Weird aircraft type I saw in Casino Royale
Posted by NewAd8721@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 247 comments
While watching Casino Royale I saw this weird aircraft that resembled a fuselage of a 747 and has B52 engines attached.
Did this ever existed or is this just CGI?
Dangerous-Fan7715@reddit
It’s a jazzed up 747-200 that is parked at the Top Gear test track circuit (aka Dunsfold Aerodrome). It’s still there
Stoney3K@reddit
It's pretty funny to see that they put a pair of (presumably dummy) engines under each inboard pylon and replaced the outboard engines with a fuel pod to make it look like it's not a 747.
verstohlen@reddit
They did more than that to make it not look like a 747.
wdatkinson@reddit
Looks like BUFF pods.....
PetriDishCocktail@reddit
For those that don't know, BUFF is a not so nice acronym for a B-52 (big ugly fat fucker). It is just like SNAFU (situation normal all fucked up).
Late-Application-47@reddit
The A-7 SLUFF, Short Little Ugly Fat Fucker, is my favorite warplane. Absolute beast of an attacker with a most unassuming design.
fuckmewalking@reddit
A-7 always looks like it's going to eat you.
ImtakintheBus@reddit
True. But the Crews say it with pride. BUFF has a long and prestigious history behind it.
opotamus_zero@reddit
Probably is a BUFF cowling at the front and some movie magic frankenstein fibreglass stuff behind it. It's cool how the pylon goes through the outboard engine.
ChartreuseBison@reddit
Nah I think a b-52's engines are significantly smaller. They're pretty low bypass and, ya know, really old lol.
Also looking at pictures the buff's cowling is pretty much connected. And as many as there in the boneyard, still gotta be way more expensive to buy then just making the whole thing out of fiberglass or whatever they used.
opotamus_zero@reddit
Thing with making the whole thing from scratch is it's faster to get parts from somewhere, and parts that can't fly wouldn't cost them as much as fabricating, but I think you're right about the size. I was looking at the pics again, I'm beginning to think they're off an IL-62
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-62#/media/File:Ilyushin_Il-62_Engines.jpg
In the close-up it looks like they have bumps inboard where they would have attached to the tail.
ChartreuseBison@reddit
Closer and probably easier to get ahold of, but still doesn't look quite right. Still the more narrow tube-like profile of a lower bypass engine.
Engines are expensive and always the first thing to be stripped when a plane goes to the boneyard. That's why they got this 747; it's engines had already been taken off. Making it out of plastic or fiberglass or whatever has to be the cheaper option 🤷♂️. I dunno, someone go to the aerodrome and knock on them to see what they're made out of.
Wollynex@reddit
The funny part is how close it still is to looking normal. Like your brain says “747” first, then notices the extra pods and weird face work and goes wait, who approved this guy.
FMC_Speed@reddit
You’re right, they massively improved it’s look
Valuable-Yard-4154@reddit
748
Late-Application-47@reddit
That setup makes it look like some B-47 genes got into the industrial slurry at Boeing.
TheyCallMeSuperChunk@reddit
The nose and hump looks significantly different too
ylf_nac_i@reddit
No that’s what it actually looks like
maverickps1@reddit
https://maps.app.goo.gl/BHCFRgqpJosZ4Vxv9
You can see it here!
ylf_nac_i@reddit
Wait, I might be wrong having done some research but I coulda sworn I saw in the past it was actually like that. Can someone tell me pleach
MoeSzyslakMonobrow@reddit
It actually does have the B-52 style engine pods. You can see it like that in the background of old Top Gear episodes for years, as cars go around the track.
talldata@reddit
Weren't some of the new b52 engines tested on 747's like this?
gunslinger45@reddit
Maybe on the GE flight test 747 when b52 engines were being contested.
Stoney3K@reddit
That's probably where they got the nacelles from. Without the engines of course.
LordvaderUK@reddit
Can confirm. Still there. Looking pretty grotty now. The “engines” are made of plywood or some similar material which hasn’t stood the test of time.
EddieGrant@reddit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCQ9ymHhPdA
Is this the same one?
If so, nice look inside for everyone
beatlz-too@reddit
This is a very nice pic
slinger301@reddit
Here's the latest Google Map image.
tomraider@reddit
A jazzed up 00747-200.
spuurd0@reddit
Clarkson even pulled it with a tractor in one episode.
gogozoo@reddit
See?! My tractor isn't too big!
beatlz-too@reddit
fuckers really had the best job ever
OoRI0T_P0LICEoO@reddit
[Found the clip](https://youtu.be/_5Ct62OCaek?t=71&si=DG1xA0gGqRUJvRaV)
Series 9
Boeing 747-236B
Ep.9.06
The 747 in this episode is used in a challenge of towing power by the presenters. The aircraft, a former British Airways plane G-BDXJ, is based at Dunsfold Aerodromewhere the show is filmed and is often seen in the background among other aircraft. As well as being used in various productions in the UK, is was most notably used in Casino Royale where it received it's twin-engined configuration to portray the fictional Skyfleet S570. At the time of this episode's filming, G-BDXJ's plain livery had been repainted, but the twin engine nacelles were still installed from its time as the Skyfleet S570.
Also seen in several other movies. See IMPDb
ILikeFlyingMachines@reddit
It's not CGI? lol
Nok1a_@reddit
Why would be CGI?
Kind-Pop-7205@reddit
Planes are expensive
Kevlaars@reddit
In the movie Tenet, they crashed a real 747 into a structure because it was cheaper than CGI.
RedditVirumCurialem@reddit
I would consider the possibility that the reason Nolan used practical effects is that some men just want to watch the world burn.
MaverickPT@reddit
Funnily enough, the "nuke" in Oppenheimer was a real big ol'explosion... which then ended up looking terrible and should have been made in CGI
airfryerfuntime@reddit
I've seen more impressive explosions from those propane powered cars in Russia.
What an absolute letdown.
abfgern_@reddit
And there were only a few hundred soldiers without any heavy equipment whatsoever on Dunkirk beach, with just 3 spitfires in support
Emis_@reddit
"But muh practical effects", I think Nolan is a great example of why this obsession with practical effects can be nonsense. That's why I think Villeneuve is generally more suited for epics, use practical effects to enhance the CGI. I don't think I would've been as happy with an hypothetical adaptation of Dune by Nolan.
Lawsoffire@reddit
The weird part is that Interstellar struck a perfect medium between practical and CGI. You got some groundbreaking black hole simulations (that actually ended up having scientific value) and other great VFX for planets and waves and whatever. But the spacecraft were practical miniatures that had this great looking realistic light with hard shadows that you just dont get much of anymore.
Super_Fightin_Robit@reddit
I think Dune and the Star Wars sequels (however you feel about the stories in the movies, they're very pretty movies) have established practical + CGI is best way to approach this.
Of course, Spielberg and Cameron made that obvious in the 1990s with two action flicks that blended nascent CGI with practical effects in a way that has held up spectacularly today vs almost everything else from the same era (Jurassic Park and Terminator 2, which only used CGI for the helicopter liquid metal T-1000 scene)
aaronupright@reddit
And it was in May. And it was a warmer than usual May. No one was wearing Greatcoats.
ChartreuseBison@reddit
Scale explosions always look like crap. Everyone knows what clouds look like so it's incredibly easy to tell when one is only 10 feet wide or whatever
Stoney3K@reddit
Wasn't there an urban legend that Nolan wanted to set off and film a real nuke for the movie?
aaronupright@reddit
Since there are some very high quality movies of real nukes going off. Including of the Trinity shot.
airfryerfuntime@reddit
It wasn't cheaper than CGI, that was just more of Christopher Nolan's bullshit used to justify his expensive practical effects. CGI would have been nowhere near as expensive as crashing a 747. The movie came out in 2020, but 1985, there's plenty of tech that can make a CGI plane crash look like the real thing.
Jaggedmallard26@reddit
There were a lot more 747 shells being sold for scrap when Tenet was being made than when Casino Royale was being made! Its reasonable to think that CGI would be cheaper than the real thing in 2005!
I do find it funny when the real thing turns out cheaper than CGI, best one is Lord of War where they just bought actual Czech AKs and then sold them back to the dealer when shooting was finished as it was cheaper than buying the props!
flan-magnussen@reddit
This was a big time for the 100s/200s being sold off, though.
sneijder@reddit
Ahh … The Oslo Cargo building
Still-Equivalent90@reddit
ah but so was CGI around this time, it still is but less so.
Erlend05@reddit
Cgi was expensive
Diplomatic_Gunboats@reddit
Yes but there are thousands of old planes they can stick some paint on and blow up for a fraction of the cost of the runtime for CGI at that level.
blueberrycauzez@reddit
Borrowing a decommissioned plane is substantially cheaper than CG'ing one in (assuming you have competent people to run the shoot). The reason why so many movies use CG is for flexibility, not for cost.
Stoney3K@reddit
Planes are, but empty aluminium shells that are plane-shaped are not.
Expensive_Ad_3249@reddit
It's kinda expensive to buy a 747 and a couple of b52 engine pods then fabricate custom parts...bet it installed...have it painted...sure it doesn't need jets or to fly but I'm pretty sure scrap value on a 747 shell alone is gonna be spenny.
Far cheaper to CGI it in.
Heliotropolii_@reddit
Very real, parked at Dunsfold aerodrome G-BDXJ
Stoney3K@reddit
So did they put some kind of shell over the upper deck to make it look longer and with a new flight deck? Or was the upper deck added in CGI?
ChartreuseBison@reddit
Pretty sure the plane's been used in other stuff since james bond, so I think it's been reconfigured multiple times
SRemy94@reddit
that part was CGI
Heliotropolii_@reddit
It was actually a model,
njsullyalex@reddit
Upvote for Ferrari 360 Modena. Gorgeous car.
teapots_at_ten_paces@reddit
I'm still in love with the Testarossa and F50.
Nok1a_@reddit
You could have a 747 towed out, and the add with CGI the pods, would be cheaper than the do the whole thing CGI
Jaggedmallard26@reddit
Cheaper to just stick some plywood engine pods on, especially in 2005. The jet already had its real engines removed.
Expensive_Ad_3249@reddit
I'm not sure about that.
Adding engines that align with the plane at all times is intricate. Adding a 3d model of the whole aiircraft to a green screen is surely a better option for simplicity?
Jaggedmallard26@reddit
Yeah, I would suspect CGI expenses don't scale as you'd expect and while it'd probably be cheaper to not have to simulate as much stuff around the aircraft you're still going to be adding a huge chunk of expense for something you can achieve with plywood engines.
ChinaCatProphet@reddit
Good CGI can be more expensive than practical props and effects. Source: I've worked on big budget films.
nico282@reddit
Expensive versus acquiring a whole 747 and mounting different engines on it?
WilboSwagz@reddit
why do you think they're buying it? They're just renting it for filming pal.
nico282@reddit
I said acquiring, not buying. They still have to find one with no engines and have an agreement that allows them to mount the external modifications (fake engines and pods).
Then they have to move the filming location wherever the plane is just for some static shots.
I didn't see the movies, but if there were dynamic shots, thise must have been CGI, as planes with fake motors don't fly.
Comprehensive_Meat34@reddit
They’re already in England you genius
missingpcw@reddit
A scrap 747-200 is worth maybe $50,000. After you cut it bits and get it to the recycler.
A retired airframe costs money to keep, any chance to make money from it is a good deal.
shakebakelizard@reddit
You're overestimating the effort. This is a 747 which has probably already had the engines plus a lot more removed. They make some engines that look real from the shooting distance and angle but are in fact just painted styrofoam and wood. If you need functionality, they could rig up a spinning mechanism inside.
They use plastic sheeting, foam and paint to extend the hump and paint the livery on the side.
None of this has to survive flight or any rigor whatsoever. It just has to look good for a few shots.
Kitiseva_lokki@reddit
Expensive versus taking a 747 already used as a movie prop and modifying it slightly
Siggi_Starduust@reddit
Can’t be that expensive. They turned this one into a nightclub at Burning Man
CardinalOfNYC@reddit
Nolan loves practical shooting. They built an entire hangar/terminal just to crash the 747 into it.
Cautious_Use_7442@reddit
It’s both. IIRC it had two full decks like the A380 in the movie.
Seaguard5@reddit
Well why isn’t it flying?
HeyImGilly@reddit
Because it is parked.
TheAgedProfessor@reddit
Did the front fall off?
FatsDominoPizza@reddit
Handbrake is stuck?
Yussso@reddit
Gear stick is stuck in P, unfortunately. Might be the linkage.
Godess_Ilias@reddit
clarksons fault probably
Less_Party@reddit
HAMMOOOOND
julias-winston@reddit
Oh. You gotta have the key. It's a security feature.
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listerbmx@reddit
Can't even have bit of banter
Seaguard5@reddit
Got me 😂
swift1883@reddit
The front
FSX_Pilot@reddit
Age
0xxman@reddit
How long till he is old enough?
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Seaguard5@reddit
He need hyperbolic time chamber
Copel626@reddit
Godammit take my upvote
mister_peeberz@reddit
Why aren't YOU flying, hmmm? Why so inquisitive? The plane's not on trial here
Seaguard5@reddit
Maybe this is a dream and I AM flying as we speak!
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donald_314@reddit
It's just an old prototype.
Shot_Reputation1755@reddit
Source?
donald_314@reddit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino_Royale_(2006_film)
Shot_Reputation1755@reddit
Oh, you were making a joke, mb
ByteSizedGenius@reddit
It's nonsense. It's an old British Airways airframe purchased in 1980 that retired from flying in 2095 and has been used for film/TV since. G-BDXJ is the reg.
ShittyBollox@reddit
I used to live just round the corner from Dunsfold and you could hear the stig ripping super cars round that track whenever they were filming.
MonkeyTheBlackCat@reddit
Not only is that there, but there’s also a pretty mint condition BA liveried 747 which I was lucky enough to have a look around a few months ago.
Total-Collection-128@reddit
Isn't that the yoke that flipped and destroyed a 2CV and a Mondeo?
Stealth022@reddit
No, it was a VS jet that did that.
https://youtu.be/kvVtn2wYr6w
I like how they blurred the logos in some shots, but not others 🤣
MonkeyTheBlackCat@reddit
Kitchen-Cabinet-5000@reddit
That looks like a -400 cockpit?
MonkeyTheBlackCat@reddit
As far as I understand they swap out various parts of the interior for filming purposes. Full spectrum from full glass cockpit to just rows of dials.
This_Is_TwoThree@reddit
That’s because it is.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/fate-city-swansea-british-airways-19378760?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target
ImissTBBT@reddit
It did actually fly in the old livery for a couple of years.
This_Is_TwoThree@reddit
Oh awesome! Honestly they should just go with it for the whole fleet really.
wasapasserby@reddit
BA made a retro fleet but ultimately ended up scrapping some
This_Is_TwoThree@reddit
A lot of airlines are running one offs of various schemes. I’d love to see one commit to a classic though. Landor is peak, the BOAC scheme is great but you’d need to update the titles to British Airways which might not work.
Spirited-Alarm-9981@reddit
It was fine when we did it- BOAC flew with full BOAC colours, and have the British Airways titles smaller at the rear of the aircraft- just in front of the aft cabin doors. I additionally believe there were small British Airways titles around the main cabin door, just readable inside the airbridge but I could be wrong on that as I wasn’t 747 licensed
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Gone_For_Lunch@reddit
The SAS have also been known to use it to practice plane hijacking scenarios. I ended up getting to play hostage one time they did it years ago.
Diarrhea_Donkey@reddit
Looks like it has a 747-8 upper deck, too.
vsirhc@reddit
Was partially, we bought the cockpit to make a sim
Unlucky-Debt5467@reddit
Tonight, I wear a hat James wears a hat Richard wears a hat And the 747 wears new engines
Mekazabiht-Rusti@reddit
That’s my friends plane, and he’s got quite a collection. His Messerschmitt was in Valkarie.
HYThrowaway1980@reddit
Yeah, the sweep of that tail is pretty distinctively the Queen’s.
yoshipunk123456@reddit
It's not CGI they actually modified a real 747 to look like that
https://www.planespotters.net/airframe/boeing-747-200-g-bdxj-aces-high-limited/epmloe
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
This actually exists? That's so cool!
Peeterwetwipe@reddit
https://maps.app.goo.gl/AY8K929wsYNzJbRA6?g_st=ic
Tripottanus@reddit
I like that when you use street view you see the sting in his car passing by the google car
PizzaWall@reddit
It exists, lives at Dunsfold Aerodrome, but is non-operational. The engines are fake. It is used in television and movies for boarding shots and interior shots.
The Skyfleet S570 aircraft in the film was an ex-British Airways 747-200B G-BDXJ, which had its engines removed and was modified for its appearance in the film. The modified aircraft had the outboard engines replaced by external fuel tanks, while the inboard engines were replaced by a mock-up pair of engines on each inboard pylon. The cockpit profile was altered to make the 747 look like a prototype of an advanced airliner.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino_Royale_(2006_film)#Filming
whiskeytown79@reddit
I wonder why they didn't use four of the dual engine pods. An eight-engined 747 would've been cool af.
Probably time/cost though.
quickbuckRTX@reddit
Looks like a cruise ship
barispurut@reddit
Not as weird as the 5-engine Boeing 747. I believe the extra engine was just dead weight being transported as cargo, but it looks super weird.
deltree000@reddit
Yeah, it was taking a spare engine from Sydney to Johannesburg in 2016.
GOTCHA009@reddit
Wait, they can just bolt on a 5th engine to a 747 on a regular flight?
Like any old 747 or does it need to be a special type?
2009impala@reddit
74s were designed to carry a spare engine under the left wing because at the time of their creation there wasn't much that could easily carry a 747 engine anywhere in the world.
CRAWLINGxCHAOS@reddit
I'm no expert but I would suspect that these planes are engineered with tolerances well above their standard operational performance, and bolting a couple thousand pound weight to the bottom of it is probably negligible compared to the weight of the fuel etc
DefinitionOfAsleep@reddit
This is a feature, which I think they dropped in later variants, that got used only a handful of times.
This was the famous example, because there was no other way to do it.
Jazzlike_Climate4189@reddit
Neat little video about it: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HWfA3I_cALs
Stelmaria_of_Denmark@reddit
Boing 747-200. If you look at the last picture, you can even see the number on the tail for identification.
TheTalentedMrDG@reddit
In the movie, it's a fictional airplane called the "Skyfleet S570," but really it's meant to be the A380. Casino Royale came out in 2006, right around the launch/entry into service of the A380, which had its maiden flight in 2005 and entered commercial service in 2007. In the movie, Bond foils a terrorist attack on a prototype of "the world's largest airliner." Of course, Airbus wouldn't be too happy about publicizing terrorist attacks on their new airliners only five years after 9/11, so they couldn't use an actual A380 or even anything that looked remotely like it, but avgeeks watching at the time knew it was meant to be a stand-in for the A380.
WolfSquare9694@reddit
Rockwell B-747 for sure
juani20138@reddit
Es cine
j_man_32@reddit
Well come on! why didn’t you finish the scene?? 😒 now I’ll have to watch it when I get home 🤣
RealRedditModerator@reddit
Some say, it was invented by the Stig so he could beat Ben Collins’s Top Gear Test Track record.
Stan4Max4Ever@reddit
As some have pointed out, it isn't CGI. People forget Casino Royale came out in 2005 and was in production in 2004. It's a combination of a real modified aircraft as well as scale models.
Schmittez@reddit
There is no reason it couldnt be CGI (Not disagreeing with what you have said though), The original live action Transformers movie came out in 2007 and has far more complex CG than what would have been required to do a slightly modified plane model.
hasthisonegone@reddit
It is possible that the producers were scared off using CGI after the reaction to the utterly dreadful CGI used in Die Another Day.
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
So that entire aircraft prototype I'm looking at was a full scale model?
Stan4Max4Ever@reddit
As others have already told you, in some scenes it is an actual modified 747 and in other scenes it is a scale model.
SubarcticFarmer@reddit
It would have looked really cool with 6 engines with one at the outboards and the doubles inboard.
CleanMustard@reddit
Dont they also say in the movie that it is some prototype or new development? Not sure if it is CGI, but its not a real plane that was developed or built afaik
antonio16309@reddit
In the movie it was a thinly veiled allusion to the A380, which was the newest airliner in the world at the time (or possibly still in development).
ClientPowerful@reddit
If I remember right, the premise of the scene is a test flight of a new aircraft that the bad guy tries to blow up to tank the stock of the airline. So it had to be a plane that doesn't exist.
philocity@reddit
Market manipulation is so much easier these days
nobackup42@reddit
Sure is but you still have to con the American public to become President. Or just pay his sons for the pleasure and just wait
aviation-ModTeam@reddit
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miloslick6@reddit
In the movie it was a prototype, but they use the real 747 and then used CGI to change how it looked.
Zukuto@reddit
i need a bearded ginger who knows too much about Lord of the Rings to help me out here
professor__doom@reddit
Ah the rare Douglas-Airbus 752
Dexford211@reddit
https://www.google.com/maps/search/top+gear+test+track/@51.1147085,-0.5372364,217m
DefinitionOfAsleep@reddit
Not an actual variant, it's a mockup.
I think by the time the time the 747 entered service, engineers realised the dual engine config (like on the lockheed's rear mounts and fucking tupolev's) just inflated maintenance costs.
This takes inspiration from the C-20, which has 8 engines on pylons like this.
Greedy-Pizza7754@reddit
Se non erro non questo 747 fecero lo spot pubblicitario della VW Touareg V10 TDI.
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
It is!
https://youtu.be/MOG90IQEbhI?si=A971xK0muG0jpuo8
nosecohn@reddit
I'd never seen that. Impressive that they did it in the wet, but it seems hard to avoid at that place.
dabarak@reddit
I saw that same airplane in a biopic about Golda Meir. As soon as I saw they were distorting reality I shut the movie off. It wouldn't have been that hard or expensive to rent a parked airliner for a day. When I saw it, I figured it was CGI. Using this in a fictional story is fine as far as I'm concerned, but not in something that's supposed to portray real history.
RoutineTraditional79@reddit
For the record, if you're curious about an aircraft in a movie, you can check impdb. There's a main site which is good, but frequently down, and a backup site on fandom which is never down but has plenty of ads.
coolskyatlas@reddit
Richard Branson provided a Virgin Atlantic plane for the production of Casino Royale. In exchange for supplying the aircraft, the producers cast him in a brief cameo as a passenger being frisked through the security metal detector at Miami Airport.
Because Virgin Atlantic paid for product placement and helped out with aircraft needs, his airline was prominently featured during the Miami Airport sequence. This led to a famous bit of trivia: rival airline British Airways later edited the film to blur out the Virgin plane's tailfin and cut Branson's cameo out of their in-flight entertainment versions.
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
I did saw a virgin atlantic 747 in Casino Royale
DSM202@reddit
If my AI google search of engine outputs is accurate, all 4 of those B52 engines would only just have a bit more thrust than 1 747 engine. It could never take off like that.
Representative_Bat42@reddit
Has my whole existence been a lie? As a car guy and 747 simp whose seen top gear numerous times over and not once thought huh that 747 odd
GGCRX@reddit
I never noticed either, but I was usually paying attention to the car going around the track. 😉
Alarming-Pea-3177@reddit
The fake extra engines always cracked me up. Peak early 2000s movie aircraft logic.
algarhythms@reddit
When Boeing doesn't give you copyright clearance
Admirable_Site_8337@reddit
It’s not a real type of plane, but it’s not CGI either.
Top Gear fans saw this plane lots over the years.
x_DITTO_x@reddit
Thats the Boeing 7452 Buff Queen of the Sky, super rare, have only ever heard of it, never seen until now.
EODOtter@reddit
It’s often seen in the background of the old Top Gear when they have the star in the reasonably priced car segment.
flying_penguin104@reddit
my all time favorite movie
OoRI0T_P0LICEoO@reddit
[Found the clip](https://youtu.be/_5Ct62OCaek?t=71&si=DG1xA0gGqRUJvRaV)
Series 9
Boeing 747-236B
Ep.9.06
The 747 in this episode is used in a challenge of towing power by the presenters. The aircraft, a former British Airways plane G-BDXJ, is based at Dunsfold Aerodromewhere the show is filmed and is often seen in the background among other aircraft. As well as being used in various productions in the UK, is was most notably used in Casino Royale where it received it's twin-engined configuration to portray the fictional Skyfleet S570. At the time of this episode's filming, G-BDXJ's plain livery had been repainted, but the twin engine nacelles were still installed from its time as the Skyfleet S570.
Also seen in several other movies. See IMPDb
therealcbb@reddit
Looks cool
Gripe@reddit
you can kinda see it here in street view https://maps.app.goo.gl/NFZ7bZjZ1fCuwV4H8
Major_Spite7184@reddit
I totally forgot about that
concorde77@reddit
It's like a Russian copy of the 747
hardtanker_101@reddit
SO THAT'S WHERE THE WEIRD 747 IN JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION COMES FROM.
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
I just found out about this.
SovereignAxe@reddit
It's also in several episodes of Top Gear since Dunsfold Aerodrome is where their track is. If you look closely you can see them sometimes zooming past it.
catlips@reddit
I remember it from one of those BBC Series. WTF?
Pass1928@reddit
It's a Boeing 747-200, modified with twin engine pods and external fuel tanks for the movie.
knorkinator@reddit
And a nose job, by the looks of it.
andreotnemem@reddit
It's Hollywood, of course it did.
WeeklyHistorian7329@reddit
Deos it fly????
Mysterious-Air3618@reddit
It’s the Boeing 747-b52 variant.
Repulsive-Note-112@reddit
I saw the set for the interiors at pinewood, quite impressive
Pouakai76@reddit
This was an amazing minature. So yes technically it existed. There's some cg compositing of people, but it was a minature plane.
cre8tiveimage@reddit
Never flown. It’s a Virgin.
Starman68@reddit
Yes it’s at dunsfold along with a few other commercial aircraft. They do a lot of filming there.
Main_Violinist_3372@reddit
I believe originally the screenwriters wanted the A380 to make a cameo appearance but it wasn’t possible due to IRL A380 program delays
Stoney3K@reddit
Not to mention the fact that blowing up an A380 on screen by terrorists would have been a little bit of bad publicity for Airbus in 2005, right after 9/11.
peteroh9@reddit
Good thing Bond was there to save the day.
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
That would be so cool then.
pomodois@reddit
https://www.planespotters.net/airframe/boeing-747-200-g-bdxj-aces-high-limited/epmloe
marcus_osborne@reddit
Wasn't this plane also parked on the old top gear track? If i remember correctly we do see it in some of the camera angle shots when they went around the track.
Peeterwetwipe@reddit
It’s still there
dnoginizr@reddit
you can enter street mode and watch the Google car race the stigma in an SLS on the runway too.
WestleyMc@reddit
Stigma balls in your mouth!
elchet@reddit
All we know is, he’s called the Stigma
andreotnemem@reddit
Stigma, black and white Stigs' lesser known brother.
njsullyalex@reddit
Oh hey it’s the Top Gear plane!
toooomanypuppies@reddit
Are those Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3 turbofans?
Aka B-52 twin engine pods? on a 747?
Both Boeing I suppose so if anyone would do it, it's them.
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
Another question to all of you is why wasn't it scrapped after filming?
ConradLynx@reddit
Probably they never needed to. It's a dedicated movie set and prop nowadays. If they didn't Need to show the original Engine setup they didn't Need to restore it
Rude-Dentist-2493@reddit
Looks like that iconic 747-200 is still sitting at Dunsfold making cameos from Top Gear to Bond films.
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
Is it still making appearances on current top gear videos?
EveningHere@reddit
Top Gear is actually coming back, heard it the other day.
Griffie@reddit
Is that the same 747 seen in the background of the old Top Gear episodes ?
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
I don't really watch Top Gear much but alot of people have said so.
Griffie@reddit
I just found some info online, and it is indeed the same plane. They had a track laid out at the airport, and you’d catch glimpses of the plane when they were doing loops around the track.
fite_@reddit
It was also the aircraft used for the baggage handling scene in Bohemian Rhapsody, they didn't bother changing the registration or anything
Stoney3K@reddit
Apparently the aircraft is now a dedicated movie set.
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
I need to fact check this when I watch it.
ML50@reddit
It’s CGI over an existing 747-400 airframe, G-BDXJ at Dunsfold Aerodrome, which was modified for filming purposes with the engines and underwing pylons.
You can see the aircraft used/in the background on several episodes of Top Gear and fifth gear
professortarzan@reddit
Yours sounds the most appropriate answer. Although it's very similar to the airframe at Dunsfold, it clearly has an elongated upper deck. The nose also looks different from a typical 747. There are obviously some elements of CGI.
Bon-Bon-Boo@reddit
*747-200
Itajka@reddit
I wonder who got the idea from the film production team to spend a load of money creating this fake aircraft? I don’t really see the point. Those who know aviation will know that this is fake. For those who don’t know aviation, every plane looks the same, they won’t care.
MattVarnish@reddit
Because they probably figuredit was cheaper than paying Boeing a feefor using a 747, so they changed it just enough with the engine nacelles?
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
I'm not also sure how those engines will provide any thrust to lift that skyscraper of a jet.
tonydtonyd@reddit
My dumbass thought this was the AN-225 when I watched Casino Royale a few months back. Guess I was too distracted by Daniel Craig.
AnonymousEngineer_@reddit
The Antonov does make an appearance (of sorts) in 2012.
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
Real
No-Introduction44@reddit
I always wondered why did someone go through the trouble of modifying that 747 (G-BDXJ) with different engine pods.
Original_Media_6427@reddit
Boeing 747-200 G-BDXJ Serial Number (MSN) 21831
JimHFD103@reddit
It's the new Skyfleet S570 prototype (that Le Chiffre wanted to destroy to make massive profit since he shorted Skyfeet stock before hand, to cover his gambling losses using terrorist money....)
NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
I watched the gambling scene where bond lost a bet of 14.5 million and that was hard to watch.
Redditbannedmefuc@reddit
why are people saying it’s a -200 when the winglets look to be -400
Kitiseva_lokki@reddit
Because we know it's a -200. CN 21831, registered G-BDXJ and flew for BA between 1980-2002.
MulberryDeep@reddit
747-200 with a few cosmetic modifications
It wasn't cgi
MEMESTER80@reddit
747 with different engines and different nose.
Specialist_Reality96@reddit
Just make sure you turn left into Gambon instead of right.
CassiCatto@reddit
Whatever it is it's in Ukrainian livery.
Suspicious-Main-2012@reddit
It’s a former British Airways Boeing 747-200, says James Bond Wiki.
jaqueh@reddit
never existed also not cgi
DVOlimey@reddit
Its the DC Antonov Neo MD100X
airport-codes@reddit
I am a bot.
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NewAd8721@reddit (OP)
Bad bot
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