allenjb42

At the risk of hijacking the thread, and apologies in advance Kevin, but this would make a great idea for an 80's style all-action TV series called 'Top Aces!' Each week our Top Aces heroes are deployed to a different country, ostensibly to help with training or advisory to the host nation, act as aggressors in an exercise, or some other excuse. In reality, of course, they're there to carry out a super secret covert op for the US. Missions could be set in real world locations, or fictional countries (bonus points for identiying where the countries are from): A strike on a nuclear facility in the Middle Eastern Empire of Paran ;) A raid to capture a drugs baron in the Central American country, Val Verde Bombing the storage depots at Daiquiri, flying from Drambuie on the Barbary Coast Stopping a coup in the Central African kingdom of Zamunda Extracting an Agency asset from Agrabah, east of the Euphrates Helping to stem an invasion of the Central European nation of Florin by neighbouring Guilder Taking out a terrorist camp in the African republic of Zangaro With a main cast of impossibly good looking US and international (well someone has to fly the Alphas and Mirages) male and female actors as the former military Top Aces pilots, each with their own characters and back story of why they're ex-military to be explored in future episodes. Plus a trope-fest of a supporting cast: The crusty retired general who commands them (is Dale Dye available?) The suitably geeky WSO who's a whizz at electronics and, with the sexy female scientist on loan from DARPA, usually comes up with the weekly tech solution to get the mission over the line The mysterious 'Agency' contact who hands out the mission each week, with an attractive aide/pilot/driver/bodyguard. Or maybe as a nod to the classics like Mission: Impossible and Charlie's Angels we don't get to see the Agency contact as the missions are always briefed on a Zoom call where the contact's camera is always off, with the catchphrase: 'I'm sharing my screen now, can everyone see it OK?' The pilot of the C-130 for logistical support, is a trucker, like Snowman from Smokey and the Bandit I'm sure you can come up with others... The real Top Aces has a huge variety of aircraft, including their Blue Air fleet Top Aces - Wikipedia, so there will be great opportunitites to showcase the different planes and helicopters iin action. Of course there will be the usual trope of re-using the flight footage from the pilot show, and if push comes to shove, because of the Israeli camo on the Top Aces F-16s, we can also use footage from Iron Eagle, like everyone else making an aviation movie in the 1980s & 90s has! Think of the spin-offs - book and comics series, flight sim games, a kids animated show - and in 30 years, it can be remade as a big budget movie that will either spawn a new franchise or sink without a trace at the box office. Glad I got that off my chest. Normal service is resumed.

Same air Wing, different era...

Tomcats...