Best all time fly boy pictures

[Dale Alexander]

Hi all,

I'm trying to put together some kind of plan to increase our EAA chapter
membership. To that end, I would like to pick everyone's brains for their
favorite big screen movie that involves airplanes, either main to the plot
or of any background significance. Examples would be like "Flying Tigers"
with John Wayne or "Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail".

Thanks in advance,

Dale Alexander
"Birds of Paradise" EAA 735
Paradise, Ca.

[Richard Lamb]

Dale Alexander wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I'm trying to put together some kind of plan to increase our EAA chapter
> membership. To that end, I would like to pick everyone's brains for their
> favorite big screen movie that involves airplanes, either main to the plot
> or of any background significance. Examples would be like "Flying Tigers"
> with John Wayne or "Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail".
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Dale Alexander
> "Birds of Paradise" EAA 735
> Paradise, Ca.



The Great Waldo Pepper! (Filmed right here at home!)

The Spirit of St. Louis?

The Rocketeer, kinda lame story, but great flying and
the female lead ain't half bad either!


But for wider audience appeal, the recent Pearl Harbor
might be a good one.

More a love story than a war story, but some good flying.

[Richard Riley]

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 23:53:31 GMT, "Dale Alexander"
> wrote:

:Hi all,
:
:I'm trying to put together some kind of plan to increase our EAA chapter
:membership. To that end, I would like to pick everyone's brains for their
:favorite big screen movie that involves airplanes, either main to the plot
:or of any background significance. Examples would be like "Flying Tigers"
:with John Wayne or "Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail".

See http://tinyurl.com/394mm

[Stealth Pilot]

On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 06:29:35 GMT, Richard Lamb >
wrote:

>Dale Alexander wrote:
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I'm trying to put together some kind of plan to increase our EAA chapter
>> membership. To that end, I would like to pick everyone's brains for their
>> favorite big screen movie that involves airplanes, either main to the plot
>> or of any background significance. Examples would be like "Flying Tigers"
>> with John Wayne or "Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail".
>>


the english patient. (stearman and tiger moth)

out of africa. (magic gypsy moth flight across the african landscape)

[Yosimite Sam]

I always liked "Flight of the Phoenix" Experimental at its best!!


--
Yosimite Sam

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 13:27:31 GMT, "Yosimite Sam" > wrote:

>I always liked "Flight of the Phoenix" Experimental at its best!!

According to the new AIR CLASSIC magazine, they're remaking this film. The
mag details the flight of a C-119 to Africa for the filming. IIRC, it says
they're making a flying "Phoenix" in California.

Ron Wanttaja

[Yosimite Sam]

Thanks for pointing that out....I see it's set to release in Nov. of
2004!!!!

--
Yosimite Sam

[Ron Wanttaja]

Got to admit two of my guilty pleasures are "633 Squadron" and "Battle of
Britain"...both good movies featuring planes that are very rare, nowadays.
I've got a copy of a 1960's book titled, "The Making of the Battle of
Britain," and getting those air fleets together was a fascinating process.
Having the CAF pilots work directly with the Spanish was a good idea
because they spoke the language, what they DIDN'T think of is that the
Texans spoke it was a rather strong Mexican accent...

This is always a rich topic. I could mention "Twelve O'Clock High" as my
all-time favorite (I also have 78 episodes of the TV series on tape). "The
Blue Max" is another fun one. One of my regrets is that a lot of the
flying films from the silent era aren't readily available; they not only
often had the original-type planes to fly, they had so many of them that
they used a lot of crash sequences as well.

"Wings" is one of the exceptions, and is a lot of fun, especially
considering it's pre-Hayes Board (the rather prudish censorship imposed in
the early '30s). Also, watch the rudder of the SPAD when it flips on its
back; the director wanted to keep the camera rolling as the dust settled,
and they arranged to have the pilot kick the rudder to show he was OK and
could wait for a while for a recovery team.

Of perhaps more immediate interest is non-flying films that include scenes
or subplots of interest to the pilot. "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" is
a classic example, with Paul Mantz flying the twin Beech through the
billboard. "The World According to Garp" has a Champ fly into the second
story of a house. The more-recent "Secondhand Lions" has a minor plotline
relative to the restoration of a decrepit Stearman (and its demise should
strike a grin among any pilot watching). And Richard would throttle me if
I didn't mention "Fandango" with its outrageous skydiving sequence.

As a final kicker along these lines, let me suggest pushing the envelope a
bit: "Kiki's Delivery Service." Yes, it's a Japanese cartoon about a
young broom-flying witch. But one of her friends is a young boy obsessed
with flight, trying to build his own airplane and wangle his way onto a
visiting Zeppelin for a ride. And the main theme is the effect of the
witch's *loss* of her ability to fly...something most of us can sympathize
with. If your wife/girlfriend is complaining about the blood-and-guts
movies you typically rent, here's a chance to pick up a few brownie points.
It's not that accurate, aviation-wise, but how often do you get to see
scenes of a witch flying chase for a homebuilt plane?

Joe-Ron says check it out....

Ron Wanttaja

[Del Rawlins]

"Always" starring Richard Dreyfuss, some chick, and a bunch of fire
bombers.

----------------------------------------------------
Del Rawlins-
Remove _kills_spammers_ to reply via email.
Unofficial Bearhawk FAQ website:
http://www.rawlinsbrothers.org/bhfaq/

[Richard Isakson]

One of the most memorable bits of aviation film that I've every seen was
only 30 seconds long. It was a black and white movie theater commercial
about a World War II scrap drive. I think I saw it on PBS. A group of Boy
Scouts are seen rolling assorted scrap into a scap pile. They leave and the
most beautiful biplane I've ever seen lands next to the pile. At that point
I started talking to the TV. "No, don't do that." The Boy Scouts returned
and started pushing this most beautiful biplane towards the pile. "NO, no,
no, no, Don't Do That!" They pushed it all the way upside down onto the
pile to my scream of "Noooo ...".

Well, my scream was about fifty years too late to save that plane and I've
never figured out what make and model it was but it's amazing how much
passion a bit of film can raise.

Rich

[Richard Riley]

On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 17:26:56 GMT, Ron Wanttaja >
wrote:

:Got to admit two of my guilty pleasures are "633 Squadron" and "Battle of
:Britain"...both good movies featuring planes that are very rare, nowadays.
:I've got a copy of a 1960's book titled, "The Making of the Battle of
:Britain," and getting those air fleets together was a fascinating process.
:Having the CAF pilots work directly with the Spanish was a good idea
:because they spoke the language, what they DIDN'T think of is that the
:Texans spoke it was a rather strong Mexican accent...
:

To throw in a few off the top of my pointed head -

Proof - if you can find it. Kevin Reynolds student film, expanded
into Fandango.
Fly Away Home (Geese and ultralights)
Cloud Dancer (Aerobatics)
No Highway in the Sky (metal fatigue and airliners)
Air America (The few, the proud, the totally insane)
Fate is the Hunter (the coffee syndrome)
Capricorn One (escape sequence, crop duster vrs helo gunships)
Point Break (sky diving)
Drop Zone, Terminal Velocity (more sky diving)
A Guy Named Joe (remade as Always)
Spitfire!
Breaking the Sound Barrier (my personal favorite - directed by David
Lean)
Dambusters!
Memphis Belle (both the original documentary and the recent fiction
film)
Tmavomodrý sve(t ("Dark Blue World" 2001)
Firebirds (Like Top Gun, but with Apaches)
Iron Eagle 3 (turn off the sound, fast forward through the non-flying
stuff)

[pacplyer]

Dale,

You gotta have "Those Magnificant Men and their Flying Machines" in
your collection. Haven't seen that flick in decades... kinda like
"the great race."

I remember a scene after the pilot of the crout entry to the race
get's taken out and the military political officer grabs the
how-to-fly-book: "There is nothing a German Officer can not do!"

cheers

pacplyer










"Dale Alexander" > wrote in message >...
> Hi all,
>
> I'm trying to put together some kind of plan to increase our EAA chapter
> membership. To that end, I would like to pick everyone's brains for their
> favorite big screen movie that involves airplanes, either main to the plot
> or of any background significance. Examples would be like "Flying Tigers"
> with John Wayne or "Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail".
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Dale Alexander
> "Birds of Paradise" EAA 735
> Paradise, Ca.

[Richard Riley]

Here are some more threads on this subject


http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&th=b39704e56b6162fd&rnum=16
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&th=df0022feccdd48aa&rnum=10
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&th=da7e2c174edf300a&rnum=8
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&th=4c4c9b9bcdb87a6f&rnum=7
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&th=ac1d6f72fe3894b1&rnum=4

[JDupre5762]

>Of perhaps more immediate interest is non-flying films that include scenes
>or subplots of interest to the pilot. "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" is
>a classic example, with Paul Mantz flying the twin Beech through the
>billboard.

That was actually Mantz' partner Frank Tallman flying through the billboard.
The board was balsa wood but the frame was all steel. The leading edges of the
wings were so badly distorted afterward it took full power to fly it back to
the runway. Tallman also flew the Beech through an open hangar something Mantz
had done about 30 years before with a biplane.

John Dupre'

[JDupre5762]

>Cloud Dancer (Aerobatics)

Remember when this came out. Couldn't wait to see it but it never came near my
theater. Years later saw it at Oshkosh. What a disappointment! It really
sucked. With Jennifer O'Neil and Timothy Bottoms no wonder. David Carradine
was the best thing in it besides the flying but of course they had to throw in
an armed Mustang flying top cover for drug runners etc.

My theory is this. They need to make an aviation oriented film that could just
as easily be about truck drivers or tug boat captains or railroads. In other
words I think people get carried away with the visual effect of the aircraft
and forget the plot and narrative. A surprising number of aviation films
really stink when considered just as films.

John Dupre'

[Mike Gaspard]

"Dale Alexander" > wrote in message >...
> Hi all,
>
> I'm trying to put together some kind of plan to increase our EAA chapter
> membership. To that end, I would like to pick everyone's brains for their
> favorite big screen movie that involves airplanes, either main to the plot
> or of any background significance. Examples would be like "Flying Tigers"
> with John Wayne or "Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail".
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Dale Alexander
> "Birds of Paradise" EAA 735
> Paradise, Ca.


"The Road Warrior", starring Bruce Spence as the The Gyro Captain.
Mel Gibson had a part in it too. :-)

"Midway", Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, and everyone else in
Hollywood, except Mel Gibson.

"Memphis Belle", Matthew Modine loses his tomato soup to AAA.

"Dr. Strangelove", B-52's and Slim Pickens riding a 'noo-kler' weapon.

[El Roto]

"Dale Alexander" > wrote in message
. com...
> Hi all,
>
> I'm trying to put together some kind of plan to increase our EAA chapter
> membership. To that end, I would like to pick everyone's brains for their
> favorite big screen movie that involves airplanes, either main to the plot
> or of any background significance. Examples would be like "Flying Tigers"
> with John Wayne or "Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail".

"Bridges at Toko-Ri"

[Smutny]

All true... but since it's the only film with so many Pitts' in it,
it'll always be a favorite of mine.

-j-

"If you're not flying on the edge, you're taking up too much air!"



On 23 Feb 2004 00:02:27 GMT, (JDupre5762) wrote:

>>Cloud Dancer (Aerobatics)
>
>Remember when this came out. Couldn't wait to see it but it never came near my
>theater. Years later saw it at Oshkosh. What a disappointment! It really
>sucked. With Jennifer O'Neil and Timothy Bottoms no wonder. David Carradine
>was the best thing in it besides the flying but of course they had to throw in
>an armed Mustang flying top cover for drug runners etc.
>
>My theory is this. They need to make an aviation oriented film that could just
>as easily be about truck drivers or tug boat captains or railroads. In other
>words I think people get carried away with the visual effect of the aircraft
>and forget the plot and narrative. A surprising number of aviation films
>really stink when considered just as films.
>
>John Dupre'

[Smutny]

Most everyone has listed the majority of my collection, or the ones on
my short list to purchase. However...

One film I highly recommend is the recent Czech flick "Dark Blue
World". Excellent film, some re-hashed clips from "Battle of Britain"
and "Memphis Belle", but some great new footage too.

Other flying films (or films with flying clips) that I can think of
include:

Tora, Tora, Tora
Forever Young
Fighter Squadron
Dragonfly Squadron
Apocolypse Now
Blue Thunder
Flight of the Intruder
Men with Wings
Dawn Patrol
Empire in the Sun
Air Force

-j-


On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 23:53:31 GMT, "Dale Alexander"
> wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>I'm trying to put together some kind of plan to increase our EAA chapter
>membership. To that end, I would like to pick everyone's brains for their
>favorite big screen movie that involves airplanes, either main to the plot
>or of any background significance. Examples would be like "Flying Tigers"
>with John Wayne or "Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail".
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Dale Alexander
>"Birds of Paradise" EAA 735
>Paradise, Ca.
>

[Rich S.]

A few more for the roster.......

High Road to China - Tom Selleck
Jet Pilot - John Wayne
The High & the Mighty - Ditto
Island in the Sky - Ditto
Strategic Air Command - Jimmy Stewart

Rich S.

[Andy Asberry]

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 23:53:31 GMT, "Dale Alexander"
> wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>I'm trying to put together some kind of plan to increase our EAA chapter
>membership. To that end, I would like to pick everyone's brains for their
>favorite big screen movie that involves airplanes, either main to the plot
>or of any background significance. Examples would be like "Flying Tigers"
>with John Wayne or "Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail".
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Dale Alexander
>"Birds of Paradise" EAA 735
>Paradise, Ca.
>

Skyward...Bette Davis and Clu Gallagher

[Richard Riley]

On 23 Feb 2004 00:02:27 GMT, (JDupre5762) wrote:

:>Cloud Dancer (Aerobatics)
:
:Remember when this came out. Couldn't wait to see it but it never came near my
:theater. Years later saw it at Oshkosh. What a disappointment! It really
:sucked. With Jennifer O'Neil and Timothy Bottoms no wonder. David Carradine
:was the best thing in it besides the flying but of course they had to throw in
:an armed Mustang flying top cover for drug runners etc.
:
:My theory is this. They need to make an aviation oriented film that could just
:as easily be about truck drivers or tug boat captains or railroads. In other
:words I think people get carried away with the visual effect of the aircraft
:and forget the plot and narrative. A surprising number of aviation films
:really stink when considered just as films.

Well, to be fair, a surprising number fo films really stink when
considered just as films...

I once watched about 150 aviation films, I was at Paramount and the
execs were thinking they wanted to do another flying film since Top
Gun had been a hit. I finally decided that the films about pilots -
like Top Gun, Firebirds, etc - were just what you describe. They were
all about the pilot's relationships with his father, girlfriend, best
buddy, etc. The ones about engineers - No Highways, Winds of Kitty
Hawk, Flight of the Phoenix (and, surprisingly, Spirit of St. Louis)
are actually about flying.

[acepilot]

I'm with Richard...THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER! I love the story line (yes,
there seems to be a plot AND a lot of flying). My second favorite is
1955's, "Strategic Air Command" with Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson (not
sure how to spell her last name!). Great flying shots of the B-36 and
B-47, all in full color. Tells the story of how SAC got started...

Scott
http://corbenflyer.tripod.com/
Building RV-4
Gotta Fly or Gonna Die


Richard Lamb wrote:
> Dale Alexander wrote:
>
>>Hi all,
>>
>>I'm trying to put together some kind of plan to increase our EAA chapter
>>membership. To that end, I would like to pick everyone's brains for their
>>favorite big screen movie that involves airplanes, either main to the plot
>>or of any background significance. Examples would be like "Flying Tigers"
>>with John Wayne or "Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail".
>>
>>Thanks in advance,
>>
>>Dale Alexander
>>"Birds of Paradise" EAA 735
>>Paradise, Ca.
>
>
>
>
> The Great Waldo Pepper! (Filmed right here at home!)
>
> The Spirit of St. Louis?
>
> The Rocketeer, kinda lame story, but great flying and
> the female lead ain't half bad either!
>
>
> But for wider audience appeal, the recent Pearl Harbor
> might be a good one.
>
> More a love story than a war story, but some good flying.

[nauga]

Richard Riley wrote...

> The ones about engineers...are actually about flying.

I don't remember any flying in "Revenge of the Nerds"

Dave 'Booger' Hyde

[Richard Riley]

On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 12:16:18 GMT, "nauga" > wrote:

:Richard Riley wrote...
:
:> The ones about engineers...are actually about flying.
:
:I don't remember any flying in "Revenge of the Nerds"
:
:Dave 'Booger' Hyde


Point taken, though there was the advanced aerodynamic, flex body
javelin (specially designed to take advantage of Lamar's limp-wristed
throwing style)

And the whole climax of "Real Genius" centered around flying, lasers
and popcorn. Just like at IDeAS.

Richard 'Poindexter' Riley

[plasticguy]

How about

The Sunship Game
Airshow
Piece of Cake

And thatmovie about the Radio Station guy in a Hughes 500
chasing the Bank robbers in the Alouette 2.

Scott.

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 18:18:20 -0600, "plasticguy"
> wrote:


>And thatmovie about the Radio Station guy in a Hughes 500
>chasing the Bank robbers in the Alouette 2.

"Birds of Prey" with David Janssen.

Ron Wanttaja

[Richard Lamb]

Ron Wanttaja wrote:
>
> On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 18:18:20 -0600, "plasticguy"
> > wrote:
>
> >And thatmovie about the Radio Station guy in a Hughes 500
> >chasing the Bank robbers in the Alouette 2.
>
> "Birds of Prey" with David Janssen.
>
> Ron Wanttaja

There was a Cliff Robertson film about an alcoholic airline pilot
that I saw once.

Great story AND great flying.

Somebody remember it for me?

ichar

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 05:33:46 GMT, Richard Lamb >
wrote:

>There was a Cliff Robertson film about an alcoholic airline pilot
>that I saw once.
>
>Great story AND great flying.
>
>Somebody remember it for me?

"The Pilot"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079719/

IIRC, the studio's behavior after the release of this film triggered
Robertson's fight against the financial shenanigans the studios were using
to shaft actors. Richard Riley probably has a better summary of that than
I do....

BTW, the IMDB listing for "Birds of Prey," the David Janssen helicopter
movie, can be found at:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069787/

It's funny to see how MANY movies have had the title "Birds of Prey."
Eleven, between 1917 and 2002.

Ron Wanttaja

[Richard Riley]

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 05:33:46 GMT, Richard Lamb >
wrote:

:There was a Cliff Robertson film about an alcoholic airline pilot
:that I saw once.
:
:Great story AND great flying.
:
:Somebody remember it for me?

"The Pilot" 1979. On video it's called "Danger in the Skies."
Robertson directed, co-wrote, and flew the DC-8 in some scenes.

[Richard Riley]

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 06:31:35 GMT, Ron Wanttaja >
wrote:

:IIRC, the studio's behavior after the release of this film triggered
:Robertson's fight against the financial shenanigans the studios were using
:to shaft actors. Richard Riley probably has a better summary of that than
:I do....

That was actually just before "The Pilot" - it happened in 1977, the
movie was 1979. In fact, I'd guess that the reason the film was
co-written, directed and starred Robertson, for "Summit Studios" but
shot by New Line, was it was during the period that he was
blacklisted. What better time to do something completely on your own.

The "shenanigans" are detailed in the book "Indecent Exposure" by
David McClintick. It about how the head of Columbia studios, David
Begelman, was stealing money from the studio by cutting checks to
other people and forging their signatures. Robertson was one of the
forgees, found out about it, and brought it all to light, forcing
Begelman out. As a result of his stand up actions, he was (naturally)
blackballed for about 8 years. I once had a long talk with him, and
asked him about "Charlie" (an amazing performance). I asked if
winning the Oscar for it was the high point of his career, he said,
no, it was getting that crook Begelman. Begelman paid a fine and got
probation, and later got his record expunged after making a film on
the evils of drug use. Begelman killed himself in 1995, there's a
film about the whole thing that's been in development for years.

It set up the sale of Columbia to Coke, and thence to Sony, and thus
the move of Peter Guber and Jon Peters, the buy of the old MGM lot,
the Time/WB merger, AOL/TW, the fall of AOL - basically the entire
shape of the Hollywood today.

Full disclosure - I once TA'd a class for Norman Horrowitz, at the
time the head of international video distribution for MGM. He'd been
one of the Columbia execs under Begelman. He appears several times in
the book - each time someone tells him something very, very bad about
Begelman and he exclaims "Holy ****!" Thus, he was well known as Holy
**** Horrowitz. He autographed my copy of the book using the
nickname.

[acepilot]

Was it "Fargo"? Oops, wrong story ;) (Fargo is where the Northwest
pilots had a few cocktails before continuing their flight to Minneapolis
a few years back). Sorry, couldn't resist...

Scott


Richard Lamb wrote:
> Ron Wanttaja wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 18:18:20 -0600, "plasticguy"
> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>And thatmovie about the Radio Station guy in a Hughes 500
>>>chasing the Bank robbers in the Alouette 2.
>>
>>"Birds of Prey" with David Janssen.
>>
>>Ron Wanttaja
>
>
> There was a Cliff Robertson film about an alcoholic airline pilot
> that I saw once.
>
> Great story AND great flying.
>
> Somebody remember it for me?
>
> ichar

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 11:59:27 +0000, acepilot > wrote:

>Was it "Fargo"? Oops, wrong story ;) (Fargo is where the Northwest
>pilots had a few cocktails before continuing their flight to Minneapolis
>a few years back).

It was actually Moorhead, anyway... :-)

Ron "I ate at the Speakeasy" Wanttaja

[acepilot]

R U sure? I wasn't aware that NWA flew into Moorhead (or is the Fargo
airport really located across the border into Minnesota?)...anyway, they
didn't make a movie called Moorhead (except possible an adult movie) so
nobody would've gotten the joke ;)

Scott "escaped from MN to WI" L.



Ron Wanttaja wrote:
> On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 11:59:27 +0000, acepilot > wrote:
>
>
>>Was it "Fargo"? Oops, wrong story ;) (Fargo is where the Northwest
>>pilots had a few cocktails before continuing their flight to Minneapolis
>>a few years back).
>
>
> It was actually Moorhead, anyway... :-)
>
> Ron "I ate at the Speakeasy" Wanttaja
>

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 03:30:24 +0000, acepilot > wrote:

>R U sure?

Grew up in Fargo, went to North Dakota State University in Fargo.

>I wasn't aware that NWA flew into Moorhead (or is the Fargo
>airport really located across the border into Minnesota?)...anyway, they
>didn't make a movie called Moorhead (except possible an adult movie) so
>nobody would've gotten the joke ;)

Fargo and Moorhead are twin cities, with Fargo on the North Dakota side of
the Red River of the North, and Moorhead on the Minnesota side. Hector
Field, the airport the airlines fly into, is in north Fargo. It actually
is right across the street from the NDSU campus...I used to fly between
classes.

The NWA pilots got schnockered at the Speakeasy, a lounge/restaurant in
south Moorhead. Was my favorite "fancy" restaurant, back when I lived
there. Had a bullet-ridden Ford in the lobby that was supposedly formerly
owned by Dillinger or some other famous gangster of the '30s. Think the
place closed a few years back.

Warping the discussion closer to the Subject line, I believe they filmed
some of the winter scenes for the John Wayne movie "Jet Pilot" at Hector
Field in Fargo.

And to put some homebuilding content into this, Fargo is just a few miles
West of Cassleton, where the ND state EAA fly-in is held every August.
It's also the home for the world's only flying full-scale ME-109 replica (a
homebuilt, of course).

Ron Wanttaja

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 06:12:50 GMT, I > wrote:

>Field, the airport the airlines fly into, is in north Fargo. It actually
>is right across the street from the NDSU campus...I used to fly between
>classes.

Which indicates how big that campus is... :-)

Ron "Let me rephrase that" Wanttaja

[RU ok]

Richard Lamb wrote:

>There was a Cliff Robertson film about an alcoholic airline pilot
>that I saw once.
>
>Great story AND great flying.
>
>Somebody remember it for me?
>
>ichar
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Piece of cake.

** THE PILOT **

More than you want to know at....

http://www.avweb.com/news/profiles/182957-1.html

[Jeff Schroeder]

George Pal's "War of the Worlds". Northrop YB49 attacks Martian war
machines.

I think the SF film "This island Earth" had a lightplane sequence in it
as well.

And a favorite movie scene I remember (forget the title of the 1942 B film)
stars my home base of Brackett field in LaVerne, Ca. as a WWII training
field. It's rotating beneath a spinning fighter while the pilot pulls back
on the stick for all he's worth, as the radio voice screams "pull out".

Jeff

"Andy Asberry" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 23:53:31 GMT, "Dale Alexander"
> > wrote:
>
> >Hi all,
> >
> >I'm trying to put together some kind of plan to increase our EAA chapter
> >membership. To that end, I would like to pick everyone's brains for their
> >favorite big screen movie that involves airplanes, either main to the
plot
> >or of any background significance. Examples would be like "Flying Tigers"
> >with John Wayne or "Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail".
> >
> >Thanks in advance,
> >
> >Dale Alexander
> >"Birds of Paradise" EAA 735
> >Paradise, Ca.

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 03:41:22 GMT, "Jeff Schroeder"
> wrote:

>I think the SF film "This island Earth" had a lightplane sequence in it
>as well.

Not only several lightplane scenes, but an air-launch of a Stinson from a
UFO.

Rent the 'Mystery Science Theater 3000" version of this film....

Ron "Agggh, the Kingdome!" Wanttaja

[John Pelchat]

Ron Wanttaja > wrote in message >...
> On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 03:41:22 GMT, "Jeff Schroeder"
> > wrote:
>
> >I think the SF film "This island Earth" had a lightplane sequence in it
> >as well.
>
> Not only several lightplane scenes, but an air-launch of a Stinson from a
> UFO.
>
> Rent the 'Mystery Science Theater 3000" version of this film....
>
> Ron "Agggh, the Kingdome!" Wanttaja


Some others to consider

1. Gathering of Eagles (SAC in the 60's)

2. High Road to China (plot is a little far-fetched, but man, what
aerial photography. It was stunning.

Blue skies

John

[David O]

Ron Wanttaja > wrote:


>>I think the SF film "This island Earth" had a lightplane sequence in it
>>as well.
>
>Not only several lightplane scenes, but an air-launch of a Stinson from a
>UFO.
>
>Rent the 'Mystery Science Theater 3000" version of this film....

"This Island Earth" was one of the better SF films of the '50s. MST
3000 should have chosen a more worthy candidate to ridicule. Still, I
found the MST 3000 version suitably entertaining.

David O -- http://www.AirplaneZone.com

[Dale Alexander]

Well, I want to thank you all.

You have given me quite a list. I ran this idea past one of our members last
night. What I would like to do is put up a theater of some sort at our
chapters main hanger. During the warmer months of the year I would like to
screen these films for our local town. A little blurb in the paper, come on
down and see a great flick, enjoy some cheap popcorn and drinks, bring the
kids and remember that we are here when we fly Young Eagles. Just trying to
think of a way to get our chapter in the back of the locals minds in a good
way.

Thanks again all,

Dale Alexander
Birds of Paradise EAA Chapter 735
Paradise, CA
Q88

[Richard Lamb]

Dale Alexander wrote:
>
> Well, I want to thank you all.
>
> You have given me quite a list. I ran this idea past one of our members last
> night. What I would like to do is put up a theater of some sort at our
> chapters main hanger. During the warmer months of the year I would like to
> screen these films for our local town. A little blurb in the paper, come on
> down and see a great flick, enjoy some cheap popcorn and drinks, bring the
> kids and remember that we are here when we fly Young Eagles. Just trying to
> think of a way to get our chapter in the back of the locals minds in a good
> way.
>
> Thanks again all,
>
> Dale Alexander
> Birds of Paradise EAA Chapter 735
> Paradise, CA
> Q88


Dale, this in kinda over the top as suggestions go,
but I've ALWAYS wanted to see a bunch of sport planes
on display in the local mall...

Richard

[Rich S.]

"Dale Alexander" > wrote in message
. ..
> Well, I want to thank you all.
>
> You have given me quite a list. I ran this idea past one of our members
last
> night. What I would like to do is put up a theater of some sort at our
> chapters main hanger. During the warmer months of the year I would like to
> screen these films for our local town. A little blurb in the paper, come
on
> down and see a great flick, enjoy some cheap popcorn and drinks, bring the
> kids and remember that we are here when we fly Young Eagles. Just trying
to
> think of a way to get our chapter in the back of the locals minds in a
good
> way.

There might even be some of us who would be happy to send you a tape. To
avoid duplications, you should publish a "want list" and have signups. Oh -
wait a minute. You're probably thinking of the original movies - not VHS.
Never mind.

Rich S.

[Regnirps]

Richard Lamb wrote:


>There was a Cliff Robertson film about an alcoholic airline pilot
>that I saw once.

>Great story AND great flying.

>Somebody remember it for me?

Gidget! Well, he was an airline pilot hiding out as the Big Cahuna : ) And
don't forget 61 Squadron or whatever it was called that inspired the Deathstar
attack in Star Wars.

-- Charlie Springer

[Regnirps]

I'd go with:

The X-15 Story
Bridges at Toko Ri
Strategic Air Command
12 O'Clock High
Wings
Bird of Brey
Waldo Pepper
The Blue Max
Dawn patrol
The Battle of Britain (I almost bought one of the Spits later used in that
film. It was $20,000 in 1968!)

And the first "Airport" where Boing helped them work out the damage from a GA
plane stike. Heston is always good.

The flying in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" is pretty cool. Who flew that twin
through the billboard? Spectacular!

-- Charlie Springer

[SadlerVampire18]

If you're just looking for Fun Aero Movies to add to the list:

* "Those Magnifisent Men in their Flying Machines"
* The new version of "Pearl Harbor" (for the flying scenes)
* "1941" (with John Belushi as a crazed Tomahawk Pilot defending the
California coast in the wake of Pearl Harbor - a must see)

IMHO
Bartman


"Regnirps" > wrote in message
...
> I'd go with:
>
> The X-15 Story
> Bridges at Toko Ri
> Strategic Air Command
> 12 O'Clock High
> Wings
> Bird of Brey
> Waldo Pepper
> The Blue Max
> Dawn patrol
> The Battle of Britain (I almost bought one of the Spits later used in that
> film. It was $20,000 in 1968!)
>
> And the first "Airport" where Boing helped them work out the damage from a
GA
> plane stike. Heston is always good.
>
> The flying in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" is pretty cool. Who flew that
twin
> through the billboard? Spectacular!
>
> -- Charlie Springer

[Corky Scott]

On 08 Mar 2004 07:37:42 GMT, (Regnirps) wrote:


>The flying in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" is pretty cool. Who flew that twin
>through the billboard? Spectacular!
>
>-- Charlie Springer

That was Frank Tallman. The margins for that stunt were paralyzingly
small. He had only about two feet on either side of his wingtips for
clearance. The frame was structural steel so any slight offset would
have been catastrophic.

The billboard itself was made from sheets of balsa, if I remember
correctly and in the event, the impact caved in the windshield and
shut down one of the engines.

Tallman had a blizzard of plexiglass shards blowing around in his
cockpit and he had to shut down the engine and limp back to the
airport. All in a day's work.

Corky Scott

PS, both Tallman and his equally famous partner Paul Mantz died in
stunt related airplane crashes. Mantz was the pilot who landed the
B-17 with gear up for the opening sequences of "12 O'Clock High". He
died in the crash of the cobbled together "Flight of the Phoenix"
airplane which did not climb as well as anticipated to clear a sand
dune after the director requested one more pass. At least I think the
director had requested one more pass. Perhaps not, perhaps it was
just that one more pass had been scheduled. Not sure.

[Orval Fairbairn]

In article >,
"SadlerVampire18" > wrote:

> If you're just looking for Fun Aero Movies to add to the list:
>
> * "Those Magnifisent Men in their Flying Machines"

Yes. Lots of fun!

> * The new version of "Pearl Harbor" (for the flying scenes)

I thought it sucked! The computer-imaged flying scenes were unrealistic.

The original "Tora! Tora! Tora!" was excellent, however. "Midway" sucked.

> * "1941" (with John Belushi as a crazed Tomahawk Pilot defending the
> California coast in the wake of Pearl Harbor - a must see)

> "Regnirps" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I'd go with:
> >
> > The X-15 Story
> > Bridges at Toko Ri
> > Strategic Air Command
> > 12 O'Clock High
> > Wings
> > Bird of Brey
> > Waldo Pepper
> > The Blue Max
> > Dawn patrol
> > The Battle of Britain (I almost bought one of the Spits later used in that
> > film. It was $20,000 in 1968!)
> >
> > And the first "Airport" where Boing helped them work out the damage from a
> GA
> > plane stike. Heston is always good.
> >
> > The flying in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" is pretty cool. Who flew that
> twin
> > through the billboard? Spectacular!
> >
> > -- Charlie Springer
>
>

[Regnirps]

(Corky Scott) wrote:

>PS, both Tallman and his equally famous partner Paul Mantz died in
>stunt related airplane crashes. Mantz was the pilot who landed the
>B-17 with gear up for the opening sequences of "12 O'Clock High". He
>died in the crash of the cobbled together "Flight of the Phoenix"
>airplane which did not climb as well as anticipated to clear a sand
>dune after the director requested one more pass. At least I think the
>director had requested one more pass. Perhaps not, perhaps it was
>just that one more pass had been scheduled. Not sure.

Fascinating. Perhaps you know who flew under the bridges, etc in "The Blue
Max"? I recall being shocked when Art Scholl was killed filming the spin for
"Top Gun". He was the best known aerobatic flyer of the pervious 20 years.

-- Charlie Springer

[Corky Scott]

On 09 Mar 2004 06:58:33 GMT, (Regnirps) wrote:

(Corky Scott) wrote:
>
>>PS, both Tallman and his equally famous partner Paul Mantz died in
>>stunt related airplane crashes. Mantz was the pilot who landed the
>>B-17 with gear up for the opening sequences of "12 O'Clock High". He
>>died in the crash of the cobbled together "Flight of the Phoenix"
>>airplane which did not climb as well as anticipated to clear a sand
>>dune after the director requested one more pass. At least I think the
>>director had requested one more pass. Perhaps not, perhaps it was
>>just that one more pass had been scheduled. Not sure.
>
>Fascinating. Perhaps you know who flew under the bridges, etc in "The Blue
>Max"? I recall being shocked when Art Scholl was killed filming the spin for
>"Top Gun". He was the best known aerobatic flyer of the pervious 20 years.
>
>-- Charlie Springer
>
I'm sure it's here somewhere in a book on Hollywood's aviation films
but I don't know it offhand.

The speculation about Art Scholl's fatal accident is that the camera
placed behind his cockpit for this sequence put the center of gravity
just a bit too far to the rear such that his flat spin became
unrecoverable. He apparently did not attempt to bail out. Don't know
if that was because he chose not to wear a chute for this film
sequence or if he just kept attempting to recover all they way to
impact.

Corky Scott

PS, regarding the gear up sequence for 12 O'Clock High, Mantz
discovered during the landing that despite the gear being retracted,
he could still affect some directional control using the brakes. In a
B-17, the gear retracts into the inner engine nacelles but protrudes
some even when fully retracted. Mantz was requested to blow through a
tent during the skid after touching down and he found that he could
easily correct his direction using the brakes even though he was
skidding on his belly on turf.

He was flying the bomber solo.

I always wondered why in the world a tent would be located direcly
beside the runway of a bomber base, now I know: it was put there for
the bomber to plow through it for the film. Dramatic effect don'tcha
know.

[Russell Kent]

Corky Scott wrote:

> I always wondered why in the world a tent would be located direcly
> beside the runway of a bomber base, now I know: it was put there for
> the bomber to plow through it for the film. Dramatic effect don'tcha
> know.

In that locale and era, weren't airfields literally fields (i.e. no designated
runways) so that every takeoff and landing was directly into the wind? If so,
then all of the structures could potentially be under the flight path (depending
on the wind direction at the time). But I don't doubt that the tent was placed
there with the full intention of plowing through it for the camera.

Russell Kent

[Regnirps]

Russell Kent wrote:

>In that locale and era, weren't airfields literally fields (i.e. no designated
>runways) so that every takeoff and landing was directly into the wind? If so,
>then all of the structures could potentially be under the flight path
(depending
>on the wind direction at the time). But I don't doubt that the tent was
placed
>there with the full intention of plowing through it for the camera.

Most of the fields in East Anglia has concrete runways. A notable exception was
Duxford, where the P47's could take off on the very wide grass eight abreast.
An entire figher group could get off in a couple of minutes and save precious
fuel. I have some home movies from a friend of a group takeoff for an escort
mission. (He flew 105 missions out of Duxford).

-- Charlie Springer

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 16:11:59 GMT,
(Corky Scott) wrote:

>On 09 Mar 2004 06:58:33 GMT, (Regnirps) wrote:
>
(Corky Scott) wrote:
>>
>>>PS, both Tallman and his equally famous partner Paul Mantz died in
>>>stunt related airplane crashes.

One clarifying point: Tallman's death wasn't directly related to
performing a stunt. IIRC, he crashed in IFR conditions while using a plane
to commute to or from a film site.

>>Fascinating. Perhaps you know who flew under the bridges, etc in "The Blue
>>Max"?
>>
>I'm sure it's here somewhere in a book on Hollywood's aviation films
>but I don't know it offhand.

Got James Farmer's _Broken Wings: Hollywood's Air Crashes_. He doesn't
write much about "The Blue Max" but here's a caption on a picture from the
film:

"World War I German ace George Peppard deplanes from his Fokker DR.1
triplane replica to find the RAF had reached his field before him. An
untold number of DeHavilland Tiger Moth trainers were destroyed for the
film, the anti-war feature 'The Blue Max' (Fox 1966). It was filmed in
Ireland under the direction of aerial technical advisor Allen Wheeler.
Nine WWI-era fighter replicas were constructed for the film, including two
SE-5s, three Fokker DR.1s, two Pfalz D.IIIAs and two Fokker D.VIIs. The
remainder of the sky and field sequences and accompanying carnage were
supplied by repainted Tiger Moths and Stampes."

The pilots are listed in the DVD credits:

Derek Pigott
Ken Byrnes
Tim Clutterbuck
Pat Cranfield
Tim Healey
Peter Hillwood
Joan Hughes
Darby and Roger Kennedy
Liam Mulligan
Taffy Rich

Not sure if the "Derek Pigott" listed in the credits is the same man as the
soaring author, Derek Piggott.

The director for the aerial unit is Anthony Squire. Derek Cracknell was
listed as an assistant director, he was the AD for many of the Bond
pictures as well as "Battle of Britain."

Ron Wanttaja

[Corky Scott]

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 12:06:27 -0600, Russell Kent >
wrote:

>Corky Scott wrote:
>
>> I always wondered why in the world a tent would be located direcly
>> beside the runway of a bomber base, now I know: it was put there for
>> the bomber to plow through it for the film. Dramatic effect don'tcha
>> know.
>
>In that locale and era, weren't airfields literally fields (i.e. no designated
>runways) so that every takeoff and landing was directly into the wind? If so,
>then all of the structures could potentially be under the flight path (depending
>on the wind direction at the time). But I don't doubt that the tent was placed
>there with the full intention of plowing through it for the camera.
>
>Russell Kent
>
To the best of my knowledge all bomber bases in England used by the
8th Air Force used concrete or asphalt runways.

My father, who flew for the Navy during WWII, took his primary
training initially with a contracted civilian trainer. I think this
program was called the CPT for Civilian Pilot Training. He then moved
on to primary training down in Florida. In Florida the airbase was in
fact a gigantic turf field in which everyone was supposed to note the
wind direction by looking at the windsock, and take off or land
accordingly.

He told me that landing in high winds wasn't a problem because you
always landed into the wind. However, taxiing in after the landing
WAS a problem and that's why the military versions of the Stearman had
the hand holds at the lower wingtips: They were for the ground crew
to grab onto to keep the airplane from tipping up when the pilot
turned sideways to the wind.

Gettng back to the opening sequence for "12 O'Clock High", the scene
was supposed to be at a British bomber base but was actually filmed at
an abandoned airbase in Florida. Someone mentioned that you can
actually see a palm tree at some point in the movie but I've never
seen it.

What I did notice one time when I was cutting scenes from the combat
footage to flesh out an interview I did with a B-17 top turret gunner,
was a Messerschmitt flashing by the camera. This was uncalled during
the movie and I'm not sure anyone who cut the original movie noticed
that the 109 was even there.

It was during one of the scenes of the target area, probably filmed
from the nose and looking nearly straight down. I was running the
film at slow motion to creep up on a spot where I was going to "cut"
the shot out and saw something zip by right past the camera.

I backed the film up and slowed it down to the point where it was
blipping along frame by frame and sure enough, a BF109 passes right
under the bomber about 200 to 300 feet below the belly.

That's one of the few shots pulled together by the film crew that
showed an actual enemy airplane, and no one knows it's there because
at normal speed you virtually cannot see it.

Nearly all the other shots of fighters attacking, like the shot of a
lone fighter diving from above and passing down behind the tail are
Allied fighters. The lone diver is a Spitfire, which is obvious when
you slow the film way down. The three radial engined airplanes that
all roll together after approaching from behind the bomber and dive
away are actually P-47's, complete with the white painted nose of the
cowling.

And the close up of the "Focke Wulf" firing it's machine guns at the
bomber is not just a P-47, it's an unpainted P-47 in gleaming
aluminum, and bubble canopy.

These shots initially aroused my suspicion because compared to the
obvious combat footage, they were very clear. Combat footage of
incoming fighters is almost always blurry and jerky because either the
cameraman is ducking or the area near where he is standing is shaking
from the recoil of the machine guns firing.

Corky Scott