Well right of the bat I guess I should fess up and reveal that I worked on this Imax film, The Magic Of Flight. I was one of the sound mixers on the movie and did much of the sound recording especially the interviews and behind the scenes sound you hear.
It was a great time and I got to spend about two weeks with The Blue Angels, who have been heroes of mine since I was a boy. Having seen their shows numerous times in the past, when I got the call I just couldn't believe I would be able to go on the inside of one of the two top military demonstration teams in the world.
The film is a documentary on aviation, but centered around The Blue Angels, which is the U.S. Navy's aerobatic demonstration team, made up of real Top Gun level Naval pilots. These pilots are stationed all over the world as part of the everyday Navy, some are in charge of their fighter wing, while others are flight instructors. They compete for one of the eight F/A-18 pilot positions by application, testing, flight trials and approval from upteen levels. When a pilot is approved, Naval Admirals must make the final approvals, since that pilot is leaving a post somewhere and someone else must be moved into that post, along with family. But, when that person moves, someone else must move into THAT post, and so on and so on until all the posts down the line are repositioned. It's quite a procedure.
Magic Of Flight accomplished a lot of firsts, the greatest being the first time an Imax camera had been attached to the outside of a F/A-18 Hornet. A special mount had to be invented by Boeing in order to mount the camera to the skin of the aircraft, resulting in footage that has never been shot before.
In Magic Of Flight, we follow the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps flight demonstration team through it's daily routine of briefings, practice and then live shows. The footage is thrilling and you won't be disappointed if you get to see this film live (such as at the Pensacola Naval Air Station's Imax theater).
I've not seen the DVD yet but will have one soon. If you like military aircraft or are a Blue Angels fan, see this film!
