Wings Of The Apache  (aka: Fire Birds, 1990) - there are
lots of great rotary action scenes here, as this movie looks at the role of attack helicopters in paramilitary warfare against a drug cartel in
South America. Look out for the Bell AH-1 Cobra, several Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk transports (including medevac duty), and a 'Scorpion' chopper
(actually a McDonnell Douglas 500D Defender), and a Bell OH-58D Scout, in addition to the Boeing (MD) AH-64 Apache squadron of title, which are
often viewed in silhouette against a sunrise. The film's stars (Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, and
Sean Young) all play expert helicopter pilots, and there's one funny scene in which Cage's
flying hero overcomes a hand/ eye co-ordination problem to trash all the war-game scenarios in a military flight simulator.
"Fire Birds is a terribly bad movie - just awful, bad writing, worse acting, ugh. It does, however, have a zillion helicopters! The
US Army participated more than you would expect in this disaster, offering machinery and manpower for the flying scenes from stocks at Fort Hood,
Texas. We see about 30 AH-64A Apaches on loan from the 4th Squadron of the 6th Cavalry Brigade, a Bell OH-58D Kiowa from the 2nd Armoured Division,
plus several AH-1 Cobras, UH-60 Black Hawks, UH-1H Hueys and MD-500D Defenders from other units." - NATHAN DECKER
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