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reverserunlocked
8th Apr 2003, 08:55
I dug out of my cupboard this afternoon a couple of dusty videos from my all too brief younger days.

One was a copy of a programme called 'Airline' which I remember recording off BBC2 in about 1992. It followed a BA 747-200 crew on a flight from Heathrow to Sydney, and was a really fascinating insight into the working lives of the crew, and of the operation of a long-haul jet. The Captain was called Ted Deacon, I think. Subsequent programmes in the same series covered other things, such as the arrival of BA's first 747-400.

The other one was a pressie someone bought me about six or seven years ago and was a BOAC promotional film from 1969, following a young cadet by the name of John Radcliffe as he went through basic training from Chipmunks through to the VC10, interspersed with charting the progress of one of his first VC10 flight as second officer down the routes, this one being from Heathrow to Bahrain, on to Bombay.

It's a lovely piece of typically British 1960's documentary making, complete with pseudo Austin Powers' wawawa guitar soundtrack. All the 'chaps' puff on pipes in the bar and have ludricously clipped tones where a Beech Baron becomes a 'Bayron'...

Anyone else remember either of these films? Do the two respective pilots still work for the world's favourite? I guess the guy in the VC10 film would be nearing retirement now, if he was around 20 in 1969...

Desk-pilot
8th Apr 2003, 14:57
reverse unlocked,

I too have a recording of the BA 747 'Airline' documentary. As you say it's interesting although I think it dates from around 1989-90 because I recorded it I think when I was at University!

I would love to obtain a copy of the airline pilot BOAC documentary - can you give me any further details so I can purchase a copy? Is it part of the British airlines archive video collection?

Best regards,

Desk-pilot

Maxrev
8th Apr 2003, 23:35
The 'Airline' series was from 1989, if memory serves correctly.

The BOAC video was a two-part documentary released by Britsh Airways in the mid-nineties, and as was part of the Archive Collection. The second part of the video was a BA promotional film featuring the L1011 Tristar's introduction into BA service.

Sadly though, the film appears to have been made with suited marketing types in mind, and contains lots of eighties-type marketing babble and very litttle about the actual aircraft, which seems a shame now.

I have a copy of the BOAC video, which I bought in the gift shop at Cosford Air Museum of all places! Perhaps they'll let you buy it over the phone, if they still stock it.