What's your favorite Aviation Movie?

[ozzy72]

I'm surprised the older rotorheads haven't coughed up Blue Thunder or Airwolf yet! Both had a movie before the TV series...

Ozzy

[Tequila Sunrise]

I've seen the movies and I watched Airwolf when I was a kid but I never new about a Blue Thunder TV series, so how did that work if Blue Thunder got destroyed by a train?

[Rifleman]

I'm surprised the older rotorheads haven't coughed up Blue Thunder or Airwolf yet! Both had a movie before the TV series...

Ozzy

Boy are you young.....I remember a show called Whirlybirds...........waaaaaayyyyyyyyyy back when.........used a Bell 47 as the flying star !

http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/children/whirlybirds/whirlybirds.htm

[Oso]

Don't forget the occasional use of a chopper by Broderick Crawford in the series "Highway Patrol".

And the Saturday morning series - - - - Supercar!!!

[ozzy72]

[quote]
I remember about the men riding the wings, but the man named Mantz was not a character or star in the movie, he was a stuntman pilot.......I am pretty sure that is the correct name of the actual man who died in this sad situation...........will check further....

This quote is from Museum of Flight, which can be found here

[Hagar]

Incidentally, re the "Flight of the Phoenix".

Once again, displaying my ignorance of these things.

The engine has to be started with cartridges which are loaded into a cylinder which is locked, cocked and fired.

I was aware of these things but know nothing about them.
What is the system called, was it used in any WWII planes. Obviously the firing mechanism had to be in the cockpit. How did the "charge" get to the engines when they were on the wings?

I just spotted this. Many WWII aircraft had "Coffman" cartridge starters, especially naval types as electrics are vulnerable to seawater. According to one source, all RR Griffon engines were fitted with Coffman starters.

The cartridges are blanks, loaded into a special chamber much like that used on a revolver. When fired, they discharge straight into the cylinders, thus turning the engine over. On RAF Chipmunks the cartridges were fired by pulling a ring on a cable in the front cockpit. This meant pulling it right back from the instrument panel to over your right shoulder for safety reasons. If this took more than one cartridge you would get a ticking off from the instructor. If it failed to start, the switches would be turned off & the prop turned backwards to expel excess fuel from the cylinders before trying again. In my time they took great pains to remind you the cartridges cost 10 bob (50 pence) each. LOL

The same method was also used for starting jet engines on 50s jets like the Gloster Javelin & English Electric Canberra. I'm not too sure if the idea is still used on modern types.  ::)

[Alan]

quote author=ozzy72 link=board=gen;num=1050256667;start=45#45 date=04/15/03 at 12:38:12]I'm surprised the older rotorheads haven't coughed up Blue Thunder or Airwolf yet! Both had a movie before the TV series...

Ozzy[/quote]


Hey slow down i just got here  ;D

Airwolf was brilliant film, i love the begining part were the designer steals it and there testing it, its really technical they way the speak and its beleivable.

Bluethunder was more of film abut the us government spying and the aerial scenes could have been better, and destroyeing the chopper  :'(

Dont get me started on die hard 2 it was rubbish, it was the exact same as 1 only in an airport,
Die hard 1 and 3 are brilliant, cant wait for 4.

Alan
(sorry if  I offended any die hard fans)

[Biggles]

In order of my personal preference

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
Memphis Belle
Dark Blue World (quite a recent one)
Catch Me if You Can (not strongly related to the subject but....)
Tora, Tora, Tora (the original Pearl Habour)
Pearl Habour
Top Gun
Dambusters
Airforce One
The Right Stuff

Think that's about it for now.
Biggles

[lost sailor]

I like several ones like:

Twelve O'Clock High
Midway
a real oldie called Wings (Silent)
SAC
Spirit of St. Louis
I think it is called The Great Waldo Pepper with Robert Redford, also cant think of the names of some but nothing beats the real footage from the signal corps like Midway, Memphis Belle, and from the Why We Fight Series called The Battle of Britian -- that's the real stuff there. (I also have one with Ronald Reagan as a fighter pilot who has trouble recognizing Zero's and is in need of instruction --a training film)

[BFMF]

Dont get me started on die hard 2 it was rubbish, it was the exact same as 1 only in an airport,
Die hard 1 and 3 are brilliant, cant wait for 4.

I havn't seen Die Hard 2. I've seen the first and third, but not the second. All i can say is, Interesting movies!

[Fozzer]

I read the other day that "Die Hard", (the first one), with Bruce Willis was one of the best action *movies made.... ....!
I  also like all Arnie's *movies, (A REALLY big bloke  with a REALLY big knife/gun).... ...!
(..and probably a very small weener...).... ...!
LOL...!

Cheers...
Paul.
(England).

...*Picture....as in "..going to the pictures/cinema..)...LOL...!

[phil509]

OH `cmon you guys,What are you watching out there?There are only three good flics of all time:Flying Leathernecks(the"Duke",no more to say there).Stategic Air Command(Jimmy Stewart,what America is!,and the shots of B-36 & B-47 In "panavision"),and my favoritre of all time-Dr.Strangelove!(yes,Slim Pickins riding the 10 megaton nuclear device set for airburst at 10-check-12 thousand feet goin YEEEEEEHAAAAAA is the finest piece of cellulose Hollywood ever produced

[Oso]

Clark Gable and Wallace Beery in that one where they fly the bi-planes off of the carrier and a lot of North Island San Diego in it.

[Blade]

Mostly all US military aircraft use a big block V8 Chevy to pump compressed air into the turbines to turn them over. Or on even more modern ones use internal jet starters. I do not think we use cartridges anymore/

[ozzy72]

Oso I saw this film a while back on TCM, I can't remember its name though "The Flying Aces"? But I remember the planes having the Ace of Spades marking on their tails, I believe this Sqn. is still in service with the USN?
As for cartridges, well Hagar by the time I got to Chipmunks they were all gone... But I think most of the Merlin engines used the Coffman too....

Ozzy