New Aviation Film

Went to the cinema this weekend and saw a preview of the Howard Hughes film “The Aviator”.
It looks like they have a ground mockup of the H-1 racer (with the loss of the replica last year, they used a GCI for flying scenes) and as reported in FlyPast, a flying cockpit mockup. The preview showed a lot of the F-11 and its crash (all GCI presumably). It also shows Hughes admiring a model of a Lockheed Constellation and the script deals with him buying TWA.

Also, they had a preview of the “Flight of the Phoenix” remake. Hawkins and Powers flew a C-119 to Africa for the flying scenes, the film company bought 2-3 scrapped planes for the ground set. I’m guessing the “Phoenix” flying scenes will be all CGI. After all, flying the the “Phoenix” in the first film back in 1965 killed famous Hollywood pilot Paul Mantz.

Finally. in the all CGI “Sky Captain” flim…there were lots of a modifed P-40 shots….and a really neat RN flying aircraft carrier with twin engine pusher-tractor fighters..the remind me of a cross between the Bugatti racer and the Japanese pusher prototype. Finally, there are a couple shots of B-24Js..but a careful look shows the engines without the supercharger oval-nacelles.
I guess they chose the P-40 because it looked a bit more 1930-ish and art deco than other warbirds…but at the risk of wanting a comic book like-film to be more technical, an earlier P-40 with the smaller radiator would have looked neater and more pre-war…in my opinion. It’s fun film…an old comic book come to life. Go to the theater expecting that and you won’t be disappointed.