Catch me if ya can..

[350DRIVER]

Off the "normal" subjects> Has anyone seen the movie Catch Me If You Can with good ole Leo D.?? I guess Leo plays a TWA jet jock way back when, not to mention the many other things.. The previews look good but was curious if the flick is worth seeing.?

I guess the movie is based on a true story

3 5 0

 

[race#53]

We saw the movie and thought it was fun except the part where he looks down and says "runway 44" .

 

[Britpilot]

I guess Leo plays a TWA jet jock way back when
I guess the movie is based on a true story

3 5 0

Leo plays Frank Abagale Jr. He posed as a Pan Am pilot, doctor and lawyer amongst other things. Story is true and Frank is now a private security consultant, oh and he paid back all the money he owed.

 

[FlightTraker]

Go see it. A truly amazing story (times were different then) I saw Frank on a TV talkshow the other day. He has a book out that tells the real story (I am guessing that Hollywood may have embellished a bit)


FlightTraker

 

[qxeplt]

Uniform = not good

3 scenes in uniform they messed up.

When he first buys a uniform he's getting fitted with one that only has two stripes on the cuff and the next scene he's walking out with 3 stips.

Then in one of the last uniform scenes he's in a captain blazer with four stripes yet he's wearing an FO hat.

Whatever...

 

[lionflyer]

I chuckled when the kid asked the Pan AM Capt. for his autogragh. How about when Leo's in the restaurant in uniform drinking wine? Those must have been the days.

 

[Starsailor]

Regarding the uniform:

All of the flight crews' coats are manufactured with two stripes -- that way, if an F/E walks in and needs a uniform, no change. F/O: add a stripe. CA: you see where this is going.

I'd be willing to bet that the last uniformed scene was messed up on purpose. Leo's character probably had the wherewithal to add a gold braid or two to his sleeves, but might not have been able to duplicate the 'eggs'.

That said, there were plenty of other aviation flubs in the movie (runway 44: a wicked magnetic variation?), but remember: Frank Abagnale Jr. was not a pilot. Any error he makes is, in the spirit of the movie, completely forgivable. I'd have to see it again to see if any of the 'real' pilots tanked anything. I thought Spielberg and crew did a fine job.

The book is good, too. I read it in one sitting (back in November when I saw that the movie was being released). . .it was difficult to put down. Mr. Abagnale has another book, The Art of the Steal, which is about protecting yourself against fraud. Also a good read, though a bit scary, i.e. you get to see just how many different ways a person could defraud you.

Regards,
Starsailor

 

[Contract Guy]

Just an interesting side note but along related lines

A couple of years back (around the end of 00 beginning of 01) I met a rather interesting character thru a charter job I was working at the time.

A Gulfstream driver, he was a very likable guy and a very good pilot. About two months into it he took a leave of absence unpaid for personal reasons.
He really didn’t offer up much in the way of an explanation to the boss and that kind of miffed him (at the time).

We never heard back from him and several months passed, the boss assumed he’d found another job and just wrote him off and hired someone else.

Well his departure was somewhat of a stir around the office as we only had five pilots at that time and people began to ask about him, what might have caused him to leave.

No one really knew him THAT well, he talked of his past and his family on occasion, nothing out of the ordinary or extraordinary etc…
Said he trained at ERAU, flew checks, freight charter etc. usual career ladder stuff.

Well, one evening in Nov 2001 we had returned from out of country trip and the boss was rather frazzled looking. We asked him what was up, he said the FBI just left.

Flight bags hit the floor.

What happened we asked?

They were here about you know who and took everything from his employment files and training records.

No explanation, no thank you’s, no have a nice day’s… they just left.

Now it gets weirder,

Around July of this past year myself and one other guy who knew this fellow was at IAD waiting on our charter to arrive when this all white Gulfstream pulls up to the ramp and out pops three suits trying really hard to conceal whatever artillery piece they were carrying under their jackets and two other men in suits. Next comes off you know who, dressed in semi casual attire, Dockers etc.

It took me a second or to, to recognize him but I am 100000% sure it was him, when he glanced over at us staring at him, the look he gave, if it could kill, well you know the saying.


Rather bizarre I guess,

 

[rjcap]

It took me a second or to, to recognize him but I am 100000% sure it was him, when he glanced over at us staring at him, the look he gave, if it could kill, well you know the saying.

Am I to understand this guy was being escorted by these armed suits ??

Good story.

 

[XLR8]

What a great story! You don't happen to know the name of the original book by him do you?

I thought the movie actually was pretty realistic (other than "runway 44", and the whole autograph thing). One of the best movies I've seen! Can't wait to read the book!

Fly Safe!

 

[Contract Guy]

Am I to understand this guy was being escorted by these armed suits ??

Good story.

I’m not really sure if he was just part of the party, the crew or if he was being escorted by them all. He was the last one in the group, the armed guys (for lack of a better word) were in front with the other two just loosely in trail and he was directly behind one of the middle two.

Heck he could have been the hostee for all that I know, but the plane was truly out of place, completely white and we saw no visible registration in the usual spots although there was something on the tail that looked like some small numbers, but the armed goons kind of put the whole thing over the top.

 

[Northern Lights]

Watching Leo walk through the airport with about 5 FA's dangling from each arm gave me a good laugh!

I don't think that I've ever seen that at the airport.

Good movie, though!

 

[skydiverdriver]

I thought it was a cute film. Yes, the mistakes he made were on purpose, since he was just pretending to be a pilot. A captain I flew with read the book and said he was caught by a crew that asked him what "equipment" he was on. He had no idea what the guy was asking! For the one who asked, the name of the book is the same as the name of the movie, "Catch me if you can." My captain said it was a good read.

 

[ms6073]

Interstingly enough, when I was a sneior in high school ('77), a gentleman who was introduced to us as Mr. Frank Abignale, was a guest speaker for the junior/senior class at our school. He gave a motivational speech lasting nearly 2-hours and included a recounting of most of the incidents you see in the movie including the part about writing a prostitute a bad 'check' for her services. As I recall though he did omit the part about taking the bar exam, getting hired as an assistant DA in Louisiana, and working for the FBI though. I think I am going to have to get a copy of the book to see what I missed in the movie.

 

[Hootie9750]

another thing is those thin file holder briefcases that he was always carrying around. No way you could come close to fitting a jepp binder in there. Really good movie still. Actually, great movie.

 

[PCL Flt-ops]

Watching that movie made me realize that the 60s and 70s were the glory days of aviation. Pilots were on par with Doctors and Lawyers. All the stewardess' were super hot, and the respect that pilots got was awesome. About the only thing better in aviation now is that we have better avionics.

 

[Salty Dog]

Well, that and the fact that we don't die flying nearly as often...

 

[Otto]

I fly General Electrics!

Yes, the mistakes he made were on purpose, since he was just pretending to be a pilot. A captain I flew with read the book and said he was caught by a crew that asked him what "equipment" he was on. He had no idea what the guy was asking!

I read the book and when he was asked about what equipment he flew on by a TWA pilot at the airport, he replied with the seemingly safest answer..."General Electric"! The TWA guy was obviously pissed, thinking it was just a wise a** remark. The part I love best is that he ACTUALLY passed the bar with zero law school! I just like that because an ex girlfriend of mine wanted to be a lawyer and she was always talking down about the ease of being a pilot and the instability of the airline industry. I'd like to see her pass a checkride with zero training. Oh and it gets better...she worked for Arthur Andersen!

 

[LA Confidential]

Re: I fly General Electrics!

The part I love best is that he ACTUALLY passed the bar with zero law school! I just like that because an ex girlfriend of mine wanted to be a lawyer and she was always talking down about the ease of being a pilot and the instability of the airline industry. I'd like to see her pass a checkride with zero training. Oh and it gets better...she worked for Arthur Andersen!

LOL!!!


I have a close friend who incidentally is an Attorney, so is his wife, but anyway…

A several years back he wanted to learn to fly so unbeknownst to me he bought one of those paperback books you could find during the 80’s about how to let your license pay for itself and how to get your license in 5 weeks, 6 weeks etc…

He read this thing then one night over dinner he began barraging me with very specific questions about learning to fly, operating costs and so forth.
He wanted to do it and he wanted to know if it could be done in 6 weeks.

Well I’ve known him all my life, he is a very intelligent man and quick to learn new things, so I assumed that, yes he could if he applied himself as he usually does to other stuff.

Well, after the six weeks had passed I was still trying to solo him, he had about 30 hrs and was about half the way thru the book curriculum and was nowhere near close to me signing him off for the written.

He finally gave up

 

[dsee8driver]

Movie was very...

I thought the movie was very entertaining. Next time I see Spielberg I'm going to ask him how to go from the lav to the wheelwell in a DC8.

BTW, The DC8 in which he escaped from the lav through the wheelwell was one of ours. One of our LA Captains had to taxi around LA one afternoon while they filmed it. It was N867BX a 63 series 8.

 

[Hootie9750]

hey otto, its true.
I saw the movie with my cousin who is a lawyer and she told me that its completely possible to study on your own for the bar and pass it two weeks later. In fact she said she has worked with a guy before who is like ninety and did it that way who still practices. I guess WAY back in the day it was common and totally legal. I had an ex too who wanted to be a lawyer and said that was harder than me becoming a pilot. lol