Who is your favorite fictitious pilot or crewmember

[JBoyle]

Alot of the greats have already been named...well done for remembering Major Saville!

From Whirlybirds....
Chuck Martin....played by Ken Tobey
P.T. Moore....... " " Craig Hill

And of course....
Sky King played by Kirby Grant

The fact no one has mentioned these before has me worried...am I the oldest guy here?

And a personal favorite:

Captain Jack Savage (ex USAAF ATC) of Consolidated Air Lines played by Rod Taylor in the film version of Ernest Gann's Fate is the Hunter (which was fiction unlike the book).

Lt. Col. Glenn Stevenson, USAF Air Rescue Service blayed by a no-nonsense Richard Widmark in the film Flight From Ashiya...
for landing an Albatross in a typhoon.

And since I bought the DVDs from a posting here I better not forget:

Lt. Col. Steve Canyon played by Dean Fredricks.

And a very obscure one...

Raoul Estaban....Mexican Air Force pioneer very well played played by Henry Darrow
in two episodes of the 1970s TV series, Bearcats!.
Johnny Reach: "What was that maneuver?"
Estaban: "Engine failure".

The first episode has him flying a Standard J-1 (N9477). The second episode he has a 1929 de Havilland Gipsy Moth (N916M). Unlike the first episode which was flimed in Tucson, the second was shot in northern New Mexico, so the owner of the Standard declined due to density altitude concerns.

[airnutz]

And of course....
Sky King played by Kirby Grant

The fact no one has mentioned these before has me worried...am I the oldest guy here?

Not to worry, K5DH mentioned "Sky King" AND "Clutch Cargo". Trivia..was the Bobcat and later, the 310, both named "Songbird"?

I missed Bearcats..musta been busy with the Navy..

[Obergrafeter]

Yes. I watched and when they changed to the 310 no reason was ever given.I never saw that he wanted a newer plane, wrecked the Bobcat, it got stolen, whatever. Did they ever address the change on the show?

[airnutz]

Yes. I watched and when they changed to the 310 no reason was ever given.I never saw that he wanted a newer plane, wrecked the Bobcat, it got stolen, whatever. Did they ever address the change on the show?

Dunno Ober..but if they're selling little Billy cornflakes..it only stands to reason that Cessna would step in and
give the "King" a 310. No money in surplus Cessna warbirds. Interesting question, i'm curious what really happened..

[JBoyle]

I've read the Sky King switch had to do with wanting a new plane (makes sense...but Im sure Cessna knew it wasn't likely to sell many $80,000 airplanes to kids) but also because the Bobcat had wood rot.

One story I read was Kirby Grant sold the unairworthy plane to a friend for a token amount and it's still somewhere waiting to be restored.
BTW: The FAA lists 300+ Bobcats on its register, we know not that many fly...so there are some out there in sheds, barns and the back of hangars.

Last edited by JBoyle on Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[JBoyle]

Delete double post

Last edited by JBoyle on Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[the330thbg]

so this thread is no longer who is your favorite.., but who is the most obscure?

[dhfan]

I must be showing my age here because the first one that came to mind, although not necessarily my favourite, was Matt Braddock.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Braddock

As he was a character in British comics I doubt anybody over there's ever heard of him.

[JBoyle]

so this thread is no longer who is your favorite.., but who is the most obscure?

Sorry, I didn't know there was an approved list.

Seriously, in the past 40 years how many fictional hit Hollywood films have been aviation-based?
Aside from Top Gun, the Great Waldo Pepper and Pearl Harbor, not many.
Plenty of films have been made, not many made money so they're obscure to most folks but us.
By its vary nature, modern aviation films are obscure.
It's not like the 30s when we had James Cagney and Clark Gable as pilots...or wartime when John Wayne flew P-40s.
My guess is it will be awhile before we see Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp or George Clooney playing a swashbuckling pilot (not necessarily a bad thing) .

[Obergrafeter]

Can you say gay pirate pilot three times fast?

[airnutz]

I've read the Sky King switch had to do with wanting a new plane (makes sense...but Im sure Cessna knew it wasn't likely to sell many $80,000 airplanes to kids) but also because the Bobcat had wood rot.

Naw, not sell them to kids, but if the "star" of the show is an airplane, Cessna might be
behooved for their new "star" to be the centerpiece...but maybe I'm too much of a "Mad Men"
fan and have bought into the early days of Madison Avenue lore. Though there has been talk
that Cessna later provided a 310 for the show, as well as, a hull for the studio shots and were supporting Kirby Grant's promo tours with factory provided rides.

I spent a few hours earlier tonight googling around "Sky King" stuff, and boy is this subject a roller coaster of facts vs. myth. Several sources have Paul Mantz as the aerial shot
contractor, as well as the owner of the first "Songbird"...sold off because of rot in the
center main spar. "Kirby was an AAF flight instructor during WW2...no, he was "color blind"
and served in the infantry"..."He flew the 310 after a few hours like a pro...no, he was ferried
around by the national sales manager of Cessna to protect their property(insurance company
satisfaction anyone?)...etcetera and so forth.

One story I read was Kirby Grant sold the unairworthy plane to a friend for a token amount and it's still somewhere waiting to be restored.

One story...Hurray! Songbird 1 is in a barn disassembled waiting for someone to come rescue
her and present her to us fans at an airshow with us toting our "Red Ryder double action BB
guns with the fringed saddle holster" breathlessly awaiting her return for the paltry sum of
$7500...ummmmm...apparently not. Story number 2..a pile of undistinguished UC-78 parts
and a steel tube fuse which has been chopped of tubing for other projects and a data plate
which you can affix to any Bobcat airframe and have the "original" "Songbird"!!

As for "obscure"..ah yes..the buzzword of the deprived uninformed. 64 episodes of "Sky King"
free on the net. They say "All 64 episodes", but there were more than that. Episode 1 is with
a Bobcat and episode 2 is with a 310, so there is a lump of missing early stuff...
http://www.americanflyers.net/entertainment/skyking.asp


Mmmm..oh yeah...not cornflakes. The radio show sponsor was "Peter Pan" peanut butter and
they must have sold a s*itload of peanut butter..umm, so to speak. The TV
series, Nabisco picked up the sponsorship.

[the330thbg]

I cannot believe no one mentioned Placibo Quantras Ungawaruh who played the Liberian crew chief who maintained the C-130 in "The Raid On Entebe".

The most famous obscure actor /pilot/crewmen EVER!!!!



and by the way.., What the heck is Skyking?

[Ken]

I cannot believe no one mentioned Placibo Quantras Ungawaruh who played the Liberian crew chief who maintained the C-130 in "The Raid On Entebe".

The most famous obscure actor /pilot/crewmen EVER!!!!



and by the way.., What the heck is Skyking?

Not that's funny right there ... I don't care who you are.

[JBoyle]

I cannot believe no one mentioned Placibo Quantras Ungawaruh who played the Liberian crew chief who maintained the C-130 in "The Raid On Entebe".
The most famous obscure actor /pilot/crewmen EVER!!!!

No, he was in your favorite TV show...Hogan's Heros
Remember, you were raving about him last week....
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=34481


You're probably right....We're having far too much fun here!
This is a serious place so let's get back to serious matters....the color of P-61 hydraulic lines, the unit markings of the 463rd BG, memorizing parts lists for the Curtiss C-76 and emergency procedures for C-124s.

In case you missed the sarcasm, nothing we discuss here is life and death stuff...restoring another P-51 won't cure cancer.
We're having a bit of fun here. If you don't don't like the tone of a particular thread, please feel free to read another more to your liking.
You really don't have to rain on everybody else's parade.

[Andy in West Oz]

Jack Dalton played by Bruce McGill http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0569226/

Yes!

Biggles also gets my vote as does Jimmy Stewart's Frank Towns.

Han Solo?