This was a dummy airline owned and run by the cia to illegally supply laotian and cambodian troops that we were paying to fight the vietnamese army and vc. Aircraft have been sold to the royal thai air force when the withdrawal of the usa from the south east asia, then rebuilt 15 years later by civil aircraft advisors for the movie. Air america is a 1990 american action comedy film directed by roger spottiswoode, starring mel gibson and robert downey jr. These missions ranged from undercover cia operations to overt air transportation. The aircraft of air america, 5th edition of 4 march 20, by dr. It is readily apparent that air america is a front for cia operations in laos.
The cia did not have enough work to keep the asset afloat and the national security council farmed the airline out to various government entities that included the usaf, us army, usaid and for a brief time france. Pilots who flew for air america in vietnam fight for. Overall, air america is a film best watched with your brain switched to idle. He finds himself trapped in a prisoner transport plane when the prisoners seize control of the aircraft. I laughed out loud several times and my wife found this amusing. It supplied and supported united states covert operations in southeast asia during the vietnam war. As a tribute to air americas maintenance department at udorn, thailand, where most aircraft of the royal lao air force rlaf were maintained, the following files describe the aircraft of the rlaf as well as those used by the ravens, as they appear in air americas lists of aircraft maintained and in other material preserved at the air america. This picture is of a civilian model dehavilland caribou very similar to the air force c7a, but missing the c7s weather. If youve seen the aviator with leonardo dicaprio as howard. The following database is the result of many years of research, especially done at the air america archives at mcdermott library, university of.
Air america was an american passenger and cargo airline established in 1946 and covertly owned and operated by the central intelligence agency cia from 1950 to 1976. During the war in vietnam, there was an airline that flew some of the most harrowing missions ever taken on by a group of this type, and over hostile territory. There really was an air america reputedly operated by the cia. Air america in vietnam, not a single pilot approved by me for a certain aircraft ever. Air america handled the maintenance for the aircraft, hauled white phosphorus rockets for spotting targets from thailand to various places in laos, and acted as sar for downed pilots. Unemployed and unable to find work, billy takes the job. Air america was an american passenger and cargo airline covertly owned by the us government in 1950 as a dummy corporation for central intelligence agency cia operations in china. I read this book because i liked the movie, air america. Aug 15, 2016 from its origins with the legendary flying tigers of wwii to the final days of the vietnam war, air america is one of the most clandestine operations in cia history. Though the movie has no sex, fornication, or violence committed against individuals, there are, on the other hand, numerous instances of profanity and obscenity mixed into the script, which is sad considering that sometimes the airway lingo used by the pilots is quite engaging. When the protagonists discover their aircraft is being used by government. America was the first large aircraft carrier since operation crossroads in 1946 to be expended in weapons tests. They were omnipresent in vietnam and flew many different aircraft types.
Life as an air america cia pilot in vietnam historynet. I was hired as a pilot with air america, the cias secret airline, working on its clandestine operations in southeast asia. The aircraft of air america, 5th edition of 4 march 20. He travels the country on the speaking circuit, recounting stories about his air america days to military, civic and veterans groups. The first two transports of air america arrived in vientiane, laos on 23 august 1959. The file cat, air asia, air america the company on taiwan iv. Air america remains probably the best known book on the history of air america, and it attempts to cover the airlines entire history, from the precia era beginning in world war ii with civil air transport, all the way through to the war in indochina. The aircraft of air america, 5th edition of 4 march 20, by. Con air is an actionfilled movie starring nicolas cage. When the protagonists discover their aircraft is being used by government agents to smuggle heroin, they must avoid being framed as the drugsmugglers the plot of the film is adapted from christopher. Air america, an airline secretly owned by the cia, was a vital component in the agencys operations in laos. The ateam was disbanded in 1967 when sufficient lao and thai pilots were available.
The job of these plainvanilla loaches was to distract attention from the quiet ones before they even landed in. Dedicated to identifying aircraft throughout movies. The cia and congressional clowns played by lane smith and others are too cartoonish to even discuss. The history of air america, 2nd edition of 4 march 20 by. Cia air operations in laos, 19551974 central intelligence. As for the popularity of the movie itself, or lack thereof, in many cases has a lot to do with many vietnam vets who do not like the portrayal of the war in the movie. They lead the crew of air america, a notsosecret airline that drops everything from live pigs to opium over villages throughout the vietnam countryside. It was the world of spooks, covert air ops and adventure. Adventure, intrigue, danger, sacrifice, and patriotismwords that fit air america well. Great film based on a true story on air america, a secret covert cargo airline used to deliver supplies and weapons to isolated rebel tribes in south east asia during the vietnam war.
The aircraft was rebuilt from a junkyard of the thai air force where the former american fairchild au23 military variant of the pc6c have been found. In laos, he is introduced to air america s unorthodox pilots and aircraft, being taken under the wing of gene ryack mel gibson, a cynical and eccentric pilot and an arms dealer who uses official flights to. According to the movie representation of airmen at war, we were graysuited. Pilatus pc6ch2 turbo porter, 238, aircraft from the air america movie with inspired ac number. Gibson doesnt seem to care about anything but the guts and.
Air america is a 1990 american action comedy film directed by roger spottiswoode and starring mel gibson and robert downey jr. What marine recruits go through in boot camp earning the title making marines on parris island duration. As a tribute to air america s maintenance department at udorn, thailand, where most aircraft of the royal lao air force rlaf were maintained, the following files describe the aircraft of the rlaf as well as those used by the ravens, as they appear in air america s lists of aircraft maintained and in other material preserved at the air america. Grateful dead tshirt in the film air america duration. Dedicated to identifying aircraft throughout movies, television, and video games. Air america airline founded in 1950 air america film 1990 film starring mel gibson. The action scenes when the giant aircraft had to crash land was effective and one wonders how they did it. This unmarked t28c, brought up to d standard, was seen taking off for a reconnaissance sortie with an air america crew. What is the aircraft model used in the film american made. Stops are made in chau doc, moc hoa, cau lanh, can tho, rach gia, ba xuyen, vinh binh, etc. Air america was an american passenger and cargo airline established in 1946 and covertly. Iccs air services pc6c n285l over south vietnam in 1973 air america log, vol. See all 7 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. After more than 21 years of work, i can finally say that the aircraft of air america and the history of air america have been completed.
The following database is the result of many years of research, especially done at the air america archives at mcdermott library, university of texas at dallas. Latz piloted the air america huey helicopter that was photographed rescuing americans and south vietnamese from the rooftop of the u. All information contained in the sections entitled types of missions flown, statistics, and service history as well as the photos are exclusively based on archival material. The real air america vietnam war home movies 1967 a tour of iv corps tactical zone onboard air america aircraft, filmed by mr. The story has never been proven, so it remains an allegation. In this bigbudget action comedy, mel gibson and robert downey jr. It was also rumoured to be involved in drug smuggling and other bad things all supported by corrupt government officials and rouge military generals. The quiet one had a forwardlooking infrared flir camera on its belly that helped the pilots navigate at night.
Air america flight center is a cessna pilot center with newest and most advanced fleet in the daytona beach, florida area all at the lowest prices. When the protagonists discover their aircraft is being used by government agents to smuggle heroin, they must avoid being framed as the drugsmugglers the plot of the film is adapted from. See more ideas about air america, vietnam war and america. Meanwhile, air americas fleet in thailand accepted delivery of two more hughes 500 modelsstandard onesand used them for air taxi operations. Sep 22, 2017 three of the pilots hired for the movie were involved in the crash when the piper smith aerostar 600 they were flying went down in the mountains. Beginning in the midsixties, the pilatus turbo porters became more and more a successor to the helio courier as a stol aircraft. Air america tv series 19981999 tv series starring lorenzo lamas. The film was released in 1997, but most of the filming was done in the second half of 1996. It featured a cynical cia officer who arranged for the airline to fly opium to the administrative capital of vientiane for a corrupt asian generalloosely modeled on vang pao, a military leader of the mountainregionbased hmong ethnic group. The republic of vietnam and various us government agencies contracted with air america.
Air america cia 1967 vietnam war iv corps home movies dvd. An air america pilots story of adventure, descent and redemption, history publishing co. Air america run by the cia, this controversial covert. Four north vietnamese an2 colts approached site 85. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Nancy travises aid mission is only there to provide a nobleout for the crooked mel gibson. Jun 27, 2008 the 1990 movie air america is largely responsible for this. We offer pilot training, aircraft rental, and the opportunity to teach for certified flight instructors.
Air america in vietnam and laos, air americas tenure in asia began when civil air transport cat crossed the river into shanghai in 1946. During its existence air america operated a diverse fleet of aircraft, the majority of which were stol. Two of the aircraft attacked while the other two circled off in the distance. Air america tended to register its aircraft in taiwan. The lack of lao pilots led the cia to form in may 1964 the ateam, a pool of air america pilots trained to fly the t28s. Air america was an american passenger and cargo airline established in 1950 and covertly owned and operated by the central intelligence agencys cia special activities division from 1950 to 1976. At the beginning of the book, i found it to be is really funny. Air america in vietnam and laos military personnel, military aircraft, military service, north. It had a reasonable story line that was easy to follow and believable. Everything we know about the fatal american made plane crash. The two had joined air america six months earlier for that purpose. Join mel, robert and the crazy crew of wartime flyer in the funniest actioncomedy since lethal. During the vietnam war, air america, a cia proprietary airline, flew a variety of missions in the far east. The united states government owned air america during the cold war against the global menace of communism.
Everything we know about the fatal american made plane. Shep johnson the secret aircraft that helped the cia tap phones in north vietnam by james r. Pilatus pc6ch2 turbo porter, air america, n365f, udorn, august 1971 may 1974, based at miscellaneous airfields in viet nam, laos, and thailand. Contentsshow organization in august 1950, the cia secretly purchased the assets of civil air. Air america was not just the name of a movie starring mel gibson. This article was compiled from his forthcoming book flight. I know its just a movie and not a documentary, but screenplay writers. This film is titled air america and is a comedy movie.
Air america vhs, 1991 true story give or take a lie or two about an operation called air america. Aircraft have been sold to the royal thai air force when the withdrawal of the usa from the south east asia, then rebuilt 15. Welcome to the world of an air saw pilot wayne minor 20191017t15. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. Technical services division now has, at its end, a summary of the history of air asia from its sale to esystems in 1975 to today.
A young pilot finds himself recruited unwittingly into a covert and corrupt c. Air america film the internet movie plane database. Aviation stack exchange is a question and answer site for aircraft pilots, mechanics, and enthusiasts. Air americas black helicopter military aviation air. Which american twin tiltrotor aircraft is this a scalemodel of. Mel gibson air america movie pepsi rolex gmtmaster so. It was seen as interesting enough for hollywood to make a movie about it in 1990. I was hired as a pilot with air america, the cias secret airline, working on its. When the protagonists discover their aircraft is being used by government agents to smuggle heroin, they must avoid being framed as the drugsmugglers. I n september 1964, i began a journey that was to be my lifes adventure. The aircraft of air america, 5th edition of 24 august 2015, by dr. Its a damn shame the writer didnt have tapes of the upcountry aircraft comm traffic. At the end of the 1950s the air america fleet consisted of forty, fifty aircraft or. Air america flight center has operated imaging aircraft for more than ten years, in projects ranging from all of the 48 contiguous states and alaska, as well as in parts of canada, mexico, the bahamas, puerto rico, haiti, and the dominican republic.
Us military aircraft were often used with the last three digits of the military serial as a civil marking. By far the biggest hindrance to air america is its language. They operated in laos without the b nationality prefix. In 2005, she was scuttled southeast of cape hatteras, after four weeks of tests, despite a large protest of former crewmembers who wanted to see her instituted as a memorial museum. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing air america near you. While the helio could carry only 5 passengers, the. Some of the movie may also have utilized a beech queen air. Air america is an extremely conservative movie pretending to be righteously liberal.
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