Airwolf

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Airwolf is a 1980s American series about a supersonic military helicopter of the same name. The series ran for 55 episodes (the first being a two-hour TV movie) on CBS in the United States from 1984–1986 and an additional 24 episodes with a new cast and production company on the USA Network in 1987 (for a total of 80 hours).

The show was created by Donald Bellisario, who also created Magnum, P.I., Quantum Leap, JAG and NCIS. It had a driving, synthesizer-based musical score penned and performed by Sylvester Levay. The underlying rhythm of the score is highly suggestive of the droning sound made when a helicopter’s rotors beat through the air.

1 Synopsis
2 Production Changes
3 The Airwolf Helicopter
4 Regular Cast
5 Trivia
6 Merchandise
- 6.1 Games
- 6.2 Models
7 DVD Release
8 See also
9 External links

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Synopsis

Image:Airwolf side.jpg

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The main character Stringfellow Hawke (Jan-Michael Vincent), one of Airwolf’s original test pilots, is hired by The Firm, a covert branch of the CIA that built Airwolf, to steal it back from its creator, Dr. Charles Henry Moffet, who has taken it to Libya. Hawke finds the aircraft, but fails to return it. Instead, he hides it in a desert cave and flies it from time to time to carry out undercover missions for Uncle Sam, in exchange for help from The Firm in finding his lost brother St. John (pronounced "Sin-jin") Hawke, a Vietnam War MIA.

The series covers how the United States government tries to find Hawke as he lords his new found toy over them. The series also starred Ernest Borgnine as Hawke’s best friend and co-pilot Dominic Santini, Jean Bruce Scott as Caitlin O’Shannessy, a back up to fly Airwolf should anything happen to Hawke or Dominic, and Alex Cord as the enigmatic director of The Firm, Michael Coldsmith Briggs III (cryptonym: Archangel).

The series was dark, arc-driven, and quite reflective of the Cold War that was reigning at the time, with The Firm personnel distinctly dressed in white and boasting that them “wearing white hats” distingushed them as good instead of evil to the unconvinced Hawke and Santini.

The Firm, during the earliest seasons, served as both allies and enemies for Hawke and Santini; when an opportunity to seize Airwolf reared its head, they often took it. The episode "Moffett’s Ghost" for example, shows Airwolf suffering from a fail-safe instigated by a command from its dead creator, Hawke confides in an old friend skilled with computer refinements. This person is secretly recruited by The Firm to take Airwolf back from Hawke and Santini, by installing a tracking device to lead them to its hiding place.

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Production Changes

Producer Bellisario left the series after season two following frustration with studio preferences. They wanted a female cast member added to the roster (which eventually happened in the form of Jean Bruce Scott), and for the series to be more action-oriented, as a result, Airwolf became more stream-lined and self-contained, only a few highlights of the third season stand out. The episode “Airwolf II” is heralded as the finest of the post-Bellisario adventures. The series was cancelled after ratings bombed, but a fourth was quietly picked up for Syndication.

The fourth season (1987) is largely regarded by series fans as subpar, as the original cast was quickly killed off, Saint John Hawke (now played by Barry Van Dyke) is mysteriously revealed to be alive and well, replacing Stringfellow Hawke as the central character, and the show’s production was moved to Vancouver, British Columbia and its budget slashed. The crew no longer had access to the original Airwolf helicopter, and all in-flight shots are recycled from seasons 1–3. A full-size mockup was used for static shots.

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The Airwolf Helicopter

Airwolf's "Design Specs" See Talk:Airwolf for sources
Speed	300 knots/555km/h (conventional) Mach 1.5 (turbo thrusters) Mach 2 (max speed)
Range	950 miles (armed crew of 3) 1450 miles long range (crew of 2) Midair refuel capable
Flight Ceiling	11,000 feet unpressurized 89,000 feet pressurized
Wing Guns	40-mm Cannon (×2) (the U.S. uses a Bofors 40 mm gun firing 120 APFSDS rounds per minute) .50 BMG Chain gun (×4) Firing up to 40 rounds per sec.
ADF Pod	FIRST SEASON AGM-12 Bullpup missiles (×2) AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles (×12) AIM-95 Agile missiles (×4) AGM-45 Shrike missiles (×?) SECOND – FOURTH SEASONS M712 Copperhead shells (×?) FIM-43 Redeye missiles (×?) AGM-114 Hellfire missiles (×?) FOURTH SEASON Red Laser
Defense	Sunburst anti-missile Flares (×10) Bullet-proof armoured fuselage Learning flight/combat computer Silent hover/flight mode Radar/Radio Jammer

The flying Airwolf helicopter was in actuality a Bell 222 (serial number 47085, making it the fifth to last built before the 222B was released), registration number N3176S.

Airwolf was painted Phantom Gray Metallic (DuPont Imron 5031X) on top, and a custom pearl-gray (almost white) on the bottom, in a killer whale like pattern. She was also fitted with various prop modifications, such as "turbo jet" engines and intakes, retractable chain guns at the wingtips, and a retractable rocket launcher, known as the "ADF Pod" (ADF standing for All Directional Firing, as the pod could rotate 180 degrees to fire at targets at the side of the copter) on her belly.

The look of the modifications was designed by Andrew Probert, who has pictures of the construction on his website, and they were first applied to the non-flying mock-up. (built from the body of the very first Bell 222, serial number 47001) From this mock-up molds were made so that parts could be made to FAA specifications before they were added to the flying helicopter.

After the first season, the producers were advised that "chain guns" is a registered trademark of McDonnell Douglas, and they were not referred to as such again. Other modifications were implied with foley and sets; the interior sets were of a fantastical high-tech nature, and there were implied "stealth" noise-reducing capabilities with creative use of sound effects. Airwolf is sometimes referred to in-show as "The Lady" by Santini and Hawke.

Airwolf's insignia patch (also designed by Probert) as worn by the flight-crew was a snarling wolf's head with gossamer wings under the head of lamb; a play off "a wolf in sheep's clothing".

In the show, Airwolf was an armored, stealth aircraft, invisible to conventional radar. It could perform impossible manuvers and stunts, including travel at mach speeds, flying upside down, and flying into the stratosphere. Sound effects were also associated with many of the aircraft's abilities. The helicopter was equipped with "turbo boost," and many times when Airwolf bolted across the sky one would hear her "howl like a wolf" as she made a glass-shattering sound effect. When sitting idle, the aircraft made a mechanical trilling sound. While hovering the rotor blades made a ghostly wind drone. The aircraft could operate on "silent mode" and hover quietly above the ground without being noticed.

The weapons were state-of-the-art, with machine guns that could rip apart tanks and bunkers. The belly missile pod could fire a variety of rockets, including Hellfire and heat-seeking Sidewinders. When fired, these rockets usually glowed like a laser bolt or "photon torpedo" in Star Trek. Airwolf was also equipped with an advanced computer system which could identify and track aircraft and ground vehicles. It could display 3D wireframe models and schematics of its targets. The communications system could eavesdrop on radio and telephone conversations, tap into and foul up computer systems, jam enemy transmission frequencies and disrupt ground-based electrical systems. The weapons system could be tied in with the communications system to lock the missiles onto any monitored electronic system. Though never used in the show, Airwolf was also equipped with “nuclear-tipped Shrike missiles”. The button that fires these missiles is near the button that turns on the signal decoder (used to communicate with Archangel).

In one episode ("Airwolf II"), Airwolf had an evil twin, the Airwolf II, also known as Redwolf. The Redwolf was built by The Firm to replace Airwolf, but was stolen and flown by an egotistical test-pilot rival of Stringfellow Hawke’s called Harlan Jenkins. Redwolf differed from Airwolf in that it was painted red where Airwolf was painted white. It was also equipped with a powerful laser weapon. By the end of the episode, Redwolf was destroyed by Airwolf. In later episodes and throughout the 4th season, Airwolf had a similar laser, suggesting that it was salvaged from the wreckage of the Redwolf. Season 4 also featured a similar copter to the Redwolf, known as the Scorpion (suggesting that the Scorpion itself was built from the salvaged wreckage of the Redwolf). This copter was also destroyed by Airwolf (though the footage of the dogfighting was recycled from the "Airwolf II" episode).

After the show was cancelled the modifications were removed. The aircraft was repainted and eventually sold to the German helicopter charter company, Hubschrauber-Sonder-Dienst (aka HSD Luftrettung and Blue Helicopter Alliance), and given the registration number D-HHSD. Airwolf, as a plain Bell 222 air ambulance, crashed in a thunderstorm on 1991-06-09, killing her three passengers.

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Regular Cast

List of Airwolf episodes

Season 1 (CBS, Spring 1984) — two-hour pilot and ten additional episodes.

Jan-Michael Vincent — Stringfellow Hawke (noted as 34 in the 5th episode)
Ernest Borgnine — Dominic Santini
Alex Cord — Michael Coldsmith Briggs III (Archangel)

Seasons 2–3 (CBS, 1984–1986) — two seasons of 22 episodes each.

Vincent, Borgnine, Cord, and
Jean Bruce Scott — Caitlin O’Shaunessy

Season 4 (USA Network, Spring–Summer 1987) — 24 episodes, bringing the total hours to 80.

Barry Van Dyke — Saint John Hawke
Michele Scarabelli — Jo Santini
Geraint Wyn Davies — Mike Rivers
Anthony Sherwood — Jason Locke

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Trivia

The CD soundtrack for the show, Airwolf Themes 2CD Special Limited Edition is a collectors’ item selling for up to $981 - a World Record - on eBay making it the “World's Most Expensive Television Soundtrack.”

Though Airwolf is often cited as having been inspired by Blue Thunder, the similarities are superficial at best. The Blue Thunder helicopter was armored and had thermal imaging and an onboard computer, but its only firepower was a gatling gun. Blue Thunder also lacked the supersonic capabilities that Airwolf had and was no more maneuverable than any other military helicopter.

A pair of fan-made “teasers” for a fictional “Airwolf vs. Blue Thunder” episode were made by splicing together scenes from the “Airwolf II” episode and the movie Blue Thunder. One teaser suggests that Blue Thunder is victorious, while the other suggests that Airwolf is the winner. To date, fans of the series and movie still debate the outcome of such a situation.

In some episodes, it is suggested that Airwolf is more than just a machine. The clearest of these is “Mind of the Machine”, in which Airwolf is directly referred to as having been called “very much a living thing” by Moffett, according to one of the former testpilots (played by David Carradine).

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Merchandise

Airwolf: The Wonderweapon (CD soundtrack)
Airwolf Collector's Edition (VHS)

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Games

Airwolf (Commodore 64) — written and designed by Neil A. Bate and Chris Harvey, with graphics by Chris Harvey and Rory Green, and music by Mark Cooksey. There were plans afoot to rename the European produced Airwolf C64 game to “Fort Apocalypse 2” but this never saw the light of day.
Airwolf (Amstrad CPC) — popular in Europe
Airwolf (ZX Spectrum) — popular in Europe
Airwolf (Nintendo Entertainment System) — by Acclaim
Airwolf (Super Nintendo)

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Models

ERTL 5" (~1:100 scale) die-cast toy model (1984) — available carded (alone) and boxed (with a Santini Air helicopter and jeep)
ERTL 14" (~1:36 scale) die-cast toy model (1984) — available boxed
amt/ERTL 1:48 scale plastic model kit (1984) — many Asian knock-offs are also available
Airwolf 1:19 scale Fuselage kit (unknown) — designed to fit the T-Rex RC helicopter
Charawheels 1:120 scale die-cast toy model (2004) — Charawheels is “Hot Wheels” in Japan
Aoshima 1:48 scale die-cast collector’s model (2005) — available in cobalt blue and black (limited)

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