John BoyleI also remember seeing on erman TV in 1994 a fairly dodgy american TV series called “Uncle Buck”, UB being a fat bloke with a beard that would have made WG Grace envious. Frankly it didn’t leave much impression, except a scene with him stood in the middle of a runway while someone taxis a P-51 (unmarked, I think) towards him, tail-up, “shooting” at him with lines of explosions going down the runway…
Presumably all faked, ‘cos the Mustang still had it’s prop and was the right way up! Might have made more impression had it had subtitles, or if I understood German…
Adrian
In an episode of the old “Cannon” series about a fat private detective, he shoots down a P-51 while holding a .50 cal machine gun in his hands. One hand on the barrel, the other on the triggers. Very realistic!
But then again with his weight, maybe the recoil wouldn’t knock him over.
And don’t forget the “Hogan Heroes” episode where they “build” a plane and fly it out of Stalag 13. It was an Ercoupe with quasi RAF-ish paint.
In another episode Hogan is talked into going back to England to steal a P-51 because the Germans want to study one. He does, but bails out. Don’t worry about the wreckage getting into German hands he says…it was fitted with a Me-109 engine.
In the UK classic “The Prisoner“, he escapes from the island only to be flown back in a two seat Meteor. He’s seen ejecting fom the back seat (the M-B trials plane?). In other episodes the bad guys have an Alouette II.
And years before “True Lies”…Roger Moore flies what looks like a Kestrel prototype in an episode of “The Saint.” Just hops in and flies it. Good training for a future James Bond.
And finally the peak of absurdity, in the talking horse series “Mr. Ed” in a later episode he steals a Boeing KC-97. He parachutes from it just before it crashes.
John BoyleHi Dave,
I have the book written about making of BoB and I’ll skim thro it to see what they say.
The Book is called
The Battle of Britian the making of the film, By Leonard Mosley published by STEIN AND DAY 1960 ISBN 8128 1239-5
Cheers Crazymainer
The book was written 9 years before the film was made?
John BoyleA couple of notes…Most of Fantasy Island was filmed in Los Angeles…the main “House” or whatever it was is part of a park. I don’t know where the lagoon is where the Grumman Wideon…I always thout it was a Goose, but it’s actually a Wideon (Gosling) retrofitted with radials. It was listed for sale awhile back and a lot of the guest stars signed the bulkhead.
Airwolf also shot down a Mustang in one episode.
The Bell 222 nwas operated by JetCopters of Van Nuys Airport but kept at the Bell Helicopter service center there. I went out looking for it and found it on the ramp. A quick word with the receptionist (and a quick flash of my military ID card) got me out on the ramp for photos. It was a fun show if …like most TV…you didn’t take it too seriously.
Bell provided a forward fuselage shell (or engineering mockup) to Universal to be modified into Airwolf standard for the cockpit shots. The helicopter itself was an early production 222 and all the mods were fiberglass bolt ons.
After the series ended the copter was de-modified and sold to a German firm where it was destroyed in a fatal crash.
Tallmantz Aviation out of Orange County provided the support planes for Black Sheep Squadron. In 1978 I payed a visit there and on their “Ops Board” they had scheduled flights for their J2F Duck, Stinson L-5 and (I think) a B-25 for the series. The Corsairs were provided by their various owners.
Side note: My brother in-law rented planes from an FBO at Van Nuys Airport and series star Robert Conrad was living in the firm’s parking lot in a huge motorhome while he was learning to fly…and going through a divorce.
Only in L.A.
RE: Highway to Heaven….I had a meeting with the staff at the USAF’s storage center at Davis-Monthan in Tucson and they told me about the “Highway to Heaven” filming there. It seems in the final scene the guy is dying and he supposedly goes to the base and takes a WWII surplus Mitchell. They flew one from Chino to Arizona for that scene wher it taxis past stored military jets. They said it was rather poignant….I’d like to see that episode. Fortunately, a job (and a life!) keeps me from watching too many reruns on cable.
An even more obsure film took place in part at D-M. In the 1972 TV film..
“The Delphi Bureau”, it’s opening scenes show all the stored B-58s (and other jets in a desert sunrise) waiting to be cut up. The film is about a crooked bureaucrat who manages to “steal” jets that he sells to the third world. The script names F-101s (hardly anything a third world country needed since most were interceptors) but they show an F-104 taking off. In a hangar, they show an F-84F being disassembled and hidden in grain shipments to go overseas.
John BoyleAnd at the risk of coming across as a “Trekkie”…I have to point out there was another “back in time” episode (of the original series…you know, the one with the over acting Canadian…not the one with the pompus over acting Englishman) where the Enterprise was intercepted by an F-104 Starfighter.
And there was a Bell Huey in one of the films…when they went back in time to save the whales.
Come to think of it,the Enterprise spent as much time in the past as they did in their own time. There must of been heck to pay with their weekly time cards…. 🙂
John BoyleDon’t any of you speak English ?
No that is why we have these outrageous Spanish accents !!!!
Speaking of Monty Python how about…
“Nobody expects the Spanish Air Force…”
John BoyleCommander to a pilot who say’s he can’t go up today because of a head cold….
“No Mr. Bond, I expect you to fly.”
John BoyleAt an airshow a couple of years back, I saw a nice early Navion refitted with a glass-topped canopy…looked very Mustang-ish. It looked a lot less like an early VW beatle sitting in an airplane. Must be hot in the Texas summertime!
Navion used bt be very cheap in the U.S….it seemed that every airport had one sitting in the weeds (rather like the now standard wingless Ercoupe).
They were cheap enough…and strong enough…that famous stunt pilot Frank Tallman ditched one on camera for an old TV movie “Family Flight”. A pretty impressive stunt done before CGI took over films.
John BoyleI’ve seen it…
Here’s part of a post I made two weeks ago….
I’ve seen the film, believe me no P-40 were harmed in in the making of the film. All the media reports say this is the first all “green screen” film. Everything other than the actors and small props are CGI. See the film and you’ll see what I mean.
… 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.
John BoyleSounds like fun!
It would be an experience to watch the film with a room full of fanatics at Duxford. I’m guessing more than a few of you know the script by heart. 🙂
Your comments would make an entertaining alternate sound track to a future DVD.
Seriously, MGM out to consider that for a future DVD release…have some Spitfire/Hurricane/German aircraft experts, as well as experts on the making of the film, provide a commentary.
John BoyleMy guess is that unless someone (or group) comes up with lots of money, any replica should have the potential to make money from films…some of the more esoteric stuff mentioned I don’t see anyone putting up millions to build.
And heck with CGI, films may not even need the real thing anymore.
I’d love to see an Albatross or a Boeing 314, but outside of Hollywood, who needs/wants one bad enough to put up the money?
Individuals can afford (and want) to fly smaller warbirds, but who would really want a Vincent/Empire/ or even a more obscure combat type like the Whitley? Outside of the BBMF, I’d think the market would be small.
But then again, a Utah firm has aluminum (not the more common fiberglass)Cobra replica bodies made in Poland (reportedly in former MiG factory) so anything is possible.
John BoyleI hope, the US government change their politics soon before they reopen Ellis Island!
But this thread should not become politic like the headache threads in the military forum!!!
fightingirish
I’m not sure you know what Ellis Island was…it was a an entrace center…not a jail. True, some people were turned away (mainly because of TB & health issues) but Ellis Island has the historical reputation of being the entryway for millions of legal immigrants….a good place.
John BoyleHi Guys,
I was one of the vol. who went down to help Kermits effort to pull stuff out of the mess. Not only had the 17 been pulled out of its tie downs and FLOWN 2km the B-23 was also planted in the same swamp.
Cheers Crazymainer
Back in 92 I was sent by the USAF to work with the news media after Hurricane Andrew. I was “given” a HH-60 PaveHawk (and crew) to fly media around to various locations. We flew to Tamiami (sp?) where the helicopters were based and saw the B-17 pushed into the trees. I was amazed at its overall good condition. The only thing I could think of is those battle damage photos we’ve all seen from the war. Boeing makes tough ships!
As I recall a DC-4/6 was also damaged…flipped if memory serves correctly.
After landing, I walked over to Week’s hangar and they were lifting a roof truss off the tail of a Corsair that amazingly received only light damage.
I saw aball of wreckage, I asked a volunteer what it was (it was too badly damaged for me to ID it) and was told it was Week’s P-12/Boeing 100 fighter.
I also saw a mangled A-26, but the J2F Duck was in fairly good shape.
His Ford Trimotor was wrecked when its hangar at Homestead came down. On the base I saw a static F-100 with extensive damage and a few wrecked F-16s that were undergoing maintenance (or were maintenance trainers) and couldn’t be flown out in time.
My day also started off bad…I asked the helicopter pilot to “Fly us to Homestead”, as I had reporters who wanted to check out the refugee city established by the USMC in the city of Homestead. The pilot assumed I meant Homestead AFB. So as we landed at the AFB I suddenly realized I committed a faux paus…bringing media to a base without alerting the unit commander. My fears were realized when a staff car pulled up and a gruff looking, unshaven, ill-manered Colonel asked “When will you be getting out of here?” “Right now, sir” was my reply. He said “Good” and drove off. Poor guy looked like he hadn’t slept in days….and his base was a total wreck.
Though it was a bad day for me, it was a worse week for him.
John BoyleDR I part
I recall seeing some parts…engine, etc. attributed to Von Richthofen’s plane at the Battle of Britian Museum at Hawkenge about 10 years ago.
John BoyleBack in the late 80’s, I stopped by a favorite bookstore in London…a few blocks North of the British Museum…(by the Goodge sp? Street underground station) and lo and behold, Mr. Adams was signing a collection of all the books in one volume.
Very nice guy…in a brief meeting you could tell he was full of wit and humor.
I’m glad people are still enjoying his work.
John BoyleNew Film…
This prompts an idea for a film…
CHICKEN RUN II,
FLIGHT FROM BANGKOK!!!
Will the chicken’s escape be cut short by Su-30s?
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