Favorite flying movie

[xmech2k]

So here I am. Sunday night. Grilled some burgers. Polished off a La Fin DuMonde. (Which pretty much explains the rest of this post!) Watching probably my favorite flying movie. The Right Stuff. I'm near the end. Chuck by his 'NF-104'.(Really an F-104) Ridley kneeling in front of the F-86. Discussing a stick of gum.

I know the movie has a lot of technical errors and false-hoods, but to me it's like a dream of that era. The only thing they really missed for me is the giving the 'NF-104' a generic jet sound, instead of the unearthly F-104 howl.

I had the good fortune to wind up working in a hangar shared by another company which happened to house an F-104 in USAF paint on the other side of the fence. (Their half of the hangar.) I also was fortunate enough to see (and hear) it blasting off one day from the runway just out front of the hangar. *sigh...* I wonder if it's the one in the movie, since it must have been the late 80's, and there aren't many of those around.

One day, I'll find an F-104 EDF that will fit my particular desires... And my lowly skills!

So what's your favorite airplane movie? (Oh god, should I hit the submit button? Here goes...)

[philwr]

Fighter Squadron-Edmond O'Brien and Jack Edward Larson (Jimmy Olsen) the famous co-star of Superman! Who needs Lois Lane when ya got Jimmy!

There's just to many.

Strategic Air Command-Jimmy Stewart

633 Squadron-Cliff Robertson

Bridges at Toko Ri- William Holden

Really showing my age

You kids missed all the good stuff!

[firemanbill]

More of a Navy movie than a flying movie I suppose but one of my all time favorites is "Midway". An incredible cast and awesome story of Americas might and determination during WWII.

Another is "Always", Richard Dreyfus, John Goodman, Holly Hunter

One of the coolest opening scenes of a movie ever!

Airtanker vs Fishermen

[hayofstacks]

My dad's is something about waldo pepper, its about war piolits and the first stunt mono winged planes and the famous outside loop.

Mine would have to be forever young. Kinda chick flicky, but I loved it when I was a little kid.

[xmech2k]

All great flicks! Except I haven't heard of Fighter Squadron before. I'll have to look for it.

Strategic Air Command: I can't believe it's not on DVD. I mean, X-15 with Charles Bronson has been on DVD for years. (Also cool with LOTS of stock X-15 footage, and everyone smokes like chimney! LOL!)

In other news, by coincidence, someone on another forum just this morning posted that HobbyKing has restocked on their 70mm EDF F-104! The tip tanks look silly, but that can be remedied one way or another. At least they have the general outline pretty good, and talk about affordable, $65 PNP! Might have to get 2! Though it's in their international warehouse, so I don't know yet what the shipping would be.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s..._EDF_PNF_.html

[TLyttle]

Tora, Tora, Tora, the first one. They dumped a LOT of money and effort into that one (1969?), and it showed. The later one done on computer was junk IMHO...

Final Countdown was an interesting concept, and quite well done. I watch it every few years or so, long after the technology became stale, very good movie.

[baz49exe]

[QUOTE=TLyttle;874408]Tora, Tora, Tora, the first one. They dumped a LOT of money and effort into that one (1969?), and it showed. The later one done on computer was junk IMHO...

Yes the original plane based movies were great weren't they. The original "Tora,Tora,Tora" comes to mind immediately and "The Battle Of Britain".
I seem to remember reading somewhere that they imported most of the German aircraft used in the latter from the Spanish Airforce!

[BradT]

Originally Posted by TLyttle

Final Countdown was an interesting concept, and quite well done. I watch it every few years or so, long after the technology became stale, very good movie.

This is one of my wife's favorites, and like you, she pulls it out and watches it about once a year.

I've enjoyed all of those listed so far, but can't put my finger on a "favorite".

Brad.

[xmech2k]

Oh, yeah. The Battle of Britain was great, but the ME/Bf-109's were the Spanish built version with a different engine, and therefore a very different look to them. Still an excellent movie.

Another one just popped into my head: Capricorn One. The chase scene at the end with the Stearman and 2 Hughes-500's had incredible you-are-there footage.

[pd1]

No Highway in the Sky,
with Jimmy Stewart... An aeronautical engineer predicts that a new model of plane will fail catastrophically and in a novel manner after a specific number flying hours.

Fate is the Hunter,
Glenn Ford... The search for the cause of an airliner crash.

The Dam Busters
True story of how the British attacked German dams in WW2 by using an ingenious technique to drop bombs where they would be most effective.

The first of the few, also known as Spitfire.
.David Niven and Leslie Howard.
The story of how the Spitfire came into being

Porco Rosso animated
The adventures of a 1920's bush pilot who just happens to look like a humanoid pig.
Nice airplane drawings.

I also vote for Tora..Tora..Tora, the first one.

[Voltron]

I liked the movie Midway. It had lots of aircraft plus Naval warfare.

I have the movie Redtails home now but haven't watched it yet. Has anyone else here seen it yet?

[xmech2k]

I saw Redtails when it came out in the theatres. I enjoyed it, but you have to give up what you know about how planes fly and the laws of physics a bit! Just enjoy!

[Paulo69]

I liked Top Gun and Pearl Harbor ... yeah, yeah ... I'm from Africa ... lol

[CrimzonRider]

Originally Posted by xmech2k

I saw Redtails when it came out in the theatres. I enjoyed it, but you have to give up what you know about how planes fly and the laws of physics a bit! Just enjoy!

lol....seen in the tv commercial, one of the planes pulling at least 50 "hollywood" g's...lol

looked pretty good gonna have to go pick it up

cr

[xmech2k]

Originally Posted by Paulo69

I liked Top Gun and Pearl Harbor ... yeah, yeah ... I'm from Africa ... lol

LOL! So what's being from Africa have to do with it?

Top Gun is great for the quotes!

Pearl Harbor, I took a little offense to. First of all, it would have been a great story without going all Hollywood on it. 2nd, being an aircraft mechanic, I didn't care for the ssssllllloooowwww dddrrrraaaawwwwllllll mechanic they portrayed. "I gots ME a guuurrrlllffrriiieeennnddd...." Hey, if Hollywood wants to fly in something an idiot put together... I guess maybe that's what makes it funny? Like the sitcom Wings, they had their dimwitted airplane mech, too.

[rcers]

Agree with the others...

Tora Tora Tora (even with the "Texan" Zeros)

Midway

Memphis Belle

High Road to China

Flyboys

Flight of the Phoenix (Original) Hey Jimmy Stewart common....

The Right Stuff

Bridges of Toko-Ri

And...... obviously Airplane! (I still just crack up every time I watch this) I am serious and don't call me Shirley.

Mike

[xmech2k]

Flyboys was good, but how many of you have read In the Company of Eagles, by Earnest K. Gann? Purely fiction, but an awesome WWI story that I think could make an incredible movie. Instead a cartoonishly evil German adversary (Like in Flyboys and Redtails), it showed the human side of everyone.

I just thought of the one movie that I recall where they got absolutely every technical detail about the plane right, but I don't think I'll watch it again: Alive. I worked on F-27's and FH-227's, and knew them pretty well, and they got everything right. But what a depressing movie!

[kyleservicetech]

Originally Posted by xmech2k

So here I am. Sunday night. Grilled some burgers. Polished off a La Fin DuMonde. (Which pretty much explains the rest of this post!) Watching probably my favorite flying movie. The Right Stuff. I'm near the end. Chuck by his 'NF-104'.(Really an F-104) Ridley kneeling in front of the F-86. Discussing a stick of gum.

I know the movie has a lot of technical errors and false-hoods, but to me it's like a dream of that era. The only thing they really missed for me is the giving the 'NF-104' a generic jet sound, instead of the unearthly F-104 howl.

I had the good fortune to wind up working in a hangar shared by another company which happened to house an F-104 in USAF paint on the other side of the fence. (Their half of the hangar.) I also was fortunate enough to see (and hear) it blasting off one day from the runway just out front of the hangar. *sigh...* I wonder if it's the one in the movie, since it must have been the late 80's, and there aren't many of those around.

One day, I'll find an F-104 EDF that will fit my particular desires... And my lowly skills!

So what's your favorite airplane movie? (Oh god, should I hit the submit button? Here goes...)

Yeah, the "Flight of the Phoenix" was a good movie back then.

[Paulo69]

Originally Posted by xmech2k

LOL! So what's being from Africa have to do with it?

... err I'm the only one who even dared to mention Top Gun and Pearl harbor ... those were REALLY big here btw ...

Pearl Harbor, I took a little offense to. First of all, it would have been a great story without going all Hollywood on it. 2nd, being an aircraft mechanic, I didn't care for the ssssllllloooowwww dddrrrraaaawwwwllllll mechanic they portrayed. "I gots ME a guuurrrlllffrriiieeennnddd...." Hey, if Hollywood wants to fly in something an idiot put together... I guess maybe that's what makes it funny? Like the sitcom Wings, they had their dimwitted airplane mech, too.

Never even thought about that ... I enjoyed the planes swooping through the buildings and ships, trying to get the bead on each other and shooting the crape out of everything in the way ...

[Dr Gyro]

"Birds Of Prey" A movie about a bank robbery and two helicopters flying for just about the complete movie. I believe David Jansen was one of the main characters. He was a helicopter flying news man reporting on traffic condition when a bank robbery occured. The robbers took a woman hostage and Jansen, without the permission of his management, took off on a chase to rescue the girl. GREAT movie!

[xmech2k]

Hi Dr Gyro! I've heard of that one before, but haven't seen it yet. Though I vaguely recall as a young lad, watching something with a couple of heli's chasing each other around inside some hangars/warehouses. Maybe that was it, but I must have wiped out those brain cells a while back!

I may have to see if Netflix carries it and sign up. I've resisted so far.

[Dr Gyro]

xmech2k, Yhat was the movie but those scenes were right at the end of the movie.

I rented it from Blockbuster about ten to twelve years ago after having seen it a very very long time ago. I know someone who has it on vhs. If you cannot find one I'll see if he has the cabability to copy it or put it on a dvd for you. If he can I will get a dvd for me at the same time and maybe a duplicate order will reduce the costs if any...

[Slowjohn]

Like was stated before, I'm hard pressed to choose a favorite as all of them have their place in movie history & our hearts. What gets me is having to choose which one to watch when like today there are two on at the same time
The Flyboys and The Aviator
I'm watching The Flyboys

Standing By,
SJ

[xmech2k]

With the passing of Neil Armstrong, I know these are a stretch, as they are not 'flying movies' exactly, but the documentaries 'In the Shadow of the Moon' and 'For All Mankind' are pretty awesome.

They're showing In the Shadow of the Moon a few times on the Science Channel tonight. (9-01-12)

[Turner]

To Fly!

Some clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTSvBIwfi2s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADC-FII6tYg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poB9wiu4Hjo

Kind of dated. It's just one month short of thirty years ago that I saw this film.