Hanging With "Goose"

A first-of-its-kind aviation film festival marked grand reopening of the giant-screen theater of the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, here in Dayton, Ohio, last weekend!

The First Annual Reel Stuff of Aviation film festival offered an assortment of 

feature films, documentaries, and broadcast programming—each presented

 by a filmmaker or

 historian connected with the production.

The 400-seat theater has been closed while undergoing an $800,000

 renovation project to provide the latest digital projection technology.

What a delight to experience these films in the new state-of-the-art theater

featuring a digital image projection system, an amped up 7.1 surround

 sound system with 20 speakers, and a towering new six-story screen

 The festival was it's "Grand Re-Opening" and it was a wow! 

Tickets were sold out for all the events and we were  lucky to be a part of it!

The events were hosted by Reel Stuff founder and director, Ron Kaplan,

Mr. Kaplan is past executive director of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, 

a columnist for Pilot Magazine and Warbird Digest Magazine, and provides

 research and on-camera services to aviation film and media productions.

A digitally remastered version of Wings, the late William Wellman’s 1927 silent

 classic and the first film to win an Oscar for Best Picture,was screened

 and presented by Wellman’s son, actor, and historian William Wellman Jr.

Paramount Pictures’ Top Gun 3D  was screened and presented by the film’s aerial

 cinematographer, Clay Lacy, Dr. Barry Sandrew PhD of Legend3D, which converted

 the 1986 film into its high-definition, giant-screen 3-D format and award

 winning actor Anthony Edwards who played Navy REO  "Goose" in the film.

Mr. Clay Lacy, award winning aerial cinematographer.

Sunday's screening of "Top Gun" also featured retired Navy Capt. Robert L.

 "Hoot" Gibson, a former "Top Gun" fighter pilot and retired five-time Shuttle astronaut. 

Producer Catherine Wyler presented her 1990 

Warner Brothers film Memphis Belle and the documentary with the same name

 that was produced during World War II by her late father, Oscar-winning

 director William Wyler.

It’s appropriate to the local festival because the original Memphis

 Belle B-17 Flying Fortress featured in Wyler’s  film is 

currently undergoing restoration at the museum.

On Saturday evening, another sell out crowd got to experience the film "Top Gun"

in 3D and also hear actor Anthony Edwards share memories

of making the film. I myself always preferred "Goose" over Tom Cruise's Maverick so

what fun to be up close and personal with the man himself! He was funny, interesting and

a joy to hear speak.

Mr. Edwards and Dr. Sandrew

Mr. Kaplan and Mr. Edwards

Among documentaries and other special presentations will be

 THE RESTORERS, the pilot episode of a public television series

 presented by director Adam White and producer Kara Martinelli; a re-mastered 

episode of the original Milton Caniff STEVE CANYON television series, 

presented by producer and film restorer John Ellis; and AIR RACERS 3D,

 the first giant screen format film to focus on the famed Reno Air Races, 

presented by director/writer Christian Fry. 

What a joy for all of us who are lovers of all things military aviation!

We are already excited about NEXT year!

Stay well!

Susie Q