THE GREATEST HOLLYWOOD PILOT

The Greatest Hollywood Pilot

Conclusively, those who look back through aviation history will have a tough time arguing that Paul Mantz was not the greatest pilot of his time for the type of work he did.

Why will Paul Mantz remain the greatest airplane pilot that Hollywood will ever see?

Here are a few reasons:

The Federal Aviation Administration has much stricter rules these days. In fact, a lot of movies scenes over the last few decades have had to be filmed outside of the United States, if they were to have “real” special effects.
Computer special effects now make a lot of “real” stunt work obsolete and look easy.
The danger to life and limb is not something that the studios are willing to risk anymore.
Paul Mantz was an aviation pioneer; those early untamed years are gone.
The aircraft used isn’t in abundance anymore or is too costly to use.
And the number one reason, the Webmaster of this site is one of his grandsons and you cannot convince him otherwise. :)

In short, modern stunt pilots will never be able to attain the glory years of the past – not because someone cannot be become as skillful, but because that era is over.