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!
Produced by Planes TV; Available from PlanesTV.com priced £12.99 -- DVD, £18.99 -- Blu-Ray
The charming Heart of Scotland Airshow at Perth was certainly a highlight of the season with it’s small, but very varied flying display over the picturesque Perthshire countryside. The weather for the weekend was mixed to say the least with the Saturday seeing clear sunny weather and Sunday some rather inclement conditions with low cloud and rain.
The production is introduced and narrated by show commentator Andy Pawsey who provides an excellent commentary throughout. On top of the usual high standard of flying display filming there’s a pleasing level of interviews with the pilots and others associated with the airshow.
As ever, Planes TV had a number of cameras on various different displays and there’s some excellent footage from the Anro Anson, Sandy Torrence’s Crazy Flying routine in the Cessna 172, the Swift Team and Rich Pargeter’s Pitts Special. All these displays feature in the bonus features with the interactive in-cockpit functions using the “Angle” button.
A nice touch to the filming are a number of wider shots showing the context of the show bringing a number of display items together -- for example there’s a rather lovely shot of the Swift Team displaying in the background with Peter Vacher’s Hurricane in the foreground. Overall this is an excellent production and comes highly recommended.
The Sanicole International Airshow is one of the most famous and rest regarded shows in Europe. Flightline UK made it’s first visit to the show in 2010 and I have to admit, it was probably my favourite show of the year. Few other shows provide quite the variety of Sanicole and it is supremely well organised! This year the show included such acts as the Canadian Skyhawks Parachute Team, the Swift Aerobatic Display Team, Breitling Jet Team, Breitling Wingwalkers, Belgian F-16, Dutch AH-64D Apache, Red Bull AH-1 Cobra and the Turkish Stars.
For the first time in 2010, Sanicole hosted a Sunset Show on the Friday before the show. While Sunset shows have long been run in the US and to some extent in the UK, it was the first time such a show had been run in continental Europe. Thanks to some very pleasant evening weather with some stunning cloudscapes. The DVD opens with some of the highlights from the sunset show which provides some stunning footage, particularly of the Breitling Jet Team and the Twister Duo with their wingtip pyrotechnics.
The DVD covers all of the acts that participated in the show over the Sunset and Sunday Airshows with narration from Sean Maffet. As well as superb ground to air footage, the DVD contains plenty of interviews with the pilots and personalities that make the show happen. There is also some stunning on-board footage from a number of the acts from in the cockpit and mounted on the aircraft fuselages. Footage from the Breitling Jet Team and the Turkish Stars displays is particularly noteworthy! The filming is superb through with smooth camera-work following the flying displays and the action fast paced, yet detailed enough to keep the viewer interested throughout with an excellent commentary from Sean Maffet.
As well as the main feature, there are two special features with short films focussing on the on-board footage and some stunning air to air footage from Tony de Bruin’s Shorts Skyvan including the amazing Apache/F-16 formation and the pyrotechnic firing Twisters!
Accompanying the DVD is a quite superb full colour “photobook”. The book features the photography of Eric Cockelburghs and his famous “Photocrew.” The edition features air to air as well as ground to air photography of all the display acts as well the scenes at the show.
If you went to the show, this pack is a superb reminder of the event, but equally it’s a unique item that would please any airshow fan.
Sadly we are unable to embed a clip here, but you can watch the intro on YouTube
We already know that the 2010 Biggin Hill International Air Fair was the last such event after the contract to hold the event was cancelled by the Airport. However, it is fondly remembered by many as one of the best ever Air Fairs ever with a superb tribute to the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain. As such, we hoped to for a very high quality production covering the event.
This year’s DVD is produced by “Thier Finest Hour” which is a company specialising in all things “Battle of Britain.” They have been a regular sight at many shows this year with their replica aircraft and other artefacts. From the outset of the production, it is clear that the production company have tried to produce a very different DVD to the norm. There is plenty of archive recording of Churchill’s speeches and video footage.
One of the good aspects of the DVD is the number of interviews conducted with both air and ground crews. The various sections are presented by airshow commentator and display pilot Brendan O’Brien who does manage to convey his enthusiasm for display flying very well and he is joined by Jenny Gayner. It is good to see that the producers have tried to convey something of the spirit of the Air Fair on the ground as well as in the air
One of the real high points of this year’s Air Fair was the superb mix of flying set against some gorgeous blue summer skies providing some superb content. While the DVD is recorded in broadcast standard quality some of the the flying sequences are particularly shaky with the aircraft bouncing around the corners of the screen at an alarming rate. With a few displays, the image quality also seems to drop off; it’s particularly poor for the Typhoon solo display.
There are also issues with the sound quality. The DVD has a constant music soundtrack of some very well known classical music over-played with ambient noises from the airshows. While I certainly don’t mind music providing the backdrop for displays, the constant music does become slightly irritating over the two hours. There are some dubbing errors and at times it seems the Blades have re-engined their Extras with Rolls Royce Merlins!! There are also some interviews that are just lost under the music and ambient noise such as the Team Viper and the French Air Force Alpha Jet interview. The final issue with this DVD are just too many captioning errors to ignore. Perhaps the most serious is the “Spitfire and F4 finale” though there also crew names that are reproduced incorrectly despite the crews are wearing name badges which are clearly visible to the viewer!
Sadly this DVD fails to hit the mark in terms of other airshow DVDs produced this year and previous Biggin Hill Air Fair videos and DVDs. While the background content is very welcome and very good, it is let down by poor production and many little irritating errors and the constant musical score. Having said that, it is a unique look at the last ever Biggin Hill Air Fair and in itself is a reminder of a little piece of history that took place in Kent’s skies in late June 2010 that will never be repeated!
Produced by Adrenalin Television, available from airtattoo.com priced £16.95 (Collectors Edition £24.95, Standard Edition Blu-Ray £24.95, Collectors Edition Blu-Ray £35)
The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the biggest annual airshow in the country in terms of participating aircraft and one of the largest military airshows in the world. With that size, the RIAT has set high standards for airshow organisation. Those high standards are reflected in this production which is produced with high quality High Definition broadcast standard equipment. The camera-work is mostly superb, though the opening display coverage of the Swedish Air Force Gripen is noticeably shaky in comparison to the rest of the footage and other productions.
The running time is just under 2 hours, and gets into the action straight away after an all too short look at the Display Briefing and a short piece of interview with Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton. However, there are plenty of background interviews and behind the scenes footage within the rest of the production which is very pleasing.
With eight hours of flying displays to cram into just 110 minutes running time, it’s unsurprising that the displays come thick and fast with some just recieving a few seconds of attention. However, all of the significant and memorable displays receive appropriate levels of attention. A real highlight of the footage in the in-cockpit footage from the Belgian F-16! The amazing visibility from the cockpit gives and outstanding impression of what the display is like from the pilot’s point of view as well as superb shots of the showground from the air!
The Battle of Britain segment of the flying receives a great deal of attention with some archive footage as well as some great coverage of the visiting veterans at the Tattoo. Many of the aircraft in the formation were also fitted with onboard cameras too giving another perspective of the flypasts which are really brought to life in the DVD.
The DVD is closed by the displays by the F-22 Raptor and the RAF’s Spitfire/Typhoon duo displays, the clear highlights of the weekend. The F-22 is particularly well covered with interviews with the display pilot and the groundcrew, though thankfully the DVD narrator Ben Dunnell provides the commentary instead of the rather over-enthusiastic team commentator.
This year’s RIAT DVD production is a superb reminder of the show and is highly recommended. For additional £8, The collectors edition features additional coverage including the arrivals, departures and other displays not covered in the main production as well as interactive in-cockpit footage.
The Media Group have once again produced a a very different and interesting interpretation of an airshow DVD. As well as coverage of the flying display highlights there are a number of other background features covering some of Waddington’s units as well as airshow preparations. The E-3D Sentry AEW1 crew provide a “video diary” of their own preparations for the opening station flypast while other sections focus on 8 Squadron’s Memorial Garden, the Waddington Fire Crews, the Air Traffic Control Caravan as well as preperations for the Tornado GR4 Role Demo and Harrier GR9 displays amongst others.
It is very fitting that the Harrier GR9 Role Demo features so well in the DVD following the work of the engineers as well as the pilot in light of the recent announcement that Harrier would be retired from RAF in March 2011. The DVD also includes interviews with several of the display pilots providing some unique background to some of varied displays that graced Waddington’s sunny skies this year.
The image quality of the filming is superb throughout though there are a few instances of the cameramen being thwarted by some of the clutter on the crowdline which is slightly distracting. Andy Pawsey provides an excellent commentary to the displays which is informative and full of facts yet easy to listen to. Occasionally, the producers have taken some live commentary direct from some of the display team’s own commentators. Sadly though this seems of have picked up the sound distortion from the PA system which means the sounds quality isn’t up to the standard of the rest of the production which is another minor niggle.
Overall, this is an excellent production and reminder of one of the best Waddington Airshows held in recent years. Few other airshow DVDs cover such a diverse range of subjects relating to the running of an airshow and RAF Waddington itself which some other productions can often brush over. The DVD is available from http://www.themediagroup.tv/RAF/
The Collectors Edition of the Royal International Air Tattoo 2009 DVD features the main feature disc and a bonus disc. With anything related to the Air Tattoo, you’d expect a high quality products, and this DVD does not disappoint.
Starting with the Main disc, the production is very slick and professional. It does cover all aspects of the Tattoo with plenty of behind-the-scenes footage on top of some superb captures of the flying display. There are plenty of interviews too with key personalities.
The flying display footage is second to none with some superb on-board footage and some unique shots from the “Follow Me” cars while the aircraft taxy in after arrivals or their displays. The dramatic weather conditions enjoyed at Fairford over the weekend add extra dimension to the filming. Undoubted highlights include on board footage from the Breitling Jet Team and an unusual camera position on the Chinook.
The first special feature on the Bonus Disk features highlights from the arrivals days a Fairford. The quality of the footage, like the main feature, is outstanding but it does just feature the ambient sound of the show site. This does mean some background “crashing” of scaffolding poles and some conversation is picked up which could be a little distracting. There’s some great extra footage from the back of the “Follow Me” cars as well as further footage from the practice displays in the days leading upto the Air Tattoo.
Whether you missed RIAT or want a reminder of the weekend, this is a superb DVD with some stunning footage. The bonus disc too is a nice edition if you you really want a more complete round-up, but it does lack the finish of main production.
The British Airshows compilation videos and DVDs have become something of an institution for airshow fans. With clips from all the major airshows up and down the country, there’s no more comprehensive coverage than this. The package arrives on two DVDs. DVD 1 is the main feature while DVD 2 is exclusively Planes TV’s trademark interactive in-cockpit footage.
For DVD 1, footage is obtained from all the official DVD’s as well as some bespoke footage from other events. In the past, this has looked a little ragged on Video format, however the chapter format on DVD suits it well. For Planes TV to get to all the events featured in this DVD would be an impossible task, so other production companies have contributed footage from the likes of Duxford and RIAT. At times, this does cause a few inconsistancies in the production. For example, the coverage of the Duxford Spring Airshow does not feature any narration which is a shame as that airshow had a particularly theme to all it’s displays which is not explained and at times, some awkward editing. There’s also a couple of shows with footage that’s maybe not quite up to the usual standards of airshow DVDs we’ve seen this summer.
The Vulcan has featured well in Planes TV’s productions, so it’s little surprise to see it’s departure from Bruntingthorpe and subsequent display a the private Brize Norton families day feature early in the DVD. It’s also the only item from the Windermere Airshow shown in the DVD which is perhaps a little disappointing as seeing any act in this scenery would be spectacular!
However, it is good to see a number of other venues appear that haven’t been covered by separate DVD’s such as Clacton, Dunsfold and Silverstone as well as the Hurricane Gathering at North Weald right at the end of october.
The second DVD in the set covers the best of the “Interactive In-cockpit” footage Planes TV have covered throughout the year. We’ve seen many of them before, but they are always worth a watch as they often show little details about a display you fail to appreciate watching from the ground, or from normal video footage. Our favourite from the year has to be the F-16 and Spitfire footage from Eastbourne -- truly amazing stuff.
For those wanting to see all the best bits from the 2009 season, this is the must-have DVD and if you’re only going to but one DVD each year we think this one is the one for you. We’re already looking forward to the 2010 instalment.
The Dawlish Carnival Airshow is one of the most unique shows on the display calendar. While it’s not quite as big as a venue like Bournemouth, it’s topography makes for some spectacular views of the flying displays which Planes TV take full advantage of.
Despite have much fewer displays than other shows, the quality of the acts is superb with strong support from the UK military. The USAF even get in on the act with the KC-135R Stratotanker. Historic flying is represented by Kennet Aviation’s Westland Wasp and Sly Blue’s Hawker Hunter FGA9. Visually, the rotary acts provide the best filming material staying low allowing the dramatic coastal scenery to be caught in the backdrop from the high vantage point. However, the highlight of the production is the formation of the Vulcan and the Red Arrows.
This is quite a short production and lacks the interactive portions of other Planes TV productions which is a little disappointing as you get the feeling they would be equally impressive as that shot from the ground.
One of your author’s favourite airshows is the four day spectacular at Eastbourne. The friendly atmosphere and unique viewing locations plus a superb varied flying display make Eastbourne one of the top airshows in the country.
2009 was a real return to form for Eastbourne after a disasterous 2008, publically in any case. The decision to charge for access to the seafront had been a PR catastrophe for the airshow. 2009 saw a return to the free access and the crowds did return, though not in the numbers pre 2008. However, it was enough to at least secure the future in to 2010 and hopefully beyond.
Like other seafront airshows, the aircraft are based at a number of airfields in the local area. One of the main bases for Eastbourne is Shoreham Airport just along the coast. It’s good to see Planes TV make good use of the airfield to capture some behind the scenes footage and some interviews with the display crews.
One of the remarkable moments of Airbourne was the formation of ARCo’s Spitfire IXT and the Netherlands Air Force F-16 which is not only captured well from the ground, but onboard cameras on the Spitfire and through the Heads-Up Display camera on the F-16. The HUD camera also gives an eye-popping impression of the F-16s spiral climb and dive.
Footage is recorded a number of different vantage points from the seafront -- the attractive seafront architecture frames the action perfectly for film in the beautiful summer sunshine. There’ s little to fault in the coverage except for the misidentification of the Harvard, which is not the Goodwood example mentioned in the commentary. However, this is a small blip in a briliant production rich with interesting onboard footage set against perfect weather.
One rather odd inclusion in the DVD package is the Vulcan Campaign video just after the main production which is perhaps a little out of place for a show that didn’t include the aircraft itself. However. as with all of Planes TV productions, the DVD does include “Interactive” extras including on baord footage from the F-16 HUD Camera, Spitfire, Mustang and Team Guinot which are all worth watching.
The largest of the RAF airshows, the Waddington International Air Show took place in relatively good weather in early July. The show featured the usual mix of RAF and international military displays as well as few select civilian acts. However, the 2009 edition of the show will probably be remembered for the Vulcan’s non-appearance in the flying displays due to paperwork issues!
It is with the Vulcan that this production starts with it’s arrival and practice displays during the Press Day the Thursday before the the show weekend. Coverage of the press day is just one of many “Access All Areas” features contained within the production. There are plenty of interviews with aircrews and important personalities at RAF Waddington. The latter includes the Air Traffic Control officers during arrivals day, the organisers in the airshow office and coverage from the Pilot’s Briefing. It’s particularly pleasing to see such detail in an airshow DVD as are the amount of interviews. Rather than just a record of the show, this DVD really tries to explore some of the different aspects of running the show and background to many of the aircraft.
Narration (which can be turned off like many other airshow DVDs) is provided by Andy Pawsey for the most part. Some of the team displays are accompanied by recordings of the actual show commentary from their respective commentators. For some of these, the sound quality is such compromised by a poor microphone, but the audio is well edited and follows the on-screen action.
The filming of the displays is particularly good, particularly given that TMG do not regularly film airshows. There’s no strobing propellors or jerky camera movements and image quality is excellent. The camera locations are very varied being on the live side airfield, crowdline and little further back capturing the showground as well as the aircraft in the air. There’s also good use of on=board cameras with the likes of the Blades and Team Guinot providing a very different view of the show.
Overall, the quality production and extensive behind the scenes filming makes this a very exciting and interesting DVD for anyone who was at Waddington, or is interested in airshows in general.
The Sunderland International Air Show is one of the biggest seaside airshows in the country. 2008′s 20th Anniversary show was wiped out by persistant sea fret but 2009 saw clear conditions on both days.
The footage starts with the Red Arrows and a brief interview with 2009 team boss Jas Hawker. Staying with the Royal Air Force, the next featured act are the RAF Falcons with some nice on-board footage from their Chinook jump and and of thier drop into Sunderland. There is also some impressive on-board footage from the Blades.
RAF displays featured well as you would expect at a major seaside venue. However there are international displays from the Dutch and Belgian F-16s. One eye-catching display is the Royal Marines Commando assault involving a Sea King HC4. The Royal Navy make an impressive contribution also displaying the Merlin HM1 and the Black Cats. The Vulcan also features well.
Like the Lowestoft DVD, this is a shorter DVD than say the Biggin Hill production at just over 30 minutes. As record for the Sunderland spectator, it’s a very good reminder of two very good days of flying.
Be the First to Comment 
Available from the 
Produced by 
