New Series "Great Planes" - Skyraider

[Ken]

I just watched my first episode of Great Planes on the Military Channel. It's hosted by "Max" Moga from Showdown Air Combat and the topic was the Skyraider. Max seems like a great host and a strong narrator. He visited Yagen's collection in VA and walked around their (formerly Dave Forrest's and later Wiley Sanders') AD-4. Some of the footage, especially of USAF A-1s in Vietnam was great.

Unfortunately, the first :15 of the show was talk about Helldivers and Avengers - topics worthy of their own show. There were no veteran interviews, no footage of going out and flying any Warbirds with in-cockpit video, etc. And the occasional shot of an Avenger by mistake.

Although he highlighted that there were many variants, there was no introduction of the E-model, for instance. A casual observer may have been confused with all the talk of single-seat -- then a series of shots appear of the Fat Face. In a related note, and this is not just this show, but the footage and the timeline jumped around. For instance he talked about the AF using the airplane until '72 and then talked later about the Navy flying their final mission in '68 or '69. The average viewer probably missed the point.

Picky, yes, but when one argues that the armchair observer won't know or care, then how will they ever know the correct answers if the shows aren't sticklers for accuracy? This is a good show, don't get me wrong, but the extreme example of going down this path eventually takes you to Pearl Harbor the movie.

And, as is the style of today, there were way too many short-attention-span blips and flashes transitioning from one footage cut to another - even while Max was speaking in front of Yagen's A-1. Very distracting to anyone over 25.

Anyway, it's always good to see more aviation on TV but I guess I'm one picky viewer who's still looking for the right mix of a show that will appeal to the man on the street yet satisfy the true fan. Max, if you're reading, I'm available for consulting.

Ken

[CH2Tdriver]

quote "And, as is the style of today, there were way too many short-attention-span blips and flashes transitioning from one footage cut to another - even while Max was speaking in front of Yagen's A-1. Very distracting to anyone over 25. "

Yeah....What is up with that?! Especially considering that most people watching this stuff are 40+ anyway. The other obnoxious thing they do in these shows, is the habit of speeding up the tape briefly and frequently. You have a great taxi or landing shot which is then speeded up like you would on your VCR when you skip the commercials. That is freaking annoying!

Are you listening producers? I'm truly sorry you didn't get hired by MTV.

[CAPFlyer]

I liked it. I agree on many of the points, but I think it's important to describe the aircraft that brought about the Skyraider. I'm sure the SB2C, SBD, and TBF will all be the focus of future episodes, but to leave out a good explanation of why the Navy needed the Skyraider and why they needed to cancel Douglas' competitor to the Mauler is important.

I'm just sad they mentioned the Mauler several times and never showed any footage or pictures of it. It would be very good for many to show them what the Mauler looked like and compare it to the Skyraider which look similar at a glance but are much different beasts.

I think this has a chance of becoming a very good show because it does a good job of showing the planes. I know it's not got any flying, but my guess is that this series is running on a much smaller budget than Air Combat or Battle Stations, and probably needs to "prove" the format before they get any more money to do any flying.

I have to wonder on the timeline if some of it didn't get confused in editing. I get the sense that somehow some of the segments were changed around, but in other ways, keeping the history of the aircraft in its different guises (USAF, USN, South Vietnamese Air Force, etc) in clear "chapters" as it were has some merit versus switching back and forth between the different users to keep a timeline, especially with an aircraft with such varied service as the Skyraider.

[Ken]

Tonight I caught the second half of the the B-25 episode. A lot of repeat footage - I can't imagine B-25 footage is that hard to come by. The man speaking with Max at Yeagen's hangar was trying to explain the 75mm cannon in the G/H model and was trying to say it was strapped to the outside of the airplane. Later, in the narration, Max said it was under the pilot's seat. Close, but the point is I'm disappointed they aren't a little more detail conscious. It could be so much better.

[Dan Johnson II]

Did anyone catch the Mustang episode. He kept trying to say the hood on the D model was the "Malcom Hood" among other things that didn't quite work for me.

[wwrw2007]

The part I found entertaining was during the B-25 episode. They were talking about Billy Mitchell and showing WWI footage. Funny thing during all the WWI talk the footage they showed included Stuka dive bombers. I could've sworn those were WWII planes.

[cozmo]

I wasn't impressed with the episode I saw, the p-40 I think. It was that forgettable

Barely scratched the surface information, production and operational wise. And as has previously been stated, it jumped around so much as to be confusing.

Written by 20 somethings for 20 somethings.

I figured they could a little better. At least better than the newsies who cannot even get the right file footage of a subject they are reporting on.

I'll take an episode of Wings over great Planes any day.

[Holedigger]

I have watched several of the episodes. NOT well put together! They occasionally have some clips or pics that I haven't seen before, so I watch it. A lot of their banter is badly written (or not written at all) and rambles all over, full of inconsistencies and inaccuracies. You KNOW it is bad when your 10 year old turns to you and says "That's not right"!!!

But it is better than most of the drivel on the boob tube today! They have clips and pics of Warbirds!

[TAdan]

I caught a bit of the P-40 episode... And as a 20 something... it wasnt made for me... I quickly started correcting the TV... I find myself talking back to the TV alot lately. I must be getting old.

I did like the current warbird footage though.

[cozmo]

I caught a bit of the P-40 episode... And as a 20 something... it wasnt made for me...

My apologies, I stand corrected

[TAdan]

I caught a bit of the P-40 episode... And as a 20 something... it wasnt made for me...

My apologies, I stand corrected

No problem

I agree with you on your critique of the show.

The best part of the P-40 episode was some of the color footage of the AVG that I had never seen before, and the footage of the restored P-40 flying.

[Saville]

Did anyone catch the Mustang episode. He kept trying to say the hood on the D model was the "Malcom Hood" among other things that didn't quite work for me.

yeah that was a jaw dropper.

I really dislike the show for all the reasons people have been mentioning:

repeat footage
rapid cuts
inaccuracies
no flying
not even any cockpit shots.

Moga is turning into quite the star. I wonder what his buddies at the O-Club think

[Stoney]

Thw p-40 one showed the XP-51 as its prototype:) Did anyone notice the Walt had a NATA patch on his flight suit?

[Django]

So far I've seen the P-40 episode and about half of the Mustang episode. The vintage footage is all willy nilly as stated. Showing the wrong planes relevant to the discussion... alot. Cool to see the planes on TV, but it has some serious flaws.

<raises hand and asks why can't we have Dogfights back???>

[warbird1]

I still think that the now cancelled series "Dogfights" from the History Channel is the best warbird/aviation show ever aired on television. I just bought both seasons on DVD from the History Channel, and it is awesome!

Of course, it would make sense to cancel the high quality program of "Dogfights" and allow crap like "Great Planes" to survive.