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Blue Thunder
''Blue Thunder'' is a 1983 American action thriller film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Gordon Carroll, Phil Feldman, and Andrew Fogelson and directed by John Badham. The Blue Thunder helicopter itself did exist as two copies of modified French helicopter " Aérospatiale Gazelle", on which the cockpit was installed in the style of AH-64. A spin-off television series, also called '' Blue Thunder'', ran for 11 episodes in 1984. Plot Frank Murphy is a Metropolitan Police Department air support division pilot and troubled Vietnam War veteran with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His newly assigned observer is novice Richard Lymangood. The two patrol Los Angeles at night and give assistance to police forces on the ground. Murphy is instructed to attend a sunrise demonstration in the Mojave Desert at "Pinkville" and is selected to pilot an advanced helicopter, informally called ''"The Special" '' and nicknamed ''"Blue Thunder"'', during an evaluation exercise. It is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Thunder (helicopter)
''Blue Thunder'' is the helicopter in the 1980s American titular film and television series. The aircraft itself was a modified Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter. To film ''Blue Thunder'', the producers employed two examples of the French-made Aérospatiale SA-341G Gazelle light utility helicopter, serial numbers 1066 and 1075, both built in 1973. After the film and TV series was made, both helicopters were sold to Michael E. Grube, an aviation salvage collector in Clovis, New Mexico. Sometime after, around 1985, one of the helicopters had a small role in the pilot episode of ''MacGyver'', which featured the helicopter in a different paint job, the microphones were removed, the video surveillance package removed leaving empty mounting pylons in place, and the number on the side being changed from "02" to "51". Grube then leased s/n 1066 (ex-) to a film company that was shooting ''Amerika'', an ABC television mini-series about Soviet occupation of the United States; the heli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aérospatiale Gazelle
The Aérospatiale Gazelle (company designations SA 340, SA 341 and SA 342) is a French five-seat helicopter, commonly used for light transport, scouting and light attack duties. It is powered by a single Turbomeca Astazou turbine engine and was the first helicopter to feature a fenestron tail instead of a conventional tail rotor. It was designed by Sud Aviation, later Aérospatiale, and manufactured in France and the United Kingdom through a joint production agreement with Westland Aircraft. Further manufacturing under license was performed by SOKO in Yugoslavia and the Arab British Helicopter Company (ABHCO) in Egypt. Since being introduced to service in 1973, the Gazelle has been procured and operated by a number of export customers. It has also participated in numerous conflicts around the world, including by Syria during the 1982 Lebanon War, by Rwanda during the Rwandan Civil War in the 1990s, and by numerous participants on both sides of the 1991 Gulf War. In Frenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drive-in Theater
A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars. Some drive-ins have small playgrounds for children and a few picnic tables or benches. The screen can be as simple as a painted white wall, or it can be a steel truss structure with a complex finish. Originally, the movie's sound was provided by speakers on the screen and later by individual speakers hung from the window of each car, which was attached to a small pole by a wire. These speaker systems were superseded by the more practical method of microbroadcasting the soundtrack to car radios. This also has the advantage of the film soundtrack to be heard in stereo on car stereo systems, which are typically of much higher quality and fidelity than the basic small mono speakers used in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LAPD Hooper Heliport
LAPD Hooper Heliport is a city-owned private-use heliport located one nautical mile (2 km) northeast of the central business district of Los Angeles, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. History Hooper Heliport is located on the roof of the C. Erwin Piper Technical Center, the world's largest rooftop airport. It is centrally located next to Los Angeles Union Station. It is home to the Los Angeles Police Department's Air Support Division which is the largest metropolitan police aviation unit in the U.S. with 16 helicopters. The Piper Technical Center is also used as a parking lot for the LAPD motor pool including marked and unmarked units, vans, buses, motorcycles, and the V-100 SWAT armored cars. Hooper Heliport served as home base for the fictional police helicopter ''Blue Thunder'' in the 1983 motion picture of the same name, while construction of the heliport was still being completed.''Blue Thunder'' DVD notes commentaries and featurettes See also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-largest municipal police department in the United States, after the New York City Police Department and the Chicago Police Department. The LAPD has its headquarters at 100 W. 1st St., in the Civic Center district, not far from the demolished Parker Center it replaced in 2009. The organization of the department is complex, including 21 divisions (stations) grouped in four bureaus in the Office of Operations; multiple divisions within the Detective Bureau in the Office of Special Operations; and specialized units such as SWAT, K-9, mounted police, air support and the Major Crimes Division all within the Counterterrorism and Special Operations Bureau. Further offices support the chief of police in areas such as constitutional policing and profe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Santos
Joe Santos (born Joseph John Minieri Jr.; June 9, 1931 – March 18, 2016) was an American film and television actor, best known as Sgt. Dennis Becker (later Lieutenant), the friend of James Garner's character on the NBC crime drama ''The Rockford Files''. Early years Santos was born in Brooklyn on June 9, 1931, the same day his father died. His mother Rose (née Sarno), sold olive oil and eventually became a nightclub owner and singer in New York City and Havana. She later married Puerto Rican-born Daniel Santos, and Joe took his name. Santos was a football player at Fordham University, and even turned semi-pro, before finding a new avenue in acting. He struggled in show business, and worked blue-collar jobs until his friend Al Pacino helped him get a role in the 1971 movie ''The Panic in Needle Park''. In the Korean War, Santos served in the United States Army. Career Santos had roles in a number of notable films of the early 1970s, including ''The Panic in Needle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Sheiner
David S. Sheiner (born January 13, 1928) is an American actor. He appeared on Broadway, but is best known for his supporting roles in several films and television series. He started his career in television in 1952, but he was most successful from the 1960s through the 1980s. Film and television roles Sheiner appeared in several films including ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965) as James the Elder, '' They Call Me Mister Tibbs!'' (1970) and ''Blue Thunder'' (1983). He is probably best known for his supporting role as Roy, Oscar's accountant and poker playing crony opposite Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in the film adaptation of '' The Odd Couple'' (1968). Sheiner also featured prominently in the 1973 Michael Winner/Charles Bronson action movie " The Stone Killer". Sheiner also guest-starred in many television programs. He appeared on two episodes of ''Combat!'', as Captain Ridell in the third season episode "The Steeple" (1965) and as SS Major Krieghoffen in the fifth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Roebling
Paul Roebling (March 1, 1934 – July 27, 1994) was an American actor noted for ''Blue Thunder'', ''Prince of the City'' and '' Carolina Skeletons''. In the 1990 Ken Burns PBS documentary '' The Civil War'', Roebling was the voice of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and read the famous letter written by Sullivan Ballou. He also directed his wife, Olga Bellin, in Zelda. Roebling committed suicide on July 27, 1994, in Teec Nos Pos, Arizona. His wife had died from cancer several years earlier. Roebling was a direct descendant of John Roebling and Washington Roebling, the designers and engineers of the Brooklyn Bridge. In the Ken Burns documentary on the Brooklyn Bridge, Roebling was the voice of Washington Roebling. Awards * Roebling won the 1962 Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MD Helicopters MD 500
The MD Helicopters MD 500 series is an American family of light utility civilian and military helicopters. The MD 500 was developed from the Hughes 500, a civilian version of the US Army's OH-6A Cayuse/Loach. The series currently includes the MD 500E, MD 520N, and MD 530F. The MD 500 was initially produced by Hughes Helicopters as the ''Hughes 500''. Since being introduced in 1967, numerous models have been produced, often featuring a more powerful engine or a five-bladed main rotor in place of the original four-blade counterpart. The MD 500 has been commonly used for utility work, particularly the ''MD 530F''; it has also proven to be popular with law enforcement agencies. Production of the type was continued into the twenty-first century by Hughes' successor companies, McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems, and subsequently MD Helicopters. While the MD 500 series has been largely operated by civil customers, it has occasionally seen military use, even to the extent of perform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,600 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976. Although no longer being purchased by the U.S. Air Force, improved versions are being built for export customers. In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation, which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta. The Fighting Falcon's key features include a frameless bubble canopy for good visibility, side-mounted control stick to ease control while maneuvering, an ejection seat reclined 30 degrees from vertical to reduce the effect of g-forces on the pilot, and the first use of a relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire flight control system t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autorotation
Autorotation is a state of flight in which the main rotor system of a helicopter or other rotary-wing aircraft turns by the action of air moving up through the rotor, as with an autogyro, rather than engine power driving the rotor. Bensen, Igor.How they fly – Bensen explains all" ''Gyrocopters UK''. Accessed: 10 April 2014. Quote: "air.. (is) deflected downward"Charnov, Bruce HCierva, Pitcairn and the Legacy of Rotary-Wing Flight '' Hofstra University''. Accessed: 22 November 2011. The term ''autorotation'' dates to a period of early helicopter development between 1915 and 1920, and refers to the rotors turning without the engine."Autorotation", ''Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)''. Random House, Inc. 17 April 2007 It is analogous to the |
