Friday, February 26, 2010

Ice Pilots

I just ran into a fun new tv show on flying called Ice Pilots. I first saw Ice Pilots mentioned on an AOPA blog. They also mention another show called R5Sons which is about the Rainy Pass Alaskan lodge that is only accessible by plane.

The Ice Pilots is a show about a cargo plane company in the Northwest Territories, Canada that uses DC-3, DC-4, and C-46 planes. There is an episode or two using a Lockheed Electra as well. It talks about the challenges of running these old planes in the cold ( down to -40C) and the different maintenance problems they encounter (sometimes in the air). It also talks a lot about the copilot wannabees that have to work the ramp before getting the priveledge to sit in the copilot seat. It reminds me of one of my favorite flying books called Moondog's Academy of the Air and Other Disasters by Peter Fusco.

I have been able to find some clips for both shows on YouTube and on the individual tv show sites. I also found out the 13 first season episodes of Ice Pilots are available here. I haven't been able to find the R5Sons anywhere yet, and I don't get the TV channel it is on. I hope both these shows come out on DVD sometime.

Does anybody know where to watch R5Sons?

Does anybody have any other favorite shows?


/Brian