A Question relating to the flight path in Dawn

[Monrozombi]

Flyboy wasn't familiar with the layout of Canadian airports that would have jet fuel for the Ranger II he was flying. The US would have a greater concentration of airports and fuel compared to Canada, so he decided to play it safe by sticking to an area he was familiar with. He might also have reasoned that any chance at escaping from the zombie plauge in Canada would necessitate flying deep into Northern Canada, well beyond the range of the aircraft. my only argument against this "flyboy knew where he was going" line of thought is we have no idea if he "knew" where he was going, or where these little airfields were located. Granted, he might have been from Pittsburgh or had worked there previous but he has given me no indication that going west was any better then Canada. I think they were shooting from hip and hoping to land somewhere safe. The Mall ended up being that safe haven, but it probably wasn't any safer then going to canada in the first place

[Eyebiter]

Bell Jetranger 206 Fuel Quantity This gauge displays gallons of fuel remaining in the fuel cell. JetRangers with serial numbers above 3567 have a gauge which goes up to 100 gallons. This one only goes up to 75, even though the fuel extender allows us to fit almost 100 gallons in the fuel cell. http://www.copters.com/mech/B206_panel.html Max range std fuel 374 nm/694 km (around 1.5 hours endurance with reserve) As you can see, the Jetranger is a fairly short ranged helicopter. Assuming a take off from Philly, it's over 400 miles to Cleveland. Leaving enough fuel for a reserve in case of trouble, it makes sense to top off the tank every few hundred miles. In addition, carrying an extra passenger would shorten the amount of fuel the chopper could carry - thus the need to stop more frequently. In the late 70's there were many small airports left over from the post-WW2 era when flying was a popular sport here in the US. Since then, lot of the grass airfields have disappeared. Other concrete or blacktop short airfields (suitable only for Piper Cut or similar short takeoff propellor planes) have been taken over by industrial parks, made into housing, or converted into other purposes. http://www.airfields-freeman.com/PA/Airfields_PA.htm While you might scrounge fuel for a helicopter in these places, helicopter specific spare parts would be very difficult to find.

[dmbfanintn]

Don't forget the little bit of dialog that was cut from the American and Cannes version. At the airport when Steven and Roger are trying to put fuel in the chopper, has say, "they probably all hit the pumps and took off, and Steven says, "to where" then, in the Argento version Peter says "where the hell are WE going". That shows that up to that point, at least originally, GAR was showing that they didn't really have a plan. Just a thought!

[MaximusIncredulous]

my only argument against this "flyboy knew where he was going" line of thought is we have no idea if he "knew" where he was going, or where these little airfields were located. Granted, he might have been from Pittsburgh or had worked there previous but he has given me no indication that going west was any better then Canada. I think they were shooting from hip and hoping to land somewhere safe. The Mall ended up being that safe haven, but it probably wasn't any safer then going to canada in the first place I think Flyboy knew where he was going as far as airport hopping was concerned. He had to, otherwise they would've run out of fuel and been on foot after leaving Philly. That's why he also abandoned the Canada idea because, in all likelihood, he had charts for the state of PA or greater on board the Ranger. In Canada he proabably would've wound up flying blind, run out of fuel and wind up trapped in the Canadian wilderness where zombies wouldn't be the only things that would want to eat them. But as far as the big picture was concerned, no, he didn't have the slightest clue as to where to go, just like the others.

[Philly_SWAT]

Everyone has made good posts here. As far as if they "had a minimal plan or not, but he has given me no indication that going west was any better then Canada. This is true, however, Peter asked Flyboy "Do you know where where we are?" to which Flyboy responds "I know exactly where we are", which shows that Flyboy knew where he was, and therefore at least knew where they were going based on the direction in which they were flying. I mean, I assume as a pilot he knew how to read a compass? Since he mentions Cleavland, he must have known they were flying West and not North. It does make sense that Canada, having large unpopulated areas, would be a good place to hold up. However, it is a good point that fuel would be more difficult to find as you got deeper into these areas. But I still say that the way Fran says "So I guess we can forget about Canada" has to mean there was a discussion about going to Canada before landing at the mall. Even if it was just between her and Flyboy, it had to be after they left Philly, based on her surprise in the beginning that they were even leaving Philly at all. And how could it have been just between her and Flyboy. She was sitting in the back of the chopper, and when they got out at the airport, they kinda had their hands full, hand fighting with the undead and shooting and almost killing Peter. I don't think it could have been an "ironic comment" or a leftover joke about war. I do agree that in the chaos that was happening in Philly the plan was pretty much "let's get the hell out of here!", but Fran's comment is the key that some type of discussion had to take place in the chopper.

[MaximusIncredulous]

But I still say that the way Fran says "So I guess we can forget about Canada" has to mean there was a discussion about going to Canada before landing at the mall. Even if it was just between her and Flyboy, it had to be after they left Philly, based on her surprise in the beginning that they were even leaving Philly at all. And how could it have been just between her and Flyboy. She was sitting in the back of the chopper, and when they got out at the airport, they kinda had their hands full, hand fighting with the undead and shooting and almost killing Peter. I don't think it could have been an "ironic comment" or a leftover joke about war. I do agree that in the chaos that was happening in Philly the plan was pretty much "let's get the hell out of here!", but Fran's comment is the key that some type of discussion had to take place in the chopper. I wonder about that. I'm sure some sort of discussion had taken place earlier but Flyboy's response to her "forget about Canada" remark seems to be one of exasperation. Perhaps she brought this issue up while Flyboy was busy flying the heli which requires full concentration. That combined with knowing that flying to Canada was out of the question, he probably dismissed the issue quickly but in Fran's mind it still seemed open to discussion. Anyway, my .02 worth.

[Philly_SWAT]

Good point. Women can be pretty exasperating at times. Yours is probably the best explanation.

[tju1973]

Bell Jetranger 206 Fuel Quantity This gauge displays gallons of fuel remaining in the fuel cell. JetRangers with serial numbers above 3567 have a gauge which goes up to 100 gallons. This one only goes up to 75, even though the fuel extender allows us to fit almost 100 gallons in the fuel cell. http://www.copters.com/mech/B206_panel.html Max range std fuel 374 nm/694 km (around 1.5 hours endurance with reserve) As you can see, the Jetranger is a fairly short ranged helicopter. Assuming a take off from Philly, it's over 400 miles to Cleveland. Leaving enough fuel for a reserve in case of trouble, it makes sense to top off the tank every few hundred miles. In addition, carrying an extra passenger would shorten the amount of fuel the chopper could carry - thus the need to stop more frequently. In the late 70's there were many small airports left over from the post-WW2 era when flying was a popular sport here in the US. Since then, lot of the grass airfields have disappeared. Other concrete or blacktop short airfields (suitable only for Piper Cut or similar short takeoff propellor planes) have been taken over by industrial parks, made into housing, or converted into other purposes. http://www.airfields-freeman.com/PA/Airfields_PA.htm While you might scrounge fuel for a helicopter in these places, helicopter specific spare parts would be very difficult to find. ------------------------------------------------- My hat is off to you...