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 Nazi flying wing from *Raiders of the Lost Ark* was a non-flying prop designed by Ron Cobb, drawing inspiration from real German and Northrop flying wing prototypes like the N-1M.
- The original movie prop was later destroyed on set, and a distinctly modified, smaller version with different engine and cabin configurations was subsequently built for the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Walt Disney World.
- An aerodynamic analysis reveals that both cinematic versions of the plane had significant design flaws, such as improper vertical fin placement, engine position affecting the center of gravity, and destabilizing tractor propellers on a flying wing, rendering them unairworthy.
- Despite their technical impracticalities, the article concludes that both planes successfully served their purpose as effective cinematic "contrivances" for entertainment.
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