# A film from the early days of aviation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [November 11, 2023, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-film-from-the-early-days-of-aviation/993002 "2023-11-11T23:21:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2023, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-film-from-the-early-days-of-aviation/993002/1 "2023-11-11T23:21:39Z")
I’ve asked about this in various forums over the years. When I was a kid, late 50s, we went to a fly-in. They had a tent showing aviation type films. The one that got me was of a stunt team. It was a human chain, one with the guy clinging to the axel. I don’t remember how long the chain was, 4 or 5 I think. Then one broke loose, and they fell. I found it a bit horrifying at the time, but since have wondered if it was just a comedy using dummies. Any body ever see something like that? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2023, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-film-from-the-early-days-of-aviation/993002/2 "2023-11-11T23:47:19Z")
There certainly were barnstorming aerial acrobats who fell to their deaths. Which quickly growing body count was the trigger for the creation of a federal government agency to regulate aviation. I’ve seen old footage of a single individual falling off a plane inflight. I’ve not seen a human chain like that. I’m not saying you didn’t, just that I have not. Despite having seen a lot of vintage footage, I can’t claim to have seen all of it. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-film-from-the-early-days-of-aviation/993002/3 "2023-11-12T00:10:45Z")
Not a stunt team, but there’s [this footage](https://youtu.be/jshHDM93PSE?feature=shared) of the 1932 [USS Akron incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Akron#%22Coast-to-coast%22_flight_and_second_accident_(May_1932)) when 4 members of the ground crew were carried aloft. One man fell and was injured, two fell to their deaths and one managed to hold on and was pulled to safety. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-film-from-the-early-days-of-aviation/993002/4 "2023-11-12T14:42:17Z")
I recall footage of a pilot dropping out of the cockpit of a biplane while doing a loop that was quite horrifying. I’ve never been able to locate it in the Internet Age. Could stuff like this have successfully avoided uploading because of the tasteless intersection of death and humor? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-film-from-the-early-days-of-aviation/993002/5 "2023-11-12T14:45:48Z")
Hey, I didn’t mean for this thread to be about horrifying aviation mishaps. Who needs the nightmare fuel? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-film-from-the-early-days-of-aviation/993002/6 "2023-11-12T18:09:24Z")
It could have been a clip of a movie stunt. It still might have been actual mishap though.