Have any of the movies for the Fly-In Theatre been selected yet? I'd like to suggest "Airplane!" of course. And no more James Bond films. Aviation films only please!
Have any of the movies for the Fly-In Theatre been selected yet? I'd like to suggest "Airplane!" of course. And no more James Bond films. Aviation films only please!
Movies are usually one of the last items announced. Usually mid summer, but they pulled a fast one and released the list mid-May last year.
I'll second the elimination of the non-aviation movies, but in the meantime I just choose not to go to them. They started in 2011 with the David Ellison movies (True Grit, Mission Impossible), but I suppose they must have been well liked, because each year there are more of them.
Anyone want to guess what the movies will be this year?
I have two guesses:
1. 633 Squadron. EAA loves anniversaries almost as much as EAA loves Cliff Robertson. With this being the 50th anniversary of the movie, I think it is a solid lock. They just played it in 2012 (memorial for the actor's death), but I think they'll add it back in the rotation a little early.
2. Star Trek into Darkness. It is a David Ellison film, and he must give the rights to his movies as a donation to EAA or something. He has also recently produced World War Z, GI Joe..., Jack Reacher, and the Guilt Trip. So I'm guessing they will show the most "flying" related movie, but who knows we'll probably show the Guilt Trip.
I would like to request Johnathan Livingstone Seagull. Haven't seen that in a long time but just purchased an old VHS tape that I have not seen yet.
Wouldn't surprise me to see both Planes and Planes II, which is scheduled for release this summer.
Other 2014 anniversaries:
45th - Battle of Britain (1969)
60th - The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)
60th - The High and the Mighty (1954)
65th - Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Oh, I like those ideas, Rawheels! All of them!
I'd also like to see "Airplane!" in the lineup every year, of course!
I have a book at home that shows some of the making of the BATTLE OF BRITAIN movie. My TE 308, now N308WK, was one of the 2 two cockpit planes that did the inside plane view filming of the aerial scenes. The other one, had an engine problem in flight while being flown by CAF vet and Texan Connie Edwards and he made a forced landing. Much of the other in flight filming was done from a B-25 which is a good photo plane. The 25 can carry a lot of cameras and photographers, and can get up enough speed to stay near the fighters if they slow down a bit, around 200 knots.
One of the CAF pilots, and I think it was Lefty Gardner, told me that when they got over there and were flying with some of the real RAF vets of the battle that, Lefty and his guys found out, "they we wern't near as good as we thought we were".
The Battle had Susana York as a nice reminder of why we fight, but for lovely ladies nothing is equal to BRIDGES AT TOKO RI which had Grace Kelly. Grace, like a Spitfire looks about as good as it gets and can't really be improved upon.
By the way, on last Fri. the 25th we delivered the Merlin engine to Jack Hovey for overhaul.
And no, I don't have any due date, but hopefully before we run out of money.
Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 04-29-2014 at 10:24 AM.
Or in addition! I've actually seen Zero Hour, it is quite entertaining. Some of the lines were used verbatim in the Airplane! script, and the captain is played by Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch of college football fame.