'Night Flight'-The Verdict

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

Hi,
I think from talking to Mike Chatterton it was mainly the brakes and I would guess making sure the rudder and elevator were operating correctly. Nobody wanted a ground loop.

It was running much lighter than it would have operationally and the tail came up pretty quickly. The runway was four thousand feet so that was ample, I’m just glad it was still there. We had to put trackway down to get it a through field and over a road. The plane intercom system went a bit wonky at one point and all we could hear was pop music…

all the best
david

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

Hi David-welcome to the forum!

I think I can speak for everyone here and say there was absolutely no gripe with the Lancaster filming on ‘Night Flight’-it was superb to see the most made of a limited situation (i.e, only the one Lanc to play with!)

Do you know what sort of work had to be done to the Lanc to get it fast-run ready then?

I bet you had a great time in the back of that old girl!

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

I stumbled in on this forum tonight so I gues this dialogue is a bit past it now, but I’m the DOP who shot “Night Flight”.

We worked very hard with East Kirkby in order to get the shots of Just Jane taxing down the runway. That involved new doors on the back of the hanger and the finance to get the lanc sorted enough to be able to go down the runway at speed. I did a few shots from the tail which was very strange going backwards.

Abour the story, well don’t forget there is no point preaching to the converted. What we tried to do was broaden the story out so a wider audience would find it interesting and understand the emotional rollercoaster this aircrew would go through. At the same time we tried to make it as true as our budget would allow. We don’t have the budget of “Band of Brothers”.

If anybody wants to ask questions about the process of filming let me know.
all the best david

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

Hello Damien thanks for the information of KB976. Does anyone know if there are photos on the net of the tailsection? I Have seen her other remains and it is real shame that they are simply left outside to rot.
Peter

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

RogerB

Many have commented on the lack of credits to E.K. and elsewhere.
The BBC web-site does have scope for questions to be asked about TV programmes : perhaps we should avail ourselves of that opportunity.

Thanks to the contributor who identified Metheringham, and the point about their interesting, if small, museum. That will take me there to have a look when I’m next up at E.K.

The flying and aircraft scenes were cleverly crafted … and who wouldn’t have liked to have been Mike Chatterton on a particular day.

I am unable to comment on the authenticity of the life depicted. Luckily, there are some who will know that can tell us – if they are prepared to share those things. I am of the same generation as the gunner’s/pilot’s son : though my father survived his time in the air he didn’t volunteer a great deal of information and I didn’t know the questions to ask when I had the chance. In Night Flight, I guess I was looking for a view of air crew life in WW2 and for the aircraft shots. Of the modern day part, Edward Woodward in the pub stands out, as well as the scene in Lincoln Cathedral where there is the quietly powerful mention of volumes of the Memorial Books.

Perhaps this drama lost something in its conversion from a series into a one-off.

Was the Lanc fly past at the end a model ? … or the chaps from down the road at Coningsby ? Perhaps next September we’ll get another 35 minutes of aerial and aural entertainment from them.

Best wishes

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict (sorry, rambling)

Interesting to read everyone else’s comments about Night Flight, some complimentary, some not. I guess everyone has their own opinions.

Mine is that it was a well produced and researched drama, dealing with a particular aspect of the Second World War which has never really commanded much public attention, and whose importance in winning the war has therefore never really been recognised. I agree that the storyline was a bit long-winded, and dare I say it, tended to be a bit mushy and touchy-feely at times, but overall I think the BBC have turned out a good piece of quality viewing. And it’s not often that I say that.

For most of us on this forum, the main point of interest was obviously NX611, interspersed with images of PA474 and the inside of KB976’s back end, and I think we can say that some of the images of the Lancasters were very powerful and thought-provoking: NX611 and her super-imposed alter-egos trundling around East Kirkby on departure for the next Op; PA474’s overhead pass at the end of the programme; Ted quietly muttering “Jesus Christ…” as he sat in NX611’s tail turret. And I think that image in particular, of a man who thankfully never experienced it all, who suddenly finds himslf trying to understand how it must have been, sums it up for me. If Night Flight made us sit and think – and judging by the amount of postings on this forum, I’d say it has – then surely the programme has served a purpose?

On the other side of the coin, last night I met a friends father for the first time in our local, a man who joined the RAF in the early 1950’s and served for some years as a Navigator on Lincolns, Shackletons and finally Canberras. His thoughts, based on his experience of flying with men who had ‘been there’, was that the way the crew on Night Flight were depicted in the air was, in his words, “Utter crap. No matter how tough it gets, the skipper is still the skipper. The only men who ever speak on a bombing run are the pilot and the bomb aimer.” As I say, everyone has their opinions as to how accurate Night Flight was.

My final point (I’m sure you’re all delighted to know!) is that while Night Flight has helped publicise the role and the men of Bomber Command, it’s also helped East Kirkby, despite not mentioning them in the credits. As David (I think?) says, East Kirkby would have been paid for the use of the Lancaster and the facilities (I’m sure I’m not the only one to have recognised the NAAFI and gift shop!), and I’m delighted that some of my TV licence money will be going towards the upkeep of East Kirkby and NX611. And for anyone who hasn’t been to East Kirkby yet, I hope it inspires them to do so.

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

What wasnt also known was that the ruined tower scene and climax were shot at Metheringham airfield – I recomend the small but interesting museum there.

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

Yes Bob,

I taped it and certainly won’t be wanting to watch it again.

I really wanted to enjoy this and in the end it just bored me. The break for the news didn’t help, but then the BBC believes that we all have the attention span of a gnat and can’t possibly watch serious drama in one chunk.

Lancman said

“It’s funny to me that years ago David Puttnam decided against making an RAF bomber film because there weren’t enough aircraft to do it with, but with just one aircraft and some clever modern effects they pulled off some sequences that were very ‘Memphis Belle’ like, at least on the ground anyway. What a shame NX611 wasn’t running a few more years ago!”

I think I might take a contrary view on this. What Puttnam was considering was filming Len Deighton’s ‘Bomber’. Now if there is anybody reading this posting who hasn’t read this novel you are in for a real treat, it’s one of the five greatest flying books of all time – and really long too. You can ‘live’ it for ages.

But having read it I think you might agree that it would make a run-of-the-mill movie. The most outstanding part of the book is the way it gets inside the crews’ heads. How could the dying thoughts of a first op pilot, plunging to earth strapped into his seat uselessly fighting the disconnected controls of his Lancaster be realised on-screen? It just isn’t possible. “Oh my God! I’m a first mission pilot and I am dying terribly thinking about how I have let the chaps dooooooooooooown!” I think not.

Even the stupendous translation of Bomber into a radio play lost an awful lot in the transition (If you don’t own a copy on tape today – go out and get one. It is a BBC two cassette set and widely available) Plays in the car for a full three hour journey.

Mind you it must be said. Any film of flying has got to be good in the way that it does put money into the coffers of people like East Kirkby. That’s what is so very frightening about the advances in CGI technology. When they don’t need real aircraft for Holywood, where will income come from for OFMC and TFC?

Moggy

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 04-02-02 AT 01:03 AM (GMT)] 🙁
Well, the BBC totally threw me – looked at the start time 9pm and saw the news was on at 10.20, so set the video to record for 1hr 30mins –
8o770>< !!!!
– it was in two parts. :+
Thanks BBC, why not put the chuffin’ news at an earlier time instead of splitting a drama??? So by the time I realised, I’d missed about 40 mins of the second half.
This happens all the time now, since the BBC decided to go head to head with ITN for the 10pm news slot.
Needless to say I’m popular with the wife for cocking up the recording.

Anyone happen to tape it????

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

I enjoyed the programme a lot. I think the BBC handled a difficult plot well, all praise to the cast, however,I can never think of Edward Woodward without thinking of Callan, must be my age. The CGI worked well and it seems to me the BBC tried hard to make the film accurately. For someone like me who has a reasonable but not expert knowledge of Bomber Command, their aircraft and aircrew equipment, it worked.
The BBC have a considerable history of producing excellent drama and night flight proved to be a fine example of this. I agree with the comments about Edward Woodwards scene in the pub, very moving.

Altogether, I think Night Flight deserves a thumbs up!

Regards,

kev35

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

My turn now…

CRITICISMS:- What were those oxy masks the crew were wearing? They certainly weren’t ‘G’ type masks! How about the one close up shot of the Skipper? The goggles he was wearing were certainly NOT WW2 issue Mk VIII’s, but were more likely to be a set of Stadium Mk VIII’s painted for effect… acceptable on long shots, but you would have thought they could find at least one set of genuine goggles for the close ups??
Did I see the crew in the NAAFI/Mess wearing shirts with fixed collars? I’m sure I did 🙁
The basic plot was a bit long winded & I feel sure the prog makers could have come up with something a bit better than they did.
No credits to E.K. I wonder why?

GOOD STUFF:- The Mae Wests, Chute’s & Harnesses were all pretty good, and I know that at least the chutes & harnesses were scratch made, but couldn’t tell 🙂
I was led to believe that the interior fuselage was a studio mock up which was scheduled for destruction after filming, BUT the chap who owns the front fuselage they used also got to take the main fuselage away with him & so it was saved 🙂 Turrets were borrowed, one from East Kirby & the other from YAM I think??
No one mentioned PA474 doing the flying scenes, pity they didn’t get her doing a fly over of Janey, opportunity missed I guess.
I thought the CG Lanc’s were great, even if they were obviously Janey duplicated over & over again.
Although not a great fan of Edward Woodward, I thought he portrayed his part perfectly in the pub & he did justice to the chaps of Bomber Command there.
I heard a whisper on the grapevine that there is supposed to be another similar Bomber Command film in the thinking stages, anyone else heard that rumour?
(YAM’s Halifax is about as good as it gets in the UK for the time being, so make the most of it chaps… I will say more off forum if you prefer.)

VERDICT:- Good action sequences portrayed fairly, but spoiled by a crap plot. Would have been much better if it was (as mentioned before) about a WW2 crew.

SCORE:- 7/10

Back to you guys.
Halibag

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

I’d been wondering how the BBC would create a lanc squadron with just the East Kirkby Lanc and I thought that the effort the BBC made with some of those shots was incredible, this was probably due to the fact that instead of computer generating lancasters from scratch, they ‘copied and pasted’ just jane several times over. Some of those shots were better than what you would see in a Hollywood movie.

As for the programme itself, i thought it dragged slightly but was very interesting nonetheless.

Would have loved to have been there to see the tail up runs. I was talking to one of the team at East Kirkby last Monday when i visited the lanc ( minus her port inner merlin at the moment ) and he said there are no plans for any more at the moment.

-steve hatton

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

Okay so I’m a ‘Lanc’ man myself, but I have to say I was pretty disappointed when I first saw the YAM ‘Halifax’-it just doesn’t look at all right somehow, and I honestly think a film mock-up would have the same sit and ‘feel’ to it if they made one. An acheivement, yes, a Halifax, NO. Sorry.

Re. ‘Night Flight’-well summed up, Rabie!

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

my sixpence worth

the opinon of my motobiking friends who saw it was the dram bit was hard to follow, and rather weird, though they licked the planes.

i agree with them that the dram part wa sover long and not that intresting, though the plane bits and ww2 airbase parts were good.

rabie :9

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

Sadly they also had the spectacle of the loss of the B-17 at Binbrook
which was a bonus for the fim makers but a sad loss for everyone else.

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

The rear 21 feet belongs to Skysport Engineering and was refurbished for use in the film. The other remaining section in the U.K is at Sandtoft and consists of from the crew door forward to the wing join.

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

The problem with graphics is that they are not up to spec and I feel it’s going to be years before they can achieve anything like the clarity and realism of NX611 with her tail up. As regards the YAM Halifax try and have a look at her some time closely. On a different note on your website you have a pic of an unidentified Hunter F.4 N72602. She is ex Danish E-403 and was sold to the U.S circa 1977 to Al Letcher at Mojave. She suffered a mishap last year and is most probably going to remain static for a good while.

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

When they made Memphis Belle they also used some large radio controlled models, too.

Neilly

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

They used the tail section of KB976?? this is still intact and extant?? Piccies pleaseee!!!!

We wont see this film over here in Canada for quite a bit yet

RE: ‘Night Flight’-The Verdict

Quite true of course, but they managed to make ‘Memphis Belle’ with what, 5 B-17s? And now they’ve achieved similar effects-on the ground side at least-in ‘Night Flight’, with what I assume were multiple NX611’s taxiing out, etc etc. Such a shame we couldn’t have just had a straight 1940’s bomber crew story.