Airport Live
Airport Live
Not bad; if you ignore an A330 turning into a B744, & then back into an A330- NOT much "Live" there !
Nevertheless, entertaining & a bit better than normal, if you ask me.
Remember, the viewing public are not ALL ATCOS & aviation professionals.
Nevertheless, entertaining & a bit better than normal, if you ask me.
Remember, the viewing public are not ALL ATCOS & aviation professionals.
Join Date: Dec 1999
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As Tower Supervisor, I once did 7 runway changes in one shift. If I remember correctly that day we swapped ends four times as two massive CB cells came through throughout the afternoon and evening. We alternated on westerlies at 1500 as usual, but then later on in the shift we had to de-alternate due to a problem and then swap back to the alternation programme once sorted.
Last edited by Gonzo; 17th Jun 2013 at 21:37.
I didn't think it was too bad, there were more than a few attempts to explain properly how things work, eg, theory of flight explained using a rotating 744, the "swapping ends" bit, the engineer walk-round on the 380, the brake-rider on another 380, the stuff about maximising runway utlilisation etc.
Although I'm quite partial to "Katiebabes" Humble, she did let herself down with a "I don't actually really like airports" comment at one point!
Although I'm quite partial to "Katiebabes" Humble, she did let herself down with a "I don't actually really like airports" comment at one point!
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Gonzo,
We beat you!
9 R/W changes during an afternoon at EGCC during the early 1980s.
Oddly enough, it was when the watch supervisor, (the late Phil Shone), had rostered the 3 most junior ATCOs on his watch, (including me), to man the VCR. An afternoon of continual and variable Cb activity resulting in a VCR Watch-Log reading...QFU24,..QFU06.....QFU24.....QFU06..and so on.
Just after tea-time, Phil came up to the tower to see what was going one on, saw the 3 a/c backtracking to the other end, and went back downstairs.
Happy days.
We beat you!
9 R/W changes during an afternoon at EGCC during the early 1980s.
Oddly enough, it was when the watch supervisor, (the late Phil Shone), had rostered the 3 most junior ATCOs on his watch, (including me), to man the VCR. An afternoon of continual and variable Cb activity resulting in a VCR Watch-Log reading...QFU24,..QFU06.....QFU24.....QFU06..and so on.
Just after tea-time, Phil came up to the tower to see what was going one on, saw the 3 a/c backtracking to the other end, and went back downstairs.
Happy days.
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I wonder how much notice Kate Humble was given to cover for Dan Snow when he went absent for family reasons. She's not in the credits in the Radio Times.
There were signs of frantic ad-libbing and repeating the same question (how high is the tower, again?) but overall I thought they all did a pretty good job for a live show in an unfamiliar environment with a missing main presenter.
There were signs of frantic ad-libbing and repeating the same question (how high is the tower, again?) but overall I thought they all did a pretty good job for a live show in an unfamiliar environment with a missing main presenter.
Paxing All Over The World
Thanks for saving me the trouble of watching it! 
Nowadays, if a documentray starts with a 'well known personality' who says: "I'm going on a journey to ..." I switch off. I want an intelligent and knowledagable person to inform me and share their knowledge. Not someone trying to learn on the job AND explain to me!
Nowadays, if a documentray starts with a 'well known personality' who says: "I'm going on a journey to ..." I switch off. I want an intelligent and knowledagable person to inform me and share their knowledge. Not someone trying to learn on the job AND explain to me!
The Beeb should have got that shower who commentated on the Jubilee Pagent last year. Now that would have been entertaining. I wonder if the sheets in 3D on the SIA flight were ever changed!
I didn't think it was too bad, there were more than a few attempts to explain properly how things work, eg, theory of flight explained using a rotating 744, the "swapping ends" bit, the engineer walk-round on the 380, the brake-rider on another 380, the stuff about maximising runway utlilisation etc.
My only gripe (apart from the hilarious "baseball bats" bit) was the overuse of the fashionable "meanwhile, back at ..." style of production/direction where the topic needs to switch every couple of minutes because the viewer is judged to have an attention span only marginally better than a goldfish.
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At least this program is 100 times better than the nonsense US program about ferry pilots recently 
Ahhhh Kate Humble, lovely as ever and in the flesh, even better too (shared a restaurant table with her some years ago on a Greek Island)....
Ahhhh Kate Humble, lovely as ever and in the flesh, even better too (shared a restaurant table with her some years ago on a Greek Island)....
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Airport Live on BBC2
Superb fast paced documentary about London Heathrow in action is running on BBC2 for 4 nights finishing on Thursday. Look at the first episode here:
BBC iPlayer - Airport Live: Episode 1
Well done BBC
BBC iPlayer - Airport Live: Episode 1
Well done BBC
Awful programme.
I thought it was quite good: you have to make allowances as it was certainly designed to appeal to a mass audience. Not wrong with that.
once you see past the fact that the presenters had little clue about aviation and that the programme was designed to be broadcast to as wide an audience as possible (ie mainly SLF), the crux of what they were presenting wasn't bad. it maybe didn't help that whoever the main presenter was absent at the last minute, but the rest didn't do too bad and the content was pretty interesting. the 'live' nature of the programme along with people dispersed around the airport means that they would have had to go back and forth like they were. it also adds to the 'non stop' feel of the work. I would say it was pretty difficult to put together, live and recorded segments like that.
For the 99% of the viewing audience who don't work in aviation it was fine, they showed elements of the hidden processes that make a large airport tick. As has been mentioned, the 'back and forth' style of the widespread live broadcast led the viewer to feel part of the going's on and the information presented in a way that was familiar to many such programmes.
Whilst ad-libbing it's normal to make humourous observations, especially as the cardinal sin is to have 'dead-air' where there is no talking between the people on the screen. Large airports are a chore to transit as a passenger, LHR especially, so Ms Humble should be forgiven her candour. I'm happy enough to have a peek behind the curtain courtesy of the BBC
SHJ
Whilst ad-libbing it's normal to make humourous observations, especially as the cardinal sin is to have 'dead-air' where there is no talking between the people on the screen. Large airports are a chore to transit as a passenger, LHR especially, so Ms Humble should be forgiven her candour. I'm happy enough to have a peek behind the curtain courtesy of the BBC
SHJ
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I hate it when presenters talk to you as if you were 3 years old. It is a pity Dan Snow was away because I kept expecting Kate to ask if they ran over any hedgehogs on the runway or if birds ever nested in aircraft (or is it aeroplane?!)
It should be called Airportyfile.
PS Oooh isn't a 380 big.
It should be called Airportyfile.
PS Oooh isn't a 380 big.
Notwithstanding the point that the programme is probably intended to be filed under "entertainment" the BBC's remit is also in inform, and this would have been an ideal opportunity to do just that on a somewhat higher plane (pardon the pun). Surely something of GCSE level might have been more appropriate than "key stage 3".
Instead, along with other BBC programmes, such as "Breakfast" and the weather forecasts, everything has been dumbed down to the point where it wouldn't be out of place in C-Beebies.
Curiously, the BBC does a pretty good job of natural history, historical documentaries and the like - but give them an commercial aircraft and suddenly the whole thing seems to go to pot.
Instead, along with other BBC programmes, such as "Breakfast" and the weather forecasts, everything has been dumbed down to the point where it wouldn't be out of place in C-Beebies.
Curiously, the BBC does a pretty good job of natural history, historical documentaries and the like - but give them an commercial aircraft and suddenly the whole thing seems to go to pot.
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What's wrong with 'aeroplane'? NOTHING!!
All I've heard is planes, planes, planes, planes..... and the more I hear it the less I like it.
I knew within minutes of the first episode starting that it would be a 5 year old's guide to LHR and 'planes' presented by people who know nothing about the subject.
I'm off to watch 'Animal Heroes'.
All I've heard is planes, planes, planes, planes..... and the more I hear it the less I like it.
I knew within minutes of the first episode starting that it would be a 5 year old's guide to LHR and 'planes' presented by people who know nothing about the subject.
I'm off to watch 'Animal Heroes'.