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Stunt Pilot
Stunt flying refers to any stunts performed in an aircraft. It encompasses aerobatics, wing walking, and transferring from one airplane to another or to a moving vehicle on the ground, such as an automobile or train, and vice versa. History From the Wright brothers to World War I The Wright brothers showed that motor-powered flight was possible, with their first sustained flight on 17 December 1903. Aerobatics followed within a decade. Frenchman Adolphe Pégoud was the first to fly inverted, on 1 September 1913. On 9 September, Russian Pyotr Nesterov flew the first loop. World War I (1914–1918) was a major impetus to the development of aerobatics. Those who mastered it were more likely to survive dogfights. The 1920s: era of the barnstormer After the war ended, some of these pilots used the skills they had mastered by barnstorming to earn a living, traveling across the country performing stunts and providing rides. It was helpful that the US government was selling plentiful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aerobatics
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment, and sport. Additionally, some helicopters, such as the MBB Bo 105, are capable of limited aerobatic manoeuvres. An example of a fully aerobatic helicopter, capable of performing loops and rolls, is the Westland Lynx. Most aerobatic manoeuvres involve rotation of the aircraft about its longitudinal (roll) axis or lateral (pitch) axis. Other maneuvers, such as a spin, displace the aircraft about its vertical (yaw) axis. Manoeuvres are often combined to form a complete aerobatic sequence for entertainment or competition. Aerobatic flying requires a broader set of piloting skills and exposes the aircraft to greater structural stress than for normal flight. In some countries, the pilot must wear a par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ormer Locklear
Ormer Leslie "Lock" Locklear (October 28, 1891 – August 2, 1920) was an American daredevil stunt pilot and film actor. His popular flying circus caught the attention of Hollywood, and he starred in ''The Great Air Robbery'' (1919), a screenplay about the mid-air piracy of a US airmail plane. In his next film, ''The Skywayman'', the plane crashed during a climactic dive, when the lighting team supposedly failed to douse the lights on cue, so Locklear was dazzled and flew blindly into the ground, dying instantly with his co-pilot Milton "Skeets" Elliott. The scene remained on the film. Early life Born in Greenville, Texas, Locklear was raised in Fort Worth. In 1911, Locklear met Calbraith Perry Rodgers, who landed his plane in Fort Worth to unclog a fuel line. After meeting Rodgers, Locklear became fascinated with aviation and airplanes. Shortly thereafter, Locklear and his brother constructed their own glider. Upon completing his education, Locklear went to work as a carpe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Tallman
Frank Gifford Tallman III (April 17, 1919 in East Orange, New Jersey – April 15, 1978 in Santiago Peak, Trabuco Canyon, California) was a stunt pilot who worked in Hollywood during the 1960s and 1970s. He was the son of Frank Gifford Tallman, Jr. (1894 – 1952) and Inez Evelyn Foster (1894 – 1982). Early life Growing up, he had a twin sister named Elizabeth. When Elizabeth was about 7, she died of a combination of pneumonia and measles. That same year Frank's sister Prudence was born. He also had one brother, Foster. Frank Tallman's father had been a military pilot during World War I. Tallman took his first plane ride in his father's lap at the age of five. As a teenager he took flying lessons and became a pilot. When World War II started, Tallman tried to enter the military as a pilot, but his application was declined due to his lack of the required two years of college. He worked for a time as a civilian pilot instructor and later in the war was able to join the U.S. Nav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Mantz
Albert Paul Mantz (August 2, 1903 – July 8, 1965) was a noted air racing pilot, movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races. Early years Mantz (the name he used throughout his life) was born in Alameda, California, the son of a school principal, and was raised in nearby Redwood City, California. He developed his interest in flying at an early age; as a young boy, his first flight on fabricated canvas wings was aborted when his mother stopped him as he tried to launch off the branch of a tree in his yard. In 1915, at age 12, he attended the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco and witnessed the world-famous Lincoln Beachey make his first ever flight in his new monoplane, the Lincoln Beachey Special. Mantz took his first flying lesson at age 16 using money that he made from driving a hearse during the influenza epidemic of 1919. Although he had accumulated hours towards ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugène Lefebvre
Eugène Lefebvre (4 October 1878 – 7 September 1909) was a French aviation pioneer. He was reportedly the first stunt pilot, Villard, Henry Serrano, ''Contact! The Story of the Early Birds,'' 1968, Thomas Y. Crowell, ASIN: B001G8D7K0, retrieved April 9, 2019Corn, Joseph J., ''The Winged Gospel: America's Romance with Aviation, 1900-1950,'' 1st Ed., 2002, JHU Press, , retrieved April 9, 2019 the first person to die while piloting a powered airplane, and the second person to be killed in a powered airplane crash. Biography The chief pilot for the French Wright Company, Lefebvre was a participant in the first international air race, the Grande Semaine d'Aviation at Reims in 1909, piloting a Wright Flyer.Vorderman, Don.Hit-or-miss Races That Taught Men How To Fly", Sports Illustrated, 26 May 1969. He, Louis Blériot and Hubert Latham were selected as France's representatives during the contest for the Gordon Bennett Trophy on 22 August, after poor weather made the morning's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Grace
Richard Virgil Grace (October 1, 1898 – June 25, 1965), known as Dick Grace, was an American stunt pilot who specialized in crashing planes for films. Films that he appeared in include '' Sky Bride'', ''The Lost Squadron'', '' Lilac Time'', and ''Wings''. He served in both world wars, bombing Germany, as a B-17 Flying Fortress co-pilot with the 486th Bombardment Group. After the Second World War, he operated a charter business in South America. He was married to Crystine Francis Malstrom, a stage actress who appeared in ''Abie's Irish Rose''. He was the author of several books, including ''Squadron of Death'', ''Crash Pilot'', ''I am still alive,'' and ''Visibility Unlimited''. Grace was one of the few stunt pilots who died of old age.Lussier, Tim (2004"Daredevils in the Air - Three of the Greats - Wilson, Locklear and Grace", Silents Are Golden Stunt work on films *'' The Flying Fool'' (1925) *''Wings'' (1927) *'' Lilac Time'' (1928) *''Young Eagles'' (1930) *''The Lost Squadr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bessie Coleman
Bessie Coleman (January 26, 1892April 30, 1926) was an early American civil aviator. She was the first African-American woman and first Native American to hold a pilot license. She earned her license from the '' Fédération Aéronautique Internationale'' on June 15, 1921, and was the first Black person to earn an international pilot's license. Born to a family of sharecroppers in Texas, Coleman worked in the cotton fields at a young age while also studying in a small segregated school. She attended one term of college at Langston University. Coleman developed an early interest in flying, but African Americans, Native Americans, and women had no flight training opportunities in the United States, so she saved and obtained sponsorships in Chicago to go to France for flight school. She then became a high-profile pilot in notoriously dangerous air shows in the United States. She was popularly known as ''Queen Bess'' and ''Brave Bessie'', and hoped to start a school fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Clarke (pilot)
Frank Clarke (29 December 1898 – 12 June 1948) was a Hollywood stunt pilot, actor, and military officer. His most prominent role was as Leutnant von Bruen (and double for von Richthofen in combat scenes) in the 1930 production ''Hell's Angels'', but he flew for the camera and performed stunts in more than a dozen films in the 1930s and 1940s. Clarke was killed in an aircraft crash near Isabella, California, in 1948.United Press. "Two movie workers die in plane crash." ''San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, June 14, 1948, Volume LIV, Number 247, p. 1. Early life Clarke was born near Paso Robles, California, on December 29, 1898. He came into prominence when he moved to Venice, California and learned to fly, purchasing a war surplus Curtiss JN-4. His first exploits were as a "stunt" pilot, with a risky mid-air transfer from one aircraft to another reported in local media on October 4, 1919. Clarke was positioned on the top wing of a Curtiss "Jenny" and after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Associated Motion Picture Pilots
Associated Motion Picture Pilots (AMPP) was a union of aviators who worked as stunt pilots in the Hollywood film industry. The group, one of the first unions in film work, was organized by Pancho Barnes in 1931Kelly, 2008, p. 8 and formally established on January 4, 1932.Kelly, 2008, p. 46 It established "a virtual monopoly on motion picture flying". Union formation During the silent film era, stunt pilots were self-employed. In 1924, three aviators formed "The Black Cats" union, later gaining ten more members to make "Thirteen Black Cats."Centennial of FlightHollywood Stunt Pilots. Retrieved on November 28, 2009. The Black Cats were the first to set a standard for stunt flier wages. The Black Cats performed stunts live in front of crowds as well as for films. At the end of the 1920s, some of the fliers had died and others changed careers. In September 1930, Pancho Barnes met with several aviators and began to organize more pilots so that they could take more control of filming co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pancho Barnes
Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes (July 22, 1901 – March 30, 1975) was a pioneer aviator and a founder of the first movie stunt pilots' union. In 1930, she broke Amelia Earhart's air speed record. Barnes raced in the Women's Air Derby and was a member of the Ninety-Nines. In later years, she was known as the owner of the Happy Bottom Riding Club, a bar and restaurant in the Mojave Desert, Southern California, catering to the legendary test pilots and aviators who worked nearby. Early years She was born as Florence Leontine Lowe on July 22, 1901, to Thaddeus Lowe II (1870–1955) and his first wife, Florence May Dobbins, in Pasadena, California. She was born to a wealthy family, growing up in a huge mansion in San Marino, California. During her formative years, she attended the area's finest private schools. Her father, an avid sportsman, encouraged her to appreciate the great outdoors, and Florence became an accomplished equestrian. Her grandfather was Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Skywayman
''The Skywayman'' was a 1920 American silent action drama film directed by James P. Hogan and produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation. The film starred noted aerial stunt pilot Ormer Locklear and Louise Lovely. After having appeared in ''The Great Air Robbery'' (1919), a film that showcased his aerial talents, Locklear, considered the foremost "aviation stunt man in the world", was reluctant to return to the air show circuit. During the production, Locklear and his co-pilot Milton "Skeets" Elliot died after crashing during a night scene. ''The Skywayman'' was subsequently released shortly after, capitalizing on their deaths. No footage of ''The Skywayman'' is known to exist, and the film is now considered lost. Plot Captain Norman Craig (Ormer Locklear) returns from the Lafayette Escadrille as a shell-shocked veteran, suffering from amnesia. Seeing him wandering around San Francisco, his girlfriend Virginia Ames (Louise Lovely), with the help of Dr. Wayne Leveridge (S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Great Air Robbery
''The Great Air Robbery'' (aka ''Cassidy of the Air Lanes'') is a six-reel silent 1919 American drama film directed by Jacques Jaccard and produced by Universal Pictures. The film stars Ormer Locklear, Allan Forrest and Ray Ripley. ''The Great Air Robbery'' is a film that showcases the talents of stunt pilot Locklear, considered the foremost "aviation stunt man in the world", and depicts pilots flying air mail, the first film to deal with the subject.Farmer 1984, pp. 10, 16. There are no known archival holdings of the film, so it is presumably a lost film. Plot In 1925, pilot Larry Cassidy (Ormer Locklear) is flying air mail for the United States Postal Service. He faces a deadly foe, Chester Van Arland (Ray Ripley), the leader of the "Death's Head Squadron", intent on stealing a $20,000 shipment of gold that will be on a midnight flight to Washington. Van Arland has the medal air mail pilot Wallie Mason (Allan Forrest) was awarded for his war service in France and has kidnapped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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