Airwolf

Airwolf is een Amerikaanse actieserie die op de Amerikaanse tv werd uitgezonden van 1984 tot en met 1987. De serie ging over een geheime supersonische militaire helikopter met de codenaam Airwolf en diens bemanning. De afleveringen hadden veelal een spionage- of Koude Oorlog-thema (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airwolf).


A scientist who has created a super helicopter has defected to Libya and taken the machine with him. A secretive government agency hires an ex-Vietnam War pilot to go to Libya, steal the chopper and bring it back (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086662/).
Een TV serie over een helicopter?  Met een iconisch themesong(s).

Airwolf Themes is a two-CD soundtrack album for the television series released in February, 1999. The 73 minute soundtrack was created over a five-year period by a fan, Northern Ireland-based graphic designer Mark J. Cairns, in collaboration with original composer Levay, with a foreword by the series' creator, Bellisario (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airwolf). Hier zijn wat teasers te beluisteren...

De helikopter die gebruikt werd als Airwolf was de Bell 222 (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airwolf).

The flying Airwolf helicopter was actually a Bell 222, serial number 47085, sometimes unofficially called a Bell 222A. During filming of the series, the helicopter was owned by Jetcopters, Inc. of Van Nuys, California. The helicopter was eventually sold after the show ended and became an ambulance helicopter in Germany [sold to the German helicopter charter company, Hubschrauber-Sonder-Dienst (as known as HSD Luftrettung and Blue Helicopter Alliance) in June of 1987, and assigned the registration number D-HHSD.], where it crashed in a thunderstorm and was destroyed on June 6, 1992, killing all three crew members.
The concept behind Airwolf was a supersonic armed helicopter that could be disguised as a civilian vehicle — "a wolf in sheep's clothing". Andrew Probert designed the Airwolf uniform insignia patch worn by the flight crew members, a snarling bat-winged wolf's head wearing a sheepskin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airwolf).


In order for Airwolf to fly with it's weapons deployed, they needed special permission from the FAA. Even though they were props, the FAA insisted on it (www.imdb.com/title/tt0086662/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2).

Airwolf was a television action series that aired for three seasons in the US on CBS from 1984 to 1986 and then for one on the USA Network in 1987. For its first three seasons, the series starred Jan-Michael Vincent as Stringfellow Hawke, an American pilot who flew helicopters during the Vietnam War, who is asked by a covert US government agency known as the "F.I.R.M." to recover a top secret military attack helicopter designated "Airwolf" that after being stolen by its creator. After recovering the helicopter, Stringfellow then flies Airwolf on missions for the agency, in exchange for the agency's continued search for his brother, who was declared missing in action after being shot down in Vietnam.....The series was likely greenlighted by CBS due to the success of the 1983 superhelicopter film Blue Thunder and premiered in the same year as the ABC direct television adaptation. The Airwolf helicopter itself was played by two helicopters, both modified civilian Bell 222s; the non-flying mockup was the original Bell 222 fuselage, serial number 47001; from this molds were made and the parts modified to FAA specifications and fitted to the flying helicopter, serial number 47085, owned by Jetcopters, Inc. of Van Nuys, California. The modifications were designed by artist Andrew Probert, also known for designing the USS Enterprise and most of the other spacecraft featured in Star: Trek: The Motion Picture, the USS Enterprise-D and various other ships including the Romulan Warbird for Star Trek: The Next Generation, and finishing the design of the DeLorean time machine for Back to the Future which had been started by artist Robert Cobb (www.imfdb.org/wiki/Airwolf).

En dan was er nog die andere helicopter-TV-serie: Riptide.

Riptide (1984-6) - a TV action series created by Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo, this is about two Vietnam buddies who become private investigators.  The show co-starred Joe Penny as Nick, the pilot of "Screaming Mimi" an old Sikorsky S-58T helicopter. Painted pink with a garish mouth on front, it was shabby, unreliable US Army surplus.
In the TV movie, the chopper's engine fails while flying over a local mobster's estate, so it crash-lands in a backyard. In 1st season episode Raiders Of The Lost Sub, while the heroes help search for sunken Nazi U-boat, Mimi sees off some bad guys that repeatedly attack treasure hunters (www.rotaryaction.com/pages/riptide.html). Overigens kan ook The Highwayman vermeld worden...

Blue Thunder is a 1983 action thriller film that features a high-tech helicopter of the same name. The movie was directed by John Badham and stars Roy Scheider. A spin-off television series also called Blue Thunder lasted 11 episodes in 1984.
Francis McNeil "Frank" Murphy (Roy Scheider) is a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) helicopter-pilot-officer and troubled Vietnam War veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). His newly assigned field partner is Richard Lymangood (Daniel Stern). The two patrol Los Angeles at night and give assistance to police forces on the ground.
Murphy is selected to pilot the world's most advanced helicopter, nicknamed "Blue Thunder", a military-style combat helicopter intended for police use in surveillance and against possible large-scale civic disobedience during the forthcoming Olympic games. With powerful armament, stealth technology that allows it to fly virtually undetected, and other accoutrements (such as infrared scanners, powerful microphones and cameras, and a U-Matic VCR), Blue Thunder appears to be a formidable tool in the war on crime. Murphy notes wryly that with enough of these helicopters "you could run the whole damn country."
But when the death of city councilwoman Diane McNeely turns out to be more than just a random murder, Murphy begins his own covert investigation. He discovers that a subversive action group is intending instead to use Blue Thunder in a military role to quell disorder under the project codename THOR (for "Tactical Helicopter Offensive Response"), and is secretly eliminating political opponents to advance their agenda.
Murphy suspects the involvement of his old wartime nemesis, former United States Army Colonel F.E. Cochrane (Malcolm McDowell), the primary test pilot for Blue Thunder and someone who felt Murphy was "unsuitable" for the program. Murphy and Lymangood use Blue Thunder to record a meeting between Cochrane and the other government officials which would implicate them in the conspiracy, but Cochrane looks out the window and sees Blue Thunder and realizes what has happened. After landing, Lymangood secures the tape and hides it ....Sony is developing a remake of Blue Thunder focusing on drone technology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Thunder).


Blue Thunder is a 1984 ABC television series based on the movie of the same title featuring the Blue Thunder helicopter.
The series uses the converted Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter and large portions of stock footage from the 1983 film. A ground unit named "Rolling Thunder" backed up the helicopter in the television series. This was a large support van with a desert camouflage off-road vehicle stored inside.
The television series cast includes James Farentino, Dana Carvey, and former professional American football players Bubba Smith and Dick Butkus. The series was canceled by ABC after they felt the similar Airwolf on CBS would win the ratings battle.[citation needed] Also, the series aired at the same time as the CBS soap opera Dallas on Friday nights, and lost. Eleven episodes were made before the series was cancelled (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Thunder_(TV_series)).

Blue Thunder is the helicopter in the 1980s American titular film and television series. The aircraft itself was a modified Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter.
For the movie SA-341G Gazelles were modified with bolt-on parts and a canopy patterned after the AH-64 Apache. Two helicopters were used in the filming of the movie, one for the actual stunts (a "stunt mule"), one as a backup in case the other was grounded for maintenance. Stunts were flown by Jim Gavin.
The helicopters were purchased by Columbia Pictures and flown to Cinema Air in Carlsbad, California, where they were heavily modified for the film. These alterations made the helicopters so heavy that various tricks had to be employed to make it look fast and agile in the film. For instance, the 360° loop maneuver at the end of the film was carried out by a 1/6-scale radio controlled model.(This aircraft was built and flown by modeller and RC helicopter manufacturer John Simone Jr
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Thunder_(helicopter))


De show [Airwolf] werd ontwikkeld door Donald Bellisario. Van zijn hand zijn ook series als Magnum P.I., Quantum Leap, JAG en NCIS. In de eerste 3 seizoenen speelden Jan-Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine, Alex Cord en Jean Bruce Scott de hoofdrol. Voor het vierde en laatste seizoen werden alle acteurs vervangen (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airwolf).


The first three seasons star Jan-Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine, Alex Cord, and (from the second season onwards) Jean Bruce Scott. After the original series was cancelled, a fourth season, with an entirely new cast and on a much smaller budget, was filmed in Canada for the USA Network.
The show's distinctive musical score, which was originally orchestral but shifted to more synthesizer-based arrangements early in the second season , was composed and mainly conducted by Sylvester Levay. Udi Harpaz conducted the scores for many later second  and third season episodes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airwolf).


De muziek van de serie werd gecomponeerd en gespeeld door Sylvester Levay en was in het eerste en het begin van het tweede seizoen meest orkestraal, maar later opgevolgd door synthesizermuziek (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airwolf). The show is well known for its theme music that combined techno with a humming meant to invoke helicopter blades. It also includes some very impressive low-level helicopter flying (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/Airwolf).
Ster van de serie is Stringfellow Hawke (gespeeld door Jan-Michael Vincent). Hawke is een einzelgänger en woont hoog in de bergen, slechts vergezeld door zijn Bluetick Coonhound "Tet". Hij leeft teruggetrokken en slijt zijn dagen met het genieten van zijn verzameling dure schilderijen en het bespelen van zijn Stradivariuscello. Zijn enige echte vriend en mentor is de oude en altijd vrolijke Dominic Santini (Ernest Borgnine).
Voorheen was Hawke testpiloot van Airwolf, een geavanceerde supersonische helikopter met stealth-eigenschappen en een uitgebreid arsenaal. Hawke wordt opgeroepen door een man met de codenaam "Archangel" (directeur van 'the Firm', de organisatie die Airwolf ontwikkelde) met de missie om Airwolf terug te stelen van haar doorgedraaide maker, doctor Charles Henry Moffett, die haar heeft meegenomen naar Libië (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airwolf).


A 1984-87 action-adventure program about Stringfellow Hawke, a helicopter pilot whose brother is missing in Vietnam. The concept of the show is that Stringfellow Hawke manages to blackmail the Firm (A thinly veiled branch of the CIA) by failing to return a prototype helicopter that he'd retrieved for them after the chopper's creator, the evil Dr. Moffet, flew it off to Libya.
Unusually cordial about this act, The Firm proceeds to hire Stringfellow Hawke as a mercenary to fight against various threats from communists or criminals. Several times, the Firm would attempt to recover Airwolf despite the fact that they routinely allowed Stringfellow Hawke into sensitive areas to discuss the helicopter's placement. The Soviets tried to do the same, although the discussions tended to be far more forceful (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/Airwolf).


This may look like a normal helicopter to you, however take a look at the wings.  There are two jet engines mounted on either side of the helicopter (not really but as dramatic effect, they are believed to be there on the television show).  Meaning that this chopper can reach a speed of up to Mach 1.5.  Another secret about the wings is the fact that they hide machine guns which extract and retract on the very ends of the wings.  Along with the machine guns, there is a three bay cannon launcher, located on the underside of Airwolf, which is also capable of extracting and retracting.  Take a look at the above and below photos to locate the normal and combat modes.
Airwolf is also equipped with computer systems, video and audio surveillance equipment, whisper mode, radar's, sonar's, flares, chaffs, a laser, an armored body, stealth mode, and many more gadgets.  Too many to list (www.bloom-enterprises.com/aw/airwolf.html).


Airwolf, an advanced supersonic helicopter with stealth capabilities and a formidable arsenal, was designed by Dr. Charles Henry Moffet (David Hemmings) - a genius with a psychopathic taste for torturing and killing women - and built by the Firm, a division of the CIA (a play on the term "the Company", a nickname for the CIA). As the series begins, Moffet and his crew steal Airwolf during a live-fire weapons test. During the theft, Moffet opens fire on the Firm's bunker, killing a United States Senator and seriously injuring Firm deputy director Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III (codename "Archangel"). Moffet takes the gunship to Libya, where he begins performing acts of aggression - such as sinking an American destroyer - as a service for Muammar Gaddafi, who allows Moffet to keep Airwolf on Libyan soil.
Archangel recruits the reclusive Stringfellow Hawke, the chief test pilot during the development of Airwolf, to recover the gunship. Archangel leaves his assistant Gabrielle (Belinda Bauer) - who becomes Hawke's love interest - at Hawke's cabin to brief him for his mission. A week later, after an undercover operative in Libya is killed in the line of duty, Gabrielle is sent in undercover and Hawke is sent in sooner than originally planned. With the assistance of pilot and father figure Dominic Santini, Hawke finds and recovers Airwolf, but Gabrielle is tortured and killed by Moffet. Hawke obliterates Moffet with a hail of missiles from Airwolf before returning to the United States. However, instead of returning the gunship, Hawke and Santini booby-trap Airwolf and hide it in "the Lair", a large natural cave in the remote "Valley of the Gods" (visually modeled on Monument Valley). Hawke refuses to return Airwolf until the Firm can find and recover his brother, Saint John (pronounced "Sinjin"), who has been missing in action since the Vietnam War. To obtain access to Airwolf, Archangel offers Hawke protection from other government agencies who might try to recover Airwolf; in return, Hawke and Santini must fly missions of national importance for the Firm.
The Firm, during the first three seasons, served as both ally and enemy for Hawke and Santini; when an opportunity to seize Airwolf presented itself, Firm operatives often took it. The first season of the series was dark, arc-driven, and quite reflective of the contemporary Cold War, with the Firm personnel distinctly dressed in white, implicitly boasting that "wearing white hats" distinguished them as good instead of evil. Hawke remained unconvinced, and Santini was skeptical also; this was explained in the Season 1 episode "Daddy's Gone a Hunt'n." Early episodes frequently detailed the efforts of the United States government to recover Airwolf from Hawke, who is officially charged with having stolen it. Because CBS wanted to make the series more family-oriented, the program was transformed during Season 2 into a more light-hearted show, with Hawke and Santini portrayed as cooperative partners with the Firm. This persisted into the fourth season with the newly introduced "Company" and the new crew of Airwolf (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airwolf).


Creator Donald P. Bellisario first toyed with the idea of the adventures of an ace combat pilot in a third season episode of Magnum, P.I. entitled "Two Birds of a Feather" (1983), starring William Lucking, which itself was inspired by several episodes of Bellisario's Tales of the Gold Monkey – "Legends Are Forever" and "Honor Thy Brother" (1982) – in which Lucking had played a similar character. The Magnum episode was intended as a backdoor pilot, but a series was not commissioned. Bellisario heavily reworked the idea, and the final result was the Airwolf trinity.
To improve ratings, the studio wanted to add a regular female character and jettison the dark and moody tales of international espionage. This was accomplished at the start of the second season with the addition of Caitlin O'Shannessy (Jean Bruce Scott) and new stories that were domestic and more action-oriented. These changes proved unsuccessful, however, and while production costs remained high, creator Bellisario left both the studio and the series after Season 2. Bellisario's then-wife, Deborah Pratt, also left at that time (she was nearly three months pregnant with their daughter, Troian, as Season 2 drew to a close). Series star Jan-Michael Vincent's issues with alcoholism also contributed to the show's problems. Bernard Kowalski stepped in as executive producer for the third season, but the ratings remained low and the series was canceled by CBS.
The USA Network funded a new fourth season in 1987, to be produced in Canada by Atlantis and The Arthur Company (owned by Arthur L. Annecharico) in association with MCA. This was intended to increase the number of episodes to make the show eligible for broadcast syndication. The original cast was written out of the fourth season: Jan-Michael Vincent appears in a first transitional episode; a body double for Ernest Borgnine seen only from the back represented Santini, who was killed off in an explosion; Archangel was said to have suddenly been assigned overseas. "The Firm" was replaced by "the Company"; no mention was made of Caitlin. St John Hawke, played by Barry Van Dyke, was suddenly revealed to be alive, having been working for many years as a deep undercover agent for American intelligence, contradicting characterizations in the previous three seasons. St. John replaced Stringfellow as the central character. Production moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with a reduced budget, less than one-third of the original CBS budget. The production crew no longer had access to the original Airwolf helicopter, and all in-flight shots were recycled from earlier seasons; the original full-size studio mockup was re-dressed and used for all interior shots (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airwolf).


In season four, the USA Networks' produced season, the Firm had a crew change.  Archangel was replaced by Jason Lock.  His second-hand man was Major Mike Rivers of the US Air Force.  They were assigned to find Airwolf and return it to the Firm.  At the same time, an accident happened to Stringfellow Hawke and Dominic Santini.
    As Dom was firing up a helicopter, to make a supply run, the helicopter exploded, Dominic died instantly.  String was in the process of running to catch Dom before he left and String happened to get injured from the explosion.  String was administered to the local Veterans hospital for treatment due to being knocked into a coma.
    Dominic had a niece, Jo Santini, who immediately took over her uncle's business of airplane/helicopter sales and rentals.  Jo was visiting String when String came-to.  He asked Jo to take Airwolf and find St. John, his brother.  Jo was unaware of Airwolf, however found Airwolf and took it for a joy ride.  As she was taking her joy ride, Mr. Lock and Major Rivers were on their way to Airwolf's hideaway, nicknamed the Lair, and heard Airwolf flying all around.
    They got to the lair as Airwolf was landing and Jo got out of Airwolf.  They all discussed and believed that St. John was still alive and wanted to find him and return him home.  Jo was sent coordinates from an anonymous source and they went to look for St. John.
    St. John was being held at a POW camp.  Airwolf flew in, shot the place up, and rescued St. John.  After rescuing St. John, the fourth season started by all 4 of the new Airwolf team deciding to keep Airwolf as a secret and never tell the Firm that they have it.
    St. John came to visit String in the hospital but after they hug and cry, the episode skips to St. John coming back in Airwolf from an assumed joy ride.  The true account of String dying or being alive is not known.
    In the old Airwolf series, a replacement Airwolf was built to be the successor of the original Airwolf.  This new Airwolf was Airwolf II, aka Redwolf. Redwolf was stolen by a criminal and Airwolf came in to save the day.  Airwolf destroyed Redwolf and the Firm moved on.
    In the 4th-USA Networks-season, they had a third Airwolf, aka the Scorpian, that had been created by the Firm.  However, it had gone down and the government never found the helicopter.  Another criminal found the helicopter, rebuilt it, and used it to scare off people in a small Native American town. The original Airwolf came in to save the day and destroyed the Scorpian. (http://www.bloom-enterprises.com/aw/airwolf.html).


Followed by
Airwolf (1984) (TV Movie)
Airwolf (1987) (TV Series)
Spin-off
Airwolf (1988) (Video Game)
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0086662/movieconnections?ref_=ttalt_ql_6)


Er is in de jaren tachtig ook veel naar verwezen:
Murphy's Law (1986)
While flying in a helicopter, Arabella asks Murphy "Hey, Airwolf, where the hell are we going?".
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Dead Man Talking (2004) (TV Episode)
Tony cites it as the source of his alias Stringfellow
Rocky + Drago: Sydney (2007) (TV Episode)
The theme song is played as a helicopter takes off.
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Jack Knife (2010) (TV Episode)
DiNozzo mentions Stringfellow Hawke.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0086662/movieconnections?ref_=ttalt_ql_6)

Paramount Pictures confirmed at a press conference [august 2015] that they will begin filming in Vancouver and Georgia next month on a film adaptation of the 1980s helicopter action drama, “Airwolf.”
...
“While it is true that no current executive at ‘Paramount’ was alive when the TV show aired, most of the creative team has watched episodes online,” a rep with the production company said. “And they weren’t bad, to be quite honest. It was pretty good. And we are confident that with the right script, and a good amount of CGI, we can bring the story into the 21st century and to a whole new audience. We’re very excited. Truly.”
....
The series, created by TV icon Donald P. Bellisario, ran on both CBS and the USA Network between 1984 and 1987. Bellisario,who officially retired from Hollywood in 2007 after clashing with “NCIS” star Mark Harmon, will reportedly have no involvement with the film.
Barry Van Dyke will reprise his role in the television series and portray Saint John Hawke, Stringellow’s long-lost, kidnapped brother.
Denzel Washington has been signed to play Archangel Coldsmith-Briggs, an agent with “The Firm” who recruits Hawke to steal back the futuristic helicopter after its unstable creator steals it and uses it to commit acts of terror against the United States (www.thedailyquarterly.com/articles/2015/08/10/
joaquin-phoenix-to-star-in-film-version-of-airwolf/).

Vraag van mij is natuurlijk was/is er bier?
Als ik echter zoek op "Airwolf beer" vind ik verschillende vreemde zoekresultaten, die aanleiding zijn om in te gaan op het volgende.



Airwolf is een luchtgeweer van Daystate.

Daystate was the very first Company to produce modern pre-charged pneumatics with designs dating back to the late 1970´s. Daystate is proud of its reputation for producing world-beating airguns, for shooters of all kinds. They continue to build that reputation in the same way that they build their guns, and that´s with care, dedication and commitment to excellence.
World champions, professional vermin controllers, and airgun experts right around the world use Daystate airguns (www.airgunbuyer.com/Showproducts.asp?cat=Air%20Rifles&SubCat=Daystate%20Air%20Rifles).

Daystate Air Wolf MCT 
The most technically advanced air rifle Daystate have ever built. The Air Wolf MCT contains a new cutting edge technology to create a superb hunting package.
The onboard LCD screen displays pressure, velocity, shot counter, magazine counter as well as remaining air pressure.
The super-efficient CDT electronic system combined with a 400cc or 500cc bottle results in a huge shot capacity and, if required, potential for higher power.
The full length silencer combined with the electronic system makes this rifles almost completely silent.
10-shot magazine can be loaded from left or right.
Magnetic single-shot tray is easily fitted to shoot single-shot.
The superb ambidextrous stock made by Gary Cane in quality walnut, is a real no-compromise choice for left handed shooters. It is just about a joy to shoulder. In fact, the rifle is so well balanced you forget it has all that air capacity at the front end!
Air gauge is a new addition from Daysate to keep you in full control of all those shots.
One of our favourite safety catches on a pre-charged pneumatic. Easily visible from shooting position and thumb-flickable.
Fully adjustable 2-stage trigger.
Available with a 500cc or 400cc bottle.
Includes one 10-shot magazine, single-shot tray, security keys & battery charger.

Dus kapotgeschoten bierblikjes en Airwolf hebben niets te maken met de jaren tachtig-TV-serie...
Wel kun je tijdens het kijken naar de serie bier drinken en dan de afleveringen van becommentariëren, zoals hier en hier is gedaan.

Er schijnt wel bier van te zijn...

Taurino Beer, imported from El Salvador (“Taurino Beer” is Spainish for “Airwolf”), sells for $10 per 18 pack at Fresh and Easy (www.ruthlessreviews.com/9703/airwolf-and-cheap-beer-a-journal-episodes-10-14/). Volgens mij is taurino Spaans voor stier of stiervechten!? Aire Lobo zou volgens mij meer in de buurt komen, maarja.. Als je zoekt op bier en wolf vind je veel verwijzingen naar hop, Humulus lupulus, die bekend staat om het eigenaardige feit dat deze vasthoudt als een wolf. Niet voor niets verwijst het tweede deel van de Latijns hopnaam naar de wolf (www.dekruidhof.nl/collectie/planten/hop-humulus-lupulus/).

Barley Mow Brewing Company Airwolf is brewed by The Barley Mow Brewing Company, LLC in Largo, Florida. The alcohol content is 5%. This brew is served on tap. We first spotted this label on June 14, 2014 (www.beersyndicate.com/app/Beer/Details/14969)

Air Wolf
Barley Mow Brewing Company
Pale Wheat Ale - American
5.7% ABV
(https://untappd.com/b/barley-mow-brewing-company-air-wolf/692559)
Barley Mow Brewing Company
Largo, FL United States
Nano Brewery
(https://untappd.com/barleymow)