'Flight of the Phoenix' rising again

Forty-five years ago, “The Flight of the Phoenix” featuring an all-star cast led by James Stewart and Richard Attenborough was filmed in the Yuma area.

Today the film is getting fresh attention from Simon Beck, a filmmaker and aviation buff down in New Zealand who decided he had collected enough material to write a book about the movie and how it was made.

The film is based on the best-selling 1964 novel by English author Elleston Trevor. Produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, “The Flight of the Phoenix” is based around the survivors of a plane crash in the Sahara Desert and their attempts to build a new plane, the Phoenix, from the wreckage and fly it out.

Tragically, the film was marred by the death of Hollywood stunt pilot Paul Mantz, whose scratch-built Phoenix replica crashed during filming on July 8, 1965, in Buttercup Valley 17 miles west of Yuma.

“I've always loved aviation films since I was about 7 years old,” Beck told the Yuma Sun. “One day my dad brought home a copy of a new film on an old super 8mm film reel called ‘The Flight of the Phoenix.' I was instantly hooked on it. Over the years I had always remembered the film and the twin-boom cargo plane featured in it.”

In late 2004, Beck began to seriously research the film, mainly out of curiosity. Soon he had original FAA files, rare stills, newspaper articles and dozens of other items and tidbits that told the story of the film and its making.

He had a particular fascination with the airplane featured in the film, the Fairchild C-82 Packet, a cargo-paratroop transport the Army had ordered for the anticipated invasion of Japan in 1945.

As it turned out, the invasion was unnecessary because of the use of the atomic bomb on Japan, and the C-82 became something of a forgotten aircraft until its use in “The Flight of the Phoenix,” Beck said.

In 2005, Beck uncovered for the first time the identities of many of the aircraft used for the film, gaining him a feature article in the British magazine Aeroplane Monthly. He also has a website dedicated to the aircraft from the film at www.c82packet.com.

“Eventually it got to the point where I had enough material that I thought, well, maybe I could put something together on this. I've never written a book before but there were so many worthy photos and information I figured why not give it a go.”

The movie was filmed in mid-1965 in Buttercup Valley, Patton Valley and a rock quarry at Pilot Knob. In addition to Stewart and Attenborough, the filmed starred Peter Finch, Hardy Kruger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Gabriele Tinti and Alex Montoya.

“You do actually think you are in the Sahara Desert with the trapped survivors,” Beck said. “That's one of the advantages of location filming in a movie and probably why so many Hollywood films have been shot in this part of the country. The sand dunes are a fascinating and unique asset to this area. I'd love the chance to come over and see them one day.”

One thing Simon has never pinpointed is the mystery airstrip used in the film's opening shot by the C-82 cargo plane. Yuma historian Dan Rasp has been helping Beck for the past year in this search.

“We are totally dumbfounded,” Beck said. “We think it might be in the area immediately west of Pilot Knob by Interstate 8. Photos of this area by Dan reveal some landscapes similar to the one in the film but so far not a definite location. Dan has done some terrific research and I'm extremely grateful for all his assistance.”

Beck is hopeful a reader might be able to shed some light on the mystery. If so, they can contact him at sdbeck@caverock.net.nz. Or they can call Rasp at 342-1881 and leave a message.

Beck said he also would like to hear from any Yuma locals who were involved in the film or had relatives who may have information or photos they could contribute to the book.

He's hoping to finish the manuscript by late 2011. Right now he has no publisher for the book, which is still in the research process.

“I'm a first-time writer doing it out of my passion for the film. It does have a strong aviation angle to it, so ideally I'd like a U.S. or U.K. publisher whose had experience in publishing these types of books.”

Some tidbits Beck said he's learned about the filming of “The Flight of the Phoenix”

• The flying in the film was amazing with aerial footage filmed over Imperial Valley in July 1965 using an old World War II B-25 bomber converted to a flying studio.

• Seven aircraft were required for the film: four C-82 cargo planes, one C-119 cargo plane wreck, the Phoenix replica that crashed, killing Mantz, and one vintage O-47 spotter plane hired to complete filming after Mantz's airplane crashed.

• Mantz had built the Phoenix airplane for the film out of wood, steel and old parts from a T-6 Texan and Beechcraft Model 18. It was an actual flying aircraft certified by the FAA. He was killed when he made too steep an approach on his third run past the cameras on July 8. The small airplane couldn't be leveled out in time and it hit the ground in a jarring impact that caused a structural failure and subsequently broke up the airframe. The accident was all caught on multiple cameras stationed around Buttercup Valley.

• The C-82 used for the flying scenes was later impounded in Mexico for an illegal flight into that country. Mexican authorities donated the aircraft to a Hermosillo park, where it became a children's playground item until it was scrapped in 2005.

• Another airplane was later used by Hollywood for the 1967 film “Doctor Doolittle” to transport a giant fiberglass snail to the Caribbean.

• The C-82 Packet was used in the Berlin Airlift. It also was used in Operation Haylift in the winter of 1949, dropping an estimated 4.2 million pounds of hay to thousands of cattle stranded by a raging snowstorm that struck the Northwest.

• By all accounts, the cast and crew had a great time in Yuma. They stayed at the Stardust Hotel, a popular local resort in the 1960s. James Stewart celebrated his 57th birthday on July 20 – a cake was brought onto the set in a surprise celebration.

• Four vultures were acquired for filming; one was named Granny and came from Peru. A long-tailed monkey called Chu-Cho was acquired from the Philippines as a pet for one of the characters. Several camels were needed for a scene but later were dropped from the film.

• The National Guard Armory in Yuma was converted to a special soundstage for filming of promotional trailers and other items for visiting press.

• The Yuma Daily Sun sent 10,000 special edition copy newspapers on the film to foreign news agencies around the world.

• James Stewart left the set for several days to swear in 500 new Air Force recruits and act as grand marshal at the annual Indianapolis 500 race.