GregP, Tell Us About the TV Show...

[Trexx]

I saw a commercial advertising a Military Channel program that is to debut soon, "Showdown: Air Combat" 10pm Sunday nights. It surely looked as if Chino's Planes of Fame had it's "Stars" all over that ad. It looks positively, GREAT!
Are those Chino's planes doing recreations of historic dog fights? What do you know about this, friend?

[Kutscha]

The r/l aerial scenes were flown out of Chino.

Guy named Gibbage (Il-2 and MCFS modeler) did the GCI a/c.

The commentator is a F-22 pilot.

[GregP]

Some of our planes and pilots are being used. There is NO cinematic reason to pull 7g when 4g looks just teh same, so they simulate combat without straining the airframes to the breaking point.

All it takes is coordination between the pilots so it LOOKS like you are near the limits. However, there is NO reason to strain the hardware to combat levels.

As has been stated in here many times before that the "best fighter" can only be identified within very specific mission parameters. It depends on whether or not you want to dogfight at 15,000 feet, destroy bombers at 35,000 feet, escort bombers from London to Berlin, conduct a sneak attack at 50 feet, etc.

Also, there is a limited set of aircraft today with which to conduct the "fights." We (the world, not Chino) have most of the U.S. aresenal of WWII fighters, most of the British arsenal, some of the Japanese fighters, some of the German fighters (not the FW 190D-9/Ta-152 that some consider the best), a small sampling of the Russian arsenal, and only a handful of the Japanese arsenal.

I'd say we are missing the Focke-Wulfs, the Lavochkins and MiGs, a flyable Raiden and Shinden-kai, most early jets, and some others.

That leaves us with a LARGE cross section of aircraft with which to make movies of. The basic missing ingredient is enemies. Need Messerschnitts, Focke-Wulfs, Mitsubishis, and Nakajimas.

We HAVE a Zero and there are many Yak-3s and a few Messerschmitts.

Let's see ... Wildcat vs. Zero, Hellcat vs. Zero; Mustang/P38/P-39/P-40/Spitfire/Hurricane vs. Me 109; all the same vs. Yak-3 and maybe I-16 Rata. Might see something vs. Sunderland since there were a few interesting fights along those lines.

No Mosquitos, Ju-88s, Stukas, He-219s, MiG-3s, or La-5/7s.

All it takes is money and obviously somebody got some together.

I'll try to get some lowdown over the weekend and fill you in, assuming everyone isn't off filming.

As an aside, our P-40 was painted up in British desert camoflague for a Tom Cruise Movie and it looks great!

- Greg

[Trexx]

Words cannot convey how utterly delighted I am to hear about this!

Thank you Greg! My hat is off to you and all the dedicated folks there at Chino. You're the vanguard of historic preservation.
...for the coolest stuff in the world!
[8D]

[GregP]

Thanks Trexx, but the guys who are the vanguard are the Museum Staff such as Steve, Stevie and John Hinton, John and Ed Maloney, Mark Foster, Chris Fahey, and others that set the plans, find the planes, and give us the aiframes to work on.

I'm a volunteer, and haven't contributed very much except some sheet metal, a few tools and a LOT of enthusiasm. There is no shortage of that ...

Steve Hinton's film contacts offer him the opportunity to film the aircraft on many occasions. He acts as flying director on films and pilot of many. It's probably an interesting job, but I wouldn't know myself. I can relate that Steve is almost universally happy, so it can't be all that bad flying for a living.

Or, he's naturally happy ... In any case, the museum is a lot of fun coupled with work.

An annual on the P-47, for example, entails removing the cowling and inspection panels, lubricating everything, changing 36 spark plugs, jacking it up and swinging the gear, verifying the strut and tire pressures, putting it back together, etc. and correcting anthing that is found to be wrong.

But, you DO get to work on a genuine WWII P-47 Thunderbolt, so it has its rewards.

When I think of the "heros" of the Planes of Fame, I think of Steve, Stevie, and John Hinton, Ed and John Maloney, Joel, Chris, and the people who have been there for YEARS doing the work and making it happen.

I'd guess all museums have these same type people around.

In any case, thanks for the sentiment! :)

Next time you're down here, why not go for a ride in a P-51? We can arrange it!

[Romantic Technofreak]

quote:An annual on the P-47, for example, entails removing the cowling and inspection panels, lubricating everything, changing 36 spark plugs, jacking it up and swinging the gear, verifying the strut and tire pressures, putting it back together, etc. and correcting anthing that is found to be wrong.

Hurry up, Greg and crew, to get it back into the air for the next crucial sortie...!:D

Regards, RT

[GregP]

Sorry guys, Everyone was at the Arizona airshow or off filming and there was NO ONE to ask ... so ... next weekend ... :)

[GregP]

Well, it's Sunday evening, Irvine, CA and I am watching "Showdown: Air Combat" ; P-38 vs. Japanese Zero, and the planes they are using are, for a large part, from Planes of Fame in Chino, CA.

Maybe THIS is what everyone is asking about? :)

So far, I have seen our P-38, Zero, FM-2, and a really pretty yellow T-6. I'm sure there will be more.

[Lightning]

Hi Greg,

I sure hope that show appears on German TV. I would LOVE to see it--even with German language dubbing.

I know that there is absolutely no substitute for the real thing. That's what makes Planes of Fame so priceless. I do, however, forsee a time when those grand old planes just will not be able to fly anymore--no matter how much time and money are spent. Its just inevitable. It will be then when state-of-the-art computer effects will save the day.

I recently saw a show on German TV called "Luftkampf Über Vietnam." It was an American-produced documentary. In it, WWII pilot Robin Olds (who died not long ago) was relating back to his WWII days flying P-38s. The scenes were computer generated, and they were spectacular.

I remember the days not too long ago when "stand-in" aircraft were used for the real thing. You know, AT-6s for Zeros, P-51s for Messersmitts, Lodestars for B-25s, etc., etc. Those movies were great (at least many of them), but it was hard to get by the fact that the airplanes used were just not all that realistic.

I applaud the movie-makers of that time for their wonderful efforts at providing realism with what was available, but it just wasn't the real thing. I believe that computer generation (admittedly also not the real thing) will make it possible to produce quality documentaries and feature films about vintage aviation and aircraft long after the real planes have been permanently grounded.

Regards,
Lightning