Early this year my son, who was screening a series of classic films for friends, put on the 1981 Spielberg pulse-pounder Raiders of the Lost Ark, which came out in the year he was born and, therefore, stood to him, in terms of the history of film and the decline of taste, as Casablanca does to me.
Technicalities: The Story Behind the German Airplane in Raiders of the Lost Ark
Key Takeaways:
- The iconic "Nazi flying wing" in *Raiders of the Lost Ark* was a fictional movie prop designed by Ron Cobb, drawing inspiration from real-world flying wing prototypes.
- Two versions of the aircraft existed: the large original prop for the film, and a smaller, modified design for the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Walt Disney World.
- An aerodynamic analysis reveals that neither the film prop nor its stunt show counterpart would have been airworthy due to significant design flaws, including misplaced vertical fins, engine positioning, and the use of destabilizing tractor propellers on a tailless aircraft.
- Despite their lack of aerodynamic realism, both "contrivances" successfully served their intended purpose as visually compelling elements in film and live entertainment.
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