If there was one aviation TV show which gripped the masses, it has to be Dangerous Flights. The two-season Discovery Channel documentary used six pilots to thrill audiences with their adventures of flying aircraft over challenging routes and long distances.
These are mostly small planes which have been bought and need to be delivered to their owners. The flights are longer than what would be considered normal for the small aircraft, and they usually take on dangerous routes such as the Amazon rainforest and the ice-filled Arctic region.
Rough Conditions
Snowstorms are never far away, fuel is often less than ideal, and the customers waiting for delivery are not the most patient. That means that the pilots are working against weather and time. These conditions, however, do not prevent them from exploring their world.
The documentary involves a pilot who leaves his productive car dealing company and joins the risky business of delivering aeroplanes. The pilot, Cory Bengtzen, is joined by Randy McGehee in this daring job.
Unexpected Twists
In one episode, two of his pilots ditch the job, and this forces Bengtzen to deliver the plane by himself. New pilots McCauley and Stu Sprung join them in business. Randy is on a mission to deliver a 1998 Dornier in South Sudan, which is battle-scarred. He has only 48 hours to know how to fly the plane which he has never flown, before going on a journey that is 6000 miles long.
Pete Zaccagnino, who is a professional air racer, has to deliver a plane to the US despite losing a friend at the Reno Air Races. After McGehee finishes the South Sudan mission, he immediately gets a job to fly to Brazil.
McCauley and Stu Sprung lack the proper paperwork, which is an offense, and could face huge fines or be imprisoned.
In the very first season, there are serious challenges which these pilots overcome, to set the stage for an excellent aviation series.