Speed & Angels: fighter pilot documentary

For the last several years, my friend Michelle Hansen has been working hard as a producer on Speed & Angels, a new indy documentary about fighter pilots. Directed by Peyton Wilson, the story follows two Navy officers, Jay and Meagan, through flight school, dogfights in Nevada, aircraft carrier landing exercises, and eventually the harsh realities of the Iraq war. Top Gun references may be obvious, but accurate. Meagan (callsign: Slick) decided at 12 that she wanted to be a fighter pilot after seeing Top Gun with her dad. Speed & Angels will be screened at the Sedona International Film Festival on February 29 and March 1 and at the San Jose Cinequest Film Festival on March 9. Link (Thanks, Ed Szylko!)

[#1 posted by Johnny Cat , February 7, 2008 11:01 AM]

"Chicks...cannot hold de yoke. Dats what it izz."

Seriously, I love hearing about this kind of grrl power.

[#2 posted by Guysmiley , February 7, 2008 11:14 AM]

I'm guessing now they've transitioned to F/A-18s? The F-14 is no longer in service with the U.S. Navy.

[#3 posted by airshowfan , February 7, 2008 11:24 AM]

The movie was shot just before the F-14 was retired.

I'm surprised it hasn't come out yet. I've been hearing about it for a year and a half. Wasn't it released on DVD like a year ago?

Too bad the screening closest to me is on the same day as the first Blue Angels airshow of the year, otherwise I'd totally be there. I guess I'll have to wait for a later screening. Or just buy the DVD...

[#4 posted by Miles , February 7, 2008 11:24 AM]

Cool callsign

Way better than Goose

[#5 posted by consideredopinion , February 7, 2008 11:27 AM]

I'm as big a fan of jets as the next geek, but the trailer and "unprecedented access" suggests more propaganda, milking the last bit of iconic value from that obsolete weapons platform. But then hey, there's a more dramatic story in a woman in a family of pacifists achieving her dreams to launch munitions at Mach 2 than the elimination of pilots from weapon systems entirely.

[#6 posted by janelleyo , February 7, 2008 11:52 AM]

funny, i read this site every day and - there's my cousin, ha. the movie has been done for awhile but i guess they stopped selling the dvd in order to take the film to festivals. i was really impressed with it, of course i'm biased. its pretty powerful talking to Meagan now about the war, and some of the things she's seen and done. she's still extremely proud to be a pilot, but i think more proud to be on shore tour now, done with her sea tour! she's a badass :)

[#7 posted by monospace , February 7, 2008 12:02 PM]

Nice. We need more fluff pieces celebrating these cowards who rain death and destruction from the sky.

"The harsh realities of the Iraq War"? I'm sure it looks quite a bit harsher and real on the ground.

[#8 posted by BQAggie87 , February 7, 2008 12:23 PM]

Monospace,

I see you're the person that brings the knife to a gun fight.

As a Marine grunt there is no way on earth I'd fly in one of those things in combat or out.

[#9 posted by glugenwog , February 7, 2008 12:27 PM]

Out of curiosity, BQAGGIE, why not? Wouldn't it be statistically much safer in the good old Chairforce? I guess maybe that's not your reason, though...

[#10 posted by glugenwog , February 7, 2008 12:29 PM]

My mistake, it's actually Navy, but still...

[#11 posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator , February 7, 2008 7:13 PM]

Monospace, these aren't bombers. They're fighter jets. The only things they rain down are pieces of the plane when the pilot has a really bad day.

[#12 posted by JCD , February 8, 2008 5:32 AM]

Monospace is clueless. You have absolutely no idea how much guts and brains it takes to fly one of those things.
Monospace is probably someone who thinks getting up in the morning and going in to work in an office is hard work.

Tell me Mono, have you ever done anything that requires as much courage, smarts, and discipline as it does to fly a supersonic jet aircraft into battle?

Don't answer, there's no point arguing with you pacifist/leftist/narcissists anyway.

[#13 posted by monospace , February 8, 2008 10:21 AM]

Oh, I'm sure one of the pinnacles of courage is to climb into a fighter jet and fly around Iraq and elsewhere so that the bomber planes can do their job in defending the homeland. And on top of that, there even are chicks doing this! Talk about weapons porn!

Tell me Mono, have you ever done anything that requires as much courage, smarts, and discipline as it does to fly a supersonic jet aircraft into battle?

I've killed a chicken. Does that count?

Nah. Don't answer. There's no point arguing when your bombin' babes can wipe out entire families at the press of a button. Bloody courageous.

[#14 posted by Takuan , February 8, 2008 10:30 AM]

depends who you are fighting, doesn't it? The latest missiles? Other $50M planes? Overwhelming numbers?
Or undertrained pilots in antiquated equipment with limited ammunition defending poor farmers on the ground.
For all the advertising hype and Hollywood drivel, anyone objective has to admit the American air force has hardly had to face any serious opponent in many years.

[#15 posted by Antinous , February 8, 2008 10:45 AM]

...there's no point arguing with you pacifist/leftist/narcissists anyway...

Then don't.

[#16 posted by Takuan , February 8, 2008 11:52 AM]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3330873.ece

run with it