"The Flight of The Phoenix"

[Daver]

Hey All,
For those fans of the ol' "Flight of The Phoenix " movie, a pal of mine is the pilot for the upcoming re-make of it. (A Nov. release) Right now, he's over in Nambia, Africa with his Hawkin's & Powers C-119 for the filming. Anyway, here's my latest commission for the cast an' crew of the film. (Dennis Quaid is in the Jimmy Stewart role.)
Oh, and I understand that the new Air Classics has a feature on it as well.

Daver

[Daver]

Ok, let's try this attachment....."Flight of The Phoenix"

[Unregistered]

I enjoy Dennis Quaid, really enjoyed him in the Rookie......but how are they going to improve on the original Flight of the Phoenix? I can't imagine it being better...but I've been wrong before.

[Danimal]

As always little brother, AWESOME work....!!

[Unregistered]

Was there a C-119 with 3-bladed props?

[Peashooter]

Here's a photo link:

http://sobering.terracom.net/eaa99/C-119/N8093_frnt_stbd_m.jpeg

[Daver]

Hi ya, Yep, the C-119 they're flyin' for the film has, I believe, the Wright R-3350's on 'er.....here's a pic of their flight test up in Greybull, WY, before they headed to Africa.

[Victor Archer]

Hey what is this thing?

This was at Torrance airport in 1958. Looks like a C-119 with a lot of changes up front?

[Victor Archer]

Here's a shot from the other side.

[Daver]

Hey There, That's the C-82 'Packet', forerunner to the C-119. That was what was used in the original "Flight of The Phoenix".

[speeddemon]

That's a C-82 Packett....the kind of plane they used in the original version of "Flight of the Phoenix".

I read in Air Classics that they are currently working on a 'flyable' version of the 'airplane' that they make. I certainly hope they have more luck with it than the original...and I hope that nobody gets killed this time.

Many years ago I talked to Frank Tallman about the 'plane' that Paul Mantz was killed in, and they said the thing was the worst, squirrly plane that Mantz had ever flown...that it would only get a few feet off the ground and was way out of balance. (If you notice, the actual 'flying scene' at the end of the movie is a highly modified O-47A, not the contraption that they built).

The C-119 'boom' is even longer and more out of balance than the boom on the C-82. It will be interesting to see if they can pull it off and make a plane that can actually fly.

I have mixed feelings about this remake. The original movie was so good (as was the book)....pretty much everything coming out of Hollywood today is so dolled-up and MTV'd to death that the inevitable plot changes scare me.

[Daver]

Here's a shot of the Hawkins & Powers Boys out at the movie set in Africa....note the missing prop and gash behind the cockpit......(a little preview to what might happen in the film?)

[AAFO_WSagar]

Originally posted by speeddemon
I have mixed feelings about this remake. The original movie was so good (as was the book)....pretty much everything coming out of Hollywood today is so dolled-up and MTV'd to death that the inevitable plot changes scare me.

Speeddemon,

while I agree, the original with Jimmy Stewart, is probably one of the best movies of all time, I tend to look at remakes, such as this one, as a good way to introduce a new generation of viewers to aviation.

While we aviation buffs all know of the original, many who are not "tuned in to the freq" don't know about it. I suspect, many will see the remake, then want to see the original and then be introduced to that classic as well.

On the safety issues, my best guess is, they will not allow history to let them make the same mistakes again. At least, one would hope not!

And to Daver... congrats on getting the commish and MANY THANKS for the inside views of the project! Keep 'em comin' buddy!

Wayne

[Unregistered]

Is it really a "preview" if you already know what happens? :-)

[AAFO_WSagar]

Originally posted by Unregistered
Is it really a "preview" if you already know what happens? :-)

LOL... is it really a message we want to pay attention to if the author remains faceless??

Comon' guys.. I know this post and most other "annon" Non Registered "Guest" messages are harmless... but. It would certainly make this place more interesting and make the messages posted more valid if the person who writes them did not just fire off comments from the dark corner..

Again, this message was not an abusive one and is within the board guidelines but I just can't understand you guys/gals who can't bring yourselves to sign your messages??



Wayne