Goldeneye Photos

To avoid any ' off topic' posting 

I dug out my photos of the James Bond Mig 29 flying without wings incident for Grommit's sake and post them below.

While I was at it I scanned all the photos so thought some of you might be interested in seeing them.

In 1994 I was invited to get involved with the special effects unit for the Bond film Goldeneye, flying twin ducted fan Mig 29's (no turbines back then!). It was shot at Leavesden airfield studio near Watford, I did 10 days there in total, spread over a month or so, they wanted consistent grey skies so I would get a call the day before and as long as I could sort work, I would go. There were a few occasions when I couldn't make it and another pilot would fill in. Each day there were 3 pilots as the required sequences were for a 3 Mig formation.  

From memory there were at least 20 shooting days with a crew of at least a dozen filming plus a team of 6 model builders and us 3 pilots and a catering unit! In the film I don't think there was even 10 seconds of footage used from what we did! It gave me an understanding of why films cost so much to make  :ohmy:

I have lots of tales about the whole experience but for now will just post some photos.

One day we were flying in very strong wind and turbulence, one of the 3 models lost both wings during flight, just small triangular stubs were left at the leading edge. The models had taileron control with no ailerons, so the pilot was able to still fly a couple of circuits just on the fuselage lift, while deciding what to do next.

He attempted a landing but as soon as he extended the gear the thing fell out of the air!

The first 2 shots show it in flight the second one also shows one of the other models in the air as well and the 3rd was after the landing attempt, you can still see what little of the wing was still attached.

General shots of the Migs, they were fairly large but light, powered by twin ducted fans with OS 91 engines and pipes

Excellent Jon. That should amaze Gromit and hopefully suppress any doubts he had :lol:

More general shots and the milkfloat transporter!

Also in the milkfloat photo, note the full size Mig parked in front of the building behind. There were 2 of these which you saw as you drove onto the site for the first time. When you got close to them you realised they were just flat painted plywood :ohmy:

Anyone who has seen the film may remember the remote satellite base in the snow where the Migs were sent on their mission and we're taken out by the laser thing.

Here is the set built to the same scale as the models. We had to be very careful taking photos as we risked being chucked off the set as it was all top secret :evil:

Also some shots of the 3 Migs overflying the dish for one of the shots that was used in the film. The snowey mountain range in the background was also painted plywood!