Strategic Air Command - Film

[Warmtoast]

If you're on Sky , Strategic Air Command is being broadcast on Sky Classics at 5pm this afternoon (Sunday 11th November).

A brilliant film - my favourite aviation movie - majestic air-to-air sequences mainly of B.36's as below.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Strategic%20Air%20Command%20Film/SAC.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Strategic%20Air%20Command%20Film/StrategicAirComand19.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Strategic%20Air%20Command%20Film/StrategicAirComand9.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Strategic%20Air%20Command%20Film/B-36FlightEngineer2.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Strategic%20Air%20Command%20Film/B-36EngineStart.jpg

[500N]

Agree.

Some of the film shots from the air are superb.

.

[sevenstrokeroll]

This is a beautifully photographed aeronautical film.

The B36 was a great success as a weapon...it never had to be used.

My favorite part is the GCA into Kadena at the end.

[evansb]

In the movie, when flying the B-47, he utters the phrase "jet penetration" several times. Hmm...anyone know what he is referring to?

[MarkerInbound]

Before there was an ATC system with radar coverage and navaids everywhere, "jet penetrations" were a direct transition from enroute to the approach. Sort of like a "High ILS," which I can no longer find an example of. Keeps you from mucking around down low where old jet engine fuel flows were outrageous.

[sevenstrokeroll]

jet Penetration...watching the film closely shows the rear tandem landing gear is down while the front is still retracted...this is used as a speedbrake. the B47 was notoriously ''clean''.

so, you overhead the airport, make a big teardrop turn to intercept the ILS, oh and lose3 10 or 20 thousand feet in the meantime at idle thrust. fuel efficent with minimum of navaids.

I've seen penetrations published on jep plates...but from some time ago.

lots of things have changed over the years...anyone remember:

triangular patterns?
airway markers
DME Arcs
vor displays with colors
PTATEN

yup...oh, and VOR based RNAV?

[obgraham]

Recently walked about the B36 at Pima Air Museum in Tucson AZ.

It's magnificent. I wish one could get inside.

[Krakatoa]

The Flight Engineer had the best line in the film, ....."..starting number ten"..

[aviate1138]

Apart from the great air to air stuff for me was the fact that James Stewart could actually fly

these beasts! Three DFC's too in B-24s.

After WW2 he was a Reservist in SAC....

" Throughout his years in the Reserves, Stewart maintained familiarity as a SAC bomber pilot in the B-36, then the B-47, and finally the B-52."

[Groundloop]

I believe he flew in a B-52 over Vietnam as well - as an observer.

[L1649]

Come on Paramount and get this superb VistaVision film released on Blu-ray. Even DVD would have been nice...:rolleyes:

[Warmtoast]

Even DVD would have been nice...:rolleyes:

Raremovies-UK have it listed here:
STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND 1955 JAMES STEWART DVD (http://www.raremovies-uk.co.uk/strat...-dvd-219-p.asp)

[sevenstrokeroll]

the SAC films also include: "bombers B52", and one that is rarely seen, "A Gathering of Eagles"...Nice refueling scenes with B52, and a great emergency ''breakaway''.

great min interval takeoff...and of course the world famous: SacSong.

two other films worthy of note for fine air to air photography..."THE X15 Story" (mary tyler moore's first movie) and "Toward the Unknown".

[Lukeafb1]

Sevenstrokeroll,

Wasn't Bombers B52 the one where Karl Malden was a crew chief? If it is, it was something of a let-down (no pun intended).
I have 'Strategic Air Command' and 'A Gathering of Eagles' on DVD, but I've only ever seen 'The X15 Story' at the cinema in the early 60s. Wasn't Charles Bronson one of the pilots? :D

[sevenstrokeroll]

lukeafb1

affirmative to all...charles bronson flew an F100 super sabre ''chase'' plane and then had a hydraulic problem (indicated by a phony looking gauge that said hydraulic problem or something dumb) and then footage of the famous SABRE DANCE was shown.

Yes about Bombers B52...but is the story or acting the star? NO...its the planes. for all of these...granted Jimmy Stewart is the ultimate pilot...flying B36, B47 (movie), B24, B17 (real), He also flew a Constellation (movie), A flying Boxcar (flight of the phoenix) and the smallest one, THE SPIRIT OF ST.LOUIS.

He narrated, "The X15 story". Also a short feature about the B58 hustler.

The next great actor portraying pilots would be Spencer Tracy as Jimmy Doolittle.

And like I said, MARY TYLER MOORE at her lucious best.

[Herod]

Lovely little Freudian slip in SAC. Stewart is supposedly an ex-B17 pilot, when in reality he was ex-B24. When he gets home from his first trip in the B36 he is all excited and talking to his wife says "I used to think the B24 was big..." I guess the diector missed it. Excellent film though, and made all the better by having a real pilot (and a good actor) playing the part.

[500N]

luke

Bomber B52 was worth it again, for some of the film sequences of planes flying,
especially that trip around the world !!!

.

[con-pilot]

so, you overhead the airport, make a big teardrop turn to intercept the ILS, oh and lose3 10 or 20 thousand feet in the meantime at idle thrust. fuel efficent with minimum of navaids.


sevenstrokeroll, one of the reasons that the Jet Penetration was either canceled or modified was due to altimeter lag that the old style altimeters had, which were installed in the early jet aircraft.

During my father's career in the US Air Force he was assigned to the Accident Investigation Branch. There had been an F-86 that had crashed at Kirkland AFB located at Albuquerque, New Mexico. The F-86 had been cleared for the penetration and impacted the ground, on course but well below the altitude limit.

So my father flew a T-33 out to Kirkland. The weather was better than when the F-86 had crashed, but was still low enough for my father to use the penetration procedure. I have forgot the altitude he started the procedure, but it was about the same as the F-86 was at.

During these penetrations the Vertical speed indicator would be pegged at the bottom of the scale, not giving the pilot the actual rate of descent. My father came out of the bottom of the cloud deck three thousand feet lower than the altimeter was showing him to be at, heading directly at where the wreckage of the F-86 was. Even then he had pull a lot of Gs to keep from adding more aircraft parts to the wreck of the F-86.

He of course reported this and after a lot more research Jet Penetrations procedures were change and the altitude limit for the procedure were raised. At least until a new type of altimeter was made that could keep up with the rate of descent required for this procedure.

[JEM60]

I once sat in the B.47 captain's seat in the cockpit section used for filming. It is at March AFB in California.

[sevenstrokeroll]

hi...B24's were what jimmy stewart flew in WW2 has over 20 missions...he flew the B17 a little bit...so he flew them both.

that is super interesting about the jet penetrations and lagging altitmeters.

[chiglet]

Available for free dowmload on Yootoob :ok:

[sevenstrokeroll]

by the way, what do mary tyler moore and the F106 have in common?

both have area rule fuselages.

[Pilotage]

If anybody's not read it, this is superb read...

http://www.windcanyonbooks.com/images/products/Jimmy%20Stewart%20Bomber%20Pilot.jpg

P

[Lukeafb1]

Pilotage,

Is the book available?

[Pilotage]

Yep.

Riversite have it, so does the Transair shop at my local airfield.

Somebody gave me a copy for Christmas last year and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It covers his early life where he was clearly an aviation obsessive kid, his developing flying interest - sort of mentions in passing that he did a bit of acting - how he managed to get into the USAAF and his very distinguished war record, then his post war juggling of USAF reserve and acting roles. But the acting is very much a minor backdrop, it is the story of an extremely talented and dedicated military aviator through some of the most fascinating periods of US aviation history.

Personally I love reading the lives of talented polymaths. Somebody who could be utterly at the top of the game in two such different fields as acting and professional flying, is for me a role model that I find quite fascinating. There are also some great one liners. I don't have the book in front of me but along the lines of "I'm sorry Mr Stewart, it's an honour to have you here, but we don't allow actors in this hotel." "That's alright, but I'm actually General Stewart of the USAF, here are my papers." Or the crew sergeant after a briefing - "I'm sure I've seen that officer before, who is he?"

(Both, I'm sure, misquoted, but you get the idea.)

P

(Edited to add a bit of a book review)

[Dan Winterland]

Jet penetrations evolved into the "Hi" approaches such as the HI ILS or HI TAC which were still around in the mid 90s. Don't know if they still exist, but having flown a couple, they involve an impressive RoD and a greater level of awareness.

[sevenstrokeroll]

First off, the HI ILS /Tacan etc requiring a high level of awareness is an understatement. Pegging a vertical speed indicator means you don't know how fast you are going down. The rather sedate 3000fpm of descent hardly speaks to it.

Jimmy Stewart along with a few other hollywood actor/pilots purchased an airfield called: Thunderbird Field In Arizona in anticipation of the need to train thousand of allied and US pilots for the upcoming war.

The very first licensed flight instructor in the United States was a fine actor named Robert Cummings (he had a TV show called the Bob Cummings show, later known as LOVE THAT BOB, and many movie roles). The person who taught him to fly was...GET THIS: ORVILE WRIGHT, who was his Godfather.

There are some more modern actors who are pilots too, but to be taught how to fly by the First Pilot is pretty darn cool.

[Lukeafb1]

Thanks Pilotage,

Ordered it from Amazon.:)

[Smudger]

Never mind the aeroplanes... what about June Allyson.... Phwoaaarrr

[Lukeafb1]

Wash your mouth out Smudger! :hmm:

Women before aeroplanes - have the wheels fallen off your trolley?

Admittedly June Allyson isn't bad and she did make other films with James Stewart, but she always struck me as somewhat unsexy. And what about the voice!!?

[Weeds round the prop]

I was wary of commenting on June Allyson, but now that Smudger has- She was lovely (and old enough to be my mother... Oh, that's blown it...) but the voice was half of the attraction.

[nitpicker330]

Jimmy Stewart Bomber Pilot is available in the E Kindle store, just downloaded it to my i Pad :ok:

[Smudger]

Luke... I understand your chagrin... but... Phwoaaar he he

You are right though.. the aeroplane is the star

Weeds.. I know where you're coming from.. she was lovely... mature.. sexy husky voice.... ahem... best not dwell on such things ha ha

[Noyade]

but she always struck me as somewhat unsexy. And what about the voice!!?

Yes. I'm sure she was in the McConnell story? Annoying character in my opinion. Just let the man fly woman! :)

[Lukeafb1]

having recently finished reading "Jimmy Stewart - Bomber Pilot", which I thoroughly enjoyed, I'm slightly confused.

Throughout the period when he was in England, the author makes great play of the fact that Stewart flew many, many missions either as Command Pilot or as co-pilot observing his crews. However, in the latter part of the book, Starr Smith more than once mentions that he flew on 20 missions. In two years, this doesn't seem very many, given the awards he received. Or am I misunderstanding the word 'mission' in this context? :confused::confused:

[PlanesOfThePast]

I've been fascinated with the B-36 Peacemaker since my early years in Central Louisiana when the planes would fly thousands of feet overhead, and still emit that unmistakeable roar. The SAC movie is a great one ... Jimmy Stewart was a great actor, with that unique voice of his! And the scenes with the B-36 are always fun to watch, especially the start-up and takeoff sequences.

I've had the privilege of seeing first-hand three of the four surviving B-36 during my trips around the U.S. in the last 12 months. I've posted some of my photos, and brief B-36 history, at this site ...

A Brief History of the Convair B-36 Peacemaker (http://www.planesofthepast.com/about-the-b36-peacemaker.htm)

I also have a page about the SAC movie, at ...

Strategic Air Command: The Movie (http://www.planesofthepast.com/strategic-air-command-movie.htm)

[Guest 112233]

PlanesOfThePast, that take off sequence at the beginning of "Strategic Air Command" does I think have its artistic origin in the opening sequence of "Reach for the Sky" except that obviously an Avro 504 is a bit smaller than a B36.

The memory experts will correct me here, but I think that James Stewart explicitly mentions this in a TV interview with either Russell Hearty or Parkinson in the nineteen 80's.

If its Parkinson its one of the earlier interviews.

CAT III

[Tankertrashnav]

Jimmy Stewart was always one of my favourites, possibly because he had what I believe is known as a "hinterland", ie he'd done something significant other than act. Mention has been made of "A Gathering of Eagles" which I reckon to be a much inferior film, albeit with some good B52 sequences - with Rock Hudson playing a commanding officer as Hollywood imagined one to be, whereas Stewart knew the reality.

[Molemot]

You might not have seen this....

NMUSAF - B-36J Engineer (http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/media/062/B-36J%20Engineer.html)

Gives a real feel of the beast!

[C-141Starlifter]

ONE FINE DAY AT THE OFFICE :



http://f1616.mail.vip.bf1.yahoo.com/ya/download?mid=2%5f0%5f0%5f2%5f2642748%5fAMJWiGIAASrdTw1rHw2g2 h%2bIAHg&pid=2.2&fid=Sent&inline=1&appid=yahoomail





Ahhh...back when engines were really engines....


Aircraft Commander 1st Lt. Oliver Hildebrandt, Pilot 1st Lt. Walter Ross, and Co-pilot Captain Wilbur Evans, and a crew of thirteen took off from Carswell AFB in B-36B, 44-92035 of the 26th Bomb Squadron of the 7th Bomb Wing at 5:05 A.M. on November 22,1950. The planned 30-hour training mission consisted of air-to-air gunnery, bombing, simulated radar bombing, and navigational training. (NOTE: The B-36B did not have the four extra jet engines. Those were added with the D-model).


Immediately after take-off, the #4 alternator would not stay in parallel with the other three alternators, so it was taken off-line and de-excited three minutes into the flight. About one minute after the #4 alternator was shut down, flames 8 to 12 feet long erupted from around the air plug of the number-one engine. The left scanner reported the flames to the pilot. Six minutes after take-off, the flight engineer shut down the number-one engine, feathered its propeller, and expended one of its Methyl bromide fire extinguishing bottles.


The mission continued on the power of the remaining five engines. 44-92035 cruised to the gunnery range onMatagorda Island at an altitude of 5,000 feet. It arrived at 7:00 A.M. and the gunners began practicing. Radar Observer S/Sgt. Ray Earl manned the tail turret. The charger for the right gun burned out, so he expended just half of his ammunition. Then the APG-3 radar for the tail turret started acting up, so S/Sgt. Earl secured the set.

Aircraft Commander 1st Lt. Oliver Hildebrandt noted that the vibration from firing the 20mm cannons increased significantly during the fourth gunnery pass. Immediately afterward, radar operator Captain James Yeingst notified Hildebrandt that the APQ-24 radar set blew up and was smoking. Vibration from the firing of the guns was causing shorting between the internal components of the radar. Then the liaison transmitter failed as well.

The cannons in the left forward upper turret and the left rear upper turret stopped firing. The gunners attempted to retract the gun turrets, but the failed turrets would not retract. Gunner S/Sgt. Fred Boyd entered the turret bay, but other problems began to take precedence over the stuck turrets. Boyd was called out of the bay before he could manually crank the turret down.

At 7:31 A.M. the number-three engine suffered an internal failure. The torque pressure fell to zero. The manifold pressure dropped to atmospheric pressure. The fuel flow dropped off, and the flight engineer could not stabilize the engine speed. The pilot shut down the number-three engine and feathered its propeller. The B-36B had only one operating engine on the left wing, so the pilot aborted the remainder of the training mission and set course for Kelly Air Force Base.

Flight engineer Captain Samuel Baker retarded the spark, set the mixture controls to "normal", and set the engine RPMs to 2,500 to increase the power from the remaining engines. Unknown to Captain Baker, the vibration from the guns had disabled the electrical systems controlling the spark settings and fuel mixture. He immediately discovered that the turbo control knobs no longer affected the manifold pressure.

The B-36B could not maintain its airspeed on the power of the four remaining engines. It descended about 1,000 feet and its airspeed bled off to 135 miles per hour. The pilot called for more power. The flight engineer attempted to increase engine speed to 2,650 RPM and enrich the fuel mixture, but got no response from the engines except for severe backfiring. The fuel mixture indicators for all of the engines indicated lean. The second flight engineer, M/Sgt. Edward Farcas, checked the electrical fuse panel. Although the fuses appeared to be intact, he replaced the master turbo fuse and all of the individual turbo fuses. He noticed that the turbo-amplifiers and mixture amplifiers were all cooler than normal. He climbed into the bomb bay to check the aircraft power panels and fuses, but could not find any problem there.

Kelly Air Force Base had a cloud overcast at just 300 feet and the visibility was restricted to two miles. The weather at Bergstrom Air Force Base not as bad, with scattered clouds at 1,000 feet, broken clouds at 2,000 feet and 10 miles visibility. Carswell Air Force Base was clear with 10 miles visibility, but it was 155 miles farther away than Bergstrom. Air traffic control cleared all airspace below 4,000 feet ahead of the crippled B-36B. Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt was flying on instruments in thick clouds.

The poor weather at Kelly Air Force Base convinced Hildebrandt to change course from Kelly to Carswell Air Force Base, passing by Bergstrom Air Force Base on the way in case the airplane could not make it to Carswell. Bombardier Captain Robert Nelson made two attempts to salvo the 1,500 pounds of practice bombs in the rear bomb bay, but the bomb bay doors would not open by automatic or manual control, or emergency procedure.

There was no way to dump fuel to reduce the weight of the B-36B. The flight engineers resorted to holding down the switches used to prime the fuel system in an attempt to increase fuel flow to the engines. M/Sgt. Edward Farcas held down the prime switches for the number-two and number-four engines while Captain Baker held down the prime switch for the number-five engine and operated the flight engineer's panel. The configuration of the switches did not allow them to prime the number-five engine and the number-six engine at the same time.

The high power demand coupled with the lean fuel mixture made the cylinder head temperatures of the engines climb to 295 degrees C. Flight engineer Baker jockeyed the throttles, decreasing the throttle setting of the engine with the highest cylinder head temperature until another engine grew even hotter. The high temperature caused the gasoline/air mixture in the cylinders to detonate before the pistons reached top dead center, diminishing power and damaging the engines.

Despite the critical situation with the engines, Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt decided to continue past Bergstrom Air Force Base to Carswell. Bergstrom was overcast and its runway was only 6,000 feet long. Carswell offered a much longer runway. By the time the B-36B reached Cleburne , the backfiring on all engines increased in violence. The number-2, number-5, and number-6 engines were running at 70% power and the number-4 engine was producing only 20% power. The airspeed had dropped off to 130 miles per hour.

Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt attempted to restart the number-one engine, the one that had spouted flames on take-off, but fuel was not getting to its induction system. He tried to restart the number-three engine, but could not unfeather the propeller on that engine. As the bomber passed to the west of Cleburne , the right scanner reported dense white smoke, oil, and metal particles coming from the number-five engine.

After a short while the number-five engine lost power, and Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt feathered the propeller on that engine while still twenty-one miles from Carswell Air Force Base. The B-36B could not stay airborne on the power of the three remaining failing engines. It was flying at just 125 miles per hour, seven miles per hour above the stall speed, losing both altitude and airspeed. Howard McCullough and W. Boeten were flying Civil Aeronautics Authority DC-3 N342 near Cleburne . They were notified by Meacham Tower to be on the lookout for 44-92035. They spotted it about five miles south of Cleburne . They observed that the number-one and number-three propellers were feathered and the number-five engine was on fire. They turned to follow the descending bomber. Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt ordered the crew to bail out of the stricken bomber.

Bombardier Captain Robert Nelson had bailed out of airplanes on two previous occasions. He had crash landed twice and ditched once. He was the first man to bail out from the forward crew compartment. He suffered contusions of his lower spine when he landed.

Radar Operator Captain James Yeingst responded to stress with laughter and jokes. He was a bit giddy before the bailout. He was the second man to exit from the forward crew compartment. His parachute streamed after he pulled the rip cord. He passed Captain Nelson going down. Captain Yeingst's parachute mushroomed open just before he hit the ground, but he suffered fatal injuries.

Co-pilot Captain Wilbur Evans was the third man to exit from the forward crew compartment. He had bailed out of airplanes twice before and crash landed several times during WW-II. This time he broke both bones in his lower right leg when he landed.

Navigator Captain Horace Stewart had previously tried to get off flying status because he felt that the B-36 was too dangerous. It is reported that during the hour before bailout, he was tense, nervous, and chain-smoking. He was the fourth man to bail out from the forward crew compartment. He pulled his rip cord right as he exited the forward escape hatch on the left side of the fuselage. His parachute opened and pulled him toward the number three propeller. His head hit the downward pointing blade of the propeller, killing him instantly.

Radio Operator Cpl. Paul Myers followed Captain Stewart out the escape hatch. Myers landed with minor injuries. Flight Engineer M/Sgt. Edward Farcas jumped head first through the exit hatch of the forward crew compartment right after Cpl. Myers. His parachute did not open when he pulled the rip cord. He pulled the parachute out of its pack with his hands and landed with only minor injuries.

Radar Mechanic Robert Gianerakis and Flight Engineer Captain Samuel Baker were the next to escape from the forward compartment. Both landed with only minor injuries. Radio Operator Sgt. Armando Villareal bailed out after Captain Baker. Villareal did not trust his parachute to open, so he pulled the rip cord while he was still in the forward crew compartment. He held his parachute in his arms as he jumped feet first through the escape hatch. Despite his unorthodox method of escape, he landed with only minor injuries.

Pilot 1st Lt. Walter Ross was the next to last to leave the forward compartment. He landed with only minor injuries. Gunner S/Sgt. Andrew Byrne and Radar Observer S/Sgt. Ray Earl were the first two crew members to bail out of the rear crew compartment. Both landed with only minor injuries. Gunner Cpl. Calvin Martin was the third man to exit the rear crew compartment. He was swinging under his parachute as he hit the ground. He broke his right ankle as he landed. He fell backward onto a rock, fracturing his third lumbar vertebra and compressing his tailbone. Gunner S/Sgt. Ronald Williams followed Cpl. Martin out the rear escape hatch. He landed with only minor injuries. Gunner S/Sgt. Fred Boyd was the last man to exit the rear crew compartment. He called to Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt over the intercom to let him know that everyone had escaped from the aft compartment. When he turned back to the exit hatch, it had fallen shut. He had to open the hatch again to make his escape. He broke the fibula of his left leg when he landed farther to the north than the other crew members.

After S/Sgt. Boyd reported that all other crew members had bailed out of the rear compartment, Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt set the autopilot and jumped clear when the bomber was less than 1,000 feet above the ground. He and nine other crew members escaped from the B-36B with only minor injuries. When McCullough and Boeten in DC-3, N342 saw the parachutes of the escaping crew members, they announced the bail-out on the emergency frequency of 121.25 megacycles.

Each report of Emergency Parachute Jump indicates that the incident occurred 20 miles south southeast of Carswell Air Force Base. The descent of the B-36B was witnessed by Mr. Buck Bell and his wife, who lived about 5 to 7 miles southwest of Crowley, Texas . Mr. Bell saw the crew members parachuting from the bomber, but did not see it hit the ground about one mile north of his house. Mr. James Bandy and his wife were on the road toCleburne about 4 miles from their house on Route 1 near Joshua when they spotted the B-36B trailing smoke, flying in a nose-high attitude. They saw it hit the ground in a level attitude, raising a cloud of dust.

The B-36B descended straight ahead in a nose-high attitude for a mile after Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt bailed out. It stalled, pitched nose down, and impacted in a terraced field on Less Armstrong's Dairy, 14 miles south of Carswell Air Force Base, 2 miles west of the South leg FTW range, and six miles west of Crowleyat 9:50 in the morning. The forward crew compartment separated and folded underneath the rest of the fuselage. The tail section broke off, and the rear crew compartment came away from the mid-fuselage as the wreckage slid 850 feet along the ground and twisted to the right.

The rear sections of the airplane remained largely intact. The elevation at the crash site was approximately 700 feet. Mr. W. Doggett witnessed the bail-out and crash from his home on Route 1 near Joshua. The B-36B impacted about 2-1/2 miles north of his house. He drove to the crash site in his pickup truck and helped the surviving crew members to regroup.

Four minutes after the crash, McCullough and Boeten in DC-3, N342 reported that two Navy aircraft were circling the wreckage. The wreckage smoldered for about eight minutes before a fire broke out in the number-six engine. The 15,000 gallons of remaining fuel consumed the forward fuselage and wings. The civilians and crew members were driven away from the crash site by exploding ammunition and the knowledge of the presence of 1,500 pounds of bombs aboard the airplane.

Remember this ride, the next time you think you're having a bad day



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[kms901]

Until her dying day, if my dear old Mum saw a contrail in the sky she would say, with a lump in her throat and a tear in her eye, " Strategic Air Command"

[Tankertrashnav]

Remember this ride, the next time you think you're having a bad day


And perhaps remember that if you have an engine fire immediately after take-off it might not be the best plan to continue with the flight :eek:

[aviate1138]

CAT IIIB

"PlanesOfThePast, that take off sequence at the beginning of "Strategic Air Command" does I think have its artistic origin in the opening sequence of "Reach for the Sky" except that obviously an Avro 504 is a bit smaller than a B36."

Well, Reach for the Sky was made in 1956, Strategic Air Command in 1955.......... :)

SAC aerial footage was directed by Paul Mantz.....

[Guest 112233]

I never knew that - I was mistaken, perhaps it was the opposite way round - its the artistic similarity of the Avro & the Convair getting airborne.

Thanks.

CAT III

[evansb]

Jimmy Stewart was quite the womanizer. As a contrast, co-star, June Allyson, was quite a prude. She struggled with old injuries and diseases. Jimmy only had to struggle with the thing in his pants.

[con-pilot]

Jimmy Stewart was quite the womanizer

Well, he really was a pilot you know. :p

[Robert Cooper]

That's right. Flew B-24s in WWII didn't he?

Bob C

[con-pilot]

That's right. Flew B-24s in WWII didn't he?


Yes, he flew two tours in Europe as a Squadron Commander, then a Group Commander by the end of the war. He stayed in the Air Force Reserves after the war, finally attaining the rank of Major General. A little known fact is that as a Brigadier General he flew in a B-52 during strikes in Viet Nam, this was kept secret at the time.

In his auto-biography he said that if acting had not worked out after the war, he would have tried to become an airline pilot. He received his Private license in 1935 and his Commercial in 1938.

[Fareastdriver]

I have just got my DVD from Raremovies.

[reynoldsno1]

DME Arcs
NZ is still full of them .....

[Groundloop]

I have just got my DVD from Raremovies.

What's the quality like?

[aviate1138]

The B-36 was a well built machine. One landed at Boscombe Down well short of the threshold on a snowy day and stopped before the Amesbury - Old Sarum road!

After clearing a path it was towed onto EGDM and cleaned up and eventually flew back to the USA!

Aeroplane did a feature on it some years ago.

I can still hear that reverberating roar that comes over so well on Strategic Air Command.

[Fareastdriver]

What's the quality like?

Fine. no problems, I played it last night.

It seems to be a kosher copy judging by its source. It is in VistaVision and the only discernible playback faults on the disc I could ascertain was a slight shaking on the opening sequence. However, that may have been DVD player induced.

I recommend it. For £10.49 it's a snip.