Fred Thomas Presents
- Fred, a long time connoisseur of aviation photography and movies, invites you to view his all time favorite movies. Needless to say, the focus is on flying. So expect to see some awesome aviation movies!
Details
When: The third Wednesday of each Month
Where: Sundance Flying Club Briefing Room,
1901 Embarcadero, Ste 109
Palo Alto, CA
What time: Cartoon and serial starting at 7pm. Main feature follows.
Cost: FREE
Light supper: donation appreciated!
| Month | Date | Movie | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | 20 | Jet Pilot | John Wayne stars as an air force colonel stationed in an Alaskan outpost only 40 miles or so from the Soviet Union in this 1957 Howard Hughes production. Wayne is put in charge of Russian jet pilot Janet Leigh, who claims that she wants to defect. Actually, Leigh is a Communist spy, but thanks to Wayne's affectionate attentions she is won over to the side of Democracy. Thus it is that Leigh rescues the Duke when he is kidnapped and nearly brainwashed by her Commie comrades. F86 action shots were taken at Edwards and flown by Chuck Yeager. |
| March | 20 | One Six Right | For pilots, there are many times when you will see a scene, nod your head, look at your (perhaps non-pilot) friend/spouse/signficant other and say, yes, this is what I feel when I fly. This is why I fly. When one of the pilots in the movie points to his logbook and says, "This is a love story," you know that he speaks for you. For non-pilots, this movie might help explain the strange behavior that your pilot friend may exhibit from time to time. Why he looks up in the air every time an airplane flies overhead, staring at it like it's the first time that they have ever seen such a thing. The movie not only talks about flying, but shows people flying everything from WWII P-51 Mustangs to Piper Cubs. Brian Terwilliger's acclaimed "One Six Right" attempts to do many things. It is, at the same time, a portrayal of the romance of flying, a history of Van Nuys Airport, and an examination of the current sad state of airports. |
| April | 16 | Tora! Tora! Tora! | The path to war in December 1941 is retold from the appointment of Isoroku Yamamoto to command the Imperial Japanese Navy on through the execution of his most ambitious and audacious plan - an attack by carrier aircraft on the US Navy station at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. As the Japanese First Air Fleet sorties to Hawaii, diplomatic efforts by both nations continue, but intercepts of Japanese diplomatic messages show Japan is practicing deception and planning aggression - but there is no clue as to where Japan will strike. |
| May | 21 | Battle of the X-Planes | From 1996 to 2001, Boeing and Lockheed Martin produced rival designs and prototypes for the Joint Strike Fighter, a stealthy, affordable combat plane intended for the 21st century needs of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marines. In "Battle of the X-Planes," This stunning NOVA presentation goes behind the scenes to show the world's newest fighter taking shape, as Boeing and Lockheed Martin compete to win the largest contract in military history. |
| June | 18 | Island in the Sky | During World War II, a Military Air Transport Command DC-3 piloted by a civilian crew is forced down in northern Labrador. The five men, led by Dooley (John Wayne), have barely any food and almost no way to keep warm, and their power supply is fading fast, but they have to find a way of staying alive until search planes find them. At first, even Dooley is overwhelmed by the responsibility for his crew's safety, and he is too lax in handling them -- but after one man dies, frozen to death just steps from help, he takes over and pushes his men and himself to the limits of their endurance; he even seems ready to crack himself at one moment. Meanwhile, the men who fly with Dooley push themselves and their machines past their endurance limits searching the arctic wastes for the downed plane. Island in the Sky-- based on the book by Ernest K. Gann (perhaps the best aviation novel ever written), which was, in turn, based on a true incident that happened during the war -- is one of the most startling movies in Wayne's output. |