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‘To Fly!’ still soars: Air and Space Museum opened in 1976 with film’s first screening
The Washington Times ^ | July 12, 2012 | Sarah Freishtat

Posted on 07/14/2012 8:29:05 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Ezekiel, the top-hatted balloonist, has recited his “little poem” on the glories of flight and barely missed the white church steeple more than 20,000 times now.

He has called out his warning of white water ahead to the unsuspecting canoeist far below for 36 years.

Before giving way to hang gliders, barnstorming pilots and the Navy’s Blue Angels flight team, his silver balloon with the four American flags attached to the gondola has soared above the rolling green Vermont hills and churning, roaring Niagara Falls every single day the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum has been open.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: airandspace; anniversary; dc; maryland; smithsonian; tofly; virginia

1 posted on 07/14/2012 8:29:10 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
I remember seeing this at Cedar Point as a teenager. Loved it then, and would love to see it again.

CC

2 posted on 07/14/2012 8:33:52 PM PDT by Celtic Conservative (Q: how did you find America? A: turn left at Greenland)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Saw it a million times cutting class at GWU. Some scenes still make me dizzy.


3 posted on 07/14/2012 8:42:40 PM PDT by Thrownatbirth (.....Iraq Invasion fan since '91.)
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To: Celtic Conservative
Saw it a Marriotts Great America, before it became Six Flags Great America.

To Fly, 1976

4 posted on 07/14/2012 8:45:09 PM PDT by mountn man (Happiness is not a destination, its a way of life.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Brace yourself before looking at the image attached.
A pilot at low level has no control over his aircraft.

It narrowly misses a crowd gathered for the airshow
and slams into four buildings.

One can only imagine the horror of the occupants inside those buildings.


5 posted on 07/14/2012 8:47:09 PM PDT by HangnJudge
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To: HangnJudge

The horror. The horror.


6 posted on 07/14/2012 8:50:08 PM PDT by rabidralph
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To: Abundy; Albion Wilde; AlwaysFree; AnnaSASsyFR; bayliving; BFM; cindy-true-supporter; ...

Go and see it sometime.

Maryland PING!


7 posted on 07/14/2012 9:06:45 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Obama should change his campaign slogan to "Yes, we am!" Sounds as stupid as his administration is.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Saw this for the first time at the Natural Science Museum in Denver, in 1983, when we were visiting my airline pilot brother. He LOVED it, and had seen in many times, at that point.


8 posted on 07/14/2012 11:04:59 PM PDT by SuziQ
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

The film is completely incongruous with the reality of life today. Back in 1976 there was still relative freedom to pursue air travel on an individual level. Now it is regulated to the point of absurdity making air travel of any kind other than occasional commercial flights both too cumbersome in requirements and too expensive for all but a rapidly disappearing group of upper middle class and idle rich.

I was born around the time this movie was made, and even in the 80s children like me looked to the skies and space as our obvious futures. Now, we have moved backwards. Who still views flight or space travel with awe and romanticism and dreams of taking to the skies? It got lost somewhere along the way.

This movie is a relic of the American Dream that has disappeared. It is nostalgia for the DREAM of a time when you could actually take up flying that this video still brings out in people, not the actual desire to go out and FLY that it originally was designed to invoke.

When we went to the moon the whole country was glued to the TV. Why has there been no new frontiers blazed since then? Nothing worth the world’s time to stop and watch? There should have been many firsts since then. Many successes and a few tragic failures that the whole nation could cheer and cry over. But no. Since that time we pulled back.

When can we all share the real living excitement of “TO FLY!” again?


9 posted on 07/14/2012 11:47:54 PM PDT by Advil000
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
I saw it in 1976 at the National Air and Space Museum.

We waited in line for 3 hours.

It was amazing then, and it is still amazing today.

The film motivated me to go into aviation (aerospace engineer, Air Force pilot).

Some films just inspire.

10 posted on 07/15/2012 3:46:15 AM PDT by SkyPilot
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