FLYBOYS HEADS FOR THE SILVER SCREEN

Air Classics, Jul 2005

During May, filming started in England for the World War One flying drama titled Flyboys. Staring James Franco and Jean Reno, the $60 million production will be directed by Tony Bill. Scripted by David Ward, the film details the adventures of American pilots who went to France to fly with the Layfayette Escadrilk before America's entry into the war.

Now, what to do for airplanes? The producers did not want to use CGI since they felt the images are not realistic so they contracted with Robert Baslee's AirDrome Airplanes in Holden, Missouri, to build four replica full-size Nieuport 17s. Trouble was, they had to do it in a short time. Robert and his crew got busy and the Nieuports were built in just 52 days! Power is supplied via a Volkswagen VW 2180cc engine swinging a Culver 96x60 propeller. Empty weight is just 532-lbs. The completed aircraft were shipped to Britain where they will be assembled, test flown, and painted in period markings.