[Eric Pode of Croydon]

Has to be the -original- Flight of the Phoenix, right??

The engine starting scene is one of my all time faves.

[az_gila]

I would add these two in -

One of my glider instructors was the chielf pilot for the second one...:^)

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Has to be the -original- Flight of the Phoenix, right??

Oh, God, yes. I've tried to blot the remake from my mind.

[norwaypinesavage]

"The engine starting scene is one of my all time faves."

My FIL was an aircraft mechanic on a flat top in WWII. His ship, the Corregidor, was caught with many others in Halsey's Typhoon for several days. An airplane had been tied on the front of the ship and caught many of the direct waves from the typhoon.

He bet a number of others on the ship that he could start the engine on the first try, with only one cartridge. Since no where in the bet did it state how much he could do to the engine BEFORE the cartridge, he spent hours and hours cleaning the engine, carburetors, magnetos, and anything else damaged by the water. He also propped the engine over dozens of times, making sure it has spark and fuel. It started on the first cartridge, and he was paid a good share of his college tuition.

Rest assured that this story has NOT been enhanced by 65 years of memories.