 The
votes are in! Thousands of aviation enthusiasts have made their choices
in EAA's "Greatest Aviation Movie of All Time" poll, and the
winning film combines adventure, romance and lots of high-performance
flying.
The champion is "Top Gun," the
1986 blockbuster that starred Tom Cruise (an EAA member), Kelly McGillis,
Tom Skerritt, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards and several other stars in a
drama based at the U.S. Navy's "Top Gun" fighter training
school. The movie, which was the biggest grossing film in the U.S. that
year, will be shown during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2007 at the event's
Fly-In Theater, presented by Ford Motor Company and Eclipse Aviation.
"There's no doubt regarding the
popular appeal of 'Top Gun,' even 20 years after its initial
release," said Tom Benenson, FLYING Magazine senior editor, who
created many of the introductions for the Fly-In Theater at EAA
AirVenture 2006. "Many aviation fans have this film as part of
their video collection or regularly search for the movie's airings on
television. Knowing the flying sequences are based on actual U.S.
military training makes the film even more appealing to pilots."
"Top Gun" was one of 10
finalists in the online poll at www.airventure.org.
It collected more than 20.5 percent of the more than 10,000 votes cast,
ahead of the classic 1949 film "Twelve O'Clock High" (17.7
percent) and more recent World War II epic "Memphis Belle"
from 1990 (12.2 percent).
The finalists were the 10 most-nominated
films by EAA members earlier this year, who submitted more than 140
aviation movies. Others in the final poll included "Battle of
Britain" (1969) with 11.8 percent; "Spirit of St. Louis"
(1957) and "The Great Waldo Pepper" (1975), each with 8.6
percent; "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines"
(1965) 7.1 percent; "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965) 5.2
percent; "The High and the Mighty" (1954) with 4.0 percent and
"The Blue Max" (1966) with 4.0 percent.
"We thank the thousands of people
who participated in this online poll over the past two months,"
Benenson said. "We heard from many EAA members and others who are
passionate about their particular favorites when it comes to aviation
movies. Their voting and input has assured a long list of future feature
possibilities as EAA continues to develop the Fly-In Theater with the
support of Ford and Eclipse."
The viewing date of "Top Gun"
at the Fly-In Theater during EAA AirVenture 2007 will be announced when
it is finalized in the coming weeks. This film will join the previously
announced "Apollo 13" on the schedule, a movie that will be
shown on Friday, July 27 and introduced by actual Apollo 13 commander
Jim Lovell. Additional films and presenters will be announced as they
are confirmed, but all promise to be movies of special interest for
aviation enthusiasts.
The outdoor theater, located adjacent to
EAA's Camp Scholler camping area, will be open each evening (weather
permitting) from Sunday, July 22 through Saturday, July 28. The walk-in
theater is reminiscent of the famous drive-in theaters of the past,
complete with popcorn! There is no admission charge for the theater,
which is open to all AirVenture guests. Each evening's show begins at
approximately 8:30 p.m., with an introduction by a celebrity presenter,
followed by a classic aviation film at about 9 p.m., shown on a
projection screen measuring five stories high.
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