Cleared To Land

Comprised of footage ranging from poorly-lit, noisy shots inside an airplane hangar, to spiffy commercials from various airlines, Cleared to Land is kind of the aerial equivalent of Big Rigs (VL-4/93): it's a non-narrated look at airplanes. The back of the video box asks: "Ever wish you could take your child behind the scenes of a big city airport? Now you can!" Well...not exactly. With the exception of a few control tower and hangar shots, children do not go "behind the scenes." They see planes taking off, flying, and landing in video clips varying widely in quality. Viewers will see plenty of different planes: ultralight, glider, blimp, Cessna's, Boeing's (mostly airline commercial footage), the Apache chopper (star of the show), the Stealth Bomber, and the Discovery space shuttle, among many others. And, sure, some kids will sit and stare at one plane after another (with names shown onscreen). Then again, some kids will sit and stare at test bar patterns, too. This is just a collection of clips, arranged roughly by the complexity of the plane, and that's it. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)