If Tom Cruise were French, and if he flew a Dassault Mirage 2000 instead of a Grumman F-14 Tomcat, he might have starred in Les Chevaliers du Ciel, a 2005 film that has been called "Top Gun à la Française."
We haven't seen the actual film, though it's available on Netflix under its English title, "Sky Fighters." But if this fan-made trailer is any indication, Les Chevaliers du Ciel may be a vastly superior piece of mindless entertainment -- if only because much of it was shot using air-to-air cameras.
But don't take our word for it. Bump this video up to full-screen, and see for yourself. Magnifique!
Neko Case is fantastic. We love love love her music. And we loved her recent album, Middle Cyclone, not least becaue it featured a sweet illustration of Ms. Case riding on the hood of once very sweet 1967 Mercury Cougar.
Now Neko Case is putting the Cougar up for auction to benefit one of our favorite nonprofit organizations, 826 National, a writing and literacy tutoring program for kids.
Introduced in 1967 and named that year's Motortrend Car of the Year, this burgundy Mercury Cougar came standard with a hardtop 289 V8 and serious muscle. It's got an automatic transmission, 3-speed “Merc-o-matic,” red interior with aqua space lights, wood steering wheel, hideaway headlights, sequential tail lights, and a fully wired car stereo. Only sold in two-door. Neko named this car “Angie Dickinson,” and it’s only had two owners and has its original paint. There is enough room in the back of the car to move a small apartment, house your lending library, or to fit your band’s gear (or your kid’s band’s gear!). The beloved photo of Neko standing on the Cougar on the Middle Cyclone album cover has been nominated for the 2009 “Best Recording Package” Grammy.
Get in if you want the Cougar, but even if you can't swing the car, you can also get a lovely t-shirt with an illustration drawn by Neko Case. And enjoy the fun video she produced to help move some metal:
Our friend Allan Hough from MissionMission tells us of a historic Bell UH-1H Iriquois helicopter, the men who used to fly it, and their effort to put it back in the skies:
Spots Unknown is working on a movie about a group of vets and enthusiasts who’ve restored to “combat specs” a Vietnam-era Huey. And they fly it around the Bay Area and look badass.
Today, a teaser trailer was released. It combines shots of these dudes in action with vintage footage of other Hueys actually in the shit. Watch it now (before it gets pulled due to unauthorized — but also badass — use of Led Zeppelin):
As a Plan B, "Ride of the Valkyries" would work too. Plus, Wagner is dead, so he's in no position to unleash any lawyers. Nevertheless, let's roll the video:
Flight of the Huey - Rock & Roll Teaser from Spots Unknown on Vimeo.
Courtesy of PublicResource.org comes this fascinating 1943 US War Department training film which teaches basic ground, take-off, and landing techniques for pilots learning to fly the P-47 Thunderbolt:
Demonstrates procedures in flying the P-47. Includes preflight and cockpit checks, warm-up, taxiing, cruising, banking, stalling, speeds for approaches, turns, and landings. Also shows how to conduct postflight checks. War Department. Army Air Forces.
Photo: looking thru my lens
Have you ever had one of those dreams where you know how to fly? Not in an aircraft, but naturally, like a bird, with wings?
So you can swoop around at altitudes high and low, hugging the contours of the terrain, as if gliding through air is as much a part of your routine reality as walking on land?
If you've ever had that dream, and you're familiar with the feeling we're describing, then this video is about as close as you're ever likely to get.
Wow.
(via our friends at Laughing Squid)
This nifty time-lapse video shows the first United Airlines Boeing 777 (N222UA) being repainted in the airline's new combined United/Contintental livery.
Kindly refrain from huffing the fumes.
PHOTO: N222UA departing LAX, by Peter Spence
THANKS: @adamfritzler
If you compiled a montage of images designed to release a very large dose of serotonin into the Telstar Logistics central cortex, it would probably look a lot like this opening video for Kaz Yamauchi's new Gran Turismo 5 videogame, which went on sale last week.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....
(Tip of the crash helmet: Metacool)
This video of Scottish cyclist Danny MacAskill comes to us via our old friend Jordan Kobert on the Twitter, who summarized it succinctly: "If difficult takes a day, and impossible takes a week, then this kid's been working for years."
Indeed, indeed...
As wintersports enthusiasts and high alpine motoring specialists, Telstar Logistics has always wondered what it would be like if San Francisco were hit by a major snowstorm. It has happened before -- mostly during the 1800s, but also as recently as 1976.
On the one hand, we'd love nothing more than to bust out a pair of rock skis and take a few untracked turns down the summit of Bernal Hill.
But on the other hand, thanks to the city's famous hills, it's a sure bet chaos would reign on the roads. As proof, we submit this video from Seattle, which shows what happened when the unprepared city was hit by a snowstorm this week. Scary!
