PilotsEYE.tv: La Palma

On my latest online shopping spree, I've treated myself to another DVD from the PilotsEYE.tv series: MUC-SPC-MUC on a Condor Airbus A320. This DVD features some great air to air footage taken at the tiny airport of SPC.

One cockpit—Two pilots—Six cameras

Since almost eight years, PilotsEYE.tv creates high-quality documentaries directly out of the cockpit of airliners—in HD quality using six cameras mounted behind the cockpit windows and on the glareshield. To date, PilotsEYE.tv is well-known for accuracy and high quality productions.

This episode is almost two hours long, and accompanied a Condor Airbus A320 crew on a MUC-SPC-MUC rotation in January 2009. Flight DE 7596 departs MUC on a dark and very foggy morning (including de-icing action along with the required checklists and procedures). The cockpit crew explains the approach procedure into SPC (a much more detailed version is in the bonus section of the DVD, including all the relevant maps). The landing was not only filmed from the flight deck, but also from a helicopter nearby, providing for some really great footage.

After a short visit to some of La Palma's sights (its capital Santa Cruz, a volcano and a banana plantation), flight DE 7597 takes off from SPC's RWY 01. The flight route is over Morocco, Algeria, the French Riviera and Italy, including a runway change in MUC at the last second.

I like this DVD (as all the others), and am really blown away by the air to air shoots. Unfortunately, this can only be arranged at small airports, so I'm afraid it'll remain a one-off in the entire series.