Betty Grable and Simon and Simon

[Matt Gunsch]

I found this on Hulu
http://www.hulu.com/watch/45556/simon-a ... lies-again
The Betty Grable is Photo Fanny, from Planes of Fame.

[Jimmy in Texas]

Matt Thank's for the B-25 fix. That was great.

Jimmy in Texas

[Warbird Kid]

That show was little before my time but it was quite an interesting episode! Wish they could have elaborated more on the after part of the story but still! There were some tricky flying sequences in there.

[Jerry O'Neill]

That was great Matt! Thanks!
I've been hoping to see that episode again sometime. I forgot the basic premise of the story. I only remembered the B-25 stuff!
I like the way "Panchito" makes a "small " appearance in the show!
Jerry

[warbird1]

I remember watching that episode when it aired on t.v. back in the 80's. It seems like after Steve Hinton had his part in Black Sheep Squadron, the POF gained popularity with Hollywood and had bit parts in many t.v.'s and movies during the 70's, 80's and early 90's. Some of the POF aircraft can be seen on several episodes of "Simon and Simon", "Salvage 1", "Wonder Woman", "Quantum Leap" and other shows which I can't remember their names.

[Jerry O'Neill]

It looks like a couple of scenes were shot at Whitman Air Park. Anybody confirm?
Jerry

[Lynn Allen]

How about Cannon, where he is brought in undercover and puts together a machine gun. I think it was to be a P-38 but it was a P-51 shown...

[Speedy]

Haven't watched the clip yet...but I remember that episode and being SO excited!

Wasn't it filmed at Brown Field? I think I recall a scene where the B-25 takes off and you can see the marking on the taxiway...which would make sense, since Simon & Simon took place in San Diego.

[bdk]

Able Air is shown in the background of one scene confirming this as Whiteman: http://ableaircorporation.com/

Also shown is Art Scholl's Electra Jr.: http://www.adastron.com/lockheed/electra/g-aftl.htm

Man, I forgot how bad '80s TV shows were. They just don't make 'em like the A-Team anymore!

[Matt Gunsch]

Man, I forgot how bad '80s TV shows were. They just don't make 'em like the A-Team anymore!

Thank god for that, that show was awful, 2 things that stood out as impossiable on that show, First they could fire that much and not hit a bad guy, and second, they could get a mini-14 to work so they could fire that many rounds so they could miss the bad guy

[T J Johansen]

And naturally this can't be viewed from outside the US due to lack of streaming rights ...

T J

[Rob Mears]

Some of the POF aircraft can be seen on several episodes of "Simon and Simon", "Salvage 1", "Wonder Woman", "Quantum Leap" and other shows which I can't remember their names.

Not to mention A-Team, Air Wolf, etc. I think it was Stephen J. Cannell who produced a huge majority of the 80's era action series.

I think the Cinema Air Jet Ranger helicopters logged more screen time than all of the California based warbirds combined! I recall even as a kid that EVERY helicopter in every movie and television series during the 1980s had an N-number on its belly that ended in "CA".

For the record, my favorite Chino warbird in an 80s television series was the Planes of Fame F4U-1A vs. Airwolf, complete with high speed, low level canyon running and neon rockets!

[maxum96]

It looks like a couple of scenes were shot at Whitman Air Park. Anybody confirm?
Jerry

It's actually Brown Field in San Diego, at least the aerial stuff. Watch on take off. The runway is painted "Brown Field". Also the jet engine test stand is visible in the background as well as the auto junkyards. They fly over Lower Otay Reservoir where the Helldiver was just pulled up. Simon and Simon was set in San Diego and some of filming took place there. My uncle worked on the show and my aunt appeared in at least one episode. I was a Border Patrol Agent assigned to the Brown Field area for 4 years. I roamed over all the area they showed in the flight scenes. I used to fly as an observer on Border Patrol MD-500's and OH-6A's out of Brown Field. They do land the B-25 at Lindbergh Field. My dad was a San Diego firefighter and used to occasional work the airport fire station. I remember getting to ride around in the crash trucks shown when I would visit him there. The white building with the sawtooth shaped roof seen in the background as the B-25 rolls to a stop was the General Dynamics plant (torn down around 10-15 years ago). It was Consolidated's during WWII and that's where they built B-24's including Ol 927.

I actually had never seen that episode before. But then again I never watched that show much.

[Ztex]

Wow there is some cool flying in that...would Hollywood even attempt that formation takeoff now days? Looked quite tricky from my seat.

Dumbed down aviation stuff has always been a part of Hollywood....I've never understood that.

Oh well...it was cool to look at!
Thanks!

[JBoyle]

Dumbed down aviation stuff has always been a part of Hollywood....I've never understood that.
Oh well...it was cool to look at!

That's the point, it JUST has to be cool to look at.