Drunk make believe pilots.

John Baker

John Baker

Final Approach
Joined
Oct 4, 2008
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Location
San Diego, California
Display Name
John Baker
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KMYF
I am indulging myself in my annual tradition of watching Independence Day today on the 4th of July.

Why do so many Hollywood movies think it necessary to portray a pilot as a bumbling yet incredibly lucky drunk? In this case it is an agriculture's pilot. Yup, an easy piloting job any drunk could do.

Another movie in which Harrison Ford played the lead alongside that chick with the nipples, can't recall the name of it right now for some reason.
He plays a drunk charter pilot who owns a DeHaviland, that of course, is nothing but an old wreck. Actually Ford owns a DeHaveland in real life, keeps it at Santa Monica Airport, at least that's what I heard.

I've seen others that do the same thing. In real life, are there really a lot of old, broken down alcoholic wrecks, who actually pilot any kind of airplane?

That's about as believable as that one movie where the hero just climbs into a Harrier jet and takes off, after a wobbly start.

-John
 
I still love the scene in Folks! where Don Ameche, suffering from Alzheimer's, takes off from my home airport, Clow Int'l, with Tom Selleck hanging on to the strut for dear life. They're chased down the DuPage river by a law enforcement plane. Can't find the scene on the internet, though.
 
There have been a few crashes involving a bunch of liquored up pilots. There was one written up in one of the books about a bunch of guys who decided to go hunting Eagles from the air and managed to blow a hole in their wing.

There was a crash a few years ago when a liquored up Navion pilot went out to try aerobatics.
 
Two summers ago I worked the landing strip at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. A Cardinal landed with three guys in it who had flown out there from California. They were all three sucking down Bud Lites when they taxied up to the parking area. One might hope that they waited until the touched ground at least to pop them, but when they opened the door at least a half dozen empties fell out and blew away in the wind. I chased them down with the golf cart. The empties, not the pilot and his passengers.
 
RJM62 said:
I believe Harrison Ford actually is a pilot.

-Rich
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Yup..... I can confirm that..... One of his planes ( Husky) is in the next hangar to mine. he flies it every time he is here. In fact he flew it last week... He also has the Beaver, and a Bell heli, and a Caravan, and another Husky, and he flies left seat in his Citation. In fact he probably uses my private airport more then I do..
The guy is totally into aviation..:yesnod::yesnod::)
 
flyingron said:
There have been a few crashes involving a bunch of liquored up pilots. There was one written up in one of the books about a bunch of guys who decided to go hunting Eagles from the air and managed to blow a hole in their wing.

There was a crash a few years ago when a liquored up Navion pilot went out to try aerobatics.
Click to expand...
I think that was in They Called it Pilot Error, wasn't it?
 
John Baker said:
I am indulging myself in my annual tradition of watching Independence Day today on the 4th of July.

Why do so many Hollywood movies think it necessary to portray a pilot as a bumbling yet incredibly lucky drunk? In this case it is an agriculture's pilot. Yup, an easy piloting job any drunk could do.

Another movie in which Harrison Ford played the lead alongside that chick with the nipples, can't recall the name of it right now for some reason.
He plays a drunk charter pilot who owns a DeHaviland, that of course, is nothing but an old wreck. Actually Ford owns a DeHaveland in real life, keeps it at Santa Monica Airport, at least that's what I heard.

I've seen others that do the same thing. In real life, are there really a lot of old, broken down alcoholic wrecks, who actually pilot any kind of airplane?

That's about as believable as that one movie where the hero just climbs into a Harrier jet and takes off, after a wobbly start.

-John
Click to expand...

Have you read Boyington's book? Remember, until the mid 80s it was ok to drink and smoke.
 
John Baker said:
Why do so many Hollywood movies think it necessary to portray a pilot as a bumbling yet incredibly lucky drunk? In this case it is an agriculture's pilot. Yup, an easy piloting job any drunk could do.
-John
Click to expand...

That's Hollywood for you. Pilots on TV are portrayed differently. For example, on the A-Team the pilot was "Howling Mad" Murdock, who was apparently declared insane and lived in a VA hospital in between flying missions for the team. :D
 
jstro said:
That's Hollywood for you. Pilots on TV are portrayed differently. For example, on the A-Team the pilot was "Howling Mad" Murdock, who was apparently declared insane and lived in a VA hospital in between flying missions for the team. :D
Click to expand...

To own, feed, and fly GA aircraft, you have to be just a bit nuts.
 
Henning said:
Have you read Boyington's book? Remember, until the mid 80s it was ok to drink and smoke.
Click to expand...

I have that book, I read it about a year ago. Those were different times, and he was a valued asset to the cause, so, for the most part, his shenanigans were ignored by most around him.

It's too bad when talents like him throw it all away for booze.

Myself, I can not imagine operating any kind of motorized vehicle, especially an aircraft when your all sideways. I admit to drinking and driving now and then years ago, when I was young and foolish. I was lucky, nothing bad came of it except me giving up on motorcycles after a very close one. Now I'm old and foolish, but not foolish enough to think drinking is fun or funny.

My ex wife was an alcoholic, I got out of that over fourty years ago. She was six years younger than myself. I saw her ten or so years ago, and she looked twenty years older than me, according to a friend who saw us talking together. She died a few months ago. I'm surprised she lived as long as she did. What a waste.

Perhaps that is what this whole thread is about, Hollywood making drunks into a source of humor, actually giving alcoholics and alcoholism a certain amount of appeal, with even some justification thrown in. Glamorizing drunken pilots just does not seem right at all.

-John
 
In Bart's video... it appears they were *this close* to a prop strike. wow...

(also thought about the mad world movie)
 
I guess the best way to satirize; add humor to the 'pilot' position, which the general public holds to a somewhat esteemed, professional, and dare I say glorified position, is to booze it up.
 
When you think about it, pilots as a group are just like everyone else. There are a percentage of people who drink a little too much but still think they can function fine.I'm sure that some of those folks are pilots. I can't see them not driving out to the airport, climbing in their planes, and taking off.
 
Well it is half true. Pilots are either drunks* or dorks. Both types of pilots try to believe the other kind doesn't exist.
*drunks could be defined as people that have stimulus seeking behavior and low inhibitions.
 
rofl @ "that chick with the nipples"

I've got to run to a briefing but I'll be chuckling all the way now. Thanks!
 
ClimbnSink said:
*drunks could be defined as people that have stimulus seeking behavior and low inhibitions.
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Are we redefining words now? I thought it meant someone who has become intoxicated with alcohol, or someone who regularly or habitually does so.

People with stimulus seeking behavior and low inhibitions are generally called "girlfriends".
 
DaleB said:
Are we redefining words now? I thought it meant someone who has become intoxicated with alcohol, or someone who regularly or habitually does so.

People with stimulus seeking behavior and low inhibitions are generally called "girlfriends".
Click to expand...

From the dork pilot side of the scale.:D
 
Maxmosbey said:
Two summers ago I worked the landing strip at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. A Cardinal landed with three guys in it who had flown out there from California. They were all three sucking down Bud Lites when they taxied up to the parking area. One might hope that they waited until the touched ground at least to pop them, but when they opened the door at least a half dozen empties fell out and blew away in the wind. I chased them down with the golf cart. The empties, not the pilot and his passengers.
Click to expand...

Was that the same Cardinal at Burning Man that taxied between two poles, or attempted to, and put matching dents in the leading edges? Good eye, he was within three inches of exactly symmetrical!

Paul
 
John Baker said:
That's about as believable as that one movie where the hero just climbs into a Harrier jet and takes off, after a wobbly start.

-John
Click to expand...

I'm going to nit-pick just a little bit on this one. In True Lies, as Harry Tasker is climbing into the Harrier, his buddy (played by Tom Arnold) mentions it's been a long time since he flew one. So, he was rusty, but he was checked out in one.

That being said, Hollywood probably thinks that a sober, fly-by-the-book pilot is boring, where a drunk, devil-may-care pilot is a lot more interesting.
 
Back in the day soon after my divorce, I started stopping by a local watering hole near my boat, that I was living on at the time. It was called The Brigantine, an upstairs bar and California style steak house on Point Loma.

This bar was also the favorite watering hole of a large group of PSA pilots and stews.

They were a very rowdy lot, funnier then all get out. Some nights, when they got really going they would start doing flaming shooters called harbor lights. Watching that crew was like going to a floor show or comedy act.

Many times I would see one or two leave early, by that I mean before I left, around eight or nine, saying they have to get home and get some sleep, they had a flight the next morning.

Their stories were great, one guy would like to tell about todays cloud formation that he pointed out to his passengers on the intercom, such as; "Folks, this is your captain speaking, if you would all look out the left side windows, you will notice a cloud that looks like a donkey, is that amazing or what?"

Another one showed up already half shot with an old beat up thirty gallon trash can he found somewhere. He said his girlfriend dumped him, claiming she did not want to be like the trash she caught him with earlier that day.

So he decided his date for that night was the trash can he brought along. He ordered two of everything, and would toss one into his date, this included a steak and king crab leg dinner. It was a funny evening.

About six months later, he sent out invitations to almost everyone who worked for PSA, including all of the top executives and the CEO to his wedding, which was to held in the downstairs party area of The Brigantine. It was black tie according to the invitations.

He had a professional wedding planner decorate and set up the entire affair. Nobody knew who his lucky bride was, nobody seemed to have ever met her. There were more than a few bummed out stewardesses at the affair.

Anyway, they started playing the wedding march and two guys in tuxes walk down the isle carrying his trash can, while he was waiting up front with an actual preacher he had hired to perform the ceremony, which he did. Roger married a trash can.

That was one of the truly great parties ever held at The Brig, that had to have cost him a small fortune. Many, but not all, of his bosses attended.

The day that PSA jet went down in North Park, a San Diego suburb, The Brigantine that night was like a morgue, nobody was having fun that night, actually it was like that for over a week.

Even with all their rowdy behavior, all of those guys made certain they were sober before a flight. They always went home early if they were flying the next day. They joked around a lot, but whenever I heard them talking about their actual jobs, they seemed pretty serious.

-John
 
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