Rod Machado’s Private Pilot Handbook lists famous people who hold pilot certificates. Included are Hollywood personalities like John Travolta, Kurt Russel, Tom Cruise, Sidney Pollack, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Michael J. Fox, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Tonet and Carlo….
Recently, Vogue ran a cover story on an aviatrix whose drop-dead sultry looks have been scorched into millions of feverish juvenile imaginations. I myself confess to hoarding women’s fashion magazines whose sole virtue is that they have her on the cover photo spread.
This is Angelina Jolie, of course. She learned to fly after her exposure to refugees in Asia and Africa, during the filming of Tomb Raider. Her goal was to prepare herself for involvement in refugee and philanthropic work via aviation.
She learned to fly in a Cirrus SR22, and continues to fly in one today. That’s a confluence of class, elegance, philanthropy, power, sex appeal, libido.
(Does that sound like a Cirrus ad or what?)
Now, not many refugee or food aid flights are made in a Cirrus. But hey, this is Hollywood, okay?
But who cares about the Cirrus? Anyone who even glances at an airplane while Angelina is elsewhere within VFR line of sight is either a castrated nerd or a Klingon.
The Vogue article involved a P-51 airplane, an isolated airstrip in the California desert, military types overflowing with testosterone, and Angelina Jolie. At some point in the article, the writer overcame her own fears and actually got into Angelina’s Cirrus for a quickie. Flight, that is.
The star was in a “Man-killer pencil skirt,” part of a form-fitting Ralph Lauren ensemble, complemented by “big ol’ Gucci sunglasses….”
Before getting into the cockpit she kicked off her stilettos, because she flies in her bare feet.
“Let’s go scare your mother,” she threatens the writer. The photo spread has a dramatic cockpit shot. The photographer was in the right seat, and shot the photo to the left, while Angelina held the airplane in a steep left turn low over the desert floor, her man-killer skirt hiked up to allow free movement and her head cocked away as she looked out past the wing.
She grasped the joystick lightly in her hand. I couldn’t see her bare feet.
Sigh.
For you castrates and Klingons out there, the PFD’s attitude, airspeed and altitude indicators showed her airborne in a tight left bank, alright. No Photoshop tricks here — she was flying the airplane. Hard.
I of course have a copy of this issue of Vogue.
I also have an original theatre display poster of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. You know the one — standing in a black dress with a slit that goes forever, a pistol tucked in her garter. (I’m giving away the Brad Pitt half of the poster).
This was available in the movie shop at the Esplanade Theatre in Singapore, along with poker chips from Casino Royale and the inscribed One Ring. But I got the last copy of the poster….
I read that after Angelina flew her first solo she refused to have her shirt tail cut off, because she was wearing a designer shirt.
(The time-honored practice of cutting off a student pilot’s shirt tail after the ‘first solo’, when she flies without an instructor for the first time, dates to the tandem trainers of old.
(There were no intercoms in the Stearmans and Jennys. The instructor sat in the back to watch the student and pull on her shirt tail to signal her to go left or right, etc. So after the student soloes, the shirt tail is no longer needed.)
Instead, according to aviation legend, Angelina slipped off her bra and gave it to her instructor.
BIG sigh.
Angelina can raid my tomb any time.
I hear you about the smoking hot Jolie. What other actress in hollywood flies a plane, rides a bike and can still make having many children look sexy, only Jolie!
I am a woman, a straight woman, but she can raid my tomb any day.
Thanks for this piece, it gave me a good chuckle on this mother’s day. But don’t try to encroach because Brad will turn Tyler Durden on you.
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Its only a matter of time and Brad will be the soon-to-be-ex- Mrs. Jolie. At least that’s what the Enquirer says, a vanguard of journalistic integrity.
How can you contain a creature as lovely and alluring as Angelina? One of her tattoos is a passage from Tennessee Williams:
“A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages.”
And when she becomes single again, then we can talk about our chances Tonet. We can dream can’t we?
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Hey, Lily, welcome to the blog. It speaks volumes when a straight woman issues an invitation to AJ to “raid my tomb.” You are an enlightened woman, clearly. Happy Mothers Day!
Tiger, watch me stay away from your Dead Duck bait. I’m not even allowed to dream like that. For the record, this is actually a post about the Cirrus SR22….
😛
Check the post again girls, new pictures….
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Speak no evil …
Dead ducks have amazing powers of self-repression.
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AJ is beautiful and deadly…hmm…now how do I become like her?!?!?
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Hi,
First of all, you need to play Tomb Raider a lot…! That takes care of the ‘deadly’ part. I’m sure the rest is easy for you 🙂
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This is nice. I admire actors, now actress that have skills other than drunk driving. My friend (a license virtual pilot)forward your site and have little time to munch on its entirety. But I’m glad its from a local folk here in Manila that made this very beautiful site. I’ll try to catch reading your post. Forgive me if I first read your Angie post. But I’ll catch up.
I’m just a wannabe pilot who stayed on the ground. But still fantasize someday to have my wings too. My inspiration book for flying is Richard Bach’s “Stranger to the Ground”.
Thanks for your wonderful site.
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Tristan, thank you for visiting Flying in Crosswinds! And thanks for your nice words.
Sorry for the late reply, I was traveling (again!) and was struggling to find a wireless link.
Nothing to forgive. I myself read Angelina once every few weeks. We’re only human! 😀
Do catch up. Lots of great pictures, good stories, and our beautiful country from the air.
You should also read Bach’s Flying Trilogy and A Gift of Flying. Happy reading, Tristan, and thanks again for dropping by!
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[…] would have been so unequivocal. She is, after all, a fully-qualified Cirrus pilot. (Hat tip to Flying in Crosswinds.) If you enjoyed the article, why not subscribe? Posted to » HumourShare and Save Tags: […]
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My name is Piter Jankovich. oOnly want to tell, that your blog is really cool
And want to ask you: is this blog your hobby?
P.S. Sorry for my bad english
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Hi Piter,
Yes, it’s just a hobby. I’ve been very busy at work in the past 3 weeks, and haven’t been able to post more stories! ‘m about to post one, though.
Thanks for visiting Flying in Crosswinds. Come back often. I hope you enjoy the small stories that are coming.
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what a trip….
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[…] Via tonetcarlo.wordpress.com […]
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[…] Via tonetcarlo.wordpress.com […]
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[…] Via tonetcarlo.wordpress.com […]
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[…] Via tonetcarlo.wordpress.com […]
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