Videos

Model Airplane News, Jun 2001 by Onorato, Jim

SKS VIDEO PRODUCTIONS

Videos

It's showtime!

Those of us who've been bitten by the RC bug frequently turn to videos to sustain us when not at the field or in the shop. SKS Productions helps to fill that need with three new releases. The first covers the 10th annual Skymasters RC Float Fly held in Island Lake State Park in Brighton, MI-a pristine flying site with a 40-acre lake and a 1,000foot-long beach. Many of the 100 floatplanes appear in this very professional production. Included are a Maule Rocket, an Eindecker, a Citabria, a Top Flite Cessna, Seamasters, a Canadair, Northstars, an electric Lazy Bee and a Sikorsky S-39. There is also some really neat in-flight footage from onboard cameras. Run time is 92 minutes.

The second video is the "12th Annual Superman Jet Rally" held in Metropolis, IL. This tape features a wide range of turbine and ducted-fan aircraft including Chuck Spoto's Raptor, Lee DeMary's MiG 15, the new BVM F-100, the new JMP Firebird, Century Jet's new F-9F, Fiberclassic's Eurofighter and the new RAM 500 turbine. There's even a DC-10, an L-1011 and a turbine-powered helicopter. The camera work is excellent, and the run time is 103 minutes. I particularly liked the in-flight shots from the onboard cameras and the ground-level shots. The latter made the taxiing jets look like the real thing. The third, though not an RC video, is no less entertaining. It covers the 20th Anniversary Florida International Airshow at the Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda, FL. This tape is produced by Anderson Video Productions and distributed by SKS. Run time is 45 minutes. It features many outstanding demonstrations, including performances by the Swift Magic Aerobatic Team in their three Globe Swifts, Jimmy Franklin in his jet-assisted WACO, the Bud Lite Micro Jet, Patty Wagstaff, and the famous U.S. Navy Blue Angels Team of six F/A-18 Hornets as they close the show with their exciting and fast-paced aerobatic maneuvers.

The videos cost $19.95 each and are a must for any model aviation enthusiast.

--Jim Onorato

SKS Video Productions, 85 Pine Rd., Abbottstown, PA 17301; (800) 988-6488; fax (717) 259-6379; www.sksvideo.com; scott@sksvideo.com.