Just Plane Wrong: Difference between revisions
Content added Content deleted
m (Mass update links) |
m (Mass update links) |
||
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
** [[Improbable Piloting Skills]] and its cousin, [[Ace Pilot]] |
** [[Improbable Piloting Skills]] and its cousin, [[Ace Pilot]] |
||
** [[Rule of Cool]] |
** [[Rule of Cool]] |
||
** [[High |
** [[High-Speed Missile Dodge]]: This one depends on how it's depicted, [[Aluminum Christmas Trees|as this trope really does occur in real life]]. |
||
** [[Super Prototype]] |
** [[Super Prototype]] |
||
** [[Bottomless Magazines]]/[[Hyperspace Arsenal]] |
** [[Bottomless Magazines]]/[[Hyperspace Arsenal]] |
||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
** Oh, and any aircraft with one engine and two or four seats is a Cessna according to the news, regardless of its actual manufacturer, although this may have a lot to do with [[Popcultural Osmosis]], in the same way that a vacuum cleaner is always referred to as a "hoover" in the UK, for instance. |
** Oh, and any aircraft with one engine and two or four seats is a Cessna according to the news, regardless of its actual manufacturer, although this may have a lot to do with [[Popcultural Osmosis]], in the same way that a vacuum cleaner is always referred to as a "hoover" in the UK, for instance. |
||
This trope is most certainly not limited to aviation—for the naval equivalent, see [[Artistic License Ships]], for railroading examples see [[Just Train Wrong]], and for military vehicles see [[Tanks |
This trope is most certainly not limited to aviation—for the naval equivalent, see [[Artistic License Ships]], for railroading examples see [[Just Train Wrong]], and for military vehicles see [[Tanks, But No Tanks]]. |
||
{{examples}} |
{{examples}} |
||
| Line 31: | Line 31: | ||
* One that features a bit in ''[[Airwolf]]'' and probably appears elsewhere is depicting all aircraft from Soviet-influenced countries as having Soviet color schemes, complete with red star. The [[Warsaw Pact]] countries (as well as Cuba) had their own roundels, many of which are still used today—Poland for example. |
* One that features a bit in ''[[Airwolf]]'' and probably appears elsewhere is depicting all aircraft from Soviet-influenced countries as having Soviet color schemes, complete with red star. The [[Warsaw Pact]] countries (as well as Cuba) had their own roundels, many of which are still used today—Poland for example. |
||
* In "brevity code" (NATO pilot speak) "bogeys" are unidentified aircraft. Hostiles are "''bandits''". |
* In "brevity code" (NATO pilot speak) "bogeys" are unidentified aircraft. Hostiles are "''bandits''". |
||
* Any large military transport aircraft tends to automatically be referred to as a Hercules. Even if it's a [ |
* Any large military transport aircraft tends to automatically be referred to as a Hercules. Even if it's a [[wikipedia:Boeing C-17 Globemaster III|4-engined transport JET]]. |
||
* The Red Baron's red Fokker triplane is so iconic because it was already rare and he was the only person who painted his bright red. This fails to stop stories set in [[WW 1]] from using them as the standard German plane(extremely bad in Flyboys). |
* The Red Baron's red Fokker triplane is so iconic because it was already rare and he was the only person who painted his bright red. This fails to stop stories set in [[WW 1]] from using them as the standard German plane(extremely bad in Flyboys). |
||
** While the Fokker Triplane was iconic, the entire Flying Circus was operating them at the time, having been one of the first squadrons to operate the type. In fact the Fokker Dr1 was in widespread service in the spring of 1918 when Richthofen was killed and 320 were built before production ended due to their annoying habit of having Wing Failures. |
** While the Fokker Triplane was iconic, the entire Flying Circus was operating them at the time, having been one of the first squadrons to operate the type. In fact the Fokker Dr1 was in widespread service in the spring of 1918 when Richthofen was killed and 320 were built before production ended due to their annoying habit of having Wing Failures. |
||
| Line 51: | Line 51: | ||
== Films == |
== Films == |
||
* ''[[Top Gun]]'': |
* ''[[Top Gun]]'': |
||
** The US built [ |
** The US built [[wikipedia:Northrop F-5|F-5E Tiger II]] stood in for MiGs, just as various models of Sikorsky helicopters with wings stuck on have had to stand in for Soviet/Russian Mi-24 "Hind" gunships. And the aircraft was called a MiG-28—no such bird exists<ref>Mikoyan have always built fighters. Back in the Cold War days, in addition to indicating the design bureau ("MiG", "Su", "Tu", "Yak", etc.), Soviet designations made the distinction between fighters and other aircraft; odd numbers were fighters, even ones bombers and everything else (though with specialized ground attack aircraft, the difference did get fuzzy at times). So there was a MiG-27 and a MiG-29, but no -28.</ref> |
||
** A pilot uses the missile release button on his control stick to fire his guns. |
** A pilot uses the missile release button on his control stick to fire his guns. |
||
** Most of the school/practice battles in ''Top Gun'' have planes within rock-throwing distance of each other, an astoundingly unsafe situation as well as being too close for missiles, sensors, guns, and engines to work any more. The plot-crucial engine flameout should've happened about twenty times before it did. Remember that your plane's engine(s) can't breathe exhaust any better than you can. |
** Most of the school/practice battles in ''Top Gun'' have planes within rock-throwing distance of each other, an astoundingly unsafe situation as well as being too close for missiles, sensors, guns, and engines to work any more. The plot-crucial engine flameout should've happened about twenty times before it did. Remember that your plane's engine(s) can't breathe exhaust any better than you can. |
||
| Line 57: | Line 57: | ||
** The titular presidential 747 features an ''[[Escape Pod]]'', something that the real plane used as [[Air Force One]] does not, and could not possibly, have. [[Bill Clinton|President Clinton]] is said to have commented on that inaccuracy when watching the movie. |
** The titular presidential 747 features an ''[[Escape Pod]]'', something that the real plane used as [[Air Force One]] does not, and could not possibly, have. [[Bill Clinton|President Clinton]] is said to have commented on that inaccuracy when watching the movie. |
||
** One scene featured some F-15s switching on their afterburners. This caused these fighter jets to ''instantly'' jump from subsonic speeds to Mach 2, like Han Solo turning on the hyperdrive. Real afterburners simply provide a greater force of thrust, allowing the aircraft to ''smoothly accelerate'' past the compressibility range until it attains a supersonic airspeed—they don't cause Newton's 2nd Law of Motion to be temporarily suspended. |
** One scene featured some F-15s switching on their afterburners. This caused these fighter jets to ''instantly'' jump from subsonic speeds to Mach 2, like Han Solo turning on the hyperdrive. Real afterburners simply provide a greater force of thrust, allowing the aircraft to ''smoothly accelerate'' past the compressibility range until it attains a supersonic airspeed—they don't cause Newton's 2nd Law of Motion to be temporarily suspended. |
||
* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in the parody movie ''Airplane'' where the titular jet is accompanied by a propeller sound effect which is both incongruous and a [[Shout |
* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in the parody movie ''Airplane'' where the titular jet is accompanied by a propeller sound effect which is both incongruous and a [[Shout-Out]] to ''Zero Hour'', the B-movie it was based on. |
||
* In ''[[Iron Eagle II]]'', one of the heroes hears planes approaching, starts screaming and yelling "Those are MiGs! I can hear it!" and runs out onto the tarmac—to look at a flight of F-4 Phantom IIs, one of the most distinctive American designs out there. |
* In ''[[Iron Eagle II]]'', one of the heroes hears planes approaching, starts screaming and yelling "Those are MiGs! I can hear it!" and runs out onto the tarmac—to look at a flight of F-4 Phantom IIs, one of the most distinctive American designs out there. |
||
** The F-4's in ''[[Iron Eagle II]]'' were playing Mig-29's (which were identified as such at the beginning of the movie), which would have been impossible to procure. Nevertheless the differences were glaring from the side and rear (Mig-29's were twin tailed while F-4's were single tailed), but perhaps from the front they looked similar enough to justify their use (i.e. the droopy nose and twin intakes). Presumably renting a few F-18s, which from many angles look very nearly identical to the [[Mi G]]-29, was beyond their budget. And don't forget the first ''[[Iron Eagle (Film)|Iron Eagle]]'' movie which has Dassault Mirages play as Mig-23's, a more glaring error (since Mig-23's were swing-wing, whereas Mirages were delta-wing). |
** The F-4's in ''[[Iron Eagle II]]'' were playing Mig-29's (which were identified as such at the beginning of the movie), which would have been impossible to procure. Nevertheless the differences were glaring from the side and rear (Mig-29's were twin tailed while F-4's were single tailed), but perhaps from the front they looked similar enough to justify their use (i.e. the droopy nose and twin intakes). Presumably renting a few F-18s, which from many angles look very nearly identical to the [[Mi G]]-29, was beyond their budget. And don't forget the first ''[[Iron Eagle (Film)|Iron Eagle]]'' movie which has Dassault Mirages play as Mig-23's, a more glaring error (since Mig-23's were swing-wing, whereas Mirages were delta-wing). |
||
| Line 66: | Line 66: | ||
** This is in itself an odd example, as F-16s, which carry much smaller missile loads (A maximum of 6)and significantly less radar and fuel capabilities, is not a primary interceptor. F-15s are what probably would have been scrambled in this case. This may be an in-universe example of the staff at the airbase altering the order to the correct one. |
** This is in itself an odd example, as F-16s, which carry much smaller missile loads (A maximum of 6)and significantly less radar and fuel capabilities, is not a primary interceptor. F-15s are what probably would have been scrambled in this case. This may be an in-universe example of the staff at the airbase altering the order to the correct one. |
||
** Also depends on the location: during the Cold War, Air National Guard squadrons on the West and East Coasts outfitted for the intercept role received intercept-optimised [http://www.f-16.net/f-16_versions_article14.html F-16s], so it's not inconceivable that they would have been tasked to the intercept—Florida ANG, for example, made plenty of Bear intercepts during the Cold War. But the simplest explanation is that Beringer was mistaken in what assets were available. |
** Also depends on the location: during the Cold War, Air National Guard squadrons on the West and East Coasts outfitted for the intercept role received intercept-optimised [http://www.f-16.net/f-16_versions_article14.html F-16s], so it's not inconceivable that they would have been tasked to the intercept—Florida ANG, for example, made plenty of Bear intercepts during the Cold War. But the simplest explanation is that Beringer was mistaken in what assets were available. |
||
* The [ |
* The [[wikipedia:Messerschmitt Bf 108|Messerschmitt Bf108 Taifun]] trainer shows up playing German fighters in several 1960s war films, notably ''633 Squadron'' and ''[[The Longest Day]]''. The Bf108 is a relatively common civil aircraft (they continued to be built in France after the war as the Nord 1000) that bears an unmistakable family resemblence to the Bf109 fighter. |
||
** Notably averted in ''[[The Great Escape]]'' where a Bf108 is actually used to portray a Bf108 which two of the escapees steal from a training field |
** Notably averted in ''[[The Great Escape]]'' where a Bf108 is actually used to portray a Bf108 which two of the escapees steal from a training field |
||
* Harvards (better known as T-6 Texans or SNJs) with bits glued on were used to represent fighter bombers in ''A Bridge Too Far''. The C-47s used for that film were real C-47s, however. Or possibly repainted DC-3s, which are basically the same thing. |
* Harvards (better known as T-6 Texans or SNJs) with bits glued on were used to represent fighter bombers in ''A Bridge Too Far''. The C-47s used for that film were real C-47s, however. Or possibly repainted DC-3s, which are basically the same thing. |
||
| Line 89: | Line 89: | ||
** [[Fridge Brilliance]]: given the movie's theme of humanity uniting in the face of extraterrestrial aggressors, the idea of Britain operating its air force out of Iraq seems less ridiculous: one has a target, the other has the necessary hardware, and it's either [[Enemy Mine|co-operate in the name of survival]] or [[Divided We Fall|hang separately]]. But that doesn't explain the F-16s, though, which the RAF does not (and has never) operate. |
** [[Fridge Brilliance]]: given the movie's theme of humanity uniting in the face of extraterrestrial aggressors, the idea of Britain operating its air force out of Iraq seems less ridiculous: one has a target, the other has the necessary hardware, and it's either [[Enemy Mine|co-operate in the name of survival]] or [[Divided We Fall|hang separately]]. But that doesn't explain the F-16s, though, which the RAF does not (and has never) operate. |
||
*** Again the novelizations gets this right. The RAF pilots where flying Saudi marked Tornadoes, which they where delivering to the Saudi Air Force before all hell broke loose and they where forced to land on a dry lake-bed in the middle of the dessert together with fighters from every Air Force in the Middle East. The [[Fridge Brilliance]] is lampshaded in the book when one of the RAF pilots remarks on the impressive and impossible sight of Israeli F-15s parked next to Syrian Migs, and Iraqi fighters parked next to Iranians, when just two days before everyone of those fighters would have shot at every-other fighter present, except, maybe, those belonging to his Air Force. |
*** Again the novelizations gets this right. The RAF pilots where flying Saudi marked Tornadoes, which they where delivering to the Saudi Air Force before all hell broke loose and they where forced to land on a dry lake-bed in the middle of the dessert together with fighters from every Air Force in the Middle East. The [[Fridge Brilliance]] is lampshaded in the book when one of the RAF pilots remarks on the impressive and impossible sight of Israeli F-15s parked next to Syrian Migs, and Iraqi fighters parked next to Iranians, when just two days before everyone of those fighters would have shot at every-other fighter present, except, maybe, those belonging to his Air Force. |
||
* ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118261/ Asteroid]'' movie (proof of [[It's Popular, Now It Sucks]] theory). [[Frickin' Laser Beams|Laser]] (judging by its size, geodesic; and of course, with ray visible in space) fastened onto F-16, [[Sci |
* ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118261/ Asteroid]'' movie (proof of [[It's Popular, Now It Sucks]] theory). [[Frickin' Laser Beams|Laser]] (judging by its size, geodesic; and of course, with ray visible in space) fastened onto F-16, [[Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale|manually aimed at megameter or so]] and blows up big asteroid. Though one could argue that it would be pure [[Snark Bait]] even with Pentagon's "realistic" solution—experimental laser cannon on Boeing 747, which at least could take out missile or aircraft. As opposed to plain and sane original idea: arrange meeting of damn stone and [[Deus Ex Nukina|little fusion device]], the higher orbit the better, then watch some [[Stuff Blowing Up]]. |
||
* Toward the end of the rescue in the 1986 movie ''The Delta Force'', a Boeing 707 is shown practically bulletproof in that it takes fire from Kalashnikov rifles as it is taking off only to have the bullets [[Bullet Sparks|apparently glance off its metal skin]]. In real life, such a plane's relatively thin aluminum skin would be perforated and the plane rendered unsafe or unable to fly. There's also the issue of supposedly USAF C-130s having Israeli Air Force numbers (since the C-130s were leased from the Israeli military for the film), but that issue is quite minor and easily overlooked compared to the [[Immune to Bullets|Bulletproof Boeing]]. |
* Toward the end of the rescue in the 1986 movie ''The Delta Force'', a Boeing 707 is shown practically bulletproof in that it takes fire from Kalashnikov rifles as it is taking off only to have the bullets [[Bullet Sparks|apparently glance off its metal skin]]. In real life, such a plane's relatively thin aluminum skin would be perforated and the plane rendered unsafe or unable to fly. There's also the issue of supposedly USAF C-130s having Israeli Air Force numbers (since the C-130s were leased from the Israeli military for the film), but that issue is quite minor and easily overlooked compared to the [[Immune to Bullets|Bulletproof Boeing]]. |
||
* ''[[Midway]]'' was made with essentially no special-effects budget. One effect of this is that flying scenes are done with whatever [[Stock Footage]] they could get their hands on. It's common for airplanes to change model in mid-flight; the most [[Egregious]] example is an airplane that makes its landing approach as a twin-propeller-engine dive-bomber, but crashes onto the carrier's flight deck as a single-engine jet fighter (a McDonnell Banshee). |
* ''[[Midway]]'' was made with essentially no special-effects budget. One effect of this is that flying scenes are done with whatever [[Stock Footage]] they could get their hands on. It's common for airplanes to change model in mid-flight; the most [[Egregious]] example is an airplane that makes its landing approach as a twin-propeller-engine dive-bomber, but crashes onto the carrier's flight deck as a single-engine jet fighter (a McDonnell Banshee). |
||
| Line 98: | Line 98: | ||
* In ''The Great Waldo Pepper'', two relatively common Tiger Moth biplanes were wrecked in the crash scenes, standing in for the much rarer Standard J-1. Ironically, most sources about the film mistakenly identify the Standard J-1s actually used in the movie as the smaller (but more famous) Curtis JN-1 "Jenny". Tallmantz aviation, like most real Barnstormers, preferred the Standard because it was larger, stronger, and used a more reliable engine. |
* In ''The Great Waldo Pepper'', two relatively common Tiger Moth biplanes were wrecked in the crash scenes, standing in for the much rarer Standard J-1. Ironically, most sources about the film mistakenly identify the Standard J-1s actually used in the movie as the smaller (but more famous) Curtis JN-1 "Jenny". Tallmantz aviation, like most real Barnstormers, preferred the Standard because it was larger, stronger, and used a more reliable engine. |
||
* In ''[[Ace Ventura|Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls]]'', the opening sequence features Ace climbing some Alpine-looking mountains, dressed in suspenders and shorts often stereotypically portrayed on Swiss alpinists, and there is a helicopter flying around him painted in crimson red with a white cross at each side—the symbol and flag of Switzerland. The aircraft's tail number (license plate)? Canadian registration. [[California Doubling|Location shooting indeed...]] |
* In ''[[Ace Ventura|Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls]]'', the opening sequence features Ace climbing some Alpine-looking mountains, dressed in suspenders and shorts often stereotypically portrayed on Swiss alpinists, and there is a helicopter flying around him painted in crimson red with a white cross at each side—the symbol and flag of Switzerland. The aircraft's tail number (license plate)? Canadian registration. [[California Doubling|Location shooting indeed...]] |
||
* ''[[Executive Decision]]'' features what is blatantly an F-117 stealth fighter that has somehow been modified to hold a sort of air-to-air docking collar while still having space for half a dozen armed commandos and the pilot, making the passenger compartment at least as large as the entire hull, leaving no space for engines, fuel tanks, or anything else. Apparently, the USAF has developed [[Doctor Who |
* ''[[Executive Decision]]'' features what is blatantly an F-117 stealth fighter that has somehow been modified to hold a sort of air-to-air docking collar while still having space for half a dozen armed commandos and the pilot, making the passenger compartment at least as large as the entire hull, leaving no space for engines, fuel tanks, or anything else. Apparently, the USAF has developed [[Doctor Who|TARDIS technology]]. |
||
* In ''[[True Lies]]'' the portrayal of the Harrier jet is highly erroneous. Harriers are not designed to hover as long as it did in the film, are not bulletproof, and would be unflyable if it got its instrument panel shot up like it did. More than [[Justified Trope]], however, by [[Rule of Cool]]. |
* In ''[[True Lies]]'' the portrayal of the Harrier jet is highly erroneous. Harriers are not designed to hover as long as it did in the film, are not bulletproof, and would be unflyable if it got its instrument panel shot up like it did. More than [[Justified Trope]], however, by [[Rule of Cool]]. |
||
** Also, exactly how does Arnold avoid ''getting sucked into the intake & fodding the damn engine''? |
** Also, exactly how does Arnold avoid ''getting sucked into the intake & fodding the damn engine''? |
||
| Line 107: | Line 107: | ||
* ''The Concorde: Airport '79'' (also known as ''Airport 80'' <s>for some reason</s> because it wasn't released until 1980 in some countries) was full of such howlers: |
* ''The Concorde: Airport '79'' (also known as ''Airport 80'' <s>for some reason</s> because it wasn't released until 1980 in some countries) was full of such howlers: |
||
** When the Concorde is being chased by heat-seeking missiles, George Kennedy ''opens a window'' in the cockpit, then leans out into the onrushing ''supersonic'' air and fires a flare gun. The force should have ripped the window housing open, and torn Kennedy's arm off. |
** When the Concorde is being chased by heat-seeking missiles, George Kennedy ''opens a window'' in the cockpit, then leans out into the onrushing ''supersonic'' air and fires a flare gun. The force should have ripped the window housing open, and torn Kennedy's arm off. |
||
** In the course of dodging the heat-seeking missiles, the Concorde's engines flame out. The plane immediately nosedives ''straight down'', plummeting like a rock. In the real world, when an airliner (even a supersonic one) loses power, it becomes a glider. It won't have the best glide performance in the world, but it's still going to be ''gliding'', not falling (this was how [ |
** In the course of dodging the heat-seeking missiles, the Concorde's engines flame out. The plane immediately nosedives ''straight down'', plummeting like a rock. In the real world, when an airliner (even a supersonic one) loses power, it becomes a glider. It won't have the best glide performance in the world, but it's still going to be ''gliding'', not falling (this was how [[wikipedia:Gimli Glider|Air Canada Flight 143]] managed to make it to Gimli Industrial Park Airport while out of fuel). |
||
** Not to mention lining up with the runway a few km short of threshold, and only then does anyone (including airport tower) notice there's a multicoloured hot air balloon over the runway. Or the F-4 Phantom pilot somehow failing to shoot down an ''airliner'' with either missiles or guns for four entire minutes. Or a civilian runway equipped with barricade webbing large enough for an entire airliner. Or continuing the flight a few hours after two independent attempts to shoot down the plane (one a supposed accident, but the other involving a fucking ''fighter plane'' going after it) plus making an emergency landing and barely averting a runway overrun. Or the magic door-opening machine that punches in an access code by making the keypad ''push itself''. Or that the same device also somehow operates the Concorde's fuel jettison pumps from the cargo bay. |
** Not to mention lining up with the runway a few km short of threshold, and only then does anyone (including airport tower) notice there's a multicoloured hot air balloon over the runway. Or the F-4 Phantom pilot somehow failing to shoot down an ''airliner'' with either missiles or guns for four entire minutes. Or a civilian runway equipped with barricade webbing large enough for an entire airliner. Or continuing the flight a few hours after two independent attempts to shoot down the plane (one a supposed accident, but the other involving a fucking ''fighter plane'' going after it) plus making an emergency landing and barely averting a runway overrun. Or the magic door-opening machine that punches in an access code by making the keypad ''push itself''. Or that the same device also somehow operates the Concorde's fuel jettison pumps from the cargo bay. |
||
** There's also the [[Call a Rabbit A Smeerp]] of the "Buzzard Attack Drone." We generally call a target-seeking UCAV which carries a single warhead a ''missile'', guys. |
** There's also the [[Call a Rabbit A Smeerp]] of the "Buzzard Attack Drone." We generally call a target-seeking UCAV which carries a single warhead a ''missile'', guys. |
||
| Line 153: | Line 153: | ||
== Live Action TV == |
== Live Action TV == |
||
* The landing sequence in ''[[The A-Team (TV)|The A-Team]]'' from the episode ''The Beast from the Belly of the Boeing'' was largely accurate for a TV show, though it did make some notable mistakes. Murdock tells Hannibal to put the plane in a shallow dive to descend, which is not what airliners generally do. Airliners rarely dive when descending, and certainly ''won't be losing airspeed while in a shallow dive''. Airliners generally just cut back on the engines to descend, and the reduced airspeed reduces lift and lets the plane drop (and often with spoilers partly deployed). The team also forget to deploy spoilers after touchdown, and despite being completely out of fuel Murdock tells them to reverse the thrusters, which is absolutely useless if they engine isn't producing any thrust. Also, although a Boeing 747-100/200 was used as the main plane, a few of the stock footage taxi scenes show engine nacelles from a 707. |
* The landing sequence in ''[[The A-Team (TV)|The A-Team]]'' from the episode ''The Beast from the Belly of the Boeing'' was largely accurate for a TV show, though it did make some notable mistakes. Murdock tells Hannibal to put the plane in a shallow dive to descend, which is not what airliners generally do. Airliners rarely dive when descending, and certainly ''won't be losing airspeed while in a shallow dive''. Airliners generally just cut back on the engines to descend, and the reduced airspeed reduces lift and lets the plane drop (and often with spoilers partly deployed). The team also forget to deploy spoilers after touchdown, and despite being completely out of fuel Murdock tells them to reverse the thrusters, which is absolutely useless if they engine isn't producing any thrust. Also, although a Boeing 747-100/200 was used as the main plane, a few of the stock footage taxi scenes show engine nacelles from a 707. |
||
* In [[The Sixties]], ''[[ |
* In [[The Sixties]], ''[[Doctor Who]]'' seemed to use rocket stock footage in every other serial. This dropped off in later years, but didn't die off completely until nearly the end of the original run. Perhaps the most blatant offender is the Vogan "Skystriker" missile from the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "Revenge of the Cybermen", which is obviously a US Saturn V. And by "obviously" we mean "It has 'NASA' painted on the side in big, easily legible letters." |
||
** In "The Big Bang", there is a scene showing a small video reel showing the journey of the Pandorica from Stonehenge to London. The video ends with the Blitz in 1941. The "German" bombers shown in the clip are actually American B-17 Flying Fortresses—in fact, the closest bomber has the American, ''1943-45 vintage'' USAAF roundel on the wing. |
** In "The Big Bang", there is a scene showing a small video reel showing the journey of the Pandorica from Stonehenge to London. The video ends with the Blitz in 1941. The "German" bombers shown in the clip are actually American B-17 Flying Fortresses—in fact, the closest bomber has the American, ''1943-45 vintage'' USAAF roundel on the wing. |
||
** Although this may have been intentional, due to the episode's theme being "time is all messed up". The next exhibit was called "Penguins of the Nile". |
** Although this may have been intentional, due to the episode's theme being "time is all messed up". The next exhibit was called "Penguins of the Nile". |
||
| Line 162: | Line 162: | ||
* ''[[Father Ted (TV)|Father Ted]]:'' in "Flight into Terror", external shots show a BAe 146, but interior shots are of a wide-body aircraft. |
* ''[[Father Ted (TV)|Father Ted]]:'' in "Flight into Terror", external shots show a BAe 146, but interior shots are of a wide-body aircraft. |
||
* ''[[Airwolf]]'': |
* ''[[Airwolf]]'': |
||
** The first part of the pilot has an aircraft described as a French Mirage and shown as such on the chopper's target ID screen with accurate side-drawing, but the [[Stock Footage]] is of a completely different aircraft—quite possibly [ |
** The first part of the pilot has an aircraft described as a French Mirage and shown as such on the chopper's target ID screen with accurate side-drawing, but the [[Stock Footage]] is of a completely different aircraft—quite possibly [[wikipedia:Hawker Hunter|the British Hawker Hunter]]. To give you an idea of the size of the error, the Hunter is two generations of fighter aircraft older, i.e. late first-generation (mid 1950s) and subsonic. The Mirage is a third-gen, late 1960s aircraft, capable of exceeding Mach 2. The Mirage also has a large, triangular "delta" wing, and looks nothing like the Hunter. |
||
** Another episode features F-4s in service with the government of Suriana, a country in [[Latin Land]]. The F-4 was not exported to any state there and considering the instability of that country, it would not be high on the export list. |
** Another episode features F-4s in service with the government of Suriana, a country in [[Latin Land]]. The F-4 was not exported to any state there and considering the instability of that country, it would not be high on the export list. |
||
** In one episode, [[Stock Footage]] of F-4s play F-16s. Rather different aircraft. |
** In one episode, [[Stock Footage]] of F-4s play F-16s. Rather different aircraft. |
||
| Line 187: | Line 187: | ||
** In one episode, it is clear that the people making the show believe that any twinjet in an American Airlines livery must be an A300. |
** In one episode, it is clear that the people making the show believe that any twinjet in an American Airlines livery must be an A300. |
||
* In ''[[The Comic Strip Presents]]'' episode "Four Men in a Plane", our heroes take off for the middle east in a four-engined airliner, but when they land it's only got two engines. (It's not the plane of the title, by the way—that is a single-engined light aircraft.) |
* In ''[[The Comic Strip Presents]]'' episode "Four Men in a Plane", our heroes take off for the middle east in a four-engined airliner, but when they land it's only got two engines. (It's not the plane of the title, by the way—that is a single-engined light aircraft.) |
||
* There's a rocket example in an episode of ''[[Blake's Seven |
* There's a rocket example in an episode of ''[[Blake's Seven|Blakes Seven]]''. Establishing model shots of the rocket are clearly based on the Russian Soyuz design, but the actual launch footage is of an American rocket. Presumably the producers were planning to use stock Soviet launch footage but either couldn't get it or thought it was of insufficient quality. |
||
* Bizarrely, [[The BBC]] adaptation of ''[[The Machine Gunners (Literature)|The Machine Gunners]]'' changes the downed bomber from which the machine gun is stolen from a Heinkel He 111 to a Junkers Ju 52. Guess which one of these German aircraft ''wasn't'' in service as a bomber during 1941. |
* Bizarrely, [[The BBC]] adaptation of ''[[The Machine Gunners (Literature)|The Machine Gunners]]'' changes the downed bomber from which the machine gun is stolen from a Heinkel He 111 to a Junkers Ju 52. Guess which one of these German aircraft ''wasn't'' in service as a bomber during 1941. |
||
| Line 217: | Line 217: | ||
* ''[[Call of Duty]]: [[Modern Warfare]] 2'' falls into this trap by showing F-15s in "The Gulag" mission but later referring to the Navy as bombing the gulag. The Navy uses F/A-18s and eventually will use F-35s for combat missions. Apparently the developers didn't want to bother modeling another aircraft. It's also rather sad considering ''[[Call of Duty]] 4'' correctly showed the Marines getting their air support from SuperCobras and Harriers. |
* ''[[Call of Duty]]: [[Modern Warfare]] 2'' falls into this trap by showing F-15s in "The Gulag" mission but later referring to the Navy as bombing the gulag. The Navy uses F/A-18s and eventually will use F-35s for combat missions. Apparently the developers didn't want to bother modeling another aircraft. It's also rather sad considering ''[[Call of Duty]] 4'' correctly showed the Marines getting their air support from SuperCobras and Harriers. |
||
** ''[[Call of Duty]] 4'' also features Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters in Chernobyl's vehicle graveyards. No such aircraft are present in the real graveyards. |
** ''[[Call of Duty]] 4'' also features Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters in Chernobyl's vehicle graveyards. No such aircraft are present in the real graveyards. |
||
*** This is most likely [[Shout |
*** This is most likely [[Shout-Out|a reference to]] ''[[STALKER]]'', which also erroneously features Hinds in the vehicle graveyards. |
||
** ''[[Modern Warfare]] 2'' also had a chronic case of [[Easy Logistics]], with magical transatlantic Havocs probably the biggest example. |
** ''[[Modern Warfare]] 2'' also had a chronic case of [[Easy Logistics]], with magical transatlantic Havocs probably the biggest example. |
||
** ''[[Call Of Duty World At War]]'' gets this wrong on occasion. The worst example would be from the beginning of the Soviet campaign, where "German bombers" are seen flying over Stalingrad in a Blitz-style air-raid. Quite apart from the fact that the Germans did not use saturation bombing on Stalingrad at that point in the battle (you know, with their own men inside the city and everything), the planes featured are [ |
** ''[[Call Of Duty World At War]]'' gets this wrong on occasion. The worst example would be from the beginning of the Soviet campaign, where "German bombers" are seen flying over Stalingrad in a Blitz-style air-raid. Quite apart from the fact that the Germans did not use saturation bombing on Stalingrad at that point in the battle (you know, with their own men inside the city and everything), the planes featured are [[wikipedia:Focke-Wulf Fw 200#Design and development|Focke-Wulf Fw 200s]], which were primarily naval reconnaissance and patrol aircraft, and had small bomb bays. Whilst Fw 200s ''were'' deployed to Stalingrad, but only as transport aircraft making up part of Goering's idiotic "air bridge". They were likely used in the game because they had four engines, and thus [[Rule of Cool|looked more intimidating]] than the [[wikipedia:Dornier Do 17|Dornier Do 17s]] and [[wikipedia:Heinkel He 111|Heinkel He 111s]] that would actually have been used. If the Germans had ever been serious about strategic bombing, they would have used [[wikipedia:Heinkel He 177|He 177 "Greif" heavy bombers,]] certainly not ''maritime patrol aircraft.'' |
||
** ''[[Call of Duty Black Ops (Video Game)|Call of Duty Black Ops]]'' has U-2 spyplanes in multiplayer, which can be hit from the ground with small-arms fire. The actual U2s were designed specifically to fly so high that then-existing anti-aircraft weaponry couldn't reach them. There is no in-game justification for why they would be flying so low, it's pure game balance. |
** ''[[Call of Duty Black Ops (Video Game)|Call of Duty Black Ops]]'' has U-2 spyplanes in multiplayer, which can be hit from the ground with small-arms fire. The actual U2s were designed specifically to fly so high that then-existing anti-aircraft weaponry couldn't reach them. There is no in-game justification for why they would be flying so low, it's pure game balance. |
||
** ''Modern Warfare 3'''s second mission starts with a transmission from F-22 pilots preparing for a bombing run, but then cut to the actual mission and said bombing is carried out by, once again, F-15s. |
** ''Modern Warfare 3'''s second mission starts with a transmission from F-22 pilots preparing for a bombing run, but then cut to the actual mission and said bombing is carried out by, once again, F-15s. |
||
| Line 231: | Line 231: | ||
** Landing normally is virtually impossible thanks to the game being designed with a digital joystick in mind and still letting you destroy your landing gear if you come in at the wrong angle. The game will court-martial you for a game over if you eject over the runway three times (most 80s flight sims had to take aggressive steps to stop players ejecting instead of landing). The only reliable method of landing is to reduce engine power to almost nothing and stall your way down to the runway. With the wheel brakes engaged, this actually allows you to stop cold the instant the wheels touch the ground. Who needs a runway anyway? |
** Landing normally is virtually impossible thanks to the game being designed with a digital joystick in mind and still letting you destroy your landing gear if you come in at the wrong angle. The game will court-martial you for a game over if you eject over the runway three times (most 80s flight sims had to take aggressive steps to stop players ejecting instead of landing). The only reliable method of landing is to reduce engine power to almost nothing and stall your way down to the runway. With the wheel brakes engaged, this actually allows you to stop cold the instant the wheels touch the ground. Who needs a runway anyway? |
||
* In ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 3'' Volgin has a great number of Mi-24 Hind helicopters under his command, but the game takes place in 1964, six years before the helicopter went into production and even the first prototype was still very early in development. To give the designers some credit, the helicopters are the early Hind-A version with the polygonal canopy, instead of the iconic ''bubble canopy'' of the Hind-D and later models, making it an example of [[Cool Plane|Rare Helicopters]]. It's also worth noting that the game explains that Volgin has priority access to what was at the time the cutting edge of soviet equipment, and in an Codec conversation you find out that this is the first time anyone from the West has encountered the design, and it turns out that Snake was the one who initially suggested the Hind callsign. |
* In ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 3'' Volgin has a great number of Mi-24 Hind helicopters under his command, but the game takes place in 1964, six years before the helicopter went into production and even the first prototype was still very early in development. To give the designers some credit, the helicopters are the early Hind-A version with the polygonal canopy, instead of the iconic ''bubble canopy'' of the Hind-D and later models, making it an example of [[Cool Plane|Rare Helicopters]]. It's also worth noting that the game explains that Volgin has priority access to what was at the time the cutting edge of soviet equipment, and in an Codec conversation you find out that this is the first time anyone from the West has encountered the design, and it turns out that Snake was the one who initially suggested the Hind callsign. |
||
** The game's designers deserve quite a bit of credit, as most of the 'wacky designs' for vehicles in the game (save the Shagohod, which is classically [[Awesome but Impractical]] in traditional Metal Gear fashion) are drawn from rare but existing real life prototypes and models, such as the M21 insertion drone used by Naked Snake at the start of Operation Snake Eater and the Bartini Beriev WIG which appears in the ending scenes. Even the science-fiction-style hovering platforms used by patrols in some areas are based on [ |
** The game's designers deserve quite a bit of credit, as most of the 'wacky designs' for vehicles in the game (save the Shagohod, which is classically [[Awesome but Impractical]] in traditional Metal Gear fashion) are drawn from rare but existing real life prototypes and models, such as the M21 insertion drone used by Naked Snake at the start of Operation Snake Eater and the Bartini Beriev WIG which appears in the ending scenes. Even the science-fiction-style hovering platforms used by patrols in some areas are based on [[wikipedia:Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee|real]] [[wikipedia:Williams X-Jet|prototypes]], proving once again that [[Reality Is Unrealistic]]. |
||
* Averted '''hard''' by ''X-Plane''. While flight sims are generally pretty good at getting it right ''X-plane'''s attention to detail and real-world flight physics is so incredibly accurate it can be used, along with the right hardware, for getting one's FAA certification. That's right, they've [[Shown Their Work|shown so much work]] that many countries' aviation regulators agree it's just like flying a real airplane. |
* Averted '''hard''' by ''X-Plane''. While flight sims are generally pretty good at getting it right ''X-plane'''s attention to detail and real-world flight physics is so incredibly accurate it can be used, along with the right hardware, for getting one's FAA certification. That's right, they've [[Shown Their Work|shown so much work]] that many countries' aviation regulators agree it's just like flying a real airplane. |
||
* ''[[Tom Clancy]]'s HAWX'' starts out with the retirement flight of the titular Air Force squadron flying F/A-18 Hornets. |
* ''[[Tom Clancy]]'s HAWX'' starts out with the retirement flight of the titular Air Force squadron flying F/A-18 Hornets. |
||
| Line 244: | Line 244: | ||
== Western Animation == |
== Western Animation == |
||
* ''[[Tale Spin (Animation)|Tale Spin]]'''s Sea Duck is a cargo plane that can outperform fighter jets. This is partly [[Justified Trope]] in the pilot arc, where Kit points out that Baloo has extensively customized the plane, but never again are Baloo's special modifications even mentioned. Indeed, one of those modifications, the Overdrive, burns out at the climax of the pilot film and is never replaced. |
* ''[[Tale Spin (Animation)|Tale Spin]]'''s Sea Duck is a cargo plane that can outperform fighter jets. This is partly [[Justified Trope]] in the pilot arc, where Kit points out that Baloo has extensively customized the plane, but never again are Baloo's special modifications even mentioned. Indeed, one of those modifications, the Overdrive, burns out at the climax of the pilot film and is never replaced. |
||
** Although the Sea Duck's performance is absurd for large, twin-engined cargo seaplane, there are no actual fighter jets in the series to out-perform—the setting for the series seems to be the late 1930s—jet engine technology is barely nascent. Baloo actually pilots the first jet engine known in the series' universe. Yes, I said jet engine—it wasn't attached to an aircraft yet... The Sea Duck is also insanely hardy—Baloo is well-known for the many times he's flown ''into the sea'', and had to be fished out. Any non-gliding wings-level calm-sea alighting will usually result in the utter destruction of any airplane. Also on Baloo's bragging list is flying underwater, landing ''[[Convection Schmonvection|inside a volcano]]'', taking off backwards, and [[Serial Escalation|landing on a nightmarishly impossible roller-coaster like runway that makes even him nervous]]. |
** Although the Sea Duck's performance is absurd for large, twin-engined cargo seaplane, there are no actual fighter jets in the series to out-perform—the setting for the series seems to be the late 1930s—jet engine technology is barely nascent. Baloo actually pilots the first jet engine known in the series' universe. Yes, I said jet engine—it wasn't attached to an aircraft yet... The Sea Duck is also insanely hardy—Baloo is well-known for the many times he's flown ''into the sea'', and had to be fished out. Any non-gliding wings-level calm-sea alighting will usually result in the utter destruction of any airplane. Also on Baloo's bragging list is flying underwater, landing ''[[Convection, Schmonvection|inside a volcano]]'', taking off backwards, and [[Serial Escalation|landing on a nightmarishly impossible roller-coaster like runway that makes even him nervous]]. |
||
* In ''[[Family Guy (Animation)|Family Guy]]'', we have Quagmire, an airline pilot. In the episode "Airport '07", Peter somehow manages to drive onto an airport ramp post 9/11, ride up to an airplane on the tarmac, detach the fuel hose from said airplane, and somehow stick it in his truck. Must be a one-size-fits-all hose. And security must be pretty [[Stealth Pun|lax]]. And that truck must be a diesel truck to be able to run on Jet A. And nobody was manning the refueling truck... The plane later crashes after running out of fuel, and Quagmire, its pilot, loses his job. He confronts Peter, admonishing "[[Sarcasm Mode|No Peter, it's perfectly normal to siphon jet fuel from an active runway with the intention of flying a pickup truck!]]". |
* In ''[[Family Guy (Animation)|Family Guy]]'', we have Quagmire, an airline pilot. In the episode "Airport '07", Peter somehow manages to drive onto an airport ramp post 9/11, ride up to an airplane on the tarmac, detach the fuel hose from said airplane, and somehow stick it in his truck. Must be a one-size-fits-all hose. And security must be pretty [[Stealth Pun|lax]]. And that truck must be a diesel truck to be able to run on Jet A. And nobody was manning the refueling truck... The plane later crashes after running out of fuel, and Quagmire, its pilot, loses his job. He confronts Peter, admonishing "[[Sarcasm Mode|No Peter, it's perfectly normal to siphon jet fuel from an active runway with the intention of flying a pickup truck!]]". |
||
** Also falls into this due to the "active runway" comment - an active runway is the runway currently in use. Runways aren't all in use at once, but are opened or closed on the basis of wind direction. The plane in the episode sounds like it was on a taxiway instead of a runway, as being on the runway itself is only allowed if you're about to take off, are landing, or quickly crossing it. Of course, Quagmire could have just been exaggerating when he said active runway. Or the writers thought "active runway" meant that the airport was in use, not out of commission, and not the runway itself. |
** Also falls into this due to the "active runway" comment - an active runway is the runway currently in use. Runways aren't all in use at once, but are opened or closed on the basis of wind direction. The plane in the episode sounds like it was on a taxiway instead of a runway, as being on the runway itself is only allowed if you're about to take off, are landing, or quickly crossing it. Of course, Quagmire could have just been exaggerating when he said active runway. Or the writers thought "active runway" meant that the airport was in use, not out of commission, and not the runway itself. |
||
| Line 256: | Line 256: | ||
* In 2011, China released a video of one of its pilots shooting down another aircraft during training. Almost immediatly it was noticed that the footage of the exercise [http://gizmodo.com/#!5745307was pretty much identical to a scene] from ''[[Top Gun]]'' . |
* In 2011, China released a video of one of its pilots shooting down another aircraft during training. Almost immediatly it was noticed that the footage of the exercise [http://gizmodo.com/#!5745307was pretty much identical to a scene] from ''[[Top Gun]]'' . |
||
* It's an inaccuracy to call all Soviet/Russian aircraft MiGs. There are plenty of non-Mikoyan aircraft in Russian service—such as Sukhoi's Su-27 "Flanker". Perhaps justified that most of the Russian fighters that got a lot of publicity during the Cold War were Mikoyan aircraft, and American ace pilots and the aircraft they flew who scored many kills against Cold War opponents were called "Mig Killers". Sukhoi did not come into much prominence until they introduced the Flanker, which by the time it became publicly seen and well known, the Cold War was over (the only Sukhois involved in live combat during the Cold War, at least as reported by the US, were the Su-22's shot down in the Gulf of Sidra incident). |
* It's an inaccuracy to call all Soviet/Russian aircraft MiGs. There are plenty of non-Mikoyan aircraft in Russian service—such as Sukhoi's Su-27 "Flanker". Perhaps justified that most of the Russian fighters that got a lot of publicity during the Cold War were Mikoyan aircraft, and American ace pilots and the aircraft they flew who scored many kills against Cold War opponents were called "Mig Killers". Sukhoi did not come into much prominence until they introduced the Flanker, which by the time it became publicly seen and well known, the Cold War was over (the only Sukhois involved in live combat during the Cold War, at least as reported by the US, were the Su-22's shot down in the Gulf of Sidra incident). |
||
* A 2009 leaflet for the British National Party in the UK (which also had all the "supporters" pictures be of people who weren't actually British or who called them a bunch of racist douchebags) had a picture of a Spitfire. However, the letters "RF" were clearly visible on it. This identified the aircraft quickly as from [ |
* A 2009 leaflet for the British National Party in the UK (which also had all the "supporters" pictures be of people who weren't actually British or who called them a bunch of racist douchebags) had a picture of a Spitfire. However, the letters "RF" were clearly visible on it. This identified the aircraft quickly as from [[wikipedia:No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron|303 Squadron]]. That's right—the BNP were campaigning against Polish migrant workers using an aircraft which was manned by Polish ace pilots. |
||
* In a Nissan ad depicting a 747 about to crash due to its front landing gear being broken, the writers didn't do the research. A plane with broken landing gear would simply land ''without any landing gear'', rather than nose-diving into the runway. |
* In a Nissan ad depicting a 747 about to crash due to its front landing gear being broken, the writers didn't do the research. A plane with broken landing gear would simply land ''without any landing gear'', rather than nose-diving into the runway. |
||
* The [[U 2]]/GreenDay video for "The Saints are Coming" makes multiple horrendous errors in terms of military aircraft capabilities, the worst being the simulated portrayal of a Harrier lifting a small child from flooded New Orleans in a basket slung not very far beneath its fuselage. Jet efflux is tremendously hot: in real life, the child would very quickly have been burned to death. |
* The [[U 2]]/GreenDay video for "The Saints are Coming" makes multiple horrendous errors in terms of military aircraft capabilities, the worst being the simulated portrayal of a Harrier lifting a small child from flooded New Orleans in a basket slung not very far beneath its fuselage. Jet efflux is tremendously hot: in real life, the child would very quickly have been burned to death. |
||
| Line 271: | Line 271: | ||
[[Category:Tropes On a Plane]] |
[[Category:Tropes On a Plane]] |
||
[[Category:Just Plane Wrong]] |
[[Category:Just Plane Wrong]] |
||
[[Category:Trope]] |
|||