Binge-Watching Airplane Repo

Palmpilot

Palmpilot

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Apr 1, 2007
Messages
22,413
Location
PUDBY
Display Name
Display name:
Richard Palm
I'm binge-watching Airplane Repo from the beginning, using the Discovery Go app via Roku. I'm enjoying all the cool airplanes and cool scenery. Not enjoying the fake drama and the total misrepresentation of normal airport ops. :lol:
 
I love the way they call Telluride Regional a "members only" airport. :rofl:
 
I’m guessing that in part, possibly for some of them, the pitch is never accurate, and some found they sold their soul for a lot less than they would have, if they had realized up front.
 
Is that show real?? Do they do airplane repo like this at all?? Entertaining show only because I like airplanes. But I call bs on a lot of that.
 
benyflyguy said:
Is that show real?? Do they do airplane repo like this at all?? Entertaining show only because I like airplanes. But I call bs on a lot of that.
Click to expand...
Ask @SixPapaCharlie about when his CFI (Brandon Ayers) appears on the show and had his (the CFI's) Stearman "repoed"
 
Palmpilot said:
I'm binge-watching Airplane Repo from the beginning, using the Discovery Go app via Roku. I'm enjoying all the cool airplanes and cool scenery. Not enjoying the fake drama and the total misrepresentation of normal airport ops. :lol:
Click to expand...
Pretty sure this has to be reported on your next medical under neurological....
 
benyflyguy said:
Is that show real?? Do they do airplane repo like this at all?? Entertaining show only because I like airplanes. But I call bs on a lot of that.
Click to expand...
After watching several episodes today, I'm amazed that I'm not threatened with arrest every time I set foot on an airport! ;)

Furthermore, it's now clear that all the airport operators and security personnel from coast to coast are in league with the deadbeats! o_O
 
AggieMike88 said:
Ask @SixPapaCharlie about when his CFI (Brandon Ayers) appears on the show and had his (the CFI's) Stearman "repoed"
Click to expand...
One thread about the show being fake (as in scripted and acted, whole cloth, not even re-enactments of actual events):
https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/buzz-kill-for-airplane-repo.74815/

6PC’s thread, linked to from that one:
https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/airplane-repo-is-faker-than-i-thought.71010/

Edit to add: Flying magazine has a decent article on the subject. https://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/ownership/airplane-repo-true-stories/?page=0,1
 
Last edited:
benyflyguy said:
Is that show real?? Do they do airplane repo like this at all?? Entertaining show only because I like airplanes. But I call bs on a lot of that.
Click to expand...

Not even close. Most airplane repos are more of an administrative function. The repo people show up, show us their paperwork, we point them in the right direction. Often times the owner is aware and grants them access. More often than not the aircraft is not airworthy, out of annual, dead battery, etc. The FBO helps them get it started and ferryable. No cops, guns, or drama.
 
It's kind of like the question, "Is professional wrestling real?" :lol:

(I call the wrestlers "actors.")
 
Gasp...do you mean to tell me that an A/P wouldn’t steal the GPS Nav/coms from a twin as collateral, then the repo guy wouldn’t take off at night from a mountain airfield using only a portable car GPS? Say it ain’t so...
 
I finished Season One yesterday. Two more to go.

On one of the episodes, the guy in the hangar next door lends the muscle guy a bolt cutter after they ask him whether he has a key to the locked hangar. And then after cutting the key safe off the door handle, he proceeds to abuse the BORROWED bolt cutter by using it as a hammer to try to break the key safe open. o_O
 
Yeah, the show is an over dramatized recreation of events, but I still like it and fun to watch. Could do will less boat repo's in the final season.
 
There was a fun episode which featured my home airport. Was funny to watch them "break into" the airport by holding up fake badges to a security camera located outside a door that's unlocked during business hours.
 
NordicDave said:
Yeah, the show is an over dramatized recreation of events, but I still like it and fun to watch. Could do will less boat repo's in the final season.
Click to expand...
I agree that it's fun to watch. (Else I wouldn't be doing so!)

One serious concern I have is its impact on potential newcomers to aviation. For the most part, the series portrays airports as unfriendly, unwelcoming places. :(
 
Actually, I kinda want the average moron watching TV to think airports are unfriendly, unwelcoming places. If you're actually interested in aviation, come by and learn the truth.
 
The original Airplane Repo with the Nick Popovich operation was quite interesting. Of course, it doesn't take much of a binge, as they only made four of those episodes.

The successor series isn't worth watching even once.
 
Zeldman said:
I always thought that was a funny show but it too was also way over dramatized.
Click to expand...
I enjoyed that show but it did make me laugh with all the over dramatizations of things like crosswind landings. Most shows about airplanes do stuff like that though.

Scary narrator voice: "In order to land, he has to keep his wing into the wind...and touch down...on one wheel..."
*cue recycled camera shot of pilot jockeying the yoke around like an absolute madman*

Not saying they weren't flying in challenging conditions, but I doubt it was anything your average Alaskan pilot couldn't handle.
 
Last edited:
TopDollar said:
Scary narrator voice: "In order to land, he has to keep his wing into the wind...and touch down...on one wheel..."
*cue recycled camera shot of pilot jockeying the yoke around like an absolute madman*
Click to expand...

And the outside screen shot is a C-207 landing in a cross wind, then an inside shot of the yoke being horsed around, but the inside shot is a Cherokee 6 and the engine tach needle is at ''0''..... Then back to the outside shot of a C-207.... Things like that always gave me a good chuckle...:lol:

But I digress, the average non-pilot viewer would never notice things like that.
 
TopDollar said:
I enjoyed that show but it did make me laugh with all the over dramatizations of things like crosswind landings.
Click to expand...

I always like how any Discovery production behaves when any of the participants are going to go near .... gasp... RUSSIA! LOL.

Both Deadliest Catch and FWA made a big deal of it. Complete with Russian themed music and such. Hahaha.
 
As far as I can tell from Discovery's online schedule for today, they only broadcast three shows anymore: Moonshiners, Undercover Billionaire, and Deadliest Catch. History is even worse: American Pickers, WWII in HD (at least one history show), and Hitler's Secret Tunnels. I guess they don't know Ancient Aliens on Tuesdays.

I remember when these channels used to teach something about the world and its history. I even paid money to be able to watch them back then. Those days are now history, although we'll never have another broadcast television channel to teach us that history. Maybe Youtube's The History Guy will make an episode about how television channels used to carry content relevant to their names. Kids, did you know that 100% of the programming on Music Television used to be about music?

Posted from the Get The Heck Off My Lawn Ranch.
 
iamtheari said:
As far as I can tell from Discovery's online schedule for today, they only broadcast three shows anymore: Moonshiners, Undercover Billionaire, and Deadliest Catch. History is even worse: American Pickers, WWII in HD (at least one history show), and Hitler's Secret Tunnels. I guess they don't know Ancient Aliens on Tuesdays.

I remember when these channels used to teach something about the world and its history. I even paid money to be able to watch them back then. Those days are now history, although we'll never have another broadcast television channel to teach us that history. Maybe Youtube's The History Guy will make an episode about how television channels used to carry content relevant to their names. Kids, did you know that 100% of the programming on Music Television used to be about music?

Posted from the Get The Heck Off My Lawn Ranch.
Click to expand...

Hahahaha. Long time DC watcher so I can live with that one. Always more entertaining to do some Googling each season to see what the real story is though. Just catching up (pun intended) on the current season and there’s a rather bad reason Edgar Hansen isn’t on the show this year. Y’all can google it. Dumbass...

I have no idea why we like that one. Mostly we watch it and think “that looks like a really hard damn job, no thanks”. Not that I could do it or anything like it anymore anyway.

Rumors of the salaries paid to the participants by the TV company for the crab show are eye popping. Those folks aren’t making their living from crab anymore. But with as many seasons as its had, they know the end has to be near. 15 seasons... long run for a TV show.

History Channel used to be great but how many times can you re-run the same old WWII shows?

Your mention of YT and The History Guy... that guy is cool. I hope he’s making what he thought he would, using that platform. CSU grad and clearly an aviation buff too. Been thinking about tossing a couple of bucks in his Patreon kitty — I enjoy watching his content more than most of the crap I already pay for.

But I suspect if he had to fill 24/7/365 his content would go downhill rapidly. That’s the real problem with modern TV channels. Way too many of them and they have to dilute their content and re-run it all a lot interspersed with mainly scam product advertising that we all skip.

Many of the channels don’t even do that and don’t operate 24/7 anymore. The night is just hours of useless informercials about bad vacuum cleaners and such.

Yay DVR tech.

Flying Wild Alaska seemed in the end just to be an advertisement for the guy to sell the company and retire with a nice cash pile from the TV show to afford / make retirement great again. Hahaha. But it was fun.
 
denverpilot said:
History Channel used to be great but how many times can you re-run the same old WWII shows?
Click to expand...
They don't have to do that. They can also re-run all the Modern Marvels episodes. Or they could run I Dream of Jeannie marathons. That would be better for learning history than Ancient Aliens and much more watchable on a marathon/repeat basis.
 
iamtheari said:
They don't have to do that. They can also re-run all the Modern Marvels episodes. Or they could run I Dream of Jeannie marathons. That would be better for learning history than Ancient Aliens and much more watchable on a marathon/repeat basis.
Click to expand...

Hahaha true, but I’ve seen all the Modern Marvels episodes and they don’t re-run well for keeping or obtaining new viewer eyeballs. Good for falling to sleep to these days perhaps.

Many of them are outdated now too.

They could do a MM comeback like Good Eats is currently doing if whoever owns the IP rights would let someone do it. Alton looks old but happy. Wonder if he’s still flying much?
 
denverpilot said:
Many of them are outdated now too.
Click to expand...
It's history, it's supposed to be outdated! :)

denverpilot said:
They could do a MM comeback like Good Eats is currently doing if whoever owns the IP rights would let someone do it. Alton looks old but happy. Wonder if he’s still flying much?
Click to expand...
I didn't know Alton was a pilot. I do know that you can judge the quality of a cooking show by whether or not he is part of it.
 
iamtheari said:
I didn't know Alton was a pilot. I do know that you can judge the quality of a cooking show by whether or not he is part of it.
Click to expand...

Yeah on one of the older episodes they showed him unloading some fresh seafood or something from the Turbo 206 he was training in that he owned. He later bought a 414.

Wiki says he was in AOPA Flight Training in an article back then. He earned his first rating in 2008 during the peak of many of his Food Network shows. Busy dude. M

I just realized if I wasn’t lazy today I could probably find the article ha. Anyway...

I think I remember the article. Flew with an outfit out of his hometown (at the time, I assume he’s still there, he’s had a divorce and some other stuff) of Atlanta.

I believe I recall seeing some posts or something by him that when he was made an exec at Food they had some issues with him flying himself... a common problem for many. Worth too much to make your own mistakes I guess. Not 100% sure on this part, but I seem to recall him saying they wanted him on the company Jet with a pro crew. Long time ago.
 
I used to watch it every time a new episode aired - I believe it was Thursday nights.

Yeah, there’s plenty of scripted drama, but it’s pretty exciting to watch.

Flying Wild Alaska was probably my favorite with the cute Ariel Tweto. :blowingkisses:
 
denverpilot said:
I always like how any Discovery production behaves when any of the participants are going to go near .... gasp... RUSSIA! LOL.
Click to expand...

I took off from Wales one day, no passengers or other revenue, so I decided to take a sight seeing flight to the Diomede Islands. I climbed to 1500 ASL (above seawater level), set the auto pilot, reached down to get my paper work to catch up on it. The flight to the Diomedes is pretty short, 15 minutes or so. The plan was to go between the islands then return to Kotzebue. Little Diomede is on the US side, and Big Diomede is on the Russian side.

As I put my paper work away, I looked up and saw nothing but open water in front of me and the big island about to slide under my left wing....

upload_2019-8-27_10-36-6.jpeg

I immediately hit the A/P disconnect and made a screeching, descending 180 degree turn heading back into US airspace and ran like a scalded ape back towards home at about 20 feet with full rental power. I kept jinking the plane around looking behind me as I had been told the Russians keep a helicopter on the island to deter airspace incidents. I never saw anything so I guess their budget didn't allow the helicopter to be flying that day.

I am gonna tell you I was scared for the next month or so thinking there was going to be some people waiting for me at the airport to take me away for a little talk....

https://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/02/diomede-islands-two-islands-split-by-us.html
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top