Aircraft from the classic aviation film
"The Flight of the Phoenix"

Anyone who knows me, will know this is my number one favourite aviation film.
It combines my favourite aircraft - the Flying Boxcar - with a desert setting and
a well crafted survival story. The film featured an all-star cast including
James Stewart and Richard Attenborough.
My initial research into these aircraft was published in the
January 2006 issue of the British aviation magazine Aeroplane Monthly.
Please send additional photos, information or corrections
to the author at: sdbeck@caverock.net.nz
Ongoing research includes these aspects of the 1965
film that as yet, I don't have answers for:

WARNING: Any photograph credited to JP Trevor, James H. Farmer,
Andre van Loon or Namib Films are strictly for this web-site only. No copying
of any of these images should be done without prior permission from the
website author who can be contacted at the above address.

1965 version

Click here for: The Phoenix Production Diary

Aircraft type: Fairchild C-82A-15-FA Packet s/n / msn: 44-23015 / 10059 civil reg. / owner: N6887C / New Frontier Airlift Corp. movie role: Flying aircraft used in the opening scenes.
	Delivered to the USAF in 1946 and retired in 1955. Originally registered as N6989C to Steward-Davis and later to N6887C, it was one of their Jet-Packet 1600 prototypes and demonstrators. N6887C was hired out to 20th Century Fox in June - July 1965 for the air-to-air scenes filmed with Tallmantz Aviation's B-25 camera plane N1203 (43-4643).
	This photo was taken after filming in early 1966 at Long Beach Airport, CA. N6887C retained the "Arabco" livery up till about 1968-69 when it was returned to a bare metal finish. Rumored to have been the C-82 on display in Hermosillo, Mexico up till late 2005. Photo: Andre van Loon Collection.
Aircraft type: Fairchild C-82A-20-FA Packet s/n / msn: 44-23031 / 10075 civil reg. / owner: N4833V / New Frontier Airlift Corp. movie role: Fuselage used for exterior desert location filming.
	Delivered to the USAF in 1946 and retired in 1954. Entering civil service in 1955, N4833V had a succession of owners until being purchased by New Frontier in 1961. Only the fuselage was hired, being transported to the Buttercup Valley outdoor location near Yuma, AZ. where filming took place from early May to late June 1965.
	At Long Beach Airport, CA. in early 1996, N4833V's fuselage now reunited with wings and booms. In 1967, it was purchased by Fairchild-Hiller Corp. as N6850A but this was never taken up, it was scrapped in the early 70's along with the other C-82 Packets at Long Beach. Photo: Andre van Loon Collection.
Aircraft type: Fairchild C-82A-25-FA Packet s/n / msn: 44-23036 / 10080 civil reg. / owner: N53228 / New Frontier Airlift Corp. movie role: Fuselage used for soundstage filming at 20th Century Fox.
	Delivered to the USAF in 1946 and finally retired in 1957 - as the last USAF C-82 in service. N53228 was owned by the Master Equipment Co. from 1957 - 1961 when it was brought by New Frontier. Only the fuselage was used for the night work scenes shot at 20th Century Fox Studios from early July to mid August, 1965.
	Seen here at Long Beach in early 1966 being re-assembled with it's wings and booms, N53228 remained there until scrapped sometime in the early 1970's. Photo: Andre van Loon Collection.
Aircraft type: Fairchild C-82A Packet s/n / msn: ? civil reg. / owner: ? / New Frontier Airlift Corp. movie role: Fuselage cut up for aircraft interior filming.
	An as yet unidentified C-82 fuselage was cut up for the in-flight cockpit and cargo hold scenes. Likely Steward-Davis aircraft are: N6996C (44-23005), N6998C (44-23009), N74042 (44-23037), N74048 (44-23052) or N7884C (44-23013).
	The still to the left is the front section at 20th Century Fox Ranch in early May 1965 during sandstorm filming. The main fuselage segment was at 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles where the cargo hold interiors were filmed. Photo: JP Trevor Collection.
Aircraft type: Fairchild R4Q-1 Packet s/n / msn: BuNo.126580 / 10549 owner: 20th Century Fox Film Corp. movie role: Components used to make non-flying Phoenix movie prop.
	Delivered to the USMC in 1951 and retired in 1959. BuNo.126580 sat at NAS Litchfield Park's storage yard then went to Allied Aircraft of Arizona. 20th Century Fox then acquired certain parts in 1965 as components that could be seen being constructed during filming. The completed structure seen in the picture to the left was filmed in Patton Valley, CA. in late June, 1965.
	Rare behind-the-scenes still of BuNo.126580 components (starboard wing, engine), set up alongside the fuselage of C-82 N4833V at the Buttercup Valley filming location in May, 1965. Wings, booms,  tail-plane were the main sections plus a few odds and ends for set decoration. The tails however, were of fiberglass construction. Photo: JP Trevor Collection.
Aircraft type: Tallmantz Phoenix P-1  msn: 1 civil reg. / owner: N93082 / Tallmantz Aviation Inc.. movie role: Actual flying scratch-built aircraft.
	Designed by Otto Timm, the Tallmantz Phoenix P-1 as it was known, only made a handful of brief shots in the final cut. The tragic crash of the P-1 that claimed the life of veteran Hollywood pilot Paul Mantz on July 8, 1965, meant that the flying sequences could not be finished. These scenes were filmed at Pilot Knob Mesa near Yuma, AZ.
	The Phoenix P-1 was built from the wings of a Beech C-45, T-6 Texan R-1340 engine, cowling, cockpit, undercarriage and propeller. The rear fuselage, tail section and skids were scratch-built by Tallmantz Aviation Inc. Length: 13.72 meters, weight: 2064kg. First flight was on June 29, 1965. Photo: James H. Farmer.
Aircraft type: North American O-47A s/n / msn: 38-284 / 25-554 civil reg. / owner: N4725V / The Air Museum, Claremont, CA. movie role: Flying "stand-in" converted for final scenes.
	Delivered as an O-47A in 1939, it remained in service till 1947. N4725V had a series of owners, in 1953, being converted to O-47B standard with an engine upgrade. Brought in from the Air Museum of California, N4725V was converted to a Phoenix look-a-like after the crash of the P-1 in July, 1965. It performed, as seen here, the final fly past in early November, enabling the film to be completed.
	After filming was completed N4725V, in the picture to the left, was converted back to it's original O-47B configuration in December, 1966. The aircraft suffered a belly landing in June, 1982 and the resulting fire damaged the aircraft beyond repair. It is currently in storage with Planes of Fame in Chino, CA. Photo: James H. Farmer.

2004 version

Aircraft type: Fairchild C-119F-FA Flying Boxcar s/n / msn: (RCAF) 22130 / 10955 civil reg. / owner: N15501 / Hawkins & Powers Aviation Inc. movie role: Flying aircraft used in the opening sequences.
	In service with the RCAF from 1953 to 1968 and then with H&P Aviation Inc. from 1975 to 2005. N15501 had been upgraded to C-119G standard with a Steward-Davis Jet-Pak. The aircraft flew to Namibia from Wyoming in late December 2003 and returned in June 2004. The airstrip location was built at Rossing Mountain 32km east of Swakopmund. Photo: Haroldo Fiuza Junior, Brazil 2004.
Aircraft type: Fairchild R4Q-2 Packet s/n / msn: BuNo. 131700 / 10885 civil reg. / owner: N3267U / 20th Century Fox Film Corp. movie role: On location desert wreck / starboard boom a second static Phoenix movie-prop.
	Delivered to the USMC in 1953 and retired in 1975. Stored in Tucson, AZ. it was eventually sold to Comutair of Nebraska in 1987 where it ended up derelict in Kenya sometime in the 90's. It was picked up by Fox Film Corp. and trucked to Namibia in 2003. The aircraft played in the "whole wreck" scenes and one boom became a Phoenix movie-prop for actor close-ups. Photo: Namib Films.
Aircraft type: Fairchild R4Q-2 Packet s/n / msn: BuNo. 131691 / 10876 owner: 20th Century Fox Film Corp. movie role: Static Phoenix movie-prop / fuselage & flight-deck used for interior shots.
	Delivered to the USMC in 1953 and retired to Tucson, AZ. in 1975. "691" was stored there until being acquired by Fox Film Corp. in 2003. The entire aircraft was shipped to Namibia where it became the static Phoenix prop (pictured), that could be built or disassembled as required for filming, the fuselage and flight-deck were cut up for interior scenes. Photo: Namib Films.
Aircraft type: Fairchild R4Q-2 Packet s/n / msn: BuNo. 131706 / 10891 owner: 20th Century Fox Film Corp. movie role: Motorized Phoenix movie-prop with working radial engine.
	Delivered to the USMC in 1953 and retired to Tucson, AZ. in 1975. "706" was stored there until being acquired by Fox Film Corp. in 2003. The starboard boom / wings etc. only were required and built into a motorized version that could move under it's own power. A working radial engine was installed on the front for scripting purposes. Photo: Namib Films.

A Special Thanks to the following people for their assistance:
William Aldrich, Film Actor / Producer, for background material on the 1965 version.
Ed Bertschy for background material on the Tallmantz Phoenix P-1.
Ernest Borgnine, Film Actor - 1965 version, for background location information.
Eddie Coates for his valuable C-82 photo collection taken at Long Beach Airport.
Richard Crossley for his research of the 1965 version  and creation of the oil co. logos.
Archie DeFante, USAF Archivist at Maxwell AFB, for providing C-82 historical information.
Stanley Epstein of Steward-Davis Intl. for historical documents on the C-82.
James H. Farmer for his very rare Long Beach C-82 photos and background material.
Dale J. Gordon of the Naval Historical Center for Fairchild R4Q-2 histories.
Dan Hagedorn of The Smithsonian Institute for USMC R4Q-1 background material.
Alwyn T. Lloyd for background material on the C-82 and C-119.
Janet Lornez of the Margaret Herrick Library, Beverly Hills, CA.
 for original 1965 version documents.
Charles Lunsford for C-119 material from the 2004 version.
Guy Nockels of Namib Films for background material on the 2004 version.
Rob Raine of AMARC, Arizona for Fairchild R4Q-2 histories.
Gordon Reid for the notes from his aircraft log book on Long Beach C-82's.
Terry Shelton of Tucson, AZ for background material on the 2004 version.
David Steiner for background information on the 1965 version and Phoenix aircraft.
Dan Thompson for background information.
Scott A. Thompson for additional Tallmantz Phoenix P-1 research.
Jean-Pierre Trevor for his Father, Elleston Trevor's rare 1965 photo collection.
Andre van Loon for use of his C-82 photo collection.
Roger Wyckoff for his logbook which flew in R4Q-1 BuNo.126580.

An autographed photo sent to me by Hollywood Actor
Ernest Borgnine who played the memorable oil worker
"Trucker Cobb" in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965).

JP Trevor of England has for sale his Father's, author Elleston Trevor, original
filming script used by him while on location in Yuma during 1965.
It is leather bound and in very good condition, also included are large,
signed portraits of the cast and crew along with many other snap-shots taken
by Elleston Trevor on the set.
If you are interested in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, please contact
website owner Simon Beck at the above email address.