HEADS UP! 2 Part programme 50's and 60's aircraft.

[27mm]

Not a bad effort, but sad to see the Bucc totally omitted....

[sangiovese.]

For a mainstream programme - I loved it. Even the Mrs was fascinated

Well done Beeb

[BEagle]

I thought it was a very well made programme, with some rare clips (e.g. the Meteor flying the 'Zurabatic Cartwheel' at Farnborough) and only a few minor errors. Although the account of John Derry's accident in the de Havilland 110 was somewhat inaccurate.

Good to see the genuine enthusiasm of pilots such as Norman Tebbit, John Farley and Tony Blackman - the don't make 'em like that these days!

I can't see elf 'n safety allowing such filming of that Avro 707 landing these days though....

[green granite]

Very enjoyable programme, as has been said one or two minor errors but hey it's a huge subject with sometimes subtle nuances to get right.

I too would love to see a programme about the experimental stuff although we did see a couple last night.

Someone said "no Bucc", there was no Swift, gnat or hawk either

[Pontius Navigator]

They got the wing span of the Victor 2 half right

[spekesoftly]

there was no Swift, gnat or hawk either

The Folland Midge is seen taking off about 15 minutes into the programme.

I suggest that the Hawk was too modern (first flew 1974) for inclusion in a programme covering the 1950s and 60s.

[jindabyne]

The absence of the Buccaneer was a huge omission in what was, otherwise, an excellent production. IMHO

[green granite]

I suggest that the Hawk was too modern (first flew 1974) for inclusion in a programme covering the 1950s and 60s.

True but as they were chuntering on about the last all British fighter and the Hawk although a trainer is also capable of being a fighter.

[Dockers]

There were some brief passing shots of both the Swift and Buccaneer. So brief, it was easy to miss them.

[rab-k]

Watch here

[Whenurhappy]

No I can't. I live outside of the the United Kingdom, see?

[chopd95]

Just watched on iplayer (thanks for the heads-up) - excellent aeroplanes and even more excellent people. A fitting accompaniment to "Empire of the Clouds"

[JFZ90]

I thought it was rather good. Liked the way they rightly celebrated the export of Canberra and Harrier to the US and the achievement it was. Generally it reflected the good and bad in a balanced way that rang true, and struck the right chord on TSR-2, too.

Whenurhappy - you need expat shield - works a treat here (I'm not in UK).

[Willard Whyte]

Maybe the BBC thought the Buc was so ugly people would switch off?



Stands back and waits...

[GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU]

I thought it was above average for the telly. Almost subliminal image planting but a nice fleeting shot of the Boulton Paul P111. Did I miss the Fairey D2 and the "faster than the Sun" world airspeed record? They could have fed a few seconds of Short's SB5 for the Lightning bit and the SC1 for the Kestrel. There again, you'd then have to mention the Sperrin in the V Bomber story. Maybe the programme was too short. It didn't really give the impression of all the different jet types we had at the time.

Overall, and .

[Wander00]

Overall, and within the constraints of an hour's programme, pretty good. Only grumble is that although I like Barbara Flynn as an actress, not the best voice-over for this one.

[lasernigel]

Thanks for the link to i player. Just watched it, memories of going to Avro's as a kid to the Christmas parties.

Classic comment.."You shouldn't roll a bomber it's inappropriate" !

[exMudmover]

Green Granite

... the Hawk although a trainer is also capable of being a fighter.

Really? Just remind me how fast it went with a couple of 'Winders and a gun. How many wartime targets do you expect to catch at that speed?

[Tankertrashnav]

The filming at Newark was done by a BBC team led by Ellie James, who seemed very keen that the programme had as much input as possible from people who had actually flown and serviced the aircraft. I thought I would let her know the reactions on here so I have just emailed her

You may recall I was one of the organisers of the V Force reunion at Newark in April.

I just thought you'd like to know that the programme screened on Wednesday had a very good reception among a very critical audience on the Military Aircrew section of the PPRuNe internet forum. These chaps are not easily pleased and have an eagle eye for errors, nor in general is the BBC usually flavour of the month, being regarded by many of them as a dangerous left-wing organisation! However they were generous in their praise of the programme, and I personally enjoyed it very much.

Congratulations to you and to all concerned

Actually Ellie has subsequently left the BBC so I have copied the email to her successor, and I hope it is also forwarded to her wherever she has gone

[Pontius Navigator]

Originally Posted by GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU

Did I miss the Fairey D2 and the "faster than the Sun" world airspeed record? They could have fed a few seconds of Short's SB5 for the Lightning bit and the SC1 for the Kestrel. There again, you'd then have to mention the Sperrin in the V Bomber story. Maybe the programme was too short. It didn't really give the impression of all the different jet types we had at the time.

Overall, and .

GBZ, in a word, yes. The FD2 and the Shorts both featured in footage although they didn't mention the world speed record bit was that the bit you meant?

What I didn't see was the HP115.