filmmaker White interviewed to make the film were 13 of the Tuskegee airmen. Several of the Tuskegee Airmen were from the northeast Ohio region. One of the veterans interviewed was Colonel Charles McGee, who had served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War and whom White said had more combat flight hours than any other American. The film was shot in Billings, Montana. The film was produced to help increase awareness and elicit financial support for The Red Tail Project. The film was produced by Cleveland-based Hemlock Films, which is White's production company. It was underwritten by the Parker Hannifin Corporation. The film was inspired while White was filming The Restorers, after a P-51C Mustang landed for refueling and White met Doug Rozendaal, the pilot of the Red Tail Project's Tuskegee Airmen plane. When White heard Don Hinz had been killed in a crash of that very same plane, he felt compelled to do a story focusing on it. Once he got involved in the project, a local PBS station committed to airing the final product, which was an early step in the successful development of the project. When researching the film he noticed a lack of resources about the Tuskegee Airmen and felt driven to fill the void. Airings and DVD release The film premiered at the MAPS Air Museum at the Akron-Canton Regional Airport in Green, Ohio on Saturday February 10, 2007 and debuted during a simulcast on Western Reserve Public Media, PBS network stations serving northeastern Ohio, the following day. The stations re-aired the show four more times between February 13 and 20. The film debuted in western Ohio at Wright State University on March 22, 2007 at which time a two-disc DVD was made available. It was released to the general public in DVD format on March 23, 2007. The film, which was not rated, was available in 1.33:1 aspect ratio and in Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, widescreen format. was produced in color format. The film began national PBS broadcasts during Black History Month in February 2008, reaching over 300 affiliates in its initial national airing, although specific dates and times varied from station to station. The PBS airings began on February 5. PBS also aired the film later in 2008 during its November Veterans Day programming. The DVD release includes a second disc with four hours of additional interviews, deleted scenes,