Video of the Week

There are two videos we receive (and stumble across) more often than any others on the web. Both videos are testaments to human ingenuity and technical achievement - and they never fail to raise a giggle when we see them. We've held them in reserve for a while, just in case we needed them to brighten a particularly rough Monday morning. (Plus, we were afraid that it we ran these videos, people would stop sending them to us. And that would ruin the pleasant surprise of watching these videos at 4:00 on a Thursday afternoon and laughing our heads off.) But the time has come, at last, to unveil the first of our Two Most-Submitted Videos: the flying lawnmower! (Click through to watch.)

Our latest "Video of the Week" is for those of who'd love to attend a hot air balloon race, but just couldn't find the time in 2006. You're in luck, because YouTube user tlapse has put together and incredible time-lapse video of the 2006 Reno Balloon Race launch ceremony - using stills from a Canon digital camera! (Click through to watch.)

This week's video is an impressive slideshow of C-141s put together by Mike Novack of C-141 Heaven. The video celebrates the careers of 141s and (according to Mike's blog) was put together after last May's retirement ceremony for one of the last flying specimens. (Set to the music of Johnny Cash's "I've Been Everywhere.")

Who hasn't wanted to do this ever since he or she was a kid? Loic Jean Albert lives the dream in this clip from Ultimate Journey, sent to us by AVweb reader Noah Forden. Click through to watch.

Over the last few months, we've seen quite a few amazing videos from AVweb readers - and if we've learned one thing, it's how tough it can be to stage, shoot, and produce your own video. Sometimes you'll see something from the air that's incredible - but capturing that in a video can be tough. Ultralight pilot Lee Baer seems to have mastered the art is our latest "Video of the Week" clip. (Click through to watch.)

Don't try this one at home kids - midfield landing on a short strip in a Mooney, with no "out" due to the pilot's long landing and tall trees all around the airport. It's too bad we don't have Smell-O-Vision yet, because you'd actually be able to smell the rubber burn when he locks the brakes to avoid a runway overrun.

In the wake of aviation instructor and spin king William Kershner's passing, we thought this would be a good time to share a video AVweb editor Jen Whitley had on hand from a few years ago. In this incredible clip, aerobatics pros Barb MacLeod and Max Bell perform a 52-and-a-half-turn spin in Austin, Texas during the winter of 1994. Click through to watch the video and be amazed.

Welcome back to the working week! AVweb's "Video of the Week" is here to ease the transition, with a little help from YouTube user Whatmap and his/her video clip, "Crosswind Aircraft Testing." (Click through to view.)

After seeing this video posted by skoey on YouTube, there was no doubt it would be this week's "Video of the Week." Have a look at the amazing airplane-gliding aerobatic feats of Bob Hoover, and we think you'll see why. (Click through to watch.)

Happy holidays from AVweb!
Aviation-themed videos will return next week, but since we're posting this edition of "VOTW" on Christmas morning, December 25, 2006, we thought we'd take a few moments to sip our hot cocoa and share one of the most fun viral videos that's hit the web in the last few years. This week's amazing video showcases the patience and ingenuity of Ohio electrical engineer Carson Williams, whose 2004 Christmas lights display, synchronized to the music of Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Wizard in Winter" (buy it here) sparked so much chatter that it has its own page on the myth-busting web site Snopes.com. (Click through to watch.)