Documentary project about Freight Dogs
 

Hello
My name is Justin Weinrich, I am a documentary filmmaker researching and developing a project about Freight Dogs.

With this project we are hoping to profile the cargo industry and the pilots who keep that industry afloat. It’s a world the average viewer knows very little about and we would like to present all aspects of it as accurately as possible. To do that obviously we need to work closely with actual Freight Dogs, folks like you all who do this for a living.

I am very interested in communicating with any of this forum’s readers, I am trying to get a sense of the world of the Freight Dog from all perspectives and would like to interview some individual pilots. If you have any questions for me or are interested in being involved with this project please don't hesitate to send msgs my way.

I have worked on films and television projects following prison inmates, police officers, U.S. Marshals, rock bands, scientists, and others for National Geographic Television, The Discovery Channel and The Documentary Channel, to name a few.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks very much!
-Justin

What segment of the industry are you planning to document? Long-haul? Heavy lift? Single-pilot? Express? ACMI? ...

Hmmmm..maybe if the show goes like this then the Discovery Channel may pick it up:

A dysfuntional group of mechanics/welders in upstate NewYork create tricked out cargo planes. These cargo planes fly crab around Alaska with the commentary done by an overly-serious monotone, possibly the cargo plane has a cool name like the Northwestern who's pilots are chain-smoking and making fun of the "greenhorn" First Officer. :ok:

lpok, don't forget...

...watching box after box after box being unloaded from the back of the plane, and the ramper calling out 65, after finishing.

Intruder - I am not sure yet, we are looking into all areas of the industry, probably mainly single pilot, but most likely long haul, express, heavy lift, everything. That is what I am trying to figure out now...I am still in the very early stages of developing this project and am trying to learn about all the aspects of the industry. One question I do have: are cargo pilots mainly freelancers? Are there dispatch companies? How do you get assigned to each new load? Thanks!


--Yeah some channels would probably love if we could somehow throw in crabs, pimped out planes, and lots of melodrama into this, I assure you though that is NOT what we will do! I am much more interested in the impressive, interesting, difficult job of Freight Dogs and the crucial role that the cargo industry plays in the world economy. Of course we would like to feature some of the bizarre and interesting cargo that you guys haul as well. The ultimate goal is to present the industry and job of cargo pilots to viewers, and to make something that cargo pilots themselves will approve of and be proud of.

Docsproducer; you're the n-th one doing a Freight Dogs documentary. Use the search function to see what you can find. Vogue for Men did an article recently. I'd suggest you find a niche that hasn't been done to death. The long haul 747F stuff is what everyone wants to produce.... Maybe its been done to death?

Few freelancers out here; it's a very competitive industry, with the airlines vying to get business from the freight forwarders.

The single-pilot segment is relatively small and shrinking. The overnight bank check business is shrinking with the growth of electronic bank transfers. Alaska is still a bastion of local single-pilot freight...

Justin, why limit yourself to freight ?

You could do a series on a whole range of flying jobs with 1 episode on each job

Examples

- Ferry pilot , we just had a cargo aircraft delivered from UK to Indonesia via the middle east and maldives, the captain is charming with the ladies (melted the heart of an ageing local ice queen here in Jkt) and he's a complete chain smoking lunatic ! (my apologies George :-) ) but a top bloke.

- Ag pilot

- Bush pilot

- Jungle Pilot

- Test pilot

- Single pilot freight

- IL-76 pilot

- C-130 cargo

- 727 cargo , lots of people love these old jets !

- Sky cops or drug enforcement

- Antartic pilot

Call the series "Under the Radar" or something like that

In the best style of James Bond or action other films get some contrast (snow episode to desert episode) make sure its not just filmed in the USA , we want snow , desert , jungle , skyscrapers and grass huts , get your passport out and go to Papua New Guinea, Africa , Outback Australia , Europe , surprise the viewer with things they've never seen before .

Freight or not, single pilot or crew--if it's a decent, reputable operation, it is quite boring! Not that much different than any other airline/airplane operation.

The stuff that'll make good TV is the fly-by-night stuff/operations. But, they are disappearing (not fast enough!), and surely wouldn't allow any form of "documentation"!! I can think of a few...

Haha. Good luck.

You can borrow my hammock to use as you flog
around Africa and the Middle East mate!

Seriuosly, try contacting some of the remaining freight
companies that are still operating. eg, MK.

SAFAIR in South Africa would be another good one .

I'm also curious with seeing a trip with operators with big Russian built cargo aricraft.

Back in the late nineties someone did a very nice doc about Bertram Pohl's Luxembourg-based Cargo Lion: The European Stage III DC8 freight charter airline and their DC-8s. Was repeated several times on Discovery Channel.

Did quite a lot of work on the Cargo Lion D C 8's.
Early 90's with Dave Matthews.
Never seen the documentary.

The documentary is called "Sky Truckers".

Thanks for all the feedback, it's definitely helpful as we start to put this thing together. I have read the Mens Vogue article, and seen Sky Truckers. Both were very good and a bit different than the direction we are hoping to take.

I'm trying to talk to folks from MK and SAFAIR, any others you'd recommend?

Aseanaero, thanks very much for the detailed input, we are definitely interested in doing projects on other types of pilots as well, but we are planning on doing an hour on Freight Dogs as sort of a "pilot" episode for a possible series on all types of pilots. We are definitely looking to film this in as many different countries as possible and would like to see a variety of types of freight and planes.

One other question; are there specific airlines or pilots who specialize in moving animals? I've read a lot about cargo planes hauling cattle, rhinos, giraffes, etc. or tons of crickets for zoos or whatnot. Is that something than any pilots can do or do a few airlines specialize in it? Just curious.

"docproducer

I'm trying to talk to folks from MK and SAFAIR, any others you'd recommend?"

You could also talk to the guys in Ruslan International agents for Antonov Airlines(Antonov124/225) and Volga Dnepr(Antonov124/Il76/B747)

Veeps

I can hook you up with some Indonesian operators :ok:

docsproducer,

You may want to check out the industry at PANC. It's the big 7-11 of the great white north.:ok:

Are there any new operators out there? Small carriers just starting up? Thanks!

American Air
 

Why not chase up Heavy cargo, the closest thing we have to American Air?
I hear what they achieve is simply amazing?