I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Chicken Run" yet, a cliché in every scene!

(Though, we might have lost the leadership thread a little?.......or have we???)

"Chicke Run" fabulous film. I love the bit when Ginger is in the cooler (coal bunker) doing the Steve McQueen baseball bit with a cabbage.

Not stricly a flying film, but Apollo 13 is a really terrific example of managing to sustain the tension even though we all know the outcome before the film starts.

Hpowever, I agree with another poster that "The Sound Barrier" is fantastic. Rivetting, realistic with just a little of old British movie cheesiness.

I think Battle of Britain is a decent film and it has good flying in it but I think its over rated by a lot of people. Its flaw is that it trys to take too broad an approach: its got about 20 main characters , you dont know whose where, what they're doing and it never stays on anyone for more than a few minutes. This is seen in many 50/60s war films. I think it would be better if they had one main character at one squadron rather trying to show everything.
Another example of this would be the Longest Day: it shows you the whole invasion on all the beaches and has generals for main characters. I think its better when its someone's expierience of the battle rather than a film about the battle itself.

Was it BoB where the shot moves from Ops, which has just been pulverised by incoming - dust and debris everywhere - to the Tannoy speaker to hear the Cpl spotter on top of one of the hangars announce that "...the Germans are bombing the airfield....!" Memory fails through age and last night's Happy Hour. Still hilarious though! :D

Nope - 'Angels One Five'! Just after the Ops controller instructed his team to put on their 'Battle Bowlers'!!

I still remember being about 7 years old and seeing the Aeronauts ( the story about those 2 French AF Mirage pilots )loved that show.
As far as films go The Sound Barrier, remember when the guy puts the Spitfire into a dive and recovers by pushing the stick forward.

I liked the bits in BoB where, due to an obvious shortage of vintage aircaft, large bomber formations were created by superimposing various bits of film. Unfortunately, some of the formations were filmed in bumpy conditions and others weren't, so half of the aircraft and painted-on flak jogged across the screen and the rest stayed steady. Oh, and the 60s Mae Wests, opened out to look like the WW2 ones!

Five pages and no-one has mentioned "Wings of the Apache"..................................................... ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ .............I'll get me coat!!

For obvious reasons....