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James A Michener John Moll Steve Berry Biography & Facts

Various real-world aircraft have long made significant appearances in fictional works, including books, films, toys, TV programs, video games, and other media. History The first aviation film was the 1911 William J. Humphrey–directed two-reeler, The Military Air-Scout, shot after an Aero Club of America flying meet at Long Island, New York. The stunt flying was done by Lt. Henry Arnold, "who picked up 'a few extra bucks' for his services" and "became so excited about movies that he almost quit the Army to become an actor." The years between World War I and World War II saw extensive use of aircraft, a new technology, in film, a new medium. In the early 1920s, Hollywood studios made dozens of now-obscure "aerial Westerns" with leads such as Tom Mix and Hoot Gibson, where the role of the horse was taken by aircraft, or used aircraft as nothing more than vehicles for stunts to excite audiences. In 1926, the first "proper" aviation film was made; Wings is a story of two pilots who sign up to fly and fight in the First World War. Made with the cooperation of the United States' then-Department of War (a relationship that continues to this day), it used front-line military aircraft of the day such as the Thomas-Morse MB-3 and Boeing PW-9, flown by military pilots. Future U.S. Air Force generals Hap Arnold and Hoyt Vandenberg were among the military officers involved with the production: Arnold as a technical consultant and Vandenberg as one of the pilots. Wings was a box-office hit when it achieved general release in 1929 and went on to win the award for Best Production at the first Academy Awards. In Fascist Italy in the 1930s, aviation-themed films were used as propaganda tools to complement the massed flights led by Italo Balbo in promoting the regime domestically and abroad. One such film was the most successful Italian film of the pre-World War II era; Luciano Serra pilota (Luciano Serra, Pilot) was inextricably linked to the Fascist government via Mussolini's son Vittorio, who was the driving force behind the film's production. The film, set between 1921 and the Italo-Abyssinian War, was used to compare the allegedly moribund state of aviation in pre-Fascist Italy with the purported power of the Regia Aeronautica and Italian aviation in general in the 1930s. However, by the time that Luciano Serra pilota was shown at the 1938 Venice Film Festival, the link between aviation and Fascism had already been firmly established in the minds of the Italian people through widespread depictions of aircraft in a variety of media. For example, there was an entire branch of the Futurist Art movement devoted to aviation, known as Aeropittura ("Aeropainting"). While many of the Aeropittura works were devoted to flight rather than aircraft per se, some did celebrate Italian aviation exploits, such as Alfredo Ambrosi's Il volo su Vienna (The Flight over Vienna) which depicted in Futurist style the World War I exploit of Gabriele d'Annunzio; although the city of Vienna is shown in abstract in accordance with the aims of Aeropittura – namely to show the dynamism and excitement of flight – the Ansaldo SVA aircraft are carefully and accurately rendered. The U.S. military controls whether its aircraft may be used for movie or video production. Requests for such use must be accompanied by the proposed production's script, allowing military officials to withhold aircraft when they believe the work will not portray the U.S. military in a sufficiently positive light. Because alternatives to using real military aircraft can be expensive, films that do not get U.S. military approval often do not get financed or made. Sean McElwee, writing for Salon.com, concluded of this problem, This is a prima facie case for de facto censorship...If the government wants to allow its equipment to be used by studios, it needs to grant access to anyone who wants to use it – that is the meaning of pluralism. The Pentagon fears that some of the movies may hurt the military's reputation and recruiting efforts. These concerns are legitimate, but it's more important that we allow John Stuart Mill's 'market place of ideas' to be a place for free trade, rather than favoring some over others. Aircraft have also appeared in television miniseries and series around the world. These include the American productions Twelve O'Clock High, Airwolf, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Sky King and Wings; the Australian series Big Sky, Chopper Squad and The Flying Doctors, and the miniseries The Lancaster Miller Affair; British shows such as Airline, Piece of Cake and Squadron, the Canadian series Arctic Air; JETS – Leben am Limit and Medicopter 117 – Jedes Leben zählt from Germany; and the Canadian–British–German co-production Ritter's Cove. A A-1 Skyraider In the 1953 James A. Michener novel The Bridges at Toko-ri, Douglas AD-1 Skyraiders fly RESCAP missions over a downed McDonnell F2H Banshee and Sikorsky HO3S-1 during the Korean War. In the 1954 film of the same name, the Banshee was replaced by a Grumman F9F Panther. Two privately owned Skyraiders depicted U.S. Air Force "Sandy" search-and-rescue escort aircraft in the 1991 film Flight of the Intruder. The Skyraider was among the many aircraft shown providing close air support during the First Battle of the Ia Drang Valley Campaign in Mel Gibson's 2002 film We Were Soldiers, based on the non-fiction book We Were Soldiers Once... And Young by retired Lieutenant General Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L. Galloway. The Skyraider appeared in the 2006 Werner Herzog film Rescue Dawn, which was based on the true story of German-American Naval aviator Dieter Dengler. After his Skyraider was shot down in 1966 over Laos, Dengler endured months of captivity and torture before he escaped and was rescued. The Skyraider is briefly shown in the 2022 Korean War drama film Devotion. A-6 Intruder The 1986 Stephen Coonts novel Flight of the Intruder is about two naval aviators who take their Grumman A-6 Intruder on an unauthorized bombing raid on Hanoi during the Vietnam War. It was made into a 1991 film of the same name. A-10 Thunderbolt II The A-10 Thunderbolt II is among the player-flyable aircraft in the 1989 video game U.N. Squadron. The aircraft is also featured in the 1989 video game A-10 Tank Killer. It has since appeared in the Ace Combat series and is a study-level aircraft in the combat flight simulator DCS world. In the 2005 film Jarhead, A-10s attack U.S. Marine forces in a friendly fire incident. Most incarnations of the Autobot Powerglide, who first appeared in Hasbro's Transformers toy line in 1985, transform into an A-10. The A-10 is featured in the 2007 Michael Bay movie Transformers, in a battle in Qatar between U.S. SOCCENT soldiers and the Decepticon Scorponok. In the 2009 film Terminator Salvation, several A-10s are sent to support the ground troops led by John Connor in the opening sequence of the film. Later, two Resistance A-10s are shot down when trying to intercept the machine.... Discover the James A Michener John Moll Steve Berry popular books. 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