A Question relating to the flight path in Dawn

[Philly_SWAT]

I was just wondering....OK, we all know that our intrepid heros end up in Monroeville, PA, but the name of that town is never mentioned in the movie (even though I guess you could say it is implied because you can see the Monroeville Mall stickers on the doors). Even taking that into account, they mention that they went through Harrisburg and Johnstown, which is logical because they are in a straight line between Philly and Pittsburgh. But when Flyboy enters the room where Fran is, and she overheard them talking about the abortion, during their discussion she says "So, I guess we can forget about Canada?" The only reason for her to say that is that there was an off camera discussion between her and Flyboy (or all of them) that Canada would be a good choice of where to go. But they were not flying toward Canada. How come? Flyboy must know how to read a compass, and if they all lived in Phlliy, they must have realized they were flying West, not North, simply because of the towns they were passing.

[EvilNed]

Maybe she was just being ironic, not actually meaning they had ever planned going to Canada. Maybe they knew that there weren't any good airports in a straight line from where they were originally at and Canada, and thus had to take another route?

Can't say I hold all the answers.

[Monrozombi]

I believe she mentions canada because the phenomenon has only, at that point, shown up east of the Mississippi and I'm guesing since they worked for a tv studio, reports from Canada must have shown that no zombies had appeared that far north and they figured Canada was the way to go.

Or, she could have mentioned Canada and he blew it off or told her why its not a good idea. But here's another question, why did they fly in the direction they did? where they headed out west somewhere where there weren't reports of zombies yet?

[EvilNed]

Dawn of the Dead takes place 3 weeks after the edidemic starts. It's definetly world wide by this point.

[Adrenochrome]

Maybe she was just being ironic, not actually meaning they had ever planned going to Canada. Maybe they knew that there weren't any good airports in a straight line from where they were originally at and Canada, and thus had to take another route?
Could be a "leftover joke" about "war". You know, the folks that "fled to Canada to dodge the draft or avoid getting involved in a war" thingy.

[DeadCentral]

Well if you notice..even in LAND Canada is mentioned... I'm thinking maybe they were looking to find some remote area futher north where the canadian population was more sparce, therefore, less zombies. You know, deep in the woods where they may be able to hold up and live of the land with less need for ammo, electricity etc etc ... Grzzly Adams style maybe ...lol
As far as the direction they were actually flying, I think its said that they were looking for some of the smaller private airports that may not be manned, to fuel up at along the way... but i don't know the area at all so I really couldn't say...just my speculation....

[Apocryphism]

The "Canada" comment by Francine was, in my opinion, a mention of a dashed hope that she and Stephen had obviously discussed at some point over the past weeks. Roger was likely added after the original discussion; Of course, Peter as well... and who knows what else shifted on the homefront? Things don't always go as planned, and the shiny jewel in the distance often gets delayed or disregarded altogether in light of the situation at hand. In the scope of Dawn, Canada was one of those final dreams that got lost along the way.

If you want to get technical... when it came right down to actually "running," dreams got shelved for the time being, and Stephen probably just flew in a way that was most familiar. He was obviously an experienced pilot in the general Pennsylvania area, and probably just headed in a direction where he could feel that he knew "exactly" where he was.

[Monrozombi]

The "Canada" comment by Francine was, in my opinion, a mention of a dashed hope that she and Stephen had obviously discussed at some point over the past weeks. Roger was likely added after the original discussion; Of course, Peter as well... and who knows what else shifted on the homefront? Things don't always go as planned, and the shiny jewel in the distance often gets delayed or disregarded altogether in light of the situation at hand. In the scope of Dawn, Canada was one of those final dreams that got lost along the way.

If you want to get technical... when it came right down to actually "running," dreams got shelved for the time being, and Stephen probably just flew in a way that was most familiar. He was obviously an experienced pilot in the general Pennsylvania area, and probably just headed in a direction where he could feel that he knew "exactly" where he was.

Thats true, plans and life seemed to change or become non-existant in a 3 week period.

We dont' know enough about Flyboy's past to know whether he came from Western PA or knew that that part of the state was less densly populated and the smaller airfields would get them farther then just going northwest. Maybe his plan was to hit Pittsburgh and then north to Canada or something further west. Even when Peter asks him, "Do you know where we are?" And Flyboy answers, noone asks him "why" he is going there, it could have been explained off camera.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Let this one fry your Noggen...


Why did it take 2 days to fly from Philly to Pittsburgh? By car it is 6 hours.

[Monrozombi]

Let this one fry your Noggen...


Why did it take 2 days to fly from Philly to Pittsburgh? By car it is 6 hours.

Traffic? :rolleyes:

[Philly_SWAT]

Actually, the more I think about it, the Canada discussion had to have occured off-screen while all 4 of them are together. Peter was obviously not part of the original plan, Roger invites him from the basement, and Flyboy says "who's that?" when he sees Peter. However, in the begining, Flyboy goes to tell Fran that they are leaving that night at 9 pm, tells her to meet him, then leaves, so they had not discussed this beforehand. Fran seems shocked and says "Stephen we cant" (actually she says "David" we cant first, then Stephen right afterward, another flub). They meet at nine, and Roger and Peter show up a few minutes later. The cigarette guy says "Where you headin'" and Flyboy says "Staight up". The makes it apparent that at that particular point in time, they had no plan. Something else I just thought of....Flyboy says "We've gotta find fuel, maybe near Cleavland." Two things....1) If they turned from Pittsburgh to Cleavland, that is heading toward Canada, but they would have to cross Lake Erie to get to Canada. Maybe that way is just as short as going North. But Cleavland is quite a distance from Pittsburgh, so why would he act like they were in need of fuel right away, then suggest an area that is not close?

[Monrozombi]

I'm beginning to wonder if there was no discussion other then "we need to get out of Philly now" He had the chopper, they could spot airfields and refuel and keep going west/northwest until they came to an area that didn't look infected with zombies. but in the end it didnt turn out that bad when they saw the mall, it was probably something they were looking for just on a smaller scale, a self contained community to ride it out, until the bikers came anyway

[theERADICATOR]

I agree with monro in the sense that in the huge state of chaos and confusion, they were in a haste to go just anywhere! all above posts are super great ideas that all make sense really. but given the amount of actual physical and verbal flubs, perhaps GAR didnt think out every little detail of the flight path because he didnt assume one day people would be disecting it like us! haha :) afterall you can hear through their comments once they find the mall that they dont really know what their doing. thats obvious. but definatly winging it at this point.

[MaximusIncredulous]

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.

[mista_mo]

yea, most of the canadian population is at the border with the U.S. Basically, the farther north you go, the less people there is, but it gets MUCH colder....He could've ment Northern Ontario or the prairies where very little people live...

[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
http://www.helis.com/h/h58_4.jpg


http://www.copters.com/mech/pictures/B206_fuel.jpg

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
http://www.helis.com/h/h58_4.jpg


http://www.copters.com/mech/pictures/B206_fuel.jpg

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...

:)