In the 2004 movie "The Aviator", Leonard di Caprio plays the legendary Howard Hughes. It was great! This is NOT that movie.

Idly browsing through hulu.com last night, I spotted "The Aviator" (1985). I cracked open a beer and let it roll.

Christopher Reeve flies a Boeing Stearman 10 years before it was invented on a flight from Boise to Pasco with Rosanna Arquette and a few sacks of mail. Suddenly the Alps spring up in the way, and then an oil line comes loose and they lose all of the oil, which of course makes oil smoke come out of the exhaust. After surviving the crash landing, Superman gets attacked by wolves, then they crawl down a cliff where the little tramp from Executioner's Song breaks her leg. Salvation is at hand when Superman drags her down the river until they find a cabin in the woods, but the crazy old geezer chases them off with a gun, and then Superman gets attacked by wolves again. One of the other mail pilots flies out and rescues them. The credits roll.

Groan... I should have been drinking whiskey instead of beer, and lots of it.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/154788/the-aviator

You just described the plot of a book by Ernest Gann by the same name. Someone gave it to me years ago and I shuddered through it (on account of the writing and plot being so astonishingly crappy). I have heard the resounding raves about Fate is the Hunter, which I have never been tempted to pick up after reading The Aviator. I want to try it some day, and I will, but it is almost beyond belief that the same person who wrote "The Aviator" also produced something worth a damn. Pass that bottle over here.

Man, I watched about half of this yesterday and it was nearly unbearable. Decent flying scenes, but the screenplay was terrible.

1SeventyZ wrote:Man, I watched about half of this yesterday and it was nearly unbearable. Decent flying scenes, but the screenplay was terrible.

Me too, I was able to watch up until the wolf attack right after they crashed. Couldn't stomach the rest of it. Besides, I've flown the route from Boise to Pasco and it's not even close to that mountainous. Looks like it could've been shot in the Rockies or someplace besides where it was supposed to be set.

Student BCP wrote:

1SeventyZ wrote:Man, I watched about half of this yesterday and it was nearly unbearable. Decent flying scenes, but the screenplay was terrible.

Me too, I was able to watch up until the wolf attack right after they crashed. Couldn't stomach the rest of it. Besides, I've flown the route from Boise to Pasco and it's not even close to that mountainous. Looks like it could've been shot in the Rockies or someplace besides where it was supposed to be set.

Ya, I saw it too..movie left something to be desired. SBCP...you could find big mountains between Boise and Pasco..if you were lost!
It kind of reminds me of the movie Motherload with C.Heston..it starts out with some good flying in a Beaver, some fuel line problems for a landing on a river to fix, and then a flip into some cold lake water...after that, it just sucked!

denalipilot wrote:You just described the plot of a book by Ernest Gann by the same name. Someone gave it to me years ago and I shuddered through it (on account of the writing and plot being so astonishingly crappy). I have heard the resounding raves about Fate is the Hunter, which I have never been tempted to pick up after reading The Aviator. I want to try it some day, and I will, but it is almost beyond belief that the same person who wrote "The Aviator" also produced something worth a damn. Pass that bottle over here.

You'll like Fate is the Hunter. I guess it's a good thing I didn't go out and buy his other books!