Airplane Reposession Story, Valid?

[Bill Greenwood]

I was watching one of the episodes where reposession agents sneak into hangars and make off with airplanes. This one was he was airborne in a Piper Cub, with another tailwheel airplane flying alongside. The tv view switches between showing the pilot and looking forward out the front window as the pilot would see it. They are flying over farm type country in good weather, when the pilot claims he is losing the engine, running out of gas. He finds what looks like a dirt road of even sort of a runway and lands, the prop turns the whole time, cant tell if it is making power. But you can clearly see the fuel indicator which is wire sticking out of the fuel filler cap right in front of the window. If he was out of gas the float on end of the wire would be down and and the wire at the bottom, not the case here it looks like the wire is moslty up, probably half fuel still left. Ive heard this program is staged,not quiet as shown. After both planes land easily on the road or whatever it is they transfer fuel from the larger plane into the Cub and take off. It caught my eye because I own a J3 and have flown looking right at that wire often.

[CHICAGORANDY]

The thin pilot with the mustache is named Ken - met and chatted with him a couple times at AirVenture both last and this year. Very amiable sort.

If memory serves they run a disclaimer during the show that states some events are re-enacted? The out-of-fuel thing was probably one of those "staged' re-enactments?

[Bill Greenwood]

It reminds me a bit of a famous author in Sport Aviaition who wrote about his VFR arrival into Oskosh, just like most members, that is if you dont count the ifr flight plan, the irf clearance and the ifr approach.

[Floatsflyer]

If memory serves they run a disclaimer during the show that states some events are re-enacted? The out-of-fuel thing was probably one of those "staged' re-enactments?

Reenactments are fine as long as they're rooted in truthfulness and are "representations" of real events.

But that's not the case with this show and another GA show about ferrying aircraft and the pilots who do it as these are rooted in bulls**t. They are SCRIPTED. That makes them FICTIONAL DRAMA like most other so-called reality shows. More bad crap happens to these guys and these planes in one half-hour episode than has ever happened to me in 44 years of flying. It's ludicrous and farcical.

These shows are an embarrassment and a gross insult to GA. The public gets the too easy impression that small airplanes are garbage and their pilots are unskilled, unsafe and incompetent.

[DaleB]

Amen. One of the dumbest collections of outright BS I have ever seen. I watched a couple of episodes just for the supposed aviation content, and I feel dumber for having done so.

[FlyingRon]

The later version of Airplane Repo was a bunch of bullpoop. Reality TV isn't,

If you caught the earlier incarnation (there were only four episodes generated), they actually had real repos by an actual company (Sage-Popovich). It was more documentary.

[Mike M]

...you can clearly see the fuel indicator which is wire sticking out of the fuel filler cap right in front of the window. If he was out of gas the float on end of the wire would be down and and the wire at the bottom...

Or, as has happened at least once, perhaps the slightly crudded up wire got stuck in the slightly crudded up tube on the gas cap because of the tremendous blast of slipstream pressing it ever so slightly against the tube wall, preventing the float from dropping with the fuel level. I didn't see the episode and most likely never will, but is it just possible the preflight was a little rushed on an aircraft which had been out of service for a bit? That the intrepid aviator didn't dipstick the tank, didn't even open the tank to ensure the float wire was free to move?

Don't bother to ask how I learned these things whether they are or they aren't written up in any aviation safety database. Your mileage may vary. :)

[Rod Schneider]

They filmed a portion of one episode a couple of years ago at my local airport (KCNI) in North Georgia. They used our hangar and our T-6 for some of the background. The entire episode was a "Re-creation", and even the airports shown on TV were not the actual ones. I got the impression from Mike Kennedy (the Repo Guy for that episode) that the whole crew was extremely aware that there was a lot of "artistic license" in the show. It was kind of fun watching them film, and I was able to chat for a bit with Mike Kennedy, who seems like a nice fellow.

[Floatsflyer]

I'm sure Mike Kennedy is a "nice fellow" but he's also a PAID ACTOR.

[Rod Schneider]

I'm sure Mike Kennedy is a "nice fellow" but he's also a PAID ACTOR.

Paid Actors can be nice people, too.... :D

[Floatsflyer]

Paid Actors can be nice people, too.... :D

Absolutely, was never implying otherwise. Was just reminding about the nature and format of this show.

[malexander]

That's the main reason I don't watch "airplane" shows. There's too much BS that I know better, and like was posted earlier, I feel dumber when/if I do.
I will, however, watch a documentary.

[robert l]

I love a documentary but agree, most, if not all reality shows are too staged. Case in point, Michael "Bear" Grylls, while desending the side of a ravine by climbing down tree roots next to a water fall, he's talking to the camera about how dangerous it is. What about the poor camera man, he's doing the same thing only he's filming while doing it !!! LOL! I'm sure at the end of the day they all go across the hill to the Marriott ! I wish someone would produce a reality show about real people building and flying there own aircraft.
Bob

[rwanttaja]

I love a documentary but agree, most, if not all reality shows are too staged. Case in point, Michael "Bear" Grylls, while desending the side of a ravine by climbing down tree roots next to a water fall, he's talking to the camera about how dangerous it is. What about the poor camera man, he's doing the same thing only he's filming while doing it !!! LOL!

Reminds me of the old line about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Astaire was the more-famous dancer, but Rogers did everything he did, except backwards in high heels.


I wish someone would produce a reality show about real people building and flying there own aircraft.
You might remember the "Junkyard Wars" TV series, where two teams were assigned a project to build, then sent into a junkyard to find all the components and build the project in the same day. They'd then complete head-to-head the next day.

They had an airplane-building episode once, with the teams led by Chuck Slusarczyk of CGS and Facetmobile creator Barnaby Wainfan. You might check it out.

Mind you, the inside dope on what REALLY went on was enough to sour one on reality shows forever......

That "Aircraft Restoration" British series had a nice episode on the construction of a Fokker DR-1 replica....

Ron Wanttaja

[CarlOrton]

<*snip*> I wish someone would produce a reality show about real people building and flying there own aircraft.
Bob

Many years ago (?10?) there was a show on the now-defunct Wings channel about a guy in the UK who built a Europa. Fairly interesting, but it's been too long for me to remember the details.

[FlyingRon]

They had an airplane-building episode once, with the teams led by Chuck Slusarczyk of CGS and Facetmobile creator Barnaby Wainfan. You might check it out.

As I recall Wainfan had a mini meltdown over that one. There was a subsequent episode where three teams built airplanes and they brought Chuck back as a judge.

[robert l]

[QUOTE=rwanttaja;65799]Reminds me of the old line about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Astaire was the more-famous dancer, but Rogers did everything he did, except backwards in high heels.


You might remember the "Junkyard Wars" TV series, where two teams were assigned a project to build, then sent into a junkyard to find all the components and build the project in the same day. They'd then complete head-to-head the next day.

They had an airplane-building episode once, with the teams led by Chuck Slusarczyk of CGS and Facetmobile creator Barnaby Wainfan. You might check it out.

Mind you, the inside dope on what REALLY went on was enough to sour one on reality shows forever......

That "Aircraft Restoration" British series had a nice episode on the construction of a Fokker DR-1 replica....

Ron Wanttaja[/QUOT
I remember those episodes Ron, and isn't it amazing that a junk yard would have everything you needed to build airplanes, boats, dune buggies and tanks, moon rovers, cannons, trebuchets and on and on and on !
Bob

[rwanttaja]

As I recall Wainfan had a mini meltdown over that one. There was a subsequent episode where three teams built airplanes and they brought Chuck back as a judge.

Every successful aircraft/spacecraft designer I have met has had a high degree of confidence in their own abilities. Depending on their ability to socialize it, this can sometimes manifest itself a bit abrasively. They will express their opinions, sometimes forcefully. My only management spot in a 40-year engineering career was to be, basically, the "human interface" for a genius lead engineer who just rubbed everyone the wrong way.

Barnaby (who I once called the "Harlan Ellison of aviation writing") and Chuck are both brilliant designers...but Chuck has a "good old boy" persona that tends to put people at ease.


I remember those episodes Ron, and isn't it amazing that a junk yard would have everything you needed to build airplanes, boats, dune buggies and tanks, moon rovers, cannons, trebuchets and on and on and on !
Bob
Everyone knows the crawl space under my house is a better source....

Ron "Where's that Illudium Q-36 explosive space modulator?" Wanttaja

[Frank Giger]

In all fairness, a huge part of the problem with shows (regardless of topic) is the editing for maximum drama.

They'll film eight hours of people interacting and cherry pick moments as needed to develop the narrative they want, and select music to match.

Flying Wild Alaska had some of that, making Ariel look like a terrible student pilot (when if one pays attention it just wasn't so) for example.

And Ice Road Truckers made 15 or 25 kph sound like they were on the straight away at Talladega and hammering it down.

[Cary]

There's nothing much "real" about "reality" shows, whether it has to do with the Kardashians, ice road truckers, "survivors" (whether clothed or naked), airplanes, Alaskan bush people, or the "real" wives of wherever. Why people watch such trash past the first episode is beyond me. But unfortunately in this house, if there were a meter on the TVs to keep track of such trash, it would be pegged. And yeah, I used to be guilty, watching the flying shows, but mercifully they seem to have gone off the air. Not so with the other trash, which still gets watched by certain members of the family (not me!).

Cary