PilotsEYE.tv: Tokyo

I wasn't too thrilled about the last PilotsEYE.tv episode I reviewed, which was an Austrian flight from VIE to BCN—mostly because it was a shorthaul flight without sightseeing. I'll give Austrian another shot with this VIE-NRT-VIE run.

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 about a Boeing B777 rotation from VIE to NRT in December 2007 with Cpt. Fritz Strahammer, who is also Austrian's chief pilot, F/O Tarek Siddiqui, and F/O Josef Trattner. The flight takes of from VIE's runway 34 in the afternoon, making the outbound flight to Japan mostly a redeye. The DVD features some stunning takeoff footage with a nice cloud ceiling, and lots of great air to air shots—along with a nice jazzy soundtrack. During the flight, Cpt. Strahammer roughly explains the cockpit instruments and the PFD (along with the usual metric altitude above Russia). After a breathtaking sunrise, the flight is on a KASMI South Arrival to NRT's runway 34R.

During the layover in Tokyo, the crew visits the 333m tall Tokyo tower, which offers a nice view over Tokyo and HND—including a blimp! The return flight takes off from runway 36C on the next day. As it's a daylight flight, we get some awesome air to air footage high above Siberia. During this leg, Cpt. Strahammer explains the concepts of relief pilots and checklists. The landing once again gives some nice views of Vienna and the UN City.

Resume

I really like this episode, and consider it much more appealing than the other Austrian flight to BCN. It's the (usual) longhaul flight to an exotic destination I'd like to visit myself one day, and the DVD conveys a sense for the great distances in our world that aviation helps to cover. I recommend this episode to you, as the technical quality of the DVD is excellent as always.