WORLD OF WINGS AND AAFO.COM
ANNOUNCE JOINT VENTURE
Television
and Internet coverage to interface at R2K.
by
Mark S. Daniels
World of Wings,
Inc. (WOW), a new aviation motor sports and
entertainment property, has announced the
production of the pilot episode for the new
Television series, "World Of Wings –
The Very Best In Aviation." The pilot
episode, entitled "People – Passion
– Pistons and Power" will be filmed at
the National Championship Air Races And Air Show
to be held at Stead Airport, just outside of
Reno, Nevada, from September 14 - 17, 2000.
As an added
enhancement to the televised coverage, the World
Of Wings Website, (www.worldofwings.com) in
cooperation with AAFO.COM (www.aafo.com) the
leading Air Racing web site on the Internet
– will produce a daily "on-scene"
look at the Air Races, along with a
"behind-the-scenes" look into the
production of the television show.
Just two weeks
ago, World of Wings entered into an exclusive
Internet broadcast arrangement with Yahoo that
places WOW streamed audio and video aviation
content on Yahoo!Broadcast (formerly
Broadcast.com). This deal places WOW in the
unique position of being the only sport and
entertainment aviation site on Yahoo!Broadcast.
Yahoo!Broadcast, especially the Sports section,
is promoted heavily to Yahoo’s 145
million-plus unique viewers per month.
World of Wings has
signed a joint venture agreement with Wayne
Sagar, owner of AAFO.COM. Under this agreement,
WOW and AAFO.COM have pledged to bring air race
fans the very best in Internet coverage of the
sport. During this year’s Reno Air Races,
AAFO.COM will unfold exciting stories capturing
sights, sound and action, from the grandstands to
the pits and from the race course to the
cockpits.
In addition to
AAFO.COM’s photographic and text based Air
Race coverage, video and audio clips, as well as
slide show presentations in Realâ Streaming Media format, will be
uploaded to the Internet daily during the event.
"When World
of Wings made the commitment to Internet
broadcasting of Reno Air Racing, it was not by
accident we sought out Wayne Sagar and AAFO.COM
as our joint venture partner. Like many air race
fans, we recognized AAFO.COM as the leading air
racing web site online," stated Bob Avery,
Founder and CEO of World of Wings, Inc. Avery
continued, "Wayne and his staff have made a
full-time commitment to deliver air race fans the
latest and most comprehensive information
surrounding the sport."
"We are very
pleased with this affiliation with Bob Avery and
World Of Wings," commented Sagar, adding,
"the Internet is an amazing tool, allowing
us to reach a wide international audience.
Working with the team that has been assembled by
Bob Avery and WOW Media, will allow us to expand
greatly on our coverage of this thrilling event.
All of us at AAFO.COM have geared up for our part
in this extensive and timely event
coverage."
"We have
assembled a production team involved with
Television programming, feature films and
commercial content. World of Wings has brought
together a 'Dream Team' of industry experts to
achieve the goal of producing the most exciting
televised coverage of this event in its 37-year
history", stated Avery
According to
Avery, Mitch Carley, of AirShowExpress
Entertainment, will direct the televised, pilot
episode, while Jeff Lee, of Lee Production
Services, of Austin, Texas, will serve as Camera
Editor and Producer.
David de Vos and
crew, of Blue Yonder Pictures, has also joined
the WOW Media Team for this production, allowing
multiple camera crews to be utilized in bringing
the action to the viewer from different locations
around the 8.26 mile Unlimited Class race course,
including activities taking place in both the
Pits and Grandstands.
Larry Addison's
Eye In The Sky Productions team is also operating
in support of WOW coverage of the Reno event, by
providing mini-cameras mounted within the race
planes themselves, allowing the Television and
Internet viewer into the cockpit and giving each
a view of Air Racing from the pilots'
perspective.
According to the
joint announcement, Television and Internet will
further interface when Sagar is teamed with
Carley and de Vos, to provide color commentary
and interviews with race pilots and race team
crewmembers. Carley and Sagar are to be joined by
several, yet-to-be-announced, "Air Racing
personalities," who have been selected from
within the Unlimited Class.
The World Of Wings
"pilot" episode will highlight the Air
Racing's top contenders – the fastest of the
fast – the "500 Mile An Hour
Club." Towards that end, Unlimited Class Air
Racing Teams such as Dago Red, Strega, Rare Bear,
Critical Mass, Voodoo and Miss America, have
joined with WOW and AAFO.COM to focus on this
coverage.
The first one-hour
pilot episode – "People, Passion,
Pistons and Power" – is designed to
showcase the drama and excitement that occurs
every year at the annual Reno event. These six,
Unlimited Class Teams often battle head-to-head
– on the course, behind the scenes in the
Pits, and even during the off-season – with
all sharing the goal to be the one Team to finish
victorious at Reno in the final race on Sunday.
The intent of the
WOW/AAFO production team is to provide Television
and Internet audiences event coverage with an
"edge-of-their-seat" look at both the
physical and strategic sides of these Unlimited
Class Air Racing battles, with an emphasis being
placed towards putting a "human face"
on those who participate in this epic, Air Racing
event.
In the televised
episodes that follow, the World Of Wings series
will showcase Aviation's most thrilling events as
they occur around the world, utilizing the same
techniques as with the Air Races – including
multiple location shooting, in-plane cameras,
plus interviews and commentary by pilots and
other participants.
World Of Wings'
announced goal is to "create an experience
that will make each show of the television series
a unique and exciting event in itself;
ultimately, one that will capture the eyes and
imaginations of viewers from all walks of life
and all age groups."
ABOUT WORLD OF
WINGS
World of Wings,
Inc. (WOW) is being developed as the premier
marketing and merchandising property of aviation
content to provide investors, sponsors, and
advertisers an integrated infrastructure for
tapping a vast worldwide consumer market in the
sport and entertainment aviation industry.
WOW is devoted to
the development, production, acquisition,
distribution, and merchandising of aviation
content including WOW sponsored aviation events,
the collective merchandising rights of flight
teams, media programming and other intellectual
and entertainment properties within the industry.
Through global
multimedia channels, including broadcast, print,
promotion, live event programming, and the
Internet, WOW will become recognized as the
"NASCAR" of sport and entertainment
aviation.
WOW is currently
developing strategic alliances with flight teams,
event owners, media broadcasters, sponsors,
merchandisers and other strategic partners to
create appealing and lucrative business
opportunities within the industry.
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