Flyboys Movie: the aircraft

The knock the wings off with the landing gear really happened...

There were many Fokker tripes painted red. Not all of them were red in the movie.

Many years of research went in to the movie, and the more outrageous happenings were left out, but the director said
that facts were indeed stranger than fiction...

"Ron Wanttaja" wrote in message ...
: On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:06:06 GMT, "Dave" wrote:
:
:
: "Ron Wanttaja" wrote in message
: ...
:
:
: I think the movie handled the personal horrors of war in the air pretty
: well. Some of the photography was great, too. I did enjoy the ground scenes at
: the airfield.
:
: Sounds like a pretty bad review Ron. I'm making the wife go and see it this
: evening. I'm sure I'll enjoy it a lot more than some of the sappy bits of
: treacle she's dragged me to over the years. I've never had any problem
: suspending my "reality" filter for movies, I expect that reality makes for
: pretty poor cinema.
:
: I'll forgive the nits if a film avoids obvious cliches, but this one swerved to
: bump through each one, just like a student driver on a potholed road.
:
: Some of the obvious nits could have been avoided if they'd just had pilot
: involved. In the "old days" when they had to use real airplanes to film movies
: like this, there were people around who could tell the director that an airplane
: just couldn't *do* the stunt he wanted. But when it's CGI..."Heck, let's have
: him knock off the German's top wing by backing into it with his landing gear.
: Make sure the gear isn't damaged, so he can land safely afterwards."
:
: Sheesh.
:
: I fully agree that some compromises usually have to be made for making a movie
: for mass consumption. I'm not complaining (much :-) that the movie showed more
: Fokker Triplanes that were ever *made* (oh, an exaggeration, but the type never
: was common). I'm not complaining that the Triplanes didn't reach the front
: until a YEAR after the film was set. The Fokker Triplane is a very identifiable
: aircraft; using them for the German airplanes let the non-pilot moviegoer
: instantly recognize which were the good guys and the bad guys.
:
: However, I *will* complain about having all the Fokker Triplanes painted red.
: That was an artistic decision completely divorced from historical reality. One
: Triplane was painted all red. One very famous one. Not every single one of
: them.
:
: Historical accuracy in popular movies isn't a paradox. Take "Master and
: Commander: The Far Side of the World." The film was very accurate...and a
: cracking good yarn, too. If it hadn't been for those damn Hobbits, it would
: have taken the best picture Oscar....
:
: Well, we'll just have to see if the Germans get WWI aviation right....
:
: http://www.redbaronmovie.com/
:
: ...though I admit some aspects of the synopsis are pre-engaging my
: gag reflex. :-)
:
: Ron Wanttaja

"kd5sak" wrote in message
. ..

Actually, I am not. Though I'm interested, the wife has forbidden me to
pursue any such activity. Since I'm 74, I've decided she's probably right
in her position. I probably won't last long enough to build a craft and
I'm certainly too tight to buy a ready-made. (G) I do enjoy kibitzing on
those of you that do fly, though. As an former Jr. High shop teacher, I
take special interest in some of the building details I read about.

Harold.........

Since you're down there in "5" land, I know a few Texas dwellers who would
be happy to take a passenger up (and back down again, of course).

Rich S.

On 26 Sep 2006 14:32:38 -0700, "Jay Honeck" wrote:

When the one pilot comments that it's his plan to shoot down one enemy then go
back to America, surely it would have been more dramatic to point out that this
would be desertion, for which the man (if caught) would have been the next
blindfold recipient?

Would that have been true in the all-volunteer American squadron?

The Escadrille Lafayette wasn't the Flying Tigers... it was a duly-constituted
squadron of the French Air Service, not a mercenary unit. Members were under
French military law, which, for instance, permitted members of a unit to be
randomly selected for execution (irrespective of the soldier's individual
behavior) if that unit failed in combat.

What's more, the American government at the time was pretty prickly, claiming
that citizens who pledged allegiance to a foreign government (as is usually the
case when someone joins a country's military) would give up their US
citizenship. Lafayette Escadrille members got around that by enlisting in the
French Foreign Legion (the Legion's enlistment oath only requires that the
member obey his officers) and then transferring to the Air Service. At last
report, the Legion never has been too friendly towards cowards or deserters. :-)

One of the early Americans in the French Air Service deserted in the middle of a
spying scandal, and one would suspect the French military might well have taken
a hard line in a similar case. Geopolitical realities might have prevented the
outright execution of an American deserter, of course. But French military
prisons of the time were no fun, either...kind of like Abu Graib with garlic.

BTW, the Lafayette Escadrille still exists, as the Lafayette Group in the Armee
de l'aire. They still fly with the Indian head insignia...

http://maquette72.free.fr/themes/laf...adron_2esc.jpg

Ron Wanttaja

Jay Honeck wrote:
snip

Aw, that scene was just unbelievable, full moon or not. Just like the
scenes in "Pearl Harbor" where the protaganist fights in the Battle of
Britain, the attack on Pearl Harbor, AND the Doolittle Raid on Japan.
It's just Hollywood being Hollywood, and there is apparently nothing
anyone can do to stop them from doing this sort of thing.


snip

Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Ah, Pearl Harbor. Brings tears to me eyes how bad that movie was. Even
suspending my gullability I couldn't stomach it. I even read the book
and it wasn't much better. A whole bunch of cliches strung end to end
with only a nebulous story line. I mean, really! Boy finds girl, boy
goes to war, boy gets killed, boy shows up allive...BARF.

One of the worst was the "We need some hotshot bomber pilots. Lets go
out and get us a bunch of fighter pilots"...uhuh.

Harry K

"Rich S." wrote in message
...
"kd5sak" wrote in message
. ..

Since you're down there in "5" land, I know a few Texas dwellers who would
be happy to take a passenger up (and back down again, of course).

Rich S.

Wellsir, I was a Texican for nearly half my life. I know how Texans feel
about
outlanders, though, I might find myself as jettisonable ballast rather than
a passenger.
Actually, long a reloader of .44 Mag, I'd not shoot anyone elses reloads and
would rather
not fly if I can't do it myself. That may be a kind of Texas attitude, but
what can I say, I was still young and impressionable when I first wrote GTT
on the door and left Oklahoma.(G) I worked some years for the Federal
Government, taught in the Dallas schools for eleven years, and
then put in 12 or so more helping design retrievable packers for Otis
Engineering (a Halliburton owned company). Once the GoodWife and I were both
retired we returned north of the Red River where we still have relatives. I
do appreciate the offer, though.

Harold
KD5SAK

Charlie wrote:

Ron Wanttaja wrote:

They *did* have an actual rotary on a stand, in one of the ground-maintenance
sequences.

And to *really* pick nits, when the maintenance guy rotated it, it
looked like it had the mass of an 18" fan blade & no compression or
friction resistance. :-)

You kiddin? They went so far as to simulate bad rings on the "bad
motor". Gotta be impressed! ;-)

Mark "photorealism" Hickey

"Mark Hickey" wrote in message
...
Charlie wrote:

Ron Wanttaja wrote:

They *did* have an actual rotary on a stand, in one of the
ground-maintenance
sequences.

And to *really* pick nits, when the maintenance guy rotated it, it
looked like it had the mass of an 18" fan blade & no compression or
friction resistance. :-)

You kiddin? They went so far as to simulate bad rings on the "bad
motor". Gotta be impressed! ;-)

Mark "photorealism" Hickey

More than likely missing sparkplugs.

"kd5sak" wrote in message
m...
Wellsir, I was a Texican for nearly half my life. I know how Texans feel
about
outlanders, though, I might find myself as jettisonable ballast rather
than a passenger.
Actually, long a reloader of .44 Mag, I'd not shoot anyone elses reloads
and would rather
not fly if I can't do it myself. That may be a kind of Texas attitude, but
what can I say, I was still young and impressionable when I first wrote
GTT on the door and left Oklahoma.(G) I worked some years for the Federal
Government, taught in the Dallas schools for eleven years, and
then put in 12 or so more helping design retrievable packers for Otis
Engineering (a Halliburton owned company). Once the GoodWife and I were
both retired we returned north of the Red River where we still have
relatives. I do appreciate the offer, though.

Hal..........

I've still got most of a box of .44's loaded by Elmer and would hate to
shoot them up. I know there's guys out there who can fly, shoot, and make
muzzle loader. I'll shoot their reloads, ride in their planes and drink
their lightning. Every cobbler to his own last, as my dad used to say.

See ya,
Rich S.

("Ron Wanttaja" wrote)
BTW, the Lafayette Escadrille still exists, as the Lafayette Group in the
Armee de l'aire. They still fly with the Indian head insignia...

http://maquette72.free.fr/themes/lafayette/2000N_escadron_2esc/mirage2000N_escadron_2esc.jpg


http://www.neam.org/lafescweb/afterthewar.html
Lafayette Escadrille - Post WWI
"The history of the Lafayette Escadrille did not end when the squadron was
incorporated into the American Air Service. Recognizing the contribution of
the American volunteers who flew for the French cause, the Service
Aeronautique designated one of its own squadrons to carry on the tradition."


MonBlac

".Blueskies." wrote in message
m...
The knock the wings off with the landing gear really happened...

Please provide a reference other than hearsay


There were many Fokker tripes painted red. Not all of them were red in the
movie.

MANY Tripes- please provide a reference Jasta 11 triplanes had some red
on theirs (cowlings, struts, wheel covers). But the squadron wasn't ALL
RED. The only all-red triplane was MvR's

Tony, Comox, BC