Added: 4 years ago
From: NightFlyyer
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  • Great to see, man. Fantastic work! Probably seen this film 15 times...

  • WOW! I am so impressed. Blue Thunder was and still is one of my all time favorite movies. You got some skills Dave ;)

  • I always thought Blue Thunder was the Alouette III(french) but with a modified cockpit

    Same sound and tail, etc

  • Great clips. I've never seen the move but now I think it's time i rented it and watched some great flying..

  • Thumbs up, Hollywood Herbert!  :-D

  • Wow,,, I had no idea!

    This movie was one factor that got me into flying fixed wing, my dream was to go to helicopter, still haven't done that yet :)

    Thumbs UP Dave, this was very nice to watch! Fav'ed.~~John

  • Hi Dave! love the movie, big hit world wide, Dad use to take us every sunday to the Movies no matter where we was. Saw BlueThunder first time while we where in the Yucatan Peninsula (Progreso) A real 1950's big movie theater. 1980 so many good movies and tv programs ( like Magnum PI ) In California I Fly rc Helicopters . Thank you for all your Help videos. Always wanted to know if the helicopter on Blue Thunder was made just for the movie or there are more real ones out there. God Bless...

  • The Steering of the f-1 at 3:34 is the same as the one in the Battlestar Galactica Viper :-)

  • Its funny.. after some years of RC planes now i started with helos and learned concepts like flybar. Then last week i got this movie in BR 1080p and noticed for first time how the BT in some scenes has a 2 rotor + flybar (loop scenes) .. even so and even in 1080p it looks pretty damn realistc.. also noticed the "hidden" details in the RC F-16s like explosives and the canopy poping up when it blows.. pros and cons of the high definition :D

  • hi dave just watched blue thunder again! excellent work!

  • What an awesome job you did on the movie. Blue Thunder was one of my favorite movies. I knew there had to be models blowing up, but it was done realistically. All the CG stuff nowadays ( later star wars trilogy) look so fake. I can appreciate the RC airplane and chopper models, as they look great for films.

    Those were the good old days.....awesome!

  • All real helicopter pilots and RC model pilots were really good. I was actually pretty sad looking at these expensive turbine planes blew up. The Blue Thunder pilot did a really great job looping the heli before 3D helis were invented. And it is surprising that the landing gear still come down after blowing up.The first plane survived with some major damage but did the second plane survived? It went down badly. They spent thousands of dollars on these models.

  • Amazing. I have this movie and have watched it a hundred times, but I never knew there were RC copters in it.

  • Did you happen to do the R.C. helo work in 'Firefox"?

  • The sidewinder missle flys at Mach.1 and would have been on that helo in a heartbeat, not the 60 seconds like the movie depicts, and there is no way a helicopter is going to win an aerial duel with a jet fighter, still it was a fun flick that I saw probably 10 times. A great 80,s movie.

  • Excellent video and thanks for the history behind one of my favorite movies! I made sure to buy this one on DVD. There's lots of "Hollywood" throughout, but it's still a great and enjoyable film ;-)

    I thought about this movie at a few airshows where someone was flying loops and other aerobatics with an MD NOTAR helicopter and of course the Red Bull aerobatic chopper as well.

    Please keep up the great work with these and all the RC videos!

  • LOL, slight problem, hehehehe. Awesome video, fantastic flying. Bet that 1st loop was a great sight to behold! FAB

  • this is the best chopper acting among any other chopper movies

  • I had always assumed the shot was of the real, full-sized helicopter made to look like it was completing the loop by means of rotating the camera. I thought that was the case because, during the critical moment, the shot was tight with only the sky visible in the background. I thought it was shot that way to hide the "trick."

    Now that I know it was an RC completing a loop, I think the shot should have been wider with the horizon in the background to show it wasn't a camera movement "trick."

  • Were you really the dude who did the miniature Blue Thunder and the F16s? No B.S? If so, you are one cool dude. I loved that film.

    And awesome pictures, I liked Roy Scheider as an actor, I like Malcolm McDowell, Warren Oates, Candy Clark and Daniel Stern. Hell, the whole ensemble were great.

    One of my favourite movies ever.

  • I take my hat off to you and the hard work you lads did on this film. It was a very interesting time when there was no CGI. A few years back here in Britain there was this series called Island at war. A scene involving some Ju87 Stukas, computer generated of course, was to say the least, unreal. The way they broke formation was laughable. Perhaps carefully controlled RC types may've added a touch of realism.

  • Still a cool movie...Oh and, 20mm machine cannons are effective enough to take down fighter jets within range--So, I guess there is a little realism to this movie...Thanks all!

  • Sometimes it takes a nearly 30 year old movie to remind me how exciting flicks can be. That scene of McDowell's chopper getting blown to bits by Schieder is epic -- the firing gatling gun followed by the McDowell's heli exploding...then another shot of Roy's gatling still firing and McDowell's chopper EXPLODING EVEN MORE! Not just a great 80s movie but a great action flick in general. WITH REAL STUNTS...no CG. Hollywood, don't even try to remake this, you will never match it.

  • there's no way blue thunder's machine guns could shoot down and F-16 flying at mach 1. no way.

  • @SCEPCOP F-16 do not constantly fly at top speed. (Don't remember if they mentioned speed in the movie)...But its just a movie with great special effects.

  • What this movie spical that it real flying.

  • love this movie

  • They should stop doing CG so much. Real life props always look better. Great video though! I bet it was fun blowing up RC planes!

  • Awesome ! Thanks for sharing !!

  • Haha... Robocop pilots a Helicopter.

  • QUAILTY FILM

  • I bet you an Apache pilot would shit his pants if he saw that in front of his face

  • Totally awesome. I've loved this movie since i was a kid. It still gets my vote for best chase scene ever.

  • Blue Thunder is one of my all-time favorite movies. Thank you for sharing all the behind the scenes footage and information. Truly amazing effects. So what happened to all the RCs after the filming ? Let me guess , placed in storage and then tossed in the trash later ?? That would be sad.

  • If you notice Macolm McDowell's facial expression. He was feeling a bit green during the flying sequences. Macolm was actually had a fear of flying before signing up for the movie. A sly villian in the movie.

  • Wow. I would have never known.

    Awesome!

  • wow amazing.. thanks for sharing

  • Really cool. Thanks for sharing. Blue Thunder is one of my all-time favorite 80s movies!

  • I'M NOT SO SURE ABOUT THAT,BUT I'M PRETTU SURE the ah 64 can do one.atleast the british one.But i wont state100% on neither of the 2

  • wow realy enjoyed that vid thanks.

  • Did you work on Airwolf at all?

  • great stufff

  • Never seems like the "Hollywood behind the scenes" ever shows or demos the RC flying used. Thanks! That was great.

  • That was one of my favorite shows as a kid! Thanks Dave! That was awesome!

  • Cool, was one of my Favorite series when i was child. Very Good Job Man

  • Thanks kindly.

  • @GMaximo1 - I liked it too, what I can remember of it. I was about 8 or 9 when it was on. But the idiots cancelled it and it only ran for 1 series of 8.

  • Very interesting.

    It's funny to see the helicopter grow/shed a flybar throughout the movie... hehe

  • Thanks. Yep, but in those days, no one (especially the public) knew what they were looking at.

  • great job i love the movie

  • Thanks kindly.

  • This is epic !!! I was very young on these days. Watch it was like see an old family album !!!

    thank you !

  • Thank you too.

  • Fantastic! What an honor it must have been to participate in that movie. Very impressive!

  • Thanks kindly.

  • Awesome, absolutely awesome. The part where you are flying the RC next/under to the heli is amazing. My dad was into RCs before he died. i now own them 1 RC heli made in Germany, 1 RC sea plane, and 1 WW2 fighter. he bought them i guess around in the mid to late 60s or mid 70's. I want to get into RC planes but most are out of my reach in price.

  • Thank you. It was intimidating for sure, but I was young then. LOL I am glad you inherited some rc stuff. RC is way cheaper now, like the Firebird Phantoms for only $79 on 2.4 ghz. Great stuff, so never say never and save your pennies. What is the German Heli? Dave.

  • Blue Thunder is one of my all time favorites. The river chase is unbelievable. I am truly amazed that even in 1981 you were able to come up with such top grade special effects. I salute dave for his excellent flying.

  • Thanks very kindly for your comments. I appreciate that. Your right, the river chase was totally amazing to have seen in real life. Thanks again.

  • dude that was hella cool .. i seen this movie a long time ago but never knew that tho's where R/c ... nice work man =)

  • Thanks very kindly for your comments. I appreciate that.

  • What a loop..

  • In those days, it was hard to do with a fixed pitch helicopter. Today... Piece of cake. LOL.

  • Blue Thunder is a great movie with flying action stunts.

  • lol, why would a HEAT seeking missile hunt a reflection? a reflection ain't hot xD

  • They seek out high light sources too, as I understand, but I did not write the movie. Google AIm 9 Sidewinder Heat seeking missiles and see if there is an answer.

  • Thank you. I appreciate that.

  • Nice man! I really Respect you! You have so much experience... And this.. this is awesome :D

    Keep it up mate!

    Greetz,

    Deantjah

  • Thanks kindly. I appreciate that.

  • Thought your name was dave?

    you're not mentioned on the credits you put up.

  • It says "F-16 pilot, Dave Herbert".  Did you miss that?

  • its so cool to actually see this

  • Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.

  • I had a .40 sized American Helicopter as my 1st one (before going Schluter), the frame was made of plywood! Didn't last long, but it flew and then they came out with a carbon frame. As for the "first loop" claim, we had a local retired machinist name Artie Myers who looped/rolled his Heliboy on a regular basis and worked part time for Walt Schoonard down in Florida... making parts of course.

  • Yep, I still have mine and show it in many vids. Only the servo compartments were wood, not the frame. You may be right about Artie, but Mike Mas (CEO of Rotory Modeler Magazine) was recognized by Larry Jolly and AMA as the 1st to do a loop, an inverted landing, and a tail stand landing. Pictures are in the latest issue. I met Walt years ago. Neat guy. Too bad Arties loops werent publizided like Simones who claimed to be the first and why he was asked to do this movie. Thanks.

  • Wow good nice Dude xD!!!

  • Thanks very much.

  • Dave, I am speechless. I love this movie and to know you did some of the RC work.....I'm blown away. I was impressed before but geez. You the man!

  • I appreciate your kind comments. Thanks very much.

  • that is so cool

  • Thanks a lot.

  • Prop models look better than cg any day. I wish efx would still have the realism that you guys brought to this gem.

  • Thanks for the kinds words.

  • very impressed Dave :D 5*

  • Thanks.

  • Is there anyway to buy a Blue Thunder RC? I loved the movie, and the series. Where can I buy one or buy the plans to build one? I know the Blue Thunder was a modified SA-341G Gazelle, but I can't even find one of thoes.

  • Not sure. Pick up the latest issue of Rotory magazine, I am in it, and there is also an article by a man who just built a model of the "Special". There you might find what your looking for. You can also download the magazine. Good luck.

  • how much did you get paid

  • Studio paid us $600 a day when we were flying and shooting, plus they purchased all the models we built.

  • Thanks kindly. I appreciate it.

  • WoW. You were a part of one of my favorite movies ever. I loved Blue Thunder.You made history!

  • Thanks very kindly.

  • The wings are foam covered with 1/64th inch plywood. The body is fibreglass. The raw kit was about $299 in those days, but we put over $2000 in each one for the movie.

  • Why didn't they use the video at 7:09 for the scene when Murphy shot the F 16 ?

  • Producers are on a time limit, I guess.

  • lolololololololollololollololo­l

  • Hello good sir. Do you happen to know where I can get an RC helicopter without the top helicopter blades because all I can find is RC Helicopters that have 2 main rotors together. I kind of want to find an RC helicopter that looks like the real helicopters. Thank you for your time.

  • hello i fly rc helis and planes and where you can find these thins at are places like bannana hobbie

    tower hobbies

    hobbie people

    and there are many more just look it up on google and if you need help just message me

  • Yep, see my videos on the Blade 400 and Blue rays and especially the Honeybees, as a beginning heli. The links to the sites are in the description box. Learn on a VW and if you never crash it, then get the Porsche.

  • Thank you sir for taking your time to respond! Keep on making the awesome videos man!

  • What I want to know is, who NEVER crashes the VW?? :P

  • No one.....but if you crash every time, better stick to it. LOL.

  • I saw this movie as a kid. I couldn't understand how the movie was made. Now I know. Thank you for sharing.

  • Thanks a lot.

  • loved that movie when it came out...your some what of a celebrity....love your reviews and the little secrets you let out like this and the space shuttle involvment...well done

  • Thanks very kindly.

  • I was 10 years old when I saw the movie. Till now I never thought about RC Helis in the movie... Haha great!

  • Now, your thinking helis again. Great. Thanks.

  • damn dave thats awsome that you flew the f-16's in a movie and im just a begginer of rc helicopters and iv watched every video and they are great. keep up the good work =)

  • Thanks very kindly.

  • couldn't the pursuer just fired a stinger missle and brought him down in one shot?

  • I didnt write the movie and I dont know if they had stingers back then either.

  • Thanks dave! once again another brill vid! 5/5 keep em coming! glad i subscribed

  • Thanks very much. Thanks for subscribing too.

  • Very Cool Dave! I liked that movie. Roy Scheider R.I.P.

  • Thanks kindly for yor comments.

  • I used to love that show! And Airwolf of course :)

  • Dave, I'm gobsmacked. I was only 8 years old when Blue Thunder was released and both me and my father were huge fans. We're only recently getting into RC now and we've been watching your review videos of the EDF jets from ExceedRC and other, and have been amazed with your flying skills. To find out you also flew these F-16's from one of our favourite movies just topped it off. Our hats are off to you sir!

  • Thanks very kindly for your comments. I really appreciate it and hope you great success in RC.

  • so cool, i know for sure if you give advice ,it must be the best,glad i subscribed.

  • Thanks, that is very kind of you to say.

  • could you suggest a decent heli for me to start with, ive got a flying horse,ive naver been able to find who makes it,it flew ok for a while but i want to move forward, backwards an sideways,money isnt a bother ill save,but i want a true rc heli.any advice would be truly appreciated.

  • Any 4 channel Helicopter is good for learning on beginning with coaxials like Blade MCX, Blade Cx2, Blazing stars, Hunters etc.

    My next choice would be the Honeybee Fixed Pitch. They are cheaper and can fly nice circuits around & handle the wind well.

    Simulator practice will help to learn controls and orientation, but real life is a whole different situation.

    I appreciate your frustration in trying to find a good heli. Good luck and read my 9 Heli flying tips for more.

  • thank you so very much for your advice,i appreciate you replying. blade cx2 it is, ill make a vid if you have any time to watch it.you seem like a busy guy.again thankyou sir!

  • Thanks Dave...Very neat to see.

  • Thanks a lot.

  • That took me back a few years :)

    Really interesting to how they use RC and full size to make that film. I fly RC planes, but not heli's. Enjoyed that, thanks for posting it. 5/5 stars !

  • Thanks very kindly. Glad you enjoyed it. Happy flying, Dave.

  • Remember that movie. I can't believe you're the one that did all this. One question though. What about all those chickens flown out that Japanese restaraunt in the movie? Were those birds remote controlled? LOL. Great job.

  • Thanks kindly. LOL RC chickens... Hey, now that is an Idea. Thanks for the kind words.

  • when he does a flip he says " come on you tube of shit!"

  • Cause back then it took all we could do to get a model to do a loop, let alone a real on. It takes lots of power and he was "coaxing it on" LOL. That is typical Roy Scheider lingo, though. LOL RIP Roy.

  • wait one of the helicopters a military one right?

  • In this movie, they were both police helis.

  • Wow! Amazing! This was one heck of a piece of "Hollywood History"...

    Nice flying, love your videos, man.

    Keep u pthe good work.

  • Thanks for the kind comments.

  • i cant fly a paper airplane thats all i can do =3

  • LOL. Keep practicing.

  • Hi, What's music is playing in the background. Thanks Tom

  • The Main Thing, by Roxy

  • Thanks very kindly and good luck to you. Practice lots and study my 9 heli flying tips too.

  • Hi dave I must say you have got some of the most exciting and educational vids on youtube.

  • Thanks. That is very kind of you to say.

  • dave, BLUE THUNDER was one of my favorite movies back in the day, i was an impressionable senior in high school who, after seeing this movie, wanted to go out and buy model planes and heli's to fly and blow up. i never in my wildest dreams would i have ever come across one of the behind the scenes stars of that movie! i am in awe, magnificent work, i am going to spend more time checking out your vids! thanks so much for the memories!! john

  • Thanks John. I appreciate your comments and hope you are flying now.  Good luck, Dave

  • Everything is impossible until someone does it

  • Good point.

  • was those real f-16s? not thjer red 1 but thje others were real?

  • Nope, the studio painted Grey paint all over my red trimmed plane to make it fit into the smog. LOL. The other planes, see the picture of them all crashed on deck, are Grey.

  • sweet btw are you a pilot tht flys real planes too? im intraining

  • Thanks. Not anymore, because it has been a long time since my license was current. Good luck with your training and fly safe.

  • yeh i just started training but like how many hours do u need to obtain lets say a commercial pilots license if u know?

    cuz like i want to b a airline pilot and liek it takes alot of hours but im unsure on how mny

  • Gosh, you got me on that one. It was 40 hours for private, when I learned, and I think like 400 for commercial but dont hold me to that. Just go for it.

  • sweet did u have a real plane?

    my dad has a cessna 172

  • No. Cessna 172 is what I learned on. Thanks.

  • btw u make great vids to mate i learn quite alot fom these vids

  • Thanks very much sir.

  • np prob mate

  • i think that you are the best guy on youtube. Now i have 2 rc helis and 2 planes. im learning to fly with them.Maybe u could make some vid which learns to fly beginners? THANKS (im 13 sorry for my bad english)

  • Thanks very kindly. See my videos on How rc helicopters work and how to fly an rc helicopter,, study my 9 heli tips, and you will be fine.

  • And just to reply about the looping of helis., many choppers ARE looped routinely, including the MBB Bo105, the Agusta A109 (usually the fixed-gear version), Hughes 500s and MDH 520N, the Eurocopter Tiger, and the British Army Air Corps. "Blue Eagles" solo Lynx demo included both loop and roll into their air display routine.

    Generally you need power (500shp+) and a rigid rotor with a short rotor mast. (I also regularly loop my EC130 in FSX too !!!)

  • Yes, but not 30 years ago when we made this movie, or the quote "Thats impossible", would not have been in the movie, according to the Director, John Badham. Today, the impossible is displayed all the time, for sure.

    Thanks for your comments.

  • Thanx for posting a 'behind the scenes' vid of THE seminal heli. movie!!! Yes, it was many years before model 'jets' could get away from the screaming piston engines on tuned pipes. I still find it amazing how model turbojet technology has revolutionised the flying of model jets, even in 1995 they were rare, but by 2000/2001 they seemed to be everywhere!

  • Thanks kindly.

  • so dave they used ur f-16 jet that is r/c for the film?

  • Yes, plus 3 others.

  • That was awesome bro.

  • Thanks kindly.

  • Absolutely incredible dailies of all the miniature special effects shots, and great flying from yourself and colleagues. Similar, if not identical, model flying was achieved to great effect in the "Airwolf" series, headed up by Larry Jolly, Jack Sessums and Pete Slagle. Where did the "behind-the-scenes" intro come from, with the 1983 American voice-over narration, or was that you yourself Dave?

  • Thanks kindly. Yes, I know Larry Jolly and was featured in his articles in AMA a couple of times for my inventions and helis.

    The intro of this video is on the BT DVD and the Outtakes were given to us by Columbia Pics.

    Thanks again.

  • Did you ever work with Larry on "Airwolf"? Presumably then, Columbia Pictures, or now Sony, will still have outtakes of all the other scenes and sequences, if not, the majority or some? I'm surprised they didn't release your private outtakes on the DVD. If only Universal would give the same fantastic treatment to "Airwolf" on DVD.

  • I know Larry Jolly and was featured in his articles in AMA a couple of times for my inventions and helis, but did not work with him.

    The intro of this video is on the BT DVD and the Outtakes were given to us by Columbia Pics.

    Thanks again, but our part was not important in those days to put in the "Promo trailer".

    Nowadays, they do it all the time. Thanks.

  • i watched that movie years ago once it came out on vcr

    i never knew it was models in the movie lol

    they did a good job on that movie and i thouroughly enjoyed it too i might go down to the local video store and see if its still available just for old times sake,

    thanks for sharing this

    i enjoyed it alot :)

    oh and good job with the flying

    i apreciate the skill and amount of pressure it would have took to do that on film :D

    well done!

  • Thanks very kindly. I appreciate your comments. It was quite a chore for us, all right,with deadlines, but it worked out and I am glad you liked it. Im sure you can buy the DVDs still also. It is fun to watch.