Special Effects from the Dawn of Time

Amazing Effects in Classic Films - How Did They Pull It Off?
Film Riot

Just all around great.

Red Bull Airplane Swap

Red Bull Airplane Swap

Last month a couple of guys attempted a James Bond style stunt with diving airplanes. They took off together, put their airplanes into dives, jumped out and attempted to 'fly' to the other's airplane. One pilot was successful, the other plane did not cooperate, so the other pilot pulled his ripcord and parachuted to the ground.

I'm posting about it now because we have this photo.

The airplanes were modified for this stunt. One of the modifications was the installation of an oversize speed brake, shown in the photo above. It's that big perforated panel hanging from the bottom of the airplane. Jet fighters are usually equipped with speed brakes, but they are tiny relative to the size of the airplane. I've never seen one this big before.

This stunt was inspired by a similar stunt in the 1995 James Bond film Goldeneye:

Golden Eye plane jump
IheartNevitt

Not surprisingly, the James Bond stunt was faked. However, in 2017 a couple of Frenchmen performed a similar stunt using wingsuits. They also had a pilot in their airplane.

2 Wingsuit Flyers BASE Jump Into a Plane In Mid-Air | A Door In The Sky
Red Bull

P.S. The airplane swap stunt was done over Eloy, Arizona. It's not much of a place.

Red 2

Caught this trailer on TV the other day and this scene was just the best. I got a distinct feeling of déjà vu when I saw it, but I can't remember where.

The Ballerina Stunt (Live Test 1)

Volvo Trucks The Ballerina Stunt Live Test 1
Civic Merchandising Videos
Faith Dickey walks a tight rope strung between two semi trucks while they are driving down a divided highway in Croatia. Stunt was sponsored by Volvo trucks. I was a little hesitant about posting this as it looks pretty insane. But she is wearing a safety line and the trucks do have brakes, so I dunno, it might not be any worse than the guy who walked the tight wire strung between the world trade center towers. Actually compared to Philipe Petit, Faith might just be the very model rational behavior.

Update August 2021 replaced missing video.