MUST SEE AIRPLANE MOVIES

[iowa]

hello,
i remember seeing a movie
about this lady who flew in the early days of film,
and flew thru a barn,
pulled up and cleared the trees
when the male pilots would not do it.
what is the name of this movie?
thanks
iowa

[bsdunek]

Check out this link for an upcoming (I hope!) movie about Pancho Barnes.
http://www.panchobarnesfilm.com/
She certainly was colorful, and all the great pilots of the post WWII era hung around her place. It ought to be an interesting movie!

[iowa]

thanks for the link
i see one can buy a copy on amazon.com for 34.00
will it be out on dvd soon
or is a brand new movie coming out
thanks for the link
dave

[bsdunek]

thanks for the link
i see one can buy a copy on amazon.com for 34.00
will it be out on dvd soon
or is a brand new movie coming out
thanks for the link
dave

That was the one with Valerie Bertinelli, Ted Wass, James Stephens, and Cynthia Harris. Valerie may be cute, but the movie wasn't anything accurate. Just a hollywoodized version, mostly using the name. Pancho wasn't anything to look at, but was one heck of a gal.
The new one is to be a historical documentary - fairly accurate.

[iowa]

thanks
that will be very nice!!
i was impressed w/the barn fly thru scene tho!!
iowa

[N170CT]

I know its a bit far fetched....but the opening scene of Second Hand Lions is simply priceless. A Stearman flying through a highway overpass where a Smokey sits half asleep just blows me away. Course, I like Stearmans and I disdain Highway patrol folks/superiors who are far more interested in money than safety. Another movie not mentioned was Cloud Dancer which had Pitts, maybe a Piper Arrow, and a '51 Mustang. Good flying scenes, particularly the beauty queen in the Pitts and the Arrow?? dueling the Mustang. Space Cowboys had some good aerobatic flying, but not much of a story. My favorite, as others, is the Battle of Britian. Superb flying scenes. MHO!!
chuck

[iowa]

i saw 'flyboys' this weekend.
was great.
the saluting scene was reminencent of
'the great waldo pepper'
iowa

[iowa]

received my issue of
'sport aviation'
they have a list of the
ten greatest aviation movies
which they want all the eaa's
to vote on,
and the winner will be shown
at oshkosh this year.
dave

[sylvaire]

What about The Memphis Belle? It is one of mine.

[iowa]

i enjoyed this movie also.
i bet the very last mission would be the most nerve racking!!
the one on the top list
i did not care for was
'top gun'
i just don't care for tom cruise.
i my opinion, he made one good movie- 'risky business'
the mission impossibles are rediculous,
i could barely sit thru them.
dave

[ambooth]

This one is not exactly an aviation movie, but it should cater to all of the motorcycle/airplane folks in the group --"The World's Fastest Indian" (2005 - Anthony Hopkins).

[iowa]

i finally, after all these years,
watched 'the spirit of st. louis'
w/james stewart.
not bad.
and not to blacken his name, but...
i also recently read winston churchill's
huge multivolume set about WWII,
and in it, he states that
lindbergh basically ruined his career
because of his relationship with nazi germany
and his efforts to keep us out of the war.
what do you guys think of this?
dave

[GAHorn]

Lindbergh was very much impressed by Goering and Udet when he was given a tour of Germany just prior to the outbreak of war, and he made some strong and offensive anti-semitic remarks in public. For that reason, the U.S. gov't assigned him for publicity purposes only to the Pacific theatre. (He testified for over 2 hours to the Congress in opposition to Lend-Lease, and earned the dislike of Roosevelt by it. As a result, Lindbergh made a series of speeches in which he condemned the U.S. opposition to Germany and called for a "change of (U.S.) leadership."

“Our civilization depends on a western wall of race and arms which can hold back…the infiltration of inferior blood”. Chas Lindbergh, Sep 1939

"Their greatest danger lies in [the Jews’] large ownership and influence in our motion pictures, our press, our radio, and our Government. We cannot blame them for looking out for what they believe to be their interests, but we also must look out for ours." - Chas. Lindbergh, Des Moines, IA, Sep 11, 1941.

At a German-American society meeting:


Being presented a gift (sword) by Hermann Goering:


The medal awarded to him by Hitler and presented by Goering: (he was many times pressured to return it, but he always refused):


In fairness, after Pearl Harbor brought a declaration of war by Germany against the U.S., Lindbergh cancelled all planned anti-war speeches and threw his support for the war effort. His offer to volunteer for the Air Force was turned down (probably due to his earlier resignation from that branch while an opponent of U.S. involvement) and he was ignored by most organizations and war industry groups. He eventually found a position with United Aircraft and worked in pilot training developing fuel-saving techniques in the Pacific theatre, and made publicity tours.

[iowa]

pretty interesting!
i do have the bio
by scott berg
i'll have to read it now.
dave

[steve grewing]

I met a former P-38 pilot (19 YOA at the time he was flying them) at a grass strip in south Texas in '81 who told me about meeting Lindbergh. Lindbergh had come to his squadron in the south Pacific to demonstrate how to improve their range/fuel economy. He told me the mechanics and pilots thought Lindberghs technique would damage their engines but Lindbergh convinced them to try it. After many flight hours in one plane, they tore down an engine for detailed inspection and found no damage. They were convinced. However, he also stated he believed Lindbergh had to have an additional fuel tank installed in his plane because no one could ever duplicate his endurance.
The P-38 pilot was with a former B-17 SAR pilot (18 YOA ...). They were out just cruising around one afternoon in their restored C-150, saw the strip and dropped in to look around. Glad I was there that day.

Steve