Produced by Planes TV; Available from PlanesTV.com priced £16.99 DVD, £24.99 Blu-Ray
The August Summer Holidays see plenty of airshow action along the South Coast. One of the most well loved airshows is that held at Shoreham Airport is aid of the Royal Air Forces Association. The show has not had a souvenir DVD produced for a number of years so it is good to see Planes TV finally produce one for the 2011 show which enjoyed much better weather than in previous years.
The DVD follows Planes TV’s new approach to DVD production using audio recordings of the actual show commentator rather than a commentary recording in a studio after the event. For the most part it works very well recording the atmosphere of the day much more comprehensively.
One of the great features of Shoreham Airshow is the brilliant backdrop of Lancing College and the South Downs and these feature well in the filming. As you would expect from Planes TV the filming of the displays is very competent. Obvious highlights come from the on-board footage from the Great War Display Team, the Pitts Pair, T-6 Texan and the rare four-ship display by the Breitling Wingwalkers which is featured in expanded form in the special features section of this DVD.
Another highlight is the Sea Vixen display -- it’s final pass with water vapour exploding off the top surfaces of the wings was one of the visual highlights of the entire airshow season!
As ever, this DVD offers great coverage of the event -- a perfect souvenir from the event.
The Bournemouth Air Festival 2011 was one of the most outstanding events of airshow season. Following a very, very damp Thursday which led to the cancellation of the day’s activities, the following three days saw some outstanding weather with the flying displays enjoyed by huge crowds. Sadly as many of you will know, the event hit the national headlines following the fatal Red Arrows accident that occurred as the team recovered to Bournemouth Airport following their display on the Saturday.
Since the event first started in 2008, the event has been well supported by Hallmark Productions who not only produce the souvenir DVD, but also provide a number of video clips for the Air Festival’s own YouTube channel.
The flying displays are covered in great depth, particularly compared with some other airshow DVDs which sometimes only give a few seconds of airtime to some displays. Coverage is also very complete with every act covered in the main feature except the Red Arrows. The filming of the flying displays is superb with not only some superb image quality and clarity, but also a pleasing number of different angles. The film crews have taken full advantage of Bournemouth’s wonderful seafront venue and there is also plenty of brilliant mini-cam footage from in the cockpit and mounted all over various aircraft.
The main commentary is provided by Brendan O’Brien, but impressively many of the displays feature commentary from the pilots involved. Much of this has been recorded after the event, some of which has been done via Skype and provides a fascinating insight to the displays and how they are performed which means you can forgive a slight drop in sound quality.
However, what I find most impressive are the many bonus features. Perhaps the most notable is coverage of the Red Arrows display on the Saturday which is present minus commentary which is very poignant. There are some extended interviews with airshow personalities such as Paul Bonhomme, Brendan O’Brien and Jonathon Whaley and the RAF pilots. Another feature which also stands out is a time-lapse sequence of the seafront which shows the incredible scale of the event.
The Red Arrows accident clearly made coverage of the Bournemouth Air Festival very difficult, but Hallmark have produced a wonderful reminder of a truly great event!
Produced by Adrenalin Television; available from airtattoo.com priced £16.95 DVD, £24.95 Blu-Ray
The Royal International Air Tattoo is the UK’s biggest military airshow and this year celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the NATO Tiger Association as well as it’s own 40th anniversary. In forty years the show has grown from relative modest beginning to one of the most important dates on the military aviation and defence calendar.
Adrenalin Television’s production is suitably pitched for the event covering all aspects of the event from the flying displays, static displays and some of the most important events take took place around RIAT such as the naming ceremony for the RAF’s new Airbus A330MRTT Voyager KC1.
The production is superbly narrated by one of the Air Tattoo’s commentators, Ben Dunnell. There are many different interviews with important personalities from the show and pilots interspersed amongst some superb filming of the flying displays.
2011 saw very mixed weather conditions throughout the six days of aviation activities at Fairford which is something the filming crews have coped with admirably. It also has meant some of the sequences are particularly dramatic with vapour streaming from the aircraft during their displays.
Like most airshow productions these days, the DVD allows viewers to turn the commentary off and on during playback via the audio button, but the commentary is very well pitched and is kept to a minimum during the displays.
The flying display filming contains an impressive amount of minicam footage from on-board the display aircraft. Some displays such as the French Air Force Rafale display contain multiple on-board minicam angles giving a superb sense of the work of the displays pilots during their routines.
The 2011 DVD is a superb production whether you went to the show or not. It’s high quality presentation and production means it is another stand out product.
Recently, the Waddington International Airshow DVDs have been amongst the best airshow productions released each year and we feel the 2011 edition will be no different!
What really marks the Waddington productions out from the rest of the extensive behind the scenes coverage the producers put in the production, and it is not limited to airshow related activities. A really nice touch to the 2011 production is the links between the flying and static displays to the day-to-day activities at Waddington. For example features on the Boeing E-3D sentry Simulator and Maintenance personnel followed the opening station flypast and a feature on the Air Battlespace Training Centre followed the display feature on the Tornado GR4 role demo. An air-to-air refuelling training sortie with an E-3D Sentry also provided another feature with cameras in the cockpit during a link-up with a USAF KC-135.
As well as the flying displays, an number of the static display aircraft also feature, some with extra behind the scenes footage and interviews with crew.
The filming of the flying display matches the high quality of the rest of the production with a number of different angles both on and behind the crowd-line as well as on the live side of the flying. There are a number of interviews with the pilots and other display crews as well as some extra footage of the aircraft being prepared for their displays. Naturally the Red Arrows and the USAF Thunderbirds feature well with some superb footage from their own PR material as well as that filmed at the show.
With some superb smooth filming, excellent image quality and informative commentary from Andy Pawsey the Waddington 2011 DVD is a superb souvenir of the airshow.
Produced by Planes TV; Available from PlanesTV.com priced DVD £16.99, Blu-Ray – £24.99
The RAF Leuchars Airshow is the final big RAF event of the display season, and the last RAF Battle of Britain Airshow left on the airshow calendar. It is also the biggest public airshow in Scotland. The 2010 event themed itself around the “RAF Air Defence: Past, Present and Future” and saw displays from a number of iconic RAF fighters as well as paying tribute to the Tornado F3 which was making it’s final appearance at an airshow before retirement in March 2011.
The show enjoyed mixed weather with early heavy rain clearing to leave beautiful cloud dappled skies making for some interesting filming conditions and some stunning vapours effects on some of the high performance types during the display.
Planes TV’s coverage is very comprehensive covering all of the displays. Like the Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow coverage, the DVD uses a mix of post recording voice-over and some live commentary direct from the event PA. This mix works really well conveying the atmosphere of the show.
There are many highlights to the DVD for all tastes. Personal highlights for your reviewer are the special formations of Spitfire, Typhoon and Tornado F3, the Royal Norwegian Air Force Historic Flight Vampire T55, the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight J29 Tunnan and SAAB 105 and the international flying participants.
Onboard footage comes from two Hunter displays – firstly a solo and then the first ever public display by Team Viper with their fourship Hunter display, both of which provide some stunning footage of Leuchars from the air and the beautiful landscape that surrounds it.
The main feature is concluded by the traditional RAF Leuchars Sunset Ceremony complete with Pipes and Drums! This was a particularly poignant ceremony marking the final flying display appearance of the Tornado F3 and the first by a 6(F) Squadron Typhoon – Leuchars newest residents.
Overall, this is a fantastic production for those that did attend, or those who didn’t though for out liking there’s not enough “behind-the-scenes” information or interviews.
Dawlish is one of the most unique seafront airshows of the annual season. This production looks back at some of the best displays from the last three editions of the show with narration from Andy Pawsey, the show’s commentator.
The stunning topography that surrounds Dawlish creates some superb photographic opportunities which Planes TV make full advantage of for their filming. Sequences following the Breitling Wingwalkers and the Red Arrows are particularly special looking down on the displays from the high vantage points as are the shots of the helicopter arrivals. Star of 2010 show was the Air Southwest Bombardier Dash-8 which provided a surprising and energetic display in the confines of the display area and a rare flypast by a Vickers VC-10 as well as the Tornado GR4 Role Demo.
As well as 2010, this DVD also looks back at displays from 2009 and 2008 with memorable events such as the Vulcan and Red Arrows flypast, the Royal Air Force Role Demo as well as numorous helicopter displays along the Devon coastline.
For fans of the Dawlish Air Show, this is superb souvenir of the event full of brilliant memories.
Produced by Planes TV; Available from PlanesTV.com. Price £16.99 DVD, £24.99 Blu-Ray
A new airshow to Planes TV’s portfolio for 2010 was Dunsfold Wings and Wheels. Dunsfold is a unique show combined some great historic vehicles and supercars with a top class flying display. The show held at the end of August is currently the only airshow held in Surrey and is a very popular local events.
It attracts a wide range of different displays from warbirds through to modern day front line jets and the ultimate aerobatic aircraft. 2010 saw the event expand to a two event for the first time, a sign of the event’s growing popularity. The flying side of the show takes in a number of displays covering Dunsfold and Surrey’s aviation history with acts such as the Red Arrows, RAF Hawk and Harrier and Hunter taking starring roles in the flying. 2010 saw mostly good weather for the two day event which made for excellent filming conditions.
The production is introduced and narrated by Melvyn Hiscock who provides an informative and sometimes humorous commentary. As well as the flying, there a superb section covering all the two and four wheeled action from the event. As you would expect, the flying display footage is second to none. Sopme outstanding highlights include the unique formation of Peter Teichman’s Hawker Hurricane and Jonathan Whalley’s Hawker Hunter, some extended Harrier coverage and some superb onboard footage from the Matadors display.
Overall, this is excellent production with some outstanding on-board footage – some of the best we’ve seen.
Produced by Planes TV; Available from PlanesTV.com priced DVD £16.99, Blu-Ray £24.00
Once again, The two big Royal Navy airshows have been put together into one DVD production which makes for great value for money. The Royal Navy airshows are amongst my favourite airshows as they are perhaps the most varied of any of the UK’s military events.
This years Yeovilton was perhaps one of the best Air Days held at the Somerset base in recent years with strong international participation mixed in with some great civilian and historic acts; plus the weather was relatively kind too! The Royal Navy Historic Flight’ Sea Hawk and Kennet Aviation’s Seafire naturally take centre with some great insights from the pilots .
The Royal Navy always put on some special displays such as the Martime Lynx displays andMerlin role demos which are all covered well in this production as are all the varied military displays. Stand out highlights from the flying are the Belgian, Dutch and Danish F-16 displays and the Patrulla Aguila’s display. Planes TV’s cameras also managed to capture some of the most interesting static participants such as the French Navy Rafale M and the Luftwaffe F-4F Phantom II.
However, it is the Commando Assault that provides the highlight of the Yeovilton coverage and it is covered in full both from the ground and in the air. It is quite simply superb.
The coverage of Culdrose is equally good, concentrating on the acts that did not feature amongst the Yeovilton line-up. The highlights inclide the unique Culdrose Balbo, Culdrose’s own Sea King and Merlin displays and a very spirited routine from the Vulcan.
Overall, this is actually quite a unique production covering the Royal Navy’s contribution to the airshow season at it’s two air bases and comes highly recommended.
Produced by Planes TV; available from PlanesTV.com priced DVD £12.99, Blu-Ray £18.99
Airbourne is one of my favourite airshows of the years; Eastbourne is a stunning venue for an airshow and the flying is always varied and exciting. Held over four days in mid August, the show also always has an excellent atmosphere. Planes TV have been recording the airshow for a number of years, and their 2010 recording is perhaps their best yet.
The production starts with the Friday evening “Come Fly with Me” display which sets a few selected displays against the stunning vista of a sunset over the East Sussex coastline. The dramatic cloudscape following a rather damp day makes for an excellent filming backdrop which culminates in some spectacular footages of the Swift Glider Team’s (now GliderFX) pyrotechnic assisted display which closed Friday’s flying.
The rest of the show is is covered fairly comprehensively with some great on-board footage from the Blades, Me 109 Buchon and Tigers Parachute Display Team! It is particularly pleasing to see the Planes TV have come up with a production representative of the whole Airbourne experience including the Sunset Ceremony and Fireworks which close the four day extravaganza on the Sunday evening. The production also gives a superb feel of the special atmosphere Eastbourne evokes, particularly of the aircraft passing close to the white cliffs of the Downs and Beachy Head.
There’s also some footage from Shoreham Airport which provides a base for a number of the airshow acts, though perhaps for 2011 we would like to see a little more!
As a reminder of the show, or simply as a piece of flying display filming, this is a excellent DVD/Blu-Ray. Well done Planes TV.
Produced by PlanesTV; Available from PlanesTV.com priced DVD – £24.99, Blu-Ray £39.99
If you buy just one airshow DVD a year, this is the one! British Airshows 2010 covers a multitude of events up and down the country. Narrated by Sean Maffett, this production includes all the best bits from Planes TV’s own productions as well as contributions from other companies to complete the season although noticeable omissions are Old Warden, Biggin Hill and Waddington.
24 different events are covered kicking off at the Abingdon Air & Country Show in May right through to post season farewell to the Harrier at Dunsfold. Many of the events are those not covered by Planes TV’s other DVDs including Shoreham, Lowestoft, Clacton and Farnborough. An extra bonus is the coverage of the final day of Harrier Operations at RAF Cottesmore in December.
Cramming so much action into a viewable production does mean the action is very fast paced and you may be slightly disappointed if you wanted to watch some displays in detail and if they are not included in the second disc containing the interactive features which does have more comprehensive coverage of 15 or so different displays. Highlights include some stunning on-board footage from Jonathon Whalley’s Hunter display at Duxford, the 16 Spitfires at Duxford and some quite beautiful footage of the Swift Glider display at Eastbourne’s evening show.
“British Airshows” is always a definitive review of the display season, and the 2010 edition is no different. The producers have made sure where possible all the most noteworthy displays are covered in superb style. This production comes highly recommended!
Produced by Planes TV, available from PlanesTV.com priced £12.99 – DVD, £18.99 - Blu-Ray
The Cotswold Airshow is famed for it’s varied flying displays which encompass everything from warbirds to modern military heavy metal with a particular focus on classic jets. This year the show enjoyed relatively good weather during the weekend making for excellent filming conditions.
The production is narrated by Andy Pawsey, the main airshow commentator. As we’ve come to expect from Planes TV the footage is high quality and is mostly music free. Those segments where music is used it is justified. As well as several background interviews and a number of on-board camera footage, it pleasing to see a little of the post show ballooning too as well as some welcome scene setting shots.
As with many of Planes TV’s productions the bonus features are interactive in-cockpit pieces. There are six on the Cotswold DVD featuring O’Brien’s Flying Circus, Ultimate High Extra, Renegades Parachute Display, Jet Provosts, Vampire and the Yakovlevs which all helps to make this a superb production and highly recommended.
The Sunderland International Airshow is the UK biggest two day seaside event regularly attracting massive crowds and superb support from UK and overseas military air arms. In 2010 the show enjoyed some good weather for both it’s opening evening display and the main show days.
As with previous productions from Planes TV the filming is superb, but the narration is somewhat mono-tone and lifeless despite being factually accurate. This is disappointing in a production from a seaside venue where the audience would not nescessarily be hardened aviation enthusiasts! In fact I found myself rapidly heading for the Audio button - a useful function with Planes TV’s DVD is that the narration can be switched off without losing the interviews.
Interviews are a strong point of the production and not only include those conducted with the participants, but also with the flying display director about the evening show and the Royal Marines Commandos.
The filming starts with the evening show which opens the event with some spectacular footage of the Hunter, Swift Team plus wingtip pyrotechnics and the Dutch F-16 burner passes and flare release. Other highlights include “helmet-cam” footage from the RAF Falcons and the commando assault. Overall, this is a good memento from one of the UK’s most popular airshows.
Produced by Planes TV; available from PlanesTV.com priced: DVD -- £16.99,Blu-Ray -- £24.99
The RAF Cosford Airshow is the first of the three big RAF shows of the year and this enjoyed fairly mixed as a front crossed the UK during show day. The production is introduced and narrated by Sean Maffett who provides an easy going, but informative commentary throughout.
As well as superb filming of the flying displays, there are plenty of interviews with the display crews performed before, during and after the show. The somewhat mixed weather does have an effect on the filming, it’s not quite a vibrant as it could be. However, the rain does make the Harrier look even more spectacular. The production generally follows the display order which is great as it shows the story of the show with the weather slowly getting worse though it does mean a display has been missed when Planes TV were sheltering their equipment -- the Twister Duo. However, it does pick up again showing the last few displays in the pretty murky conditions making light of the professionalism of the display crews.
There’s some great on board footage on this DVD. The Tutor may often be overlooked, but seeing the aerobatics from the onbaord cameras gives a superb inpression of the work that goes into the display. The Blades Aerobatic Team also provide footage from the minicams that they have installed on their Extra 300Ls. Both are available in the interactive bonus features of the DVD.
Duxford’s first show of the weekend was an eventful one. Firstly it was a two day event, Saturday concentrating on ground shows by the Royal Air Force past and present and Sunday seeing a full airshow day. Secondly, it was the only airshow of the season to suffer significant effects from the volcanic ash from the Eyjafjallajökull Volcani in Iceland.
Planes TV’s production covers both days as one. Unlike the production covering the last two shows of Duxford’s season, Ben Dunnell’s commentary has been recorded after the show. Coverage of the flying displays is comprehensive and included s good selection of crew interviews and some good behind the scenes and air to air footage recorded pre-season. These features are particularly welcome and we hope Planes TV can expand on them for 2011!
As with most of Planes TV’s DVDs, there are a couple of interactive in-cockpit bonus features which on this DVD cover Hawker Hunter Miss Demeanour and the Shuttleworth Collections Bristol Fighter. On top of that there is a Avro Lancaster Bonus feature showing the aircraft’s solo display on the Saturday in full. It did not make the main show due to ash and winds at it’s RAF Coningsby base!
Overall, this is an excellent round up of the show weekend with a precise, and engaging narration from Ben Dunnell.
Produced by Planes TV, available from PlanesTV.com priced £16.99 -- DVD, £24.99 -- Blu-Ray
This is probably the most highly anticipated DVD release of the year. I remember well the huge queues that formed outside Planes TV’s tent after Duxford’s Battle of Britain Airshow has concluded each day! That’s not surprising as I rated the airshow as perhaps the best overall airshow of the year during 2010 thanks some superb displays, not least the 16 ship Spitfire finale.
For this review, Flightline UK was supplied with the Blu-Ray edition in HD but more about that later. Apart from the content of the flying displays, this is a very interesting production because of the way it’s put together. The production is introduced and narrated by Ben Dunnell however much of the commentary soundtrack is taken from the airshow commentary system. In a strange way, I think this improves the production as it’s really like reliving the airshow in your sitting room! Unlike any productions that use a recording of the actual airshow commentary the sound reproduction is good quality. The bonus is that the “Commentary-off” function still works too with a soundtrack free of the airshow commentary.
As ever the footage is superb throughout. There’s some really nice sections including the Hurricane four-ship, Patrouille de France and the Belgian F-16. However, it is the Spitfire finale that really stands out. There’s some really interesting footage from onboard the lead Spitfire (MH434) and the aircraft right at the back of the formation, Spitfire IX TA805. The sequence ends with some interview of the various pilots who all show the enthusiasm for the event as the crowd did.
As we mentioned earlier, we viewed the Blu-Ray edition in High Definition quality recording. HD certainly adds to the viewing experience, but particularly so with the more vivid colours. It is therefore the extra footage from the Autumn Airshow that benefits more from the HD quality recording with it’s wonderful autumnal blue skies an colourful participants.
The Autumn Airshow is recorded in the same manner as the Battle of Britain show and features a number of displays unique to this event. It has to be said the warbirds look absolutely superb recorded in HD as does the Pitts Special fourship and the F-86A Sabre. There are some complementary interviews conducted by George Bacon and further on-board footage with Alistair kay in OFMC’s P-51D Mustang and Mark Linney in the F-86A Sabre.
Thanks to it’s superb content, different approach to the soundtrack and excellent footage, this is one of Planes TV’s best productions to date. If you to ability to watch the Blu-Ray, definitely buy this edition as the footage is superb!
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