At the Movies Aviation Style

Wait a second. “You want me to analyze the crash landings in a half dozen movies? And then tell you if they’re realistic?” I asked the Vanity Fair producer. Her response was quick. “Yes.” 

I’ve had a few whacky assignments over the years, such as the time an editor asked me to fly to France and evaluate a new braking system on Airbus’ A380. That taught me the best adventures come from not thinking too much and just saying yes. 

My daughter clinched it for me. “Think about it,” she said. “Someone’s asking for your opinion. You’re a pilot. How can you turn them down?” She had a point. My wife and I made the drive into the city to a terrific TV studio in Chicago’s west loop staffed by a top-notch crew of sound, lighting and camera people. Two hours of filming later and many hours of editing later, what you’ll see here is the result. We hashed out the details of Flight, Sully, Non-Stop, Emergency Declaration, Snakes on a Plane and Executive Decision.

I only wish we’d had time to review one of my favorites, “The Great Waldo Pepper,” with Robert Redford as a barnstormer.

Oh BTW, did I mention this assignment was a heck of a lot of fun? It was.

Thanks for watching.

Rob Mark

A big thanks to Vanity Fair Director: Funmi Sunmonu
Director of Photography: Brian Wingert
Editor: Alana McNair
Talent: Robert Mark
Producer: Emebeit Beyene
Line Producer: Natasha Soto-Albors
Production Manager: Andressa Pelachi
Associate Production Manager: Elizabeth Hymes
Camera Operator: Sean Pierce
Audio Engineer: Brenden Reilly
Production Assistant: Reggie Swoverland; Alexander James Holtel
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo
Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds