Hey guys, I just got hired to be on a new reality show on the Discovery channel about Ferry pilots and could use your help. In addition to filming me and my co-pilot as we deliver small planes to their owners around the world the show would like us to try and do aviation related things we might be able to find along the way. On my first trip this summer down to Argentina we stopped and made a scuba dive on some sunken planes. On the next trip we buzzed the Amazon and a huge waterfall. I leave for Australia Sunday to fly a Phenom 100 back to Indianapolis, not really a small plane but still cool. Our rout takes us up over Russia and down over Alaska, Great falls then home. What I'm looking for is something interesting to do or see in Nome, Juneau or Great Falls. an aircraft wreck, interesting plane to take a ride in, interesting aviation business to visit, anything. Also you guys are our target audience so if you have any ideas about what you would like to see in an show like this let me know. Here's your chance to help make the next big flying show a hit. You can also let me know what you hate about any of the other shows you would like us to fix. Thanks.

Very cool and congrats!!!

A show on ferrying small planes across the Pacific would be interesting. There was an article about that in one of the magazines some time ago.

And for people like me, moving vintage iron around would be cool, too. Like early series Lear's (20's), G2's, old warbirds, etc.

You didn't mention when you expect to pass through Alaska. If you are coming in mid-late March you might be able to catch some of the Iditarod finishers entering Nome. Nome is a blast at that time of year.

There are lots of wrecks, but many of them are pretty smashed up, and you can't see much unless you are really close (I.e., 200' agl).

Lots of interesting planes in ANC, including many old ones that fly regularly, such as C-46s, DC-3s, etc. I realize that ANC might not be on you itinerary, but maybe you have some flexibility.

Maybe MTV has some ideas.

Have fun with the reality show: they have been in my area filming "reality" for FlyingWild Alaska, and I'm here to tell you that there is very little that is "real" about what gets filmed. From what I've observed, a good deal is rehearsed and staged. The landings and takeoffs are about the only real aspect of the show.

That's very cool Kerry, good luck with the flights & the show!

If you can alter your route a bit, the Mountain Flying Museum & Missoula Smokejumpers Base at MSO would be right up your alley! The museum has a lot of smokejumper memorabilia & history. Also old Johnson Flying Service C-47 & history. Well worth the time & it's right on the field.

http://museummountainflying.org/index.php?id=2

Looking forward to the series & hope they keep the excessive DRAMA out of it. If the market truly is pilots & aviation enthusiasts then facts, ferry procedures, scenery, a bit of comic relief & some stories of past ferry adventures will hold our attention. Most of the reality shows seem to be edited for the weak minded those with ADD.

Hope you can post some details in Trip Reports if it won't conflict with the producers wishes. Any idea when we can expect the series to air?

Safe Travels!!

I think you might be mistaken about "us guys" being the target audience. "We" represent a pretty small group, in the grand scheme of how successful TV shows are scored. I'd say that Discovery and any of the other cable channels are after a much larger group of people than back country pilots.

Hey, but what the heck... if you really do have the ear of a real decision-maker on the creative side... tell 'em that everyone and their brother is kinda disgusted with how reality show producers think they're putting staged and ridiculous crap over on the audience. Tell 'em that their audience is quite a bit smarter than the reality show people seem to think.

But I've met a few producers and their ilk in a previous life. If I were a betting man, I'd bet the house that they know it all already, and if they appear to be listening to your ideas about what is realistic or credible, they're full of shit. Take a deep breath, and bellow out in the loudest, deepest voice you can muster, "Step AWAY from the F**ing Textbook!"

I've got to agree with EZFlap, I'm so sick of reality TV that I go into auto channel change when a reality show comes on. Don't care if it has airplanes in it or not.

Sounds like you are flying a major portion of the WWII Lend-Lease route in reverse. That's a fascinating chapter in aviation history. I might even tune in if I had a) a TV, and b) reception.

-DP

Nome has interesting things to see.... Gold dredges, bush planes... Eskimos with lots of character lines in old faces...
Someone should pop up on here that can direct you to a contact name or number....
They fly over to Russia every week also... that might be interesting.

Got to stop at the BOT (Board of Trade or Bottom of the Trough depending on what time u get there) for a cool one after the flight.



Then down the street to the Breakers for a nite cap. The barber chair is the most confortable seat in the house.



keep a sharp eye out for some good deals on carved ivory from the locals in the bars.

Nice flight. The shortest route avoiding much of the Pacific would take you over the Philippines, Japan and up the Aleutians. Cool.

In Juneau there are a few helo ops that take you up and land on a glacier, then give you a little pitch. Those are undoubtedly melting faster now. Perhaps you could discuss the effects of global warming on those glaciers over the past 20 years with a guide while standing there.

The flying is beautiful up the Canadian and Alaskan coasts - misty and multi-stratus layers. Glacier Bay is a bit further north and many tours run up there from Juneau. It's the size of the state of Rhode Island and has over 100 glaciers feeding into it. You can tour it in a kayak or an executive tour boat with cocktails in hand.

You could stop and see Ariel

[quote="EZFlap"] putting staged and ridiculous crap over on the audience. Tell 'em that their audience is quite a bit smarter than the reality show people seem to think. quote]

Well Said EZ;
Like the round engine noise coming from a Turbine Otter. Pet peeve of mine when details like that are botched

Like the round engine noise coming from a Turbine Otter.

Or when the flight begins in a turbine Otter and ends in a round engine Beaver. Or when the "danger" is excessively portrayed--we all know that there's enough risk flying in Alaska's changing weather that it's not necessary to magnify it. The word "reality" seems not to have the same definition in Webster's as in TV.

Cary