The awards—produced to benefit the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy—were established in 2003 to honor “people who have made significant contributions to aviation, including entrepreneurs, innovators, industry leaders, astronauts, record breakers, pilots who have become celebrities and celebrities who have become pilots,” according to a release.

Gulfstream’s Mark Burns

Industry leader Burns—a 40-plus-year veteran of Gulfstream—joined the company in 1983 as a CAD operator and worked in several areas, including engineering and customer support, prior to his promotion to president in July 2015. Gulfstream sits on the cusp of FAA type certification on the G700 and G800, pending the completion of the process by the agency. Burns, a Savannah, Georgia, native, also serves as a vice president for parent company General Dynamics.

Burns was honored with the Lifetime Aviation Industry Award.

FLYING’s Fred George

George began his connection with aviation in his earliest years, when his father—a naval officer and private pilot—sat him in the back of a BT-13 Vultee on his mother’s lap for a flight around the San Fernando Valley in California. That sparked a life with his eyes pointed toward the skies. After graduating from UCLA, George became a Naval aviator in 1971, flying the F-4 Phantom and making more than 300 carrier landings. He flew corporate after leaving the Navy and turned to aviation journalism in the 1980s—a path he continues to pursue with his contributions (again) to FLYING Magazine as its senior business aviation editor. Over the past 40 years, he’s flown and reported on more than 230 different aircraft.

George was honored as a 2024 inductee into Living Legends of Aviation.

• READ MORE: Living Legends of Aviation

Other Honorees

Noted for their contributions to the industry and greater good of aviation, the following people were also feted at the event:

• Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, 2024 inductee
• Steve Hinton, 2024 inductee
• Marc Parent, 2024 inductee
• Laurans Mendelson, Kenn Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award
• Kyle Clark, Eren Ozman Aviation Entrepreneur of the Year Award
• Linden Blue, Dr. Sam B. Williams Technology Award
• Lance Toland, Freedom of Flight Award
• Lauren Sánchez, Elling Halvorson Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award

The post Gulfstream’s Mark Burns, <i>FLYING’s</i> Fred George Inducted Into Living Legends of Aviation appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

My family did this when I was growing up with the ornaments reflecting our hobbies and pursuits at the time. Today, if you look at my tree, you will see a collection of ornaments reflecting athletics, music, and, of course, aviation. The latter was often the most difficult to come by, because when I began my aviation career there weren’t many ornaments geared toward pilots beyond Santa’s sleigh and round globes with an image of an airplane. Oh, how that has changed! If you want to add some aviation flair to your tree, here are a few from my collection.

Hallmark Keepsake: Sky’s the Limit Collection

Hallmark launched the Keepsake line of ornaments in 1973. The designs are based on familiar characters from the entertainment industry, popular hobbies, and cultural icons. If a designer can dream it up, it can likely be created in resin and displayed on a tree. Disney characters and golf were big at first.

In the late 1990s, the Sky’s the Limit collection appeared. Vintage aircraft came first, including a Curtiss Jenny, the Spirit of St. Louis, GeeBee R-1 and Super Sportster Model Z, Stinson Reliant, Spartan Model 7-W Executive, Ercoupe, Howard Hughes’ H-1 Racer, Travelair Model R Mystery ship, etc. They look more like miniature models with detail so exquisite your tree will resemble the vintage parking area of EAA AirVenture.

It is not just nostalgic designs that get the nod. In 2012, the venerable Cessna Skyhawk appeared in ornament form.

This year’s Sky’s the Limit offering is the red-and-black Little Bulldog Racer available for $19.99 from Hallmark stores. The ornaments are limited edition, and if you have missed a few over the years, check out eBay—you may be able to find them there. Another place to check is the Ornament Mall.

Hallmark’s Keepsake line includes a fair smattering of space and science fiction. Popular franchises, such as Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, and Star Trek are represented. Just think, this could be the year you add USS Enterprise 1701 with the big green hand holding it per episode 31 from Star Trek the original series (Who Mourns for Adonais?) to your seasonal conifer.

Sporty’s Pilot Shop

Sporty’s Wright Bros. Collection offers a selection of ornaments leaning more toward die-cast models, including a Piper Aztec, Cessna 172, Cirrus, Piper Cherokee, and  TWA Super Connie, along with vintage military designs of a B-17, SR-71, and P-51 Mustang. There is even an ornament of an FBO.

Annual Sporty’s Ornament

Since 1985, Sporty’s Pilot Shop has released a limited edition crystal ornament. According to Doug Ranly, director of aviation products and marketing, the design is chosen annually by customers who send in suggestions on what they would like to see. Eventually Sporty’s makes the call, and the design goes into production months ahead of the holidays. It can be a challenge to choose the one to make as there are so many suggestions, according to Ranly.

“Sometimes they ask for classics, other times homebuilt. We’ve even had one that was a helicopter, an R-44,” Ranly said. “This year the Aeronca Champ was selected. The Aeronca Champ has local history in Cincinnati, so there is a bit of an emotional attachment to it for us.”

The ornaments are made from custom-cut crystal and vary in shape, from a circle or oval to a bell or snowflake, and they often feature beveled edges. There is a hole drilled for the ribbon, and the aircraft design and year are etched into the surface. Ranly said the exception was 2013 when Sporty’s was giving away a RV-12 as a sweepstakes airplane.

“As we were giving away the RV-12, we decided to make it the sweepstakes airplane,” he said. “During the course of making the ornament and putting the RV-12 on it, nowhere on the ornament was the word ‘Christmas’ or the year. Some people complained. Other people recognized it as the ultimate collectible.”

Collectible is the key word here, as a finite number of ornaments are made for a limited time. “Once we run out, we run out as they are limited edition,” Ranly said. “We have some people who go to eBay looking for the ones they miss. Every year there is a new one in a special box.”

Make Your Own

Hot Wings, die-cast toy aircraft that come with a piece of foam rubber that resembles a piece of runway, are easily converted to ornaments. Simply add a little bit of strategically attached fishing line and an ornament hook and you are good to go. Hot Wings are used by CFIs and pilots as demo tools, so they tend to be rather detailed. For example, on the model of the Lockheed Martin X-33 suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicle (Lockheed canceled the project in 2001), the famous Lockheed skunk appears on the tail fins.

For the full effect, make sure to paint the year on the homemade ornament because a few years from now it may have fond memories of that Christmas.

The post You Can Wing It with Aviation-Themed Ornaments appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The pilot straps into his de Havilland Vampire fighter, is cleared for takeoff and heads toward his home field, RAF Lakenheath. The night flight will take about an hour and he has plenty of fuel. 

The weather is overcast with fog but our protagonist is instrument-rated and current so all is well—until an electrical failure renders certain critical instruments useless and leaves the pilot unable to navigate to his destination without assistance.

From here The Shepherd, a classic short story from prolific English author Frederick Forsyth, grows increasingly riveting. It is a wonderful aviation tale that hits close to home for pilots, especially those who have had doubts regarding fuel, the weather, or their aircraft’s equipment during a long cross-country flight.

Forsyth, who brought us thrillers including The Day of the Jackal and The Odessa File, has a way with suspense, and The Shepherd draws you in and does not let go. For years, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has played a reading of the story on Christmas Eve. I stumbled upon this tradition a decade ago and have been hooked ever since.

You can listen to the CBC reading here. A screen adaptation by writer and director Iain Softley, starring John Travolta and Ben Radcliffe, begins streaming on Disney+ today. You can watch the trailer here. 

The post Aviation Thriller ‘The Shepherd’ Will Boost Any Pilot’s Holiday Runup appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

James William Buffett died on the evening of September 1, surrounded by “family, friends, music, and dogs,” according to a statement released on social media on Saturday. The cause of death, as reported by TMZ, was lymphoma, as the result of advanced skin cancer. He left behind his wife Jane, two daughters, and one son—and a comprehensive catalog of songs, books, and businesses that embody the “Margaritaville” lifestyle captured by his most famous record, of that title.

Buffett was born on Christmas Day, 1946, and after fits and starts that included an initial failure to break into Nashville’s music industry, he found his way to the Florida Keys and a lifestyle that would inspire his oeuvre. He was introduced to flying by a college friend—but with little extra cash to spend on lessons, he put flying on hold. Once he’d tasted success, he pursued his dream of becoming a pilot. He toured using his Dassault Falcon 50 and later Falcon 900 (he was typed in both), and he owned and flew a succession of airplanes and amphibs—no surprise—including a Grumman Albatross, the Hemisphere Dancer, that was a visitor to airshows such as Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo and EAA AirVenture. His other aircraft included a Boeing Stearman, Cessna Citation 500 series, Cessna Caravan, and his first airplane, a Lake Renegade named “Lady of the Waters.”

He had but one recorded accident (NTSB: BFO94LA151). On August 25, 1994, he was flying his Grumman G-44A Widgeon near Nantucket, Massachusetts. On the takeoff run, on the step, he reported a swell approaching and before he could reduce power, the seaplane veered to the right. The Widgeon hit the water and nosed over. Buffett fortunately received only minor injuries and was the only person aboard. At the time, he had nearly 1,500 hours total time, with 191 hours in the make and model.

The post Musician and Pilot Jimmy Buffett Flies West appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Lego has even made several name-brand representations, including the Learjet, Sopwith Camel, and the Sud Aviation Caravelle. None, however, are likely to excite LEGO-enthusiast pilots as much as the company’s latest offering, Concorde.

• READ MORE: Concorde in Photos

One can only imagine how many interpretations of the iconic supersonic airliner LEGO fans of all ages have constructed, but this latest version probably is what many of them wanted.

The 2,083-piece set is a scale model of the historic aircraft that builders can pose on its display stand in various flight modes. The set also offers detailed landing gear, a tilting nose section, and a removable roof showing the cabin interior.

Built in the 1960s as part of a joint venture between the United Kingdom and France, the real Concorde could cruise at about twice the speed of sound, or Mach 2. This impressive pace cut travel times between the U.S. and Europe down to reasonable lengths. Flights from Paris to New York took about three and a half hours, though one of the airplanes set a record of just under three hours.

The Lego model is 41.5 inches long, 17 inches wide, and more than 6 inches high. Sets will be available starting September 7 at a price of $199.99.

The post LEGO Group Gets Aviation Fans’ Attention with Unveiling of Concorde Set appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

That may be difficult to envision, given the release of the Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, which has been described as a comedy served up on a platter of pink. The film opens nationwide Friday.

Barbie the Role Model

The iconic plastic doll was introduced to America in 1959. The toy was created by Ruth Handler, who with her husband, Elliot, owned Mattel Toys. The Handlers had a daughter, and Ruth noted that all the dolls on the market were babies, as if to encourage little girls to become mothers. She pitched the idea of an adult doll that could have different careers. The first dolls were fashion models, secretaries, and teachers—then Barbie, like her human counterparts, started expanding her horizons. 

For girls who wanted these careers outside of the home, seeing Barbie do it was inspiring.

Full disclosure: I have never owned a Barbie. The closest I came is a Tribute to Valor doll (collectible) that is a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP). It was a gift from a friend a few years back. I preferred to play with space toys or play pilot from the roof of my fort in the backyard. My sisters played with them, however, and I recall what a big day it was when my younger sister received the Barbie Friendship playset, which was an airliner.

The playsets were basically plastic and vinyl boxes that stored the dolls, but when opened were stages for play, such as Barbie’s Camper, Dream House, etc.

The Barbie Friendship was made to look like a United Airlines Boeing jet. It was white on the outside with red-and-blue stripes. When you opened it, it looked like an airliner in silhouette, with  the nose and tail. The play stage inside is a galley because in the 1970s Barbie was a stewardess. 

Fast-forward to the 1980s. Around this time, the term stewardess was dropped in favor of the gender-neutral flight attendant, and more women entered the cockpit as pilots. Airline Pilot Barbie, wearing a uniform with a tie and cap, is released. 

Later versions of Airline Pilot Barbie came with a doll-sized roller bag as an accessory. On the back of the doll packaging it reads: “Want to be an airline pilot?” then provides tips like “study hard and graduate from college,” “Fly at least 35 hours” (we are to assume Barbie trained in a Part 141 program), “Pass tests writing and talking about airplanes,” “be at least 21 years old,” and “Prove you can fly alone, at night, across the country, and using on the instrument dials in the airplane.” Obviously, it is an oversimplification of what it takes to be a professional pilot, but perfect for the target age group of 6-year-olds.

The box also has a list of facts about aviation, including this note: “About 2 percent of all the commercial pilots in the world are women.”

Barbie soon obtained a jet of her own that came in purple, pink, blue, or yellow. The jet was usually sold separately.

Mattel also did a dual release: Barbie as a pilot and Ken, her gentleman friend (no one is really sure what the real story is about their relationship) joined her as a flight attendant.

Barbie Joins STEM

In 2001, the National Science Foundation introduced the STEM program (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as a means of getting more girls interested in careers in the sciences. The designers of Barbie quickly pounced on this new market.

In addition to Airline Pilot Barbie, Air Force Pilot Barbie and Army Officer Barbie made the scene, as did Astrophysicist Barbie, complete with a plastic telescope, and Astronaut Barbie with a plastic space helmet and glow-in-the-dark space rocks. A Black version of astronaut Barbie was also released. Today, Mattel produces the dolls in multiple skin tones, eye and hair colors, hairstyles, and body types.

Although Mattel will not release the actual sales numbers, in 2021 it was noted that more than 86 million Barbie dolls have been sold around the world.

The post Barbie’s Reach to the Sky appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Well, kind of. The Meta founder and CEO, whom Musk recently challenged to a cage fight, among other taunts, obtained a student pilot certificate in March, according to FAA records. If Zuckerberg is serious about becoming a fully certified pilot, he would join a short list of Silicon Valley skippers—one that already includes Musk.

No wonder he doesn't have time to post on threads any morehttps://t.co/1284YsJ5QT

— Scott Manley (@DJSnM) July 18, 2023

Zuckerberg has reached great heights in his time with Meta, building the company into a multibillion dollar powerhouse. But to reach new altitudes as a pilot, he has a ways to go.

The student pilot certificate he secured is actually quite easy to obtain. So long as the prospective student pilot is eligible—at least 16 years of age and able to read, write, and speak English—the most arduous part of the process is getting a medical certificate through an Aviation Medical Examiner office.

Now, Zuckerberg will need to hit the books and get started on his flight hours requirement with a certified flight instructor. On average, students fly around 55 hours before securing a private pilot license, which is what the billionaire tech mogul would likely target. But it could take him as little as 35 hours, depending on the flight school he selected during the student pilot application process.

Should he obtain full certification, he would join a small group of tech executives who have already gotten their wings.

Open AI CEO Sam Altman, who received his pilot license in 2010 per The Information, is one of them. So too is Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, a licensed helicopter pilot. Stripe CEO Patrick Collison is also in the club, as is his brother and co-founder John, noted as a frequent flier.

But the most famous chief executive aviator is, of course, SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter CEO Musk. The mercurial business mogul no longer flies since he’s too tied up with work, he once told The Washington Post. But in a 2018 interview with Business Insider, Musk said he owned three planes: a Piper Meridian single-engine turboprop, a two-engine Cessna Citation CJ2, and the high-velocity Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatros, which he said was the “most fun” of the bunch.

Despite his experience flying fighter jets—which he compared to Top Gun—Musk in 2020 ironically told a room full of Air Force pilots that the fighter jet’s era “has passed.” Still, the world’s richest man remains tethered to aviation through his work with SpaceX—and potentially Tesla down the line.

Zuckerberg would also join the ranks of celebrity pilots, some of whom are more surprising than others.

FLYING has covered Harrison Ford’s aviation achievements (and failures), Tom Cruise’s Top Gun-esque stunts, and John Travolta’s aircraft donations. But the names of A-list aces goes on and on.

Legendary musician Jimmy Buffett is an avid flier and the owner of six airplanes. Actress Hilary Swank learned to fly for her role as Amelia Earhart in 2009’s Amelia. And James Franco, who played World War I pilot Blaine Rawlings in 2006’s Flyboys, was so into the role that he got certified in real life. Other famous fliers include Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, and Kurt Russell.

Though he just launched Threads, a social media app to rival Twitter, Zuckerberg should have plenty of time and money to put into his own pilot certification process. And having already poked the bear in more ways than one, he may even be able to goad Musk out of retirement.

The post Mark Zuckerberg Looks to Join Circle of Celebrity Pilots appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Two Boeing engineers—Dillon Ruble and Garrett Jensen—who are second- and third-generation Boeing employees, now hold the Guinness World Record for flying a handmade paper airplane. The pair, who are based in St. Louis, set the new record in Crown Point, Indiana, in December of 2022.

Record-Breaking Flight

The Ruble and Jensen design flew 290 feet, which, for perspective, is slightly less than the length of a U.S. soccer field.

Ruble and Jensen both studied aerospace and mechanical engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Their design broke the previous record of 252 feet, 7 inches, set by a team from Malaysia and South Korea in April 2022.

The previous record was set in 2012 by Joe Ayoob and paper airplane designer John M. Collins, who flew a paper airplane a distance of 226 feet, 10 inches.

It Takes a Village

During the paper airplane distance competition, which was held at an indoor football stadium, Ruble and Jensen were supported by team members Nathan Erickson, Jeremy O’Brien, and Pat Neiman.

Their jobs ranged from setting up the table to calibrating and properly configuring equipment to taking accurate measurements. Flags were used to mark the distance of previous records. Glen Boren and Fire Chief Mark Baumgardner assisted in measuring the distance.

The Flight, By the Numbers

The winning design was inspired by hypersonic aerospace vehicles. According to Jensen, the pair used A4-sized paper, which is 8 by 11 inches, in the heaviest weight they could find, because the heavier the paper the greater the momentum when it is thrown. They spent several hundred hours developing the design and practicing the throw.

It takes more than 20 minutes to accurately fold the record-breaking paper airplane design, which Ruble noted, “Is a little different from your traditional ‘fold in half, fold the two corners to the middle line down the middle.’ It’s pretty unique in that aspect. It’s definitely an unusual design.”

According to Ruble, the airplane is named Mach 5 because hypersonic vehicles travel at speeds over Mach 5, which is five times the speed of sound.

On the day of the attempt, they achieved the record on the third attempt with Ruble throwing.

Jensen, ever the engineer, explained the math of the event, saying, “We found the optimal angle is about 40 degrees off the ground. Once you’re aiming that high, you throw as hard as possible. That gives us our best distance. It took simulations to figure that out. I didn’t think we could get useful data from a simulation on a paper airplane. Turns out, we could.”

The post Boeing Engineers Set New Distance Record With Paper Airplane appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Here’s a run down of holiday favorites the staff of FLYING are looking forward to watching this year.

Die Hard (1988)

“It’s the ultimate Christmas movie, a ‘feel good’ love story about commitment, sacrifice, and family. Kidding. It’s a really good action movie with a great American hero.”

– Craig Fuller, chief executive officer

Home Alone (1990)

“Technically the family flies to Paris and leaves Kevin at home.”

– Preston Holland, chief operating officer

“Best holiday movie, period. I don’t think there is a single person in an airport that doesn’t see someone running and immediately relate it to the film. Or, when you are late to a flight and running, you are subconsciously playing out the scene in your mind. Also, never put your boarding passes next to napkins at a dinner table with pizza and milk. You might accidentally throw one away after a cup of milk spills, mistake it for a napkin, and then not realize your child is missing at the gate.”

– Andy Welch, director of ad operations 

Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (1992)

“The Home Alone franchise brought so much delight to my family when the boys were in grade school, but this sequel is my favorite. We all could relate to the way young Kevin (Macauley Culkin) loses his family in crowded O’Hare Airport and winds up getting on the wrong flight— bound for New York—after following a guy who sort of looks like his father and is similarly dressed. It holds up well today.”

– Jonathan Welsh, senior travel writer

Christmas Crash (2009)

“Here’s one many folks might have missed, but fans of Michael Madsen dating back to Reservoir Dogs can never get enough of him. He and Alexandra Paul play a couple on the edge of divorce when they wind up taking a pleasure flight in a very cool Cessna 180 on floats (or was that a 185?). The airplane suffers a failure and goes down in a lake. The romantic drama takes off.”

– Jonathan Welsh, senior travel writer

Christmas Takes Flight (2021) 

“From RomDram to RomCom: This under-the-radar flick actually has lots of themes and scenes for pilots and aviation fans, from airline operations to women in aviation and flying family legacies. We have all known or at least heard about the challenges that family-run aviation companies face. This is a sweet Hollywood slant on the topic.”

 – Jonathan Welsh, senior travel writer

Hook (1991)

“Because flying like Peter Pan has always been my personal dream, and Christmas in London *is* magical.’’

– Julie Boatman, Editor-in-Chief

The Rocketeer (1991)

“The Rocketeer tops my list of holiday movies because it reminds me of my father. Dad went west years ago, and I think of him every day. When the movie came out I was in the early stages of my flying career, and eager to share my adventures with my father who shared my interest in aviation and aviation history. The movie is set in 1938, when my father was a small boy who was already enamored with all things flying. We had great fun identifying the aircraft in the movie such as the Curtiss Jenny and the GeeBee. We both loved the mixing of real people such as Howard Hughes and fictional characters such as Cliff Secord to tell the story. We often watched the movie at family gatherings, stopping to identify the airplanes in the scenes.

For us, the star of the movie is the zeppelin. When my father was a little boy he was playing in a creek when the Hindenburg flew overhead. A man wearing a bluecoat with three gold stripes on the wrist and a white cap—presumably a member of the crew shouted down to my father, ‘How is the fishing?’ in heavily accented German. It was a life-changing event for Dad. Neither one of us liked the zeppelin ‘playing the heavy’ in the movie, but we did have enthusiastic debates as to how the great airship made it to Hollywood without attracting attention, as the winds of war were starting to churn.”

– Meg Godlewski, technical editor

The Aviator (2004)

“I know there are pilots who are critical of the movie for violating the laws of physics and flying, but I am not one of them. The 2004 film is rife with vintage aviation and it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, who, I maintain, is aesthetically pleasing enough to give him a pass on the technical details.  It was released around Christmas and I watched it with the friend I spent the holidays with. We both worked at an aviation magazine and had done a special issue on airplanes in the movies called ‘Lights, Camera, Airplane,’ and we’d learned a lot about Howard Hughes and his contributions to both the film and aerospace industry.”

– Meg Godlewski, technical editor

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)

“Where would they be without Rudolph to light the way? Everyone needs a leader. Still love this and watching Frosty every year.”

– Roxanne Sweazey, senior business development manager

Love Actually (2003)

“Love Actually is absolutely on my annual holiday rotation each year, much to my husband’s dismay. It’s got a little bit of everything—a dancing prime minister, a kid in a lobster costume, heaps of unrequited love, a grieving widow trying to find his footing, peppy Christmas songs, and the kind of marital discord and subterfuge that gnaws a hole through your stomach. Just when you think you can’t take anymore, the movie hits you with that scene at Heathrow Airport of families reuniting. It puts a lump right in your throat. And isn’t the journey back home to a safe landing what it’s all about? This year, I’ll be suggesting we pair this movie with a ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ chaser as an emotional palate cleanse.”

– Kimberly Johnson, managing editor

The post <i>FLYING’s</i> Favorite Holiday Movies appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Besides, don’t you want to be prepared when your hangar neighbors and other airport friends start debating over the best aviation movies ever made? Failing to catch this feature would be like entering a discussion of aviation literature without having read Fate Is The Hunter.

There are a number of reasons it took me a long time to see the movie, from the heating system failing at my local cinema the first time I tried to watch it, on a very cold evening, to the anticipated discomfort of watching a story that covers a difficult period in our nation’s history. And we already know how this one ends

Still, there are so many more good reasons to see the show than there are good excuses for missing it. It has strong acting and direction, wardrobe and makeup seemed spot-on, and there were enough interesting aircraft—real ones—on screen to keep planespotters very busy. Indeed, after speaking with the film’s aerial coordinator, Kevin LaRosa II, also known as K2, I realized Devotion is an event every aviation enthusiast should experience.

LaRosa is vice president of aerial film production for Helinet Aviation Services and has shot compelling airborne footage for a wide range of films from the low-altitude sweeps over Napa Valley vineyards in the comedy Wine Country to the most exciting air combat and ground attack sequences in Top Gun: Maverick. But he says he has particularly strong feelings about the work he and his colleagues performed for Devotion.

• READ MORE: Pilots Will Love Top Gun: Maverick—It’s a Lot More Real

He is quick to point out that this film differs from Maverick in many ways. “The two films are apples and oranges, really,” he says. “Devotion is very gritty. It takes place during wartime and it’s a true story. It pulls the viewer in.”

Then there are the airplanes. Like some of our favorite character actors, a squad of vintage iron—including a handful of Vought Corsairs, two Grumman F8F Bearcats, a Douglas Skyraider, and a MiG-15—make a huge contribution to the film’s authenticity. Their pilots, including Steve Hinton and John Maloney, who have vast experience in movie flying as well as Unlimited Class air racing, had no trouble getting close to the camera, LaRosa says.

“There are lots of big radial engines in your face,” he says. A few times they had to back off a bit, like while shooting the Skyraider’s front end in flight, giving that rare aircraft’s many fans a good look at its legendary Wright R-3350 Duplex Cyclone radial. “Whatever electrical energy that engine was generating would start to blow out the cameras if we flew too close,” he says.

The memorable footage came from a camera mounted on the tail of LaRosa’s Aero Vodochody L-39 CineJet. The jet got lots of action chasing warbirds while filming them at speed. For sweeping shots of fighters flying past, he filmed from a helicopter. The mix was fairly even between jet and chopper, with “a little bit of drone” here and there, LaRosa says.

The film uses CGI when necessary, such as when director J.D. Dillard needed to show a flight of Skyraders but had just one real aircraft on hand. “But the closeups are real airplanes,” LaRosa says. “J.D. made great decisions on which scenes needed to use real aircraft.” So the Corsairs dog-fighting with the MiG? Those are real.

There was also some trickery, such as placing actors in the rear seat of a Hawker Sea Fury to enhance the impression that they are actually flying their fighters. Too bad we don’t get to see the rest of that machine on screen. 

Devotion is also about far more than airplanes. It delves into prejudice, complicated race relations, human relationships during war and peace, and the social norms of the mid-20th century America. The story begins in early 1950 when Lieutenant Thomas Hudner (Glen Powell) transfers to the Navy’s VF-32 squadron, which is training at Quonset Point Naval Air Station in Rhode Island. The squadron commander pairs him with Ensign Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors), the unit’s only African American pilot. They begin a long, sometimes difficult process of building a professional and personal relationship.

The film’s intimacy makes it more than an aviation extravaganza. The camera brings the audience very close most of the time, whether the scene involves a heart-to-heart conversation between Jesse and his wife, Daisy, or Jesse and Tom in the squadron locker room, or pilots running their hands slowly across the fabric-covered control surfaces of their aircraft during a preflight walk-around.

We find that the characters in this undertold story often are as compelling as the airplanes they fly. Even the Skyraider’s giant 3350 does not eclipse their performances.

This may be a busy time of year, but try to make room in your schedule for this one.

The post <i>Devotion</i> Is Worth Watching If You Haven’t Already—Or Even If You Have appeared first on FLYING Magazine.