Ohio.....

:eek:

http://taildraggersinc.com/taildraggerblog/?p=73
Click to expand...

Yah, my fair state has a variety of landing strips. However, I suspect my efforts to land on highways and gravel bars will be viewed somewhat unenthusiastically by the authorities.

That was a cool video. Thanks for posting it.
 
yup just saw the show. interesting, but like you guys said... too much drama...they edit all the atc audio to whatever sounds dramatic. like the van driver getting his IFR clearance in flight... cleared to FL350? i somehow doubt that... haha

but that line girl in unakleet makes me wanna move there! she's smokin! a bit crazy... but my kinda crazy... :)
 
The last 5 minutes of tonight's show were tough. I've known a couple families who've gone through that.
 
steingar said:
Some of us live in places where such flying isn't possible, and don't have the financial wherewithal to pilot an aircraft in such conditions. So stop being such a buzzkill.
Click to expand...

Believe me your not missing much.... it really is a lot of work.
 
ntbjounin said:
yup just saw the show. interesting, but like you guys said... too much drama...they edit all the atc audio to whatever sounds dramatic. like the van driver getting his IFR clearance in flight... cleared to FL350? i somehow doubt that... haha

but that line girl in unakleet makes me wanna move there! she's smokin! a bit crazy... but my kinda crazy... :)
Click to expand...

Maybe they's hirin'? 208 - turbine PIC time...

...and you're right, she's a cutie.
 
Yeah, there were a few things pandering to the masses. Like VFR pilots must keep sight of the ground. (Though that's probably more true in AK than out here in the flatlands.) It's deadly flying through "fog". But on the whole it seems pretty good, and it is introducing many to types of aviation they never knew existed. Just hope it doesn't end up scaring them all away from it!
 
ntbjounin said:
yup just saw the show. interesting, but like you guys said... too much drama...they edit all the atc audio to whatever sounds dramatic. like the van driver getting his IFR clearance in flight... cleared to FL350? i somehow doubt that... haha
Click to expand...

They played two clearances, almost one right after the other - The first one was at 4,000, the second was at FL350. Methinks his actual clearance was the 4,000 one. ;)
 
I enjoy the show and the filming is great with all of the different camera angles they use. They use my kind of runways too. I agree I hope they don't scare to many away.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
They played two clearances, almost one right after the other - The first one was at 4,000, the second was at FL350. Methinks his actual clearance was the 4,000 one. ;)
Click to expand...

My take: He was on approach when the FL350 was heard. The cleared to indicated an outbound clearance, so was probably for the an aircraft departing as he arrived.
 
My gripe was when they said navigating by visual landmarks was ded reckoning - I yelled out "pilotage, you moron!" at the screen.

Still, the airplanes are great, the stories are good too. The narration could use some work.
 
gprellwitz said:
Yeah, there were a few things pandering to the masses. Like VFR pilots must keep sight of the ground. (Though that's probably more true in AK than out here in the flatlands.)
Click to expand...
Or simply keeping things simple. Not much reason to explain VFR over the top to the masses. They seem to make IFR flying seem more dangerous than it is ("he's completely blind in the fog").
 
While I think there is a persistent level of artificial drama I find annoying, I find the shows enjoyable.

It was quite sad to see at the end of this evening's episode that Erik Rose died of cancer after that episode was filmed; he was just 37. He was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer a little over two months before he died (two weeks ago!) Discovery has a link here on this:

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/flying-wild-alaska/remembering-erik-rose.html

See also here:

http://www.erikrose.myevent.com/

On a more hopeful note, it seems the first episode of "Flying Wild Alaska" is, to date, "the highest rated new series premiere of all time on Discovery Channel for Households and Adults 18+":

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/ratin...y-channel-history-555212/20110118discovery01/
 
Greg Bockelman said:
He should have said "4 souls". I noticed that too. As far as the camera crew, I think they used strategically placed cameras and didn't need cameramen to do that.
Click to expand...

You see on episode 3 (which is episode 6) they have two tiny HD cameras stuck to the windscreen(!) aimed at the pilot and co-pilot. They just need to start the digital recorder and hope for the best. Ice Road truckers et. el work the same way.

I was concerned about them blocking the pilot's view until I noticed that he had the checklist on the plexi blocking his entire side. :dunno:
 
AggieMike88 said:
I'd like to know that with that "overstuffed" 207 flying out of the hunting camp... Where did they put the cameraman???...
Click to expand...

I liked the "We can carry 1400 pounds. We're not overloaded." Uh, huh, and you know exactly what all those hefty guys, their heavy clothing, and all that crap weighs and you accounted for the weight of fuel. :rolleyes2: No reason to anticipate filing an ASRS report.
 
gprellwitz said:
Yeah, there were a few things pandering to the masses. Like VFR pilots must keep sight of the ground. (Though that's probably more true in AK than out here in the flatlands.) It's deadly flying through "fog". But on the whole it seems pretty good, and it is introducing many to types of aviation they never knew existed. Just hope it doesn't end up scaring them all away from it!
Click to expand...

The worst so far was (maybe on the other show?) "The airport at Barrow is socked in. He is forced to file an I-F-R flight plan. Now he has to FLY BLIND and has to follow air traffic control instructions and can't go where he wants!" Dunt-duh-duh.... (Commercial break.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top