Propellerhead documentary monday jan 23 bbc 2 at 9pm
 

Don't know if anyone read Antony Woodward's marvellous book Propellerhead about microlight flying? BBC 2's prestige doc series Wonderland is broadcasting a 60 minute film based on his book next Monday Jan 23. Called The Real Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines it follows three teams - including Woodward - in the 2011 Round Britain Rally. Lots of fun and a real hymn to the pioneering aviation spirit!

Do watch if you can. Woodward is as madcap and gloriously enthusiastic about flying as he was in the book. (I should add that I produced it (ahem!) as part of my day job - flying a C172 being what a I do with the rest of my time!). More details at Home

Cheers,
Stodge

Read it years ago so it makes the programme a must see.

Actually the book is mentioned today in another thread http://www.pprune.org/6969677-post43.html

Surely any film properly based on that book would be an 18 ? :)

Mid-air refueling
 

Just saw a trailer:
BBC News - Racing round Britain in a microlight

And I thought mid-air refuelling was only something the military did... I suppose it beats adding ferry tanks but it doesn't seem the safest to me.
Can I buy a checklist for this procedure?
I hope for his sake (or the people below) he never runs into turbulence!

BBC2 The Real Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
 

The Real Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines: A Wonderland Film at TVGuide.co.uk UK TV Listings Guide

Worth a watch but pretty scary stuff imho

can probably find on iplayer

PS On right now 9.00pm Tuesday 23rd Jan, scary Dad trying to talk his son into flying across the Irish Channel.

Incredible
 

Not doing GA much good. Making them look like awful risk takers.

Standard of airmanship is absolutely appalling.

PompeyPaul

You got the post in before i did.

We know its putting the Mircolighters in a bad light but the general public wont see that and we will all get tarrred with the same brush.

Floppy :ugh:

Looks great, can you fly in IMC ?
How much is it per hour?

Nice to see the sky scooter brigade promoting aviation.

I am not knocking Microlights generally as it looks a lot of fun in the right hands, but the attitudes of some of these guys is frankly - shocking.

Looking like a disaster waiting to happen

Jesus;

42 minutes in and describing the aircraft as "extremely overweight."

Where is Vince of Dundee fame? Lets face it he made microlight pilots look a f***ing menace, the 2 guys in the Thruster make them look worse!

I've had a lot of fun in microlights, a lot safer than a motorbike for a similar price, I suppose it would be bad TV not to concentrate on the eccentrics. Admiration to the guy who missed Cape Wrath by 15 metres, even my FMS equipped £15m "office" can't do that!

SND

O yes it can!!...I have seen a few Gross Nav errors filed on £15m office's in recent years!!:cool::cool::cool:

I enjoyed watching it - but I'm glad my wife didn't. She worries enough about flying being dangerous.

As floppyjock & PompeyPaul have said, everyone in G.A. will get tarred with this brush. Incredibly bad airmanship on display. I wonder if the CAA were watching?

FBW;

Sometimes I look at it and what it is doing and think "I wish I really believed in this lot!" Do you remember the guy who mistakenly entered the wrong lat/long on the old style system (new waypoint, not yet in the box), went half way up an airway, then turned round and went back the other way? I believe the interview with his Chief Pilot involved neither coffee, biscuits or a chair, followed by a serious chat with some ex-coppers who worked in a big office in Kingsway at the time.

At least the guy who went to Cape Wrath in the programme appeared to have properly studied the weather and knew where it was most workable.

How's the boat?

SND

Well, I must have watched a different programme to the majority of posters.

I saw a fun account of getting Anthony W involved in an around UK Air Rally. I don't recall seeing it billed as a series of flying lessons or a study on airmanship.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought that the three featured crews all came across as very likeable - though I'm sure the 16yo Irish lad will be a bit embarrased at the whinger he came across as.

It seemed to make aviation affordable and if that gets a higher foot-fall through flying clubs it can only be a good thing.

Stik

Stik, I agree.. What is wrong with people on here?????????????

OK, critics, name and identify the incidences of bad airmanship, rather than slagging it off in generic, Daily Mail terminology.

Either that or go and take up chess (but for goodness sake, please wear a yellow jacket).

Absolutely brilliant film, showed the human side as well as the adventurous spirit that is so lacking in the rest of our PC and Hi-Viz society these days.

Well done to all concerned in its production.:D

Well, as always the fine balance is between:

Rule 1 - AEROPLANES BITE FOOLS

and

Rule 2 - ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?

You also have to bear in mind that the programme makers perhaps had an agenda that was inherent in the title.