Movie stand-in aircraft ideas?

[zenrat]

Iron Eagle 27: The Real Story Of The Falklands War.
In which Argentina turns out to be backed by the Soviets, who intervene directly when they start losing, causing the USN to step in to save English butt (again), after which the whole business of US/USSR involvement is covered up to prevent the Cold War escalating...

Basically, the producers discover that it's possible to hire HMS Invincible for a limited period after her retirement, together with some surplus Spanish Navy AV-8As. The preposterous story line is concocted so that they can get as much generic footage as possible to use in future productions. All the Argentinians and Russians are played by British actors and all the Brits and Americans by US actors. Sharkey Ward is hired as a consulatant, but walks off the production 48 hours later, demanding that his name be taken off the credits. "Shooter Wade" is subsequently played by Eddie Murphy.

Invincible is 'dressed up' four different ways:
1. as herself,
2. as the 25 de Mayo*,
3. as the Soviet carrier "Leon Trotsky",
4. as the US carrier "Ambrose Burnside".

The poor AV-8As get repainted as follows:
1. Sea Harriers (blue and white with big Union Jacks on the fin and "ENGLISH NAVY" written on the sides)
2. RAF Harriers (green/brown cammo with Union Jacks)
3. Yak-38 Forgers (black, with huge red stars)
4. Unspecified USN fighters (white with black 'radar' nose cones, oversize stars'n'bars)

Argentine aircraft are played by privately-owned Gnats & Ajeets ("Skyhawks"), a single Draken** ("Mirage/Dagger"), a single F-100 ("Super Etendard"), L-39s ("Aermacchis") and a Piper Navaho ("Pucara"). All the Argentine aircraft have "ARGENTINE AIR FORCE" or "ARGENTINE NAVY" written on the sides in English.

British helicopters are played by Hueys and Jet Rangers.

*"Flying" scenes with Gnats and the "25 de Mayo" are done by carrying the aircraft around on deck, flying them close to the carrier (from land), and clever editing.
** There's a privately-owned Draken in the US IRL. It's appeared in several movies and TV shows.

What about Black Buck?  There is nothing even vaguely Vulcan that even the worst aviation illiterate would consider.  Do you just recast and have the mission carried out by B52s (leased 707's in olive drab).   

[Weaver]

What about Black Buck?  There is nothing even vaguely Vulcan that even the worst aviation illiterate would consider.  Do you just recast and have the mission carried out by B52s (leased 707's in olive drab).   

They've got a Piper Navaho playing a Pucara: I think you underestimate their ingenuity, while simultanously overestimating their scrupulousness.

Leased VC-10 playing a Victor? ("Hell Manny, they all begin with a "V", what kinda shmuck knows tha difference anyway?")

[PR19_Kit]

How about hauling a B-58 out of a museum somewhere?

'Hey, you've seen one delta bomber, you've seen 'em all!'

Or a Mirage IV even?

[Old Wombat]

Black Buck, as told, never existed, it was just a code & cover story for early, covert US involvement.



I wonder how many conspiracy theorists would take that idea & run with it?  

[Weaver]

Black Buck, as told, never existed, it was just a code & cover story for early, covert US involvement.



I wonder how many conspiracy theorists would take that idea & run with it?  

"Tell 'em it was a Vulcan with air-to-air refuelling. Lots of air-to-air refuelling."

"Don't be stupid, nobody will believe the Brits could pull off something like that!"



The conspiracy theorists will be looking at it in the same vein of them looking at the Moon landing and 1960s computers and going, "no waaaay....."

[NARSES2]

"Tell 'em it was a Vulcan with air-to-air refuelling. Lots of air-to-air refuelling."

"Don't be stupid, nobody will believe the Brits could pull off something like that!"

Ah but that was just a very succesful cover story floated by the RAF to cover the first operational use of their brand new, and highly secret long range bomber. So secret know one knows about it even today. Oh hang on a minute just heard someone at the front door.............................................

[jcf]

How about hauling a B-58 out of a museum somewhere?

'Hey, you've seen one delta bomber, you've seen 'em all!'

Or a Mirage IV even?

SAC couldn't afford to keep the B-58 flying, so I think that would be a budget
buster for a film. 

[jcf]

For the Black Buck Vulcans just use footage from RAF training films of Vulcans taking
off, preferably with Blue Steel, inflight night shots lifted from Thunderball and dodgy model FX ala "Concorde - Airport '79".


A Tubby Asparagus Production. 

[McColm]

Would the USAF lend them a B-2?

[jcf]

Would the USAF lend them a B-2?

No.

[scooter]

For the Black Buck Vulcans just use footage from RAF training films of Vulcans taking
off, preferably with Blue Steel, inflight night shots lifted from Thunderball and dodgy model FX ala "Concorde - Airport '79".


A Tubby Asparagus Production.

Isn't there a Vulcan cockpit floating around?  Use that for the in-cockpit shots, with just as dodgy exterior VFX

[PR19_Kit]

Isn't there a Vulcan cockpit floating around?  Use that for the in-cockpit shots, with just as dodgy exterior VFX

Quite a few of them, I 'flew' a sim flight in one last year, and DAMN cramped it  was too!

[jcf]

For the Black Buck Vulcans just use footage from RAF training films of Vulcans taking
off, preferably with Blue Steel, inflight night shots lifted from Thunderball and dodgy model FX ala "Concorde - Airport '79".
 
A Tubby Asparagus Production.

Isn't there a Vulcan cockpit floating around?  Use that for the in-cockpit shots, with just as dodgy exterior VFX

The "inflight night shots" I'm referring to are the exterior shots, not the cockpit shots.

[Mossie]

What about Black Buck?  There is nothing even vaguely Vulcan that even the worst aviation illiterate would consider.  Do you just recast and have the mission carried out by B52s (leased 707's in olive drab). 

Stock or model shots of Concorde, taken from a distance.

[The Wooksta!]

I wanted to do a TSR2 in aluminium with Russian stars and a Bort number as the latest Soviet bomber stolen by someone from Spectre in a fictional Bond film (by which I mean not one of the official Fleming books), obviously a late 60s/early 70s one but with George Lazenby in the role.