I love that film. And they made genuine flying replicas of those 1910 era planes, such as the Bristol Boxkite etc, which still exist at various museums.

A much older film worth a look for plane buffs is 'The Sound Barrier'. Made around 1950 it is a fictionalised account of the real story to go supersonic, featuring a fictional aircraft company it actually has great footage of the DH Comet, Supermarine Attacker, DH Vampire and several others. What makes this film unique is that the planes featured actually got star billing on the opening titles! You can pick it up very cheap on DVD (about £7) and its on a double bill with Hobsons Choice, which is not about planes but is a good John Mills movie anyway.

One I recorded a while back is called 'No Highway in the Sky'. This is a British film about an aircraft designer working at Farnborough who discovers that the super new airliner they're building is unsafe (spookily the film was made just before the Comet disasters!).
Unusually for this sort of film it stars Jimmy Stewart in the title role and although the airliner is a completely fictitious (but very good) model, it also has some great, and extremely rare, aerial footage of the Gloster Ace fighter prototype, well worth a look.

Ultra-lite: Fly Away Home...

The heart warming true-ish story of an eccentric unique Canadian (is there any other kind) who teaches Geese to fly and migrate using his ultra light to lead the formation migrating South. Anna Paquin...

Good we have way too many Geese that hang around all winter and terrorize our parks. Ever seen Geese attack a dog? How about a whole flock? They do and often put the run on dogs. Ever been chased by a Goose? Pushy buggers. They're mean - Joe Greene mean... gettin' wacked by the wings actually hurts... and don't let the lack of fangs fool you... that bill is a weapon sharp and honed as fine as any Damascus steel.

Victor K.

Avro Vulcan - Thunderball (James Bond)

Ok, so didn't make it famous, but it's featured quite a lot (considering the length of the film!)

Surely there has been an air crash movie with a DC-10 in it?

DC-9: Blazing Stewardesses

My missus adds this one. Mid-70's? Map-cap romp with Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo) Munster where anything goes for this flight crew. Not a great or even good movie says "She who must be obeyed and collects speeding tickets" but it made her want to get on those big lovely, shiney old silver birds and see the world.

Victor K.

it was a B29, according to this...

Dennis Hopper and Michael J. Pollard (Doc Tesla) lead a crew of misfit Vietnam veterans highly trained in psychological warfare and armed with a B29 equipped as a flying pirate TV station creating havoc for the broadcast networks and authorities as they fly the country on a crusade to bring radical philosophies and classic audiovisuals to a conservative and media brainwashed viewing public.

really great flick.
relevent, even.

we've all got flying tv stations, now. (well, those of us with modems, and youtube et al.)

F-117 The Philadelphia experiment.

AV8 Harrier, true Lies, destroying the Keys highway, awesome...

Dont know why i didnt think of this earlier, what about

Grumman G-21A (Grumman Goose) - Tales of the Gold Monkey

Thats right, the madcap antics of Jake Cutter in that 80's show. Cutters Goose helped me fall in love with seaplanes. It used to come on right after the Susan Anton show (Rooowrr). Cant remember the name of the show but i sure remember her.

Originally posted by HowlrunnerIV

Broken Arrow was actually (wait for it) the B3! go back and look at the model and listen to the dialogue...

Really?
Damn!!
Still can't get that SR-71 movie..
All I can remember is one general used to keep on lamenting to the pilot that "these planes are made of plastic!! you can't see them!"..

I am really surprised nobody has mentioned the P-51 and Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun." I get goosebumps every time I see the "Cadillac of the Sky" scene.

Also, the F4U Corsairs in the TV show "Black Sheep" are pretty sexy too.

[edit on 26-9-2006 by jsaber802]

Originally posted by V Kaminski
I can't recall the aircraft but I do remember a movie called "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" about a London to Paris race.... British with Terry Thomas I think. Funny as can be... mid to late '60's? Saw it at a drive-in so a very long time ago. Even worse the theme song is infectious - those who know it will be plagued by that tune in their noggins... viral.

They go uppity up-up, they do down, diddly, down, down...

Love that film. Terry Thomas: "Blast!" The bit I always remembered after seeing it as a Saturday morning matinee on regional telly was Terry (Lord/Sir somerthing or other) getting stuck on the train after "flying" the Channel at night. Also Gert "Goldfinger" Frobe playing the pride of the German army.

Of course the film ends with BAC Lightnings making the Paris run in 7 minutes in formation (or not at all: Channel Fogged in, Europe Cut Off!)

Jeez I'm gettin' old. Hank Fonda

You must be, I watched the George Clooney re-make!

Originally posted by skychief
I believe that you are talking about the movie D.A.R.Y.L. It was a pretty cheesy 80's movie about a robot/android little boy.

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.

That was embarrassing. I know the director personally...

Fairchild C-82 Can't forget "The Flight of the Phoenix" the original

SR-71 "Final Approach"

MD-500 Magnum PI




[edit on 26-9-2006 by Madmaxb]

Can't see these two in the list so....

Airwolf - Bell 222
Blue Thunder - Aerospitale Gazelle (made over with an Apache-type canopy)

TV Series J.A.G. - Aurora Spyplane :

Cant remember what the episode was called but one of the characters Harm joined the C.I.A and got to fly an Aurora spyplane on a recon mission over North Korea where he nearly got shot down after the scramjet malfunctioned, but as usual harm saved the day and managed to restart the engines before he got blow out of the sky by a North Korea missile. Cool episode. His boss even joked that it could fly it to the moon and back.

Since Space Shuttles and helicopters are being used in this post which stretches the word 'Planes' in 'Movies that made planes famous' I submit:

RXM-1 in Rocketship X-M

Concorde - Carry On Emannuelle
??? - Buck Rodgers

i would say Alive made planes really cool

Originally posted by Guerilla

i would say Alive made planes really cool

Fairchild F-27