Original subtitles

We are approaching foreign territory.

It’s about this picture, which one is my father?

What would you do if it was your son?

MiGs on our six.

- Traitor. - So how do you tell them

- from us? - We wear white hats.

Now all we have to do is attack Russia,

steal a kid,

and try not to get caught

by our own government.

Help!

Unh!

Ow!

How would you like to see your father?

Huh?

Come on.

I know they taught you English

before they shut down the orphanage,

and I speak lousy Vietnamese.

You are Ho Minh Truong, right?

And?

My father’s in America. He’s a pilot.

He’s gone. My mother too.

Answer my question.

How’d you like to see your father?

Wanna try it again, Dom?

What would you do if I was paid overtime?

Nine, eight,

locked 0.99. Mach 1.

Prepare to retrograde in ten seconds.

Do I have a choice?

Eight seconds, six...

Why can’t we hover like regular helicopter people?

Four seconds.

This is a hell of a way to stop a...

Two...

Now!

Turbo’s off.

I need more power.

Engaging rotors.

I need more power.

You’ve got it all.

Abort.

Give me back the turbos.

That was lousy, huh?

We’re alive.

Yeah, but that was lousy.

Ah, a little more practice.

Yeah, maybe tomorrow, String.

I’ll be on String Time then.

It shouldn’t take more than a couple

of weeks.

It’s not like you’d be missing anything.

Well, maybe some cello music

and the mellow mating tones of the red-tipped sparrow,

but I can always send you a cassette of that.

You can’t send me pure, fresh air.

You’ll be flying radar officer

on a high-altitude recon jet.

You’d be on oxygen most of the time.

What’s purer than oxygen?

Forget the view, forget fresh air,

I’m talking about an American Pilot

who’s gonna steal our hottest tactical aircraft

and deliver it to the Russians.

Somebody’s got to stop him.

But we don’t know who he is.

We only know that the plan is to steal one

when we deploy the first planes next week.

It could be any one of those pilots.

- Replace them. - We can’t.

The ferry pilots are also the training officers

after delivery.

Replacing them could slow everything down

by at least six months.

What a shame.

A multimillion-dollar plane

is about to be handed over to the Russians,

and your classification of the problem is "shame."

I compliment you.

Your mastery of silence is exceeded

only by your facility at understatement.

But measuring this with the word "shame"

surpasses all your previous achievements

in articulation.

Why, thank you.

Since you seem to be removed

from the problems of the world today,

perhaps we should bring you up to date.

You see, there are these bad guys,

and they’re called the Russians.

Yeah, I think I heard of them.

And then there’s us.

Well, what do they call us?

It varies in different parts

of the world, but for the sake

of this conversation,

we’ll call ourselves the good guys.

So how do you tell them from us?

That’s easy, we wear white hats.

You’d look good in a white hat, Mr. Hawke.

Very good.

Well, I guess we better get one for Dominic too.

Dominic will never pass

as a military pilot.

Well, we’ll work something out.

They’re great, huh?

Yeah.

Sure glad they’re ours.

Hey, if you’re going for a tan,

I suggest you slip out of that flight suit.

What are you staring at?

Remember an army captain in ’Nam,

name of Stringfellow Hawke?

Yeah.

Flew Hueys.

He pulled me out of Indian territory once.

That’s a good reason to remember.

who could forget a name like Stringfellow Hawke?

Said he was gonna fly civilian.

Been assigned here in the army exchange program.

No kidding.

Ah, he probably couldn’t make it on the outside.

Some of us just make lousy civilians,

you know what I mean?

See you later, chief.

Do you still expect people to read your silences?

What if I don’t know what to say?

It’s been ten years, Nhi Houng.

A little over 11.

Did you look for me?

By the time I got out of the hospital,

Saigon had fallen.

Did you try?

Does it matter?

No.

What are you doing here?

Trying to bring my family together.

I’ve been hanging around here

waiting for you for ten minutes.

You know what they call guys that hang around

men’s rooms?

What do you want, a tip?

Look, I said I’d be your cover.

But you could have made me a pilot

or a mechanic, but no.

I told you, I need you on and off the base.

Nobody notices a guy with a mop.

They do in a room like this. Just a minute.

We want a private-- hold on, hold on, hold on.

Hold the flying pattern

for a minute will you, buddy?

We’re changing the ice in the head.

We got privacy.

there’s a Nhi Houng Truong in this base.

I want to know her status and reason for being here.

Personal or business?

Personal. Don’t press it.

What’d you learn from those guys out there?

That their capacity for alcohol hasn’t diminished.

You better duck into a stall

before I let this guy in here,

or you’re going to get some funny looks.

For what? I’m an officer

and a gentleman.

If his mother was still in Vietnam,

you think he’d tell you where?

He’s never even seen his father.

I’m-- all this is unnecessary.

Look, you’re supposed to be helping me,

not holding an interrogation.

Would you please just sign the visa form?

Mr. Zimmer, this is my country, not yours.

I decide what is necessary here or not.

As long as it doesn’t take more

than 20 minutes.

My country runs on a precise schedule.

His father is whoever I say he is.

Now, you just sign the visa and say good-bye

because I know what your orders are.

We are on our fifth bottle here,

and we have yet to have a legitimate toast.

Not enough booze for us to get that silly.

It’s not silly,

it’s a responsibility to the champagne.

It’s a-- it's a formality.

It’s not like we're drinking a case of beer here.

OK. OK, that’s enough.

Who has anything nice to say

about Stringfellow Hawke?

He’s quiet.

That’s good, he's quiet, that’s good.

He’s pretty.

He’s pretty.

That’s good.

He looks nice in that new uniform too.

Not that nice.

I think you’re right about that.

Maybe we ought to stick with, uh,

"He’s pretty quiet."

Here’s to Hawke. Welcome home.

Oh, wait a minute, hold it.

There’s more to the ceremony.

You got to make a speech, Hawke.

Stand up,

be a fool...

Parolees don’t count.

I think I’ll go to the bathroom.

OK, Josh, my boy.

I want you to give me a little port rudder

and pull your nose up about five degrees.

Can’t you just say "Take a left turn" though, Paul?

Now, that wouldn’t be military, would it?

Oh, right, right.

And we’re not fit for the world

of civilians and humans, right?

- It’s different. - Different?

Different.

You know, for guys like us,

it’s like a-- it’s a like a ball park

with no fences and there’s no way to hit a home run.

But if you don’t get a hit once in a while,

they’re just waiting to beat on you

and tell you you’re not fit for anything

besides burning out villages.

Tried his luck with a civilian a couple years ago,

kicked him around pretty good.

Don’t talk for me, Sammy.

You know, I’ve been--

I’ve been wearing a blue uniform since

my first shave.

Yeah, no, I-- I’ve been into this wave the flag

and go for broke business since I--

since I traded in my virginity

for a pair of wings and a--

and a fancy football helmet with a microphone in it.

And you want to know something, huh?

You want to know something?

It all don’t mean nothing

outside of this prefabricated world

that we live in here.

Great big bull it is.

I went out in the world of waitresses

and attaché cases, and I was introduced

around as the resident freak.

Oh, I mean,

they treat you nice and all

that kind of social puke.

But then they wanted to see my medals.

And then they asked me how many people

I figured I burned to death at 4,000 feet.

Because they don’t know, they don’t care.

I spent three years of my life in hell,

and they don’t give a damn.

Going up has nothing to do with them.

Then who the hell are we doing it for then?

I do it for myself.

Let go of me, Sam.

I can stagger without any help at all.

How long has he been like that?

Since they passed him over for a promotion.

When was that?

Over a year ago.

And before?

What in the hell are you up to?

- My job. - Which is?

Working with you as an exchange pilot.

That’s what your orders say.

But you got about as much business doing that

as I do shuttling a Huey.

They brought you back,

recalled you for this one mission.

How do you know that?

My wife is General Marcello’s secretary.

I also know your orders didn’t come from Air Force HQ.

They came from Washington-- Langley to be exact.

She can lose her job

digging into things like that.

I don’t think so.

You and Nhi Houng were too close

for you to do something like that to her.

You got a check ride at 0700 hours, be on time.

I understand your I.P. is real tough.

You’re gonna have to move that jeep.

You can’t leave it there. I’m sorry.

Hey, you know where I can find a Captain Hawke?

What’d he do? Make a mess

in the officer’s club or something?

You see, I’m the exchange pilot.

- Who’s he up with? - An instructor pilot.

Does he have a name?

- Major Roper. - Oh.

High-frequency recorders.

Functioning.

High-speed surveillance?

I can’t reach it.

Loosen your shoulder straps

and check the negative displacer.

MiGs on our 6:00.

Something just ain’t right up there.

I got both of them.

And me.

You’re grounded.

What the hell are you talking about?

You can’t ground me.

Hell, I can’t.

I was right, you’re not here

as an exchange pilot, are you?

Hawke, I have to make that ferry flight.

- Why? -’Cause it's my job.

All right, there’s more.

What?

I can’t tell you, Hawke.

Then you’re grounded.

I’m calling in all favors, Hawke.

Whatever you figure you owe me

from old times’ sake.

I think you’re asking me to overpay.

If you won’t do it for me, do it for Nhi Houng!

I asked for a meeting...

...but why here?

I thought you’d like my office.

You assigned me.

I’m sorry, I don’t have time

to discuss your choice of furnishing.

It’s not my choice! Watch your feet!

What’d you wanna tell me?

That now we both know Roper is our man.

Don’t tell me what I know.

How about telling me something I don’t know?

Will you have your gladiator sheathe his sword first?

Thank you.

Roper is married to a Vietnamese national.

Not out of the ordinary,

but when you requested information on it

through your... janitor,

I had her checked into more thoroughly.

I guess that means I talk too much.

Rare, but a fact.

Mrs. Roper has a child, an Amerasian son.

She’s been trying to get him to the States

ever since she first arrived here.

Mother’s have been known to do that.

So I’ve heard.

We checked and found that the boy--

- Kid got a name? - Ho Minh.

He was housed in an orphanage

till their government closed it.

Then he managed to survive

in the streets for a while.

That kid doesn’t have half a chance.

Can’t you get him out of there?

It seems he’s now a ward of the USSR

with the cooperation of the VC Government.

Ho minh has been transported to a Russian airbase

at Omrylkot, Russia.

So what?

Omrylkot

is only 180 miles from Alaska.

One of the planes is scheduled to be delivered

to Shemya air force base in Alaska.

- And Roper is the pilot. - Not yet.

But since he’s the commander,

he makes out the duty chart.

You’ve done quite well, Hawke.

By intuition you’ve managed to open the latch

that opened the door for us.

What about Roper?

- He’s a traitor. - Not yet he’s not.

Well, the firm is not gonna wait until he is.

So no boy?

A 12-year-old waif

is no trade for a newly designed

multimillion-dollar plane.

Depends on who does the trading, doesn’t it?

I do.

What is Ho Minh’s birth date?

He’s 12 years old.

Don’t let your imagination run away with you.

I don’t want you to do anything to Roper. You let him be.

You expect me to just sit back and let him--

I’ll guarantee no plane

will be turned over to the Russians.

You’re not cosigning an auto loan.

Your guarantee is not enough.

It’ll have to be.

And if it’s not?

I’ll trade Airwolf for the boy.

What do you want?

You knew that was coming.

I know I deserved it, too.

Get up.

What was that one for, interest?

That was instead of a firing squad.

They don’t shoot you for making a fool

of yourself on a check ride.

They do for turning aircraft over to Russians.

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

You better start remembering,

’cause I'm the only thing standing

between you and a blindfold.

Hey, mister, could you tell me something?

Are you hungry again?

Yeah, that too,

but it’s about this picture.

Yeah, what about it?

Could you tell me which one is my father?

Which one would you like it to be?

Any one of them is OK.

Damn it, Sam, you’re too smart

to think you can get away with something like this.

I am not a traitor.

Before I turn that plane over to anybody,

I’d ditch with it in the Bering Sea.

Yeah, and freeze to death in 11 minutes.

It’d be worth the gamble!

You’ve never been an idiot before.

I’ve never been a father before either.

I have a son, Hawke.

A son I’ve never seen before.

A son who doesn’t even know who I am.

Why didn’t he come out with Nhi Houng?

They were separated.

He was in the Swiss hospital there.

He was supposed to come out in the next flight

and he never made it.

Nhi wanted to stay,

but I convinced her he’d be all right,

that it was the only way.

How’d the Russians contact you?

Hanoi contacted Nhi first.

They strung us out for over a year,

finally turned us over to a Russian.

You really think you can pull this off?

I figured I’d make a navigational error

and be forced down in their territory.

In time, I’d be exchanged.

You said you’d ditch the plane

before you’d turn it over?

That’s exactly what I was gonna do.

I’ll call in an emergency and have to ditch

before I get to the island.

I figured they would give me my boy just for trying.

Do you really believe that?

It will work

if you just stay out of it, Hawke.

I can’t stay out of it.

What would you do if it was your son?

You owe it to Sam.

He saved your life

when it still meant something to you.

I never told you that.

What about it, Hawke?

Pay Sam back.

A man has a right to see his son.

No, not a chance.

Just hold on, Dom.

I can’t have an excitable man

making precision adjustments on it.

You see what I mean? You’re not even thinking straight.

Look, you can’t say a thing about it on the phone.

Archangel probably has you tapped.

That only saves me from having

to make a direct call to Michael.

Now just don’t you pick up a tail.

Me? Nobody tails me.

Then I can trust you to handle everything?

Doesn’t my saying "no" mean anything to you?

Only when you mean it.

See you later.

Oh, Michael, you’ll find that

if you add some pine-scented detergent to your scrub water,

you’ll give your bathrooms that fresh outdoor aroma.

All right, we’re taking off in three sections.

Winter and Jones, Corpus Christi,

Sims and Luis to Orlando,

and I’m taking the Alaska round with Hawke.

These flight plans and refueling points

read like a crossword puzzle, Sam.

That’s exactly how they’ll read

the foreign satellite radar.

Now, I wanna use low-level

flying whenever possible,

desert and water.

Let’s make this as difficult as we can.

For who?

I didn’t think this was still a secret.

Maybe not.

We’re not advertising either.

Any further questions?

All right then. Good luck to you all.

Hawke, I’d like to see you for a second.

Everything going the way

you want it so far?

Well, the flight plan ought to put enough gaps

in the radar to keep air defense busy.

Unless we messed them up too much

and they call the flight back.

Once you take off, there’s no turning back.

You just go deaf and dumb,

and you do just what I tell you.

Thank you. You want to tell me now how you’re going to do it?

With a helicopter.

Eagle Flight, you’re cleared for takeoff.

Eagle Flight rolling.

We’ve just passed the point of no return.

Roger.

Sir, I’ve lost contact with Eagle Three.

Give ’em a call. Could be atmospheric.

You’re a janitor.

You see how clean that desert is?

You’ll get a radio signal

when it’s time to take off.

Resume your present flight plan.

How am I gonna explain you’re not with me?

You won’t have to.

Sure is cold out here.

Cold? You call this cold?

I remember the time your dad and me

were ferrying planes from Tuli to England.

We had a stopover in Iceland.

It got so cold on one flight that the engines froze

right in the middle of the air

and we couldn’t come down.

Ah...

that ought to warm you up.

Yeah.

2,000,

4,000...

8,000...

12,000.

There he is.

Eagle Three, base.

Eagle Three to base.

Three, we’ve been unable to raise you

for the past 20 minutes, over.

Sorry, base.

I had a pressurization leak indicated.

I dropped to Angels 10 to check it out.

Three, are you declaring an emergency?

Negative. Negative.

It’s a malfunction light.

I’m climbing back to Angels 30.

Roger, Eagle Three. Clear at 300.

Keep an eye on him.

If he drops off again, I want to know.

Yes, sir.

Well, we got away with it so far.

Sure.

Now all we have to do is attack Russia,

steal a kid,

and try not to get caught by our own government.

In the meantime, I still don’t know

what all these knobs and-and buttons are for.

I wouldn’t sweat it, Dom.

If you touch that eject button,

you’d be the first to know.

Ha.

- Hey, what’s that? - Turn on the descrambler.

Oh, sure.

No, that’s not the one.

OK, which one is it?

Upper left,

right next to the strike missiles.

Be careful.

Good afternoon, Stringfellow.

I don’t suppose you’d consider

giving me your coordinates.

Dom’s the navigator here.

Oh, good then. At least the cockpit

has been freshly scrubbed.

How long did it take you

to figure out what I was gonna do?

When you disappeared

on the radar screen.

Hawke,

I’d like to see you bring the boy back,

but we’ve got to keep the plane.

Amazing.

Behind that impeccable white suit beats a heart

of recyclable plastic.

That’s very good, Dominic.

Hawke, please give him a sugar cube

and a pat on the neck for me.

I may not be accurate about your location,

but I can sure make an educated guess

as to your destination.

Can I assist?

Yeah, you can feed my dog.

How’d you know I was--

Sometimes, Hawke, you amaze even me.

Good luck.

How come Archangel’s "Good luck"

always sounds like "Good-bye"?

Turn on that radar scanner.

Um, do I guess

or will you give me a hint?

It’s the green lights

next to the chain gun power.

Oh.

It says here we’re 2.5 miles

from Nome, Alaska.

What ever happened to that flying

by the seat-of-your-pants stuff?

All that went out when designers

started writing their names on your behind.

Ferry Three to control.

- Eagle Three, go. - Ferry Three.

I’ll be dropping altitude and altering directions.

This is not an emergency.

I repeat this is not an emergency.

Negative, Eagle Three, maintain your present

heading and altitude.

You are not authorized to deviate

from the flight plan, over.

Strap her down, Dom.

Hey, why not let those people

mow their own lawns, huh?

Increasing speed.

I can’t think of any way to help him.

Short of an invasion of Russia.

All we can do is be restrained spectators.

Too bad. He’s very capable man.

Hawke or Dominic?

I never met Dominic Santini.

Well, he’s not nearly as attractive

as Stringfellow.

Well, I hope both of them make it.

for professional reasons, I’m sure.

Of course.

String, it’s time

for some serious thoughts of religion.

We just crossed our protective zone.

We’re approaching foreign territory.

Slowing.

I wanna match Ferry Three’s airspeed.

Hey, you invite anyone else on this trip?

- How many? - Four.

The readout says MiG-23, 20 miles away.

Now will you act a little worried?

Check the ground scanner. See what’s at the airstrip.

Three low buildings,

some equipment, and a radar trailer.

Which one shows the most heat

on the scanner?

The one on the west end.

It’s giving off the hottest signals.

That’s where our man will be.

I’ll blind them. You make them deaf.

You’re forgetting the MiGs.

We’ll send them a decoy missile to chase.

You ready?

Will you take "No" for an answer?

Sure.

They’re deaf, but they’re not blind.

We’re coming in like a jet.

You know the procedure.

I know we never did it right once.

There’s always a first time.

Targeting countdown.

Yeah, yeah. All right, I’m ready.

And you’ve got all the firepower.

Be ready to cut turbos.

Come on, kid, we’re heading back

for the land of hamburgers and heartburn.

Are you my father?

You’ll know him when you see him.

Get the ball now, boy.

Of course, you’re gonna receive

a reprimand on your service record

for not arriving in Alaska with Roper.

That mean I ain’t gonna make general?

I certainly hope so.

Have you considered a career in airplane theft?

You know, I still haven’t quite figured out

how you managed to keep switching planes

and still keep our radar in the dark.

You’ll have to ask Dominic about that.

Dominic’s not talking to me.

I’d like to keep it that way.

Well, if you’ll excuse me,

I think I’ll just go stare at the lake.

Looking at them,

I know it was all worth it.

Maybe it’s about time

for some truth about Ho Minh.

Ho Minh’s last name is Roper.

It always has been.

I guess I got to live with that answer.

It’s the only answer I’ll ever give.

Fair enough.

If your son ever needs me,

I’ll be there.

You have to be.

We’re giving him an American name.

What’s that?

Guess.

Stringfellow’s no name

for a kid like that.