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Old April 9th 19, 02:19 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Michael Opitz
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Posts: 318
Default The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) is included with Amazon Prime

At 12:02 09 April 2019, wrote:
I want to give credit to the real pilot.
It was not easy to find out who was the real stunt pilot in that

movie.
The=
Schweizer SGS 1-23H-15, N9860E was piloted by Roy McMaster.

Glider flying 'Windmills Of Your Mind' film 'The Thomas Crown

Affair' 1968
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DOsl6EJGwFyM

THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR =E2=80=93 GLIDER SEQUENCE

DETAILS
The real stunt pilot is Roy McMaster, actors are Steve McQueen and

German
a=
ctress Astrid Heeren. Noel Harrison sings 'Windmills Of Your Mind'.
The glider sequence in the original Director Norman Jewison

Thomas Crown
A=
ffair (Steve McQueen and Fay Dunaway) was filmed at the

Northeastern
Glider=
port in Salem, NH (west of Rockingham Park race track) on July 6-

7, 1967.
=
The location is now a golf course

(42=E2=81=B045.468=E2=80=99N, 071=E2=81=
=B014.385=E2=80=99W) and the runway turned into a golf

driving range.
Betw=
een shots the runway became a motorcycle course for Steve to let

off steam.
The aerial sequences were from a helicopter and the close ups of

Steve
were=
done on the ground. The flying sequence Noel Harrison

background music,=
=E2=80=9D Windmills of Your Mind=E2=80=9D, was the only part

of the movie
t=
o receive an Oscar. Eight flights were needed for the
=E2=80=9Cin-the-air=
=E2=80=9D sequences. The loops were needed for the script and

the music.
There were, coincidently, two Schweizer SGS 1-23H-

15=E2=80=99s on the
field=
, both painted in Ag Cat yellow. One was placed on a pilon on the

hill
top=
and Steve was the =E2=80=9Cpilot=E2=80=9D. Helpers on the

tail and wing
=
tip provided the pitch and roll for the facial expressions. The other,
N98=
60E, was piloted by Roy McMaster who was the chief flight

instructor for
No=
rtheastern Gliderport at the time. The landing closeup used a car

tow
spli=
ced into the actual landing.
Both Astrid Herren and Steve McQueen enjoyed their first glider

flights
whi=
le there. Steve received about 18 instructional flights in a

Schweizer
SGS=
2-33 and might have been solo except the filming schedule

required moving
=
to the next site. He was inspired to later pursue his own

pilot=E2=80=99s
=
license.
Glider type is Schweizer SGS 1-23H-15=20
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweizer_SGS_1-23
The second Thomas Crown Affair with Pierce Brosnan and Rene

Russo wove in
t=
he music with a cameo by Faye Dunaway as the shrink. That Duo

Discus
flyin=
g sequence take-off starts at Harris Hill in Elmira, NY then shifts to
Eagl=
e Field in Port Matilda, PA and back and forth with sequences on

the
Harris=
Hill ridge.
By the way, I have my SGS 1-23G for sale, based in San Francisco

Bay
Area,=
it has 16.5 meter wing span, the glide ratio is about 31.=20
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft...000171788.html
Andre

Roy was also McQueen's instructor for all of those 18 flights.