GA Program "Wings To Adventure" To Debut In Summer

By Tom Gresham

(Tom Gresham is the producer and host of a program that will appear on the Outdoor Channel next year. "Wings To Adventure," available in NTSC and HDTV, is slated to air this summer, concentrating on general aviation. Tom obviously has a personal interest in aviation television. Here are his thoughts on the impending demise of the Discovery Wings Channel. --ed.)

Before there is too much hand wringing and mourning over the loss of Discovery Wings, aviation junkies should know that they will not be without fresh television programming about general aviation.

I, too, am a Discovery Wings fan. I watch the old shows there just like other pilots, but I was frustrated about the lack of any new programs, especially about general aviation. That's why I created a new series that shows the airplanes we fly and the places we go.

Wings To Adventure is a 30-minute program scheduled to begin airing on the Outdoor Channel in July of 2005. Each show will run three times a week, and the show will run year-round. In addition, WTA will air on the new Outdoor Channel HD (High Definition) network which goes on the air in July. All segments of Wings To Adventure are being shot in high definition video.

So far, WTA has shot on location in Southern California; the Seattle area; AirVenture 2004 at Oshkosh; the Cirrus factory in Duluth, MN; and the latest shoot near Ft. Worth, Texas. Each program will consist of several segments, featuring airplane profiles, destinations, feature stories, instructional tips, and equipment reviews.

In Texas, we got profiles on a Tiger Moth, a Chipmunk, a Stearman, a Swift, the new Mooney, and a Maul. We did features on a paint shop, a warbird hospital, and Reb Stimson, who has a hanger full of planes, cars, motorcycles, and other toys. Destination pieces included the Cavanaugh Flight Museum at the Addison airport and the incredible Hard Eight Bar-B-Q, which is just a golf-cart ride from the Stephenville airport.

The Outdoor Channel is available on many cable systems and on both Direct TV and Dish Network satellite systems.

FMI: www.wingstoadventure.com