Warbird Information Exchange

I hadn't seen this movie in a long time, caught it on TV the other day. The C-47 crash scene really surprised me, I didn't recall it looking that good.
It really looks like they pulled a page from the "12 O'Clock High" playbook and really bellied a C-47 in. Does anyone know more about the filming of that scene?
And while I'm on the subject, a long time ago I saw the movie, "The Island" and recalled that also looked like a real crash as well. Anyone know about that one?

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Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)

Clay Lacy did the belly landing for "The Island". Like a B-17, the C-47's wheels stick down and can actually roll, so you can get some directional control during a belly landing by using the brakes.
I don't know who was the pilot for the Mulholland Falls stunt, but Jim Gavin was the aerial coordinator and Tom Friedkin (along with several other pilots) is listed as one of the pilots that flew in the film.
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

I believe the crash was staged at Wendover AFB and the plane was N129H

Did they really belly it in, or was that well-done FX?

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Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)

Wait.....there was an airplane in that movie?

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45-47=-2

Gotta love the big radials...no hand propping allowed!

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Cheers,

Craig

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Belly landing here, at 3:30:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9zIIMg_Ea8
And of course I made some stills:



Note the little underwing cameras:


They were used to get these angles:



Now for the REAL anoraks (like me), it looks like N129H wasnt the only plane they used. See the old registration N21781 on the wing:

And here's the plane that had it, from 1960:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Capital- ... dd27465006
Now known as N26MA:
http://www.airteamimages.com/douglas-dc ... 65508.html
So maybe they flew one and cracked up the other? Looks like it; note the different exhaust (and engine?)

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Definitely two different aircraft. The one that crashes has the black line between the grey and white closer to the top of the windows than the air-to-air shots.
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

The flying aircraft also has single-row Wright 1820s with a single exhaust, and the belly-landing bird has twin-row P&W 1830s with some sort of multiple pipe setup I've never seen before.

SN

No hand propping! What about motorboating?

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45-47=-2

I am thinking that the mixtures need tweaking.

Vacuum powered windshield wipers? 'smootch----smootch-----smootch---------
N26MA l/n 2169 DC-3-313 (G 102A) built 1939 originally NC 21781 (EASTERN?) then N 180W, N 180WK, now N 26MA

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

I say pull the cowling off and do a thorough inspection.





I've been sweet on Jennifer Connelly for years.

Yes, parts of the movie were filmed here (Wendover, UT). As for the crash scene I do not know where exactly that was done. Based on the height of the salt brush and the background I would venture to say that they filmed this to the north of the actual airport. It would not take much to film the scene, grade a takeoff strip and fly it back out once you made the necessary repairs; OR just load it onto a truck and haul it back out and over to the airport.

Tom P.

Resurrecting an old thread

N21781 is DC-3-G102A, manufactured in 1939 and delivered to Penn Central in November 1939. It was the second DC-3 received out of an initial order for six. When the first DC-3 ordered by PCA crashed in Birmingham, AL in 1946, it became the oldest and longest tenured plane in PCA's fleet, including the name change to Capital in 1948 and serving all the way up to the merger with United in 1961.

When repainted in Capital colors, it became Ship 214-C, the Capitaliner Detroit. Among the Capital pilots who flew her was Robert Thomas, who would be later killed in the crash of C-47A N88835 (ex-AAF 42-100985) in June 1957 in Clarksburg, MD. I had done extensive research on this crash, including finding Thomas' family. They had supplied me with a picture of Thomas feeding a deer outside of Ship 214, so I thought "I wonder...", and found the plane as N26MA.

Thomas' relatives live in Arizona. When I told them that the plane was still extant, they contacted the plane's owners and the owners invited them to come on down and take a look at the plane. It was a thrill for their family to be able to "reach out and touch" an aircraft that was flown by their older brother.