REVIEW - Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 Flight Deck by ITVV

Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 Flight Deck by ITVV

A review by Marlon Carter

Introduction

Many of you may recall the aviation DVDs produced by ITVV many years ago. These documentaries have been hailed as some of the best-documented aviation moments of our time. ITVV has recently revitalized their products by allowing Flight One Software’s Simstop website to be the exclusive distributor of the ITVV brand of DVDs worldwide. These DVDs come with a newly designed packaging and lower pricing so that all can enjoy these flight deck programs once more.

Today, we will be looking at the Virgin Atlantic 747-200 Flight Deck Experience to see whether or not this program is worth adding to your collection. Before we examine some of the highlights, here are a few interesting details about this program.

Route :  LGW-MIA-LGW

London Gatwick – Miami – London Gatwick

• Multiple camera views inside cockpit
• Hear ATC communications
• Cockpit views on takeoff and landing
• Captain explains instruments, systems and procedures
• Preflight briefing, checklists and aircraft walkaround
• Running time: 112 minutes
• DVD features 57 chapter points
• DVD VIDEO – All Regions – PAL ONLY

Please note that this DVD will work on PAL systems only and is not NTSC compatible. Please ensure your system can play this format, before purchase. Thank you

About the Aircrew

Captain Guy Stephenson is the fleet manager for Virgin Atlantic Airways Boeing 747-200 aircraft. Guy was an Undergraduate at the Loughborough College of Technology, where he obtained a Diploma (Hons) in Industrial Chemistry. In 1958 he became a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force and obtained his wings in January 1960. Several years later he became a Squadron Pilot of 213 Squadron in the Allied Tactical Airforce in Germany. Developing his flying career in 1966, he became a Pilot for the British Overseas Airways Corporation, piloting the Boeing 707 fleet. In 1975 Guy obtained his Command on the B707 and is also an Authorized Examiner for the CAA. He later became a Base Training Captain on the B747-400. In his spare time he is to be found sailing, playing tennis, squash and skiing.

About the Airline

Virgin Atlantic Airways was founded in 1984 and has become Britain's second largest long haul airline serving 20 destinations.

The airline's aim is to provide the highest quality and innovative service at excellent value for money for all classes of air travellers. Now based at London's Gatwick and Heathrow airports, it operates long haul services from Heathrow to New York (Newark and JFK), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Miami, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Athens, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Chicago and Delhi. Virgin also operates the following services from Gatwick to Boston, Orlando, Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, Newark and Athens. Virgin Atlantic also operates a service from Manchester airport to Orlando.

*Please note that some of the airline information may be outdated

Highlights

Our flight today takes us onboard the classic 747-200 flown by Virgin Atlantic on its Gatwick to Miami routes. We begin with a detailed review of our flight plan at the briefing room with our flight crew. In this review we cover topics such as routing and weather shortly before heading to the aircraft. The walk around of the aircraft wasn’t a detailed inspection since it was mostly musical footage of the Flight Engineer carrying out his inspection.

Back in the cockpit, we join the crew as they make their final preparations for our departure. With numerous cameras being utilized for this program, viewers will have the opportunity to see footage from the cockpit and from the ground of the takeoff. While in midflight, some of the highlights included a cockpit presentation by the Captain and an extensive presentation of the Flight Engineers panel which was remarkably insightful. As we came closer to Miami airspace, viewers will have the opportunity to see the entire approach from the cockpit of this classic aircraft.

After landing in Miami, we rejoin the crew for their flight back to London that was equally as entertaining. The highlights of this segment feature detailed presentations on the Engine Instruments, SELCAL, NATS and an intrigue presentation on how the INS navigation system works. If you at all interested in know how the INS works, this is your chance to learn! The landing back at Gatwick was uneventful and it also featured multiply camera views of the landing for your enjoyment. All in all I can say that this was a fantastic video that was both entertaining and very educational. Classics like the 747-200 are being a rare sight and for just $16.95US, I think it may be well worth your time to consider adding this video to your collection of aviation documentaries!