[buccaneer81]

Then he flew his bi-plane (armed with a missile)

That was original (alternate) ending. He flew an F-18 in the finished product.

[Viking2002]

Oh, balls. I'd have liked that alternate ending. Was it on the DVD or did it end up getting burned?

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

Thank-you! You’re correct. Quaid’s character flew his bi-plane earlier in the movie when he was a crop duster.

His character was an ex-fighter pilot from the Vietnam War days, and he did, in fact, fly an F-18 into the giant UFO at the end of the movie. As the 20-somethings would say, “My bad.”