Aviation Week: Ultimate Dogfighting
This DVD features two complete programs spanning the entire history of aerial combat. The first program tells virtually the entire story of fighter aircraft, beginning with the biplanes piloted by pioneering aces in World War I. Through archival footage and interviews with veterans, the evolution of fighter planes through the decades is detailed, and the pivotal role played by fighter pilots in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam is examined. The second program on the disc gives the viewer a look at the modern training programs for fighter pilots, with a particular focus on the intense training America pilots receive in air combat maneuvering (ACM) classes. Great fighter pilots hone their skills endlessly, and the cameras follow American fighter jocks who take to the air and engage in mock combat with instructors flying jets that mimic those of enemy powers. The cameras aboard a modern fighter provide a pilot's-eye view of the adversary, down to how an enemy jet would look while in the sights of the advanced electronic weapons system that would launch an air-to-air missile. These programs are intelligently assembled and very well photographed, and together they provide an entertaining and informative look at how fighter planes and tactics have developed over more than 80 years.--Robert J. McNamara