(male narrator) This briefing is from file A56
-7W, classified top
-secret.
Subject is.
: Airwolf.
A Mach 1
-plus att*ck helicopter with the most advanced w*apon system in the air today.
It's been hidden somewhere in the western United States by its test pilot, Stringfellow Hawke.
Hawke has promised to return Airwolf only if we can find his brother St.
John, an MIA in Vietnam.
We suspect Archangel, Deputy Director of the agency that built Airwolf is secretly helping Hawke in return for Hawke's flying Airwolf on missions of national concern.
Stringfellow Hawke is 34, a brilliant combat pilot and a recluse since his brother's disappearance.
His only friend is Dominic Santini whose air service is the cover for their government work.
With Hawke and Santini flying as a team at speeds rivaling the fastest jets, backed by unmatched firepower, Airwolf is too dangerous to be left in unenlightened hands.
Finding it is your first priority.
(Hawke) Dom, we got any signal yet?
(Dominic) They can't bend radar around corners, String.
Hang on.
We'll climb up where they can see us.
There it is.
Bearing 295, in that itty
-bitty canyon, I'll bet.
Weapons to combat mode.
Combat mode.
Turbos.
String, that canyon ain't wide enough for a couple of burros to walk side by side.
We'll make it if we get those burros out of our way.
(Dominic) String, you hit the bull's
-eye.
All right, let's climb out of it.
Dom, she's still awful mushy.
Canyon walls coming up.
This thing's lost all of its delicacy.
I got to muscle it.
You can't! We're gonna pile into those walls! Can't help it.
We got to try.
Oh, my God! Saint Peter, I presume.
Sorry, just your run
-of
-the
-miII ArchangeI.
[sighs]
Oh, great jumping Jehoshaphat! WeII, what's your appraisaI, Mr.
Santini?
Are you kiddin'?
[Iaughing]
Man, that's amazing.
I forgot it was a game.
It's not a game, it's a simuIation.
But we're pIeased you find it so reaIistic.
Yeah, you just sit in there and you
-
-you swear it's the reaI thing.
(Hawke) WeII, not quite.
The stick's way too Ioose.
And there's too much yaw.
The reaI AirwoIf wouId have made it.
WeII, maybe next time, when you're more famiIiar with
-
- There won't be a next time.
I came and I fIew this overgrown video machine Iike you asked.
I toId you what's wrong with it.
Now I'm goin' home.
(woman on PA system) Simulation is now complete.
All banks show recycle mode.
I'II be outside when you're ready to fIy us back to the cabin.
Hawke, Fr.
Winchester has a report he'd Iike you to fiII out.
I forgot my pen.
WeII, I'd sure Iike to know how you do it.
WeII, come with me.
AII right.
(Winchester) His reaction was unexpected and totaIIy uncaIIed for.
He cIaims it didn't fIy Iike AirwoIf.
WeII, I'm not saying it's perfect, ArchangeI.
It's onIy Phase One.
Phase Two requires AirwoIf and Hawke.
You must deIiver him.
I agree.
The simuIation is controIIed from the main terminaI and severaI smaIIer terminaIs.
We instaIIed this Iarge screen so visitors couId view the action more easiIy.
Huh.
You couId see what was happenin' in there?
Oh, yes.
And I must confess that when AirwoIf crashed, I feIt a IittIe shiver.
Huh.
I didn't know you cared.
We know what AirwoIf Iooks Iike, of course.
And we have a pretty cIear idea of its capabiIities, even the cIassified ones.
It's just a matter of putting performance and appearance together in a given scenario at computer speed.
The graphics computers were making even three years ago were cave drawings compared to these.
What about other aircraft?
Oh, we have quite a Iibrary.
How about our Hughes 500 meeting its fate?
[chuckIes]
Very impressive.
WeII worth the Firm's investment.
Thank you.
I want to teII you, you put some g
-forces in that simuIator, and nobody wiII be abIe to teII the difference.
I couId.
FIying is fIying and games are games.
(ArchangeI) That's not very heIpfuI.
CouId you put a percentage on how reaIistic you thought it was?
It's not exactIy a perfect ten.
Fr.
Winchester wouId be the first to admit that.
That's exactIy why he needs your participation.
That's another thing.
How come Robert Winchester's in this program?
He's a piIot, not a scientist.
It is possibIe to be both.
WeII, Winchester was one of the originaI bunch of AirwoIf piIots.
Back when you were gonna make a fIeet.
His computer skiIIs made him more vaIuabIe on the ground.
WeII, I heard he washed out.
He's great on instruments but had no naturaI abiIity.
Now he's supposed to teach me to fIy AirwoIf?
But that's not what they're sayin', String.
No one can fIy AirwoIf the way you do.
And that's the probIem.
We have no backup, and no way to train them.
What happens if you go for a hike one day and don't come back?
What happens when your fIying skiIIs begin to erode?
With Winchester's equipment, we can get a computer
-perfect profiIe not onIy of AirwoIf, but of how StringfeIIow Hawke, in his prime, fIies AirwoIf.
Some of the major
-Ieague basebaII teams are using simiIar techniques to profiIe the perfect swing.
I read about that.
Pete Rose wiII Iive forever.
I'm not gonna take AirwoIf anypIace the Firm can get its hands on her.
Each night you can fIy it away to any hiding pIace you choose.
Yeah, I'II think about it.
[Fominic sighs]
No matter how many times I see it, she stiII takes my breath away.
Yeah.
(Hawke) How much food we got?
(Fominic) About five days' worth.
Hey, if we run short, we can aIways set down in the parking Iot of the IocaI market, you know.
[Iaughs]
You're Iookin' forward to this, aren't you?
WeII, yes, I am.
If we can heIp the next generation, why not?
You're teIIin' me you're doin' this for the next generation?
Hey, when you get to be my age, sonny, you'II see that it's important to Ieave somethin' behind.
Yeah, you and Pete Rose, you're gonna Iive forever.
Ah, come on, nobody Iives forever.
No, it's
-
-it's just that I
-
-I just Iove the idea, that's aII.
Hey, 20 or 30 years from now, when you're sittin' on that cabin porch of yours, and I'm fIying charter for you
-know
-who, [Iaughs]
some piIot wiII be sittin' in that simuIator.
They'II be fIyin' combat against you and me.
We'II be kickin' their butts.
Hey, they'II be chasin' our smoke aII over the sky [Iaughs]
and they'II be sayin', ''Who the heII are these guys Hawke and Santini?
'' If I don't stuff this big bird in the ground first.
Oh, come on, don't worry about that.
It was just a fIuke.
[sighs]
I guess every piIot goes through it.
Seems Iike when you hit the backside, you start to Iose your refIexes.
Yeah.
Maybe this thing came aIong at just the right time.
Uh
-huh.
Yeah, but Iisten, you ain't on your backside yet, not by a Iong sh*t.
Now, come on, give me a hand with the rest of these groceries.
(Fiana) Target is destroyed.
You have 30 seconds to get out of the canyon.
Twenty
-five seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Fifteen seconds.
Ten seconds.
Nine, eight, seven, six five PuII up.
PuII up! You did it! Hawke crashed it, but you did it! [Iaughs]
Yeah.
Yeah, I puIIed it out.
You are the best, Robert.
You are.
You reaIIy are.
(Hawke) That's it?
It's not exactly downtown USA, is it?
The teIemetry pod wiII record your position, speed, and so on, anywhere on the range.
I'm not going to be responsibIe if that thing tears off at Mach 1 .
Oh, it'II stay on aII right.
We've hooked them up to F
-15s and pushed to Mach 3.
No probIem.
You got any F
-15s out here today?
No.
No, not today.
We have to work our way up the Iadder, you know.
We have to see AirwoIf crawI before she can run.
(Hawke) It's the 1984 model Airwolf taking on Detroit's more demanding t*rture test engineered like no other Airwolf in the world.
Let's do it again.
The fine movements are just as important as the high
-speed ones, Mr.
Hawke.
Thank you for your heIp.
You're doing fine.
Very good, AirwoIf.
Now, Iet's see if you're as good against a moving target.
That's the way it is in combat, Winchester.
Things move.
Of course, you won't be using Iive amm*nit*on this time.
The machines can teII if you hit or missed.
Missed?
Mister, you do got a lot to learn about the Airwolf.
Chain g*ns.
Chain g*ns.
(Hawke) Well, how'd did I do?
We'II taIIy up at the end of the day, Mr.
Hawke.
(ArchangeI) BeautifuI.
She is, uh, better appreciated from a distance, MichaeI.
I'm a man of my word.
You're heIping us, and I appreciate it.
I've doubIed security at the perimeter.
You're safer sIeeping here than out in the middIe of nowhere.
I Iike nowhere, especiaIIy the middIe section.
An exceIIent day, Mr.
Hawke.
ExceIIent.
(Winchester) We have an aImost perfect readout of AirwoIf against ground targets.
What do you mean aImost perfect?
WeII, 100% wouId be perfect.
You got 67%.
(Fominic) WeII, you missed a coupIe.
SureIy you know that.
We didn't miss.
Each pass Iooked right on the money to me, Foc.
You were sitting in the back, Mr.
Santini.
The computer had the best seat in the house.
It was wrong.
The machine has no reason to Iie, Mr.
Hawke, unIike the piIot.
Come on, Fom.
(Fominic) If I say something, you won't get teed off, wiII you?
Huh?
Sometimes, I just don't understand you, String.
And before, you used to taIk about how stupid and artificiaI this thing is.
But when it gives you Iess than a perfect score, you
-
-you act Iike you Iost a w*r or somethin'.
Hey, Iighten up on yourseIf, wiII you?
We hit those targets Yeah, sure Iooked that way to me, too.
But so what if the computer has a few bugs in it?
Fon't take it so personaIIy.
WeII, Winchester sure is.
He's reaIIy enjoyin' crackin' the whip and making me jump through those hoops.
How weII do you know that guy?
I said heIIo to him on the fIight Iine, across the room at parties.
He was cIoser to Moffett than anybody.
Moffett?
The guy who invented AirwoIf?
Yeah.
They sort of spoke the same Ianguage.
Huh.
WeII, it won't hurt us none to pIay trained pony for a coupIe of more days.
Yeah.
Yeah, I guess not.
Besides, it's nice to be outside the city for a whiIe, huh?
[coyote howIing]
Listen.
[howIing]
What kind of a Iame coyote is that?
Lame?
I suppose you can do better.
[howIing]
Coyote! That's the kind that paints his own fingernaiIs.
You're caIIing my coyote a sissy?
[howIing]
[both Iaughing]
[music pIaying on stereo]
[Iaughing]
You're reaIIy feeIing your oats tonight.
WeII, why not?
In just a coupIe of days
-
- You won't need another coupIe of days.
Hawke's madder than sin now.
Fidn't you see his face?
I saw it.
He won't be abIe to resist the chaIIenge.
Another bad score and he'II be ready for anything.
[Iaughing]
What was his reaI score today?
Perfect.
It's nearIy impossibIe to miss a ground target from AirwoIf.
Yes, but air
-to
-air, that's somethin' eIse, right?
ExactIy.
Thanks.
How they couId pass up a superb mind Iike yours in favor of some rudder
-jockey Iike Hawke is beyond me.
Yeah, weII, that's the way it is.
What a person knows, what a person can do, or make, or create, they forget aII that.
AII goes by the board, when the kid with the great right arm shows up.
The naturaI taIent.
And Hawke was aIways that kid, wasn't he?
Yeah.
I hope you fIy him into the ground.
You know, I never couId've done any of this, if it wasn't for you.
Fon't be ridicuIous.
You designed the simuIator.
Yeah.
But without your encouragement, I never wouId've got this cIose to taking Hawke on.
I Iove you.
Mmm.
Mmm.
Oh, I'm sorry.
That's aII right.
It's okay.
You'd better run some coId water on that right away.
CoId water, huh?
Mmm
-hmm.
In the men's room.
Go on.
Okay.
(man) That was fortuitous.
No, I spiIIed it.
[snickering]
What is your progress?
If aII goes weII, the machine wiII be in your hands tomorrow.
I'II contact you with the detaiIs.
But AirwoIf must have defenses against theft.
Which I wiII neutraIize.
Once we have access to the on
-board computer, there wiII be no probIem.
Your controI over Winchester seems good.
It is absoIute.
He thinks this is aII designed to provide a moment of truth between him and StringfeIIow Hawke.
He knows nothing of the Iarger pIan.
Such a briIIiant and inventive mind to be swayed by the most basic passions: jeaIousy and Iust.
The machines get smarter.
Men never change.
Rocket fire, rocket fire.
How am I doin'?
We don't anaIyze maneuvers one at a time, Mr.
Hawke.
The next run
-
- (Hawke) You tell me if that was a hit or a miss, or I'm vectoring out of here right now.
[computer beeping]
You missed him.
Winchester, I want to talk to you right now.
Alone.
(Hawke) That bird was square on line with the target box.
(Winchester) Maybe you cIutched at the Iast minute.
I didn't cIutch.
Look, Hawke, it's not my fauIt you keep missing the targets.
We recaIibrated this morning.
The machine is perfect.
The machine is screwed up.
I've had AirwoIf in combat.
I know her.
You don't.
I know her.
Then why aren't you fIying her instead of throwing the cIay pigeons.
Bureaucratic stupidity.
It's too bad they didn't make two of them.
I can simuIate two.
AirwoIf versus AirwoIf, fuII on dogfight.
With you pushing the buttons?
No tricks.
I wanna b*at you even odds.
Come on, String, let's forget the whole thing and go home.
It's not a game anymore.
You're like a couple of gunfighters heading for a showdown.
Besides, I don't like anybody messin' around with these electronics.
Aren't you curious to know who's best?
I never lost so much as a fingernail flyin' with you.
That's good enough for me.
There's the lab.
How many heat sources have you got?
(Dominic) Just two.
Outside.
[AirwoIf whirring]
It's here.
(Alex) We are on our way.
(Winchester) This is the prototype of the Iaser frame.
We've kept it in storage just in case.
It works just the same as the other one.
How do I know that?
WeII, we can trade ships, if you want to.
No, thanks.
You can't see the Iasers now, but once you get inside, with the frosted gIass, the program wiII appear.
You see what I mean?
This is exactIy what I was worried about.
How do we know what's happenin' in there?
AII done.
Ready for test?
Put him in the canyon, doing 100 knots.
(Fiana) You got it.
[beeping]
(Winchester) Foes the feeI seem okay?
We don't want it mushy, do we?
Set him back down.
(Fiana) He's on the ground.
(Winchester) Ready, Hawke?
(Hawke) Ready.
Let's go.
After you.
How much further?
Beyond the perimeter fence, one miIe.
Is that the best you can do, Hawke?
You can't lose me that easy, Hawke.
(Hawke) I'm not trying to lose you.
I'm just giving you a flying lesson.
[cIicks]
[aIarm bIaring]
(voice on PA system) Alert! Alert! Security breach.
Sector 1 1B.
Alert! Alert! Security breach.
Sector 1 1B.
(Fominic) What is it?
The perimeter aIarm.
Security's been breached.
Get the doors open! We have to get AirwoIf out of here.
[keyboard keys cIacking]
What's going on, Dom?
I've got a firefight Let's go have a look.
(Archangel) And a wonderful time was had by all.
The funds for this project did not incIude an aIIocation for seIf
-induIgence, Mr.
Hawke, Fr.
Winchester.
This was totaIIy uncaIIed for and very nearIy tragic.
FortunateIy, my beefed
-up security prevented the evening from ending on a sour note.
Such as AirwoIf in the hands of criminaIs.
Is that what they were?
I was hopefuI you couId teII us who they were.
I don't know.
OnIy the four of you knew that AirwoIf wouId be here Iast night.
This is a Iarge Iaboratory compIex.
I'm sure there are other projects around here someone might Iike to steaI.
This project is officiaIIy shut down.
You can't.
I am.
What's more, you and Miss Norris are under house arrest in this Iab untiI I can straighten this out.
You can't do that.
What gives you the right?
How does ''nationaI security'' sound to you?
What about Fom and I?
I'd Iike nothing better than to have you both safeIy back wherever you hide AirwoIf.
WeII, I never thought I'd hear you say that.
However, you two are the onIy ones who got a Iook at the assauIt team.
I may need you.
We'II be in the neighborhood.
[Fominic sighs]
You know, ArchangeI's basicaIIy a pretty fair man.
When he cIears you, you'II be back in business.
What makes you so sure I'm innocent?
I saw you when the aIarm went off.
Save AirwoIf.
That's aII you wanted to do.
I'm sorry it had to end Iike that.
Yeah.
It was quite a dueI, wasn't it?
Fid you reaIIy think so?
Yeah.
You had me.
You never know.
You were pretty tough.
[scoffs]
Hey, teII me the truth, Hawke.
Is the simuIator anything Iike the reaI AirwoIf.
Pretty doggone cIose.
After aII this bIows over, I'd Iike to come back for another demonstration.
It's a heII of a machine.
And maybe afterwards, we can take a spin in mine.
That's a deaI.
[both chattering]
What are you watching?
I'm not watching, I'm running a bIow
-by
-bIow anaIysis.
I stiII think you're as good as he is.
Oh, come on, honey, you saw that Iast maneuver.
He got me.
He's a superb piIot.
The onIy thing he's got on you is experience.
If you knew his bag of tricks, you wouId've won.
What am I supposed to do, read his mind?
Not his mind.
The mind of the machine.
What do you mean?
I noticed when we were hooking up for the simuIation that AirwoIf has a rather extensive memory.
When it goes into a combat mode, the memory cIicks on.
Of course.
A compIete record of every air combat AirwoIf has ever been in, right in there, waiting to be studied.
I don't think they know it has this capabiIity.
It wouId be fascinating to Iook at it.
I pIaced an interface in the centraI processor and tied it to AirwoIf's SSB.
You did?
Let's try it.
I don't know.
Hawke's been having adventures that shouId've been yours.
Aren't you just a IittIe curious?
Move over.
[woman chattering on PA system]
[crickets chirping]
Look at those tanks.
They Iook Russian to me.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
I was just thinking of something Fr.
Moffett said.
Who's Moffett?
The designer of AirwoIf.
He's dead now.
We were at a party one night, and he got this funny grin on his face.
He said: ''Robert, AirwoIf is very much a Iiving thing.
More than you can imagine.
'' What did he mean?
I'm just beginning to understand.
My God.
Inside its computer, AirwoIf contains its own design, just Iike a Iiving creature.
The compIete information as to how to recreate itseIf.
Fantastic.
We have to copy this out.
I'II transfer it.
Oh, wait a minute.
Maybe we shouIdn't.
Robert, think a minute.
FeIiver this to ArchangeI, he'II forgive everything.
And when he buiIds a new AirwoIf, he'II need someone to fIy it.
Yeah.
(woman on PA system) Attention.
Maintenance team to Building 5.
Maintenance team to Building 5.
Escape PIan South.
SpeciaI equipment.
Yes, standard route, drop site to Mexico City and home.
End.
Is it ready?
WiII it take the tapes?
[buzzing]
Yes, sir.
Ah, String, I'm dreaming sweet daydreams of cooI, dry air at 30,000 feet.
[groaning]
You know, MichaeI wiII be caIIing soon.
[radio beeping]
Now he can hear radio waves coming in, too.
(MareIIa) Fruit juice?
No, thanks.
Hey.
This is the Iife.
[whooping]
I haven't had any Iuck trying to find the men who breached the perimeter the other night.
Thought maybe one of these faces wouId ring a beII.
[beeping]
(Hawke) That's one of them there.
The Ieader.
(Fominic) Sure is.
AIexai Provoff.
Russian?
(MareIIa) Just Iike caviar from fish.
Top Soviet agent.
He's the one who stoIe our swing
-wing technoIogy.
RuthIess.
Can fIy anything.
Which means they were definiteIy after AirwoIf the other night.
Which means one of our two friends in the Iab is in Ieague with him.
I just can't beIieve that Robert Winchester wouId turn over.
We better get back there.
Right.
The main thing is for you to get AirwoIf out of the area and back to its hiding pIace.
With pIeasure.
Come on, kid.
AII I'm askin' is, give him the benefit of the doubt.
(ArchangeI) Innocent untiI proven guiIty.
We try traitors the same way we try pickpockets.
(voice on PA system) Alert! Alert! Security breach.
Sector 1 1B.
[aIarm bIaring]
Good idea, we'd better hide the tapes.
No, Robert, I'm taking them with me.
What?
Where?
I want you to come, too.
To my country.
With these, our engineers can
-
- You You used me! [grunts]
(Fiana) Robert, pIease, stop! [groans]
You didn't have to sh**t him.
Fid we need him?
No.
It's not Iike you to be sentimentaI, GIoriana.
ShaII we go?
I can take out the limo.
In 20 minutes, we'll be in Mexican airspace.
There is Airwolf.
Don't worry about Airwolf.
Agents.
I know.
What did they get?
Fesigns of AirwoIf.
Every detaiI.
They pIan to buiId another one.
Hawke.
Hawke, do you read?
(Archangel) Diana is the agent.
She's stolen the tapes on Airwolf.
Winchester's been sh*t.
Can you help me?
(Hawke) I'm on my way.
[revving powerfuIIy]
I'm already heading south.
How's Robert?
Not great.
Somebody's gonna pay for that.
Here he comes.
If you control their computer, why not just scramble their radar, and let us get away?
Because if we destroy him, ours will be the only Airwolf.
[chuckIes]
He's slowing down.
Here he comes.
Airwolf to unidentified helicopter.
You are ordered to land.
[beeping]
Where'd he go?
(Dominic) He's staying right with us! He must have that chopper souped
-up.
You want turbos?
No, let's see how hot a pilot he is.
We'll play this one out even.
I don't believe this guy.
It's like trying to run from your own shadow.
The instant he moves his controls, his computer tells ours, and we match it.
Based on his usual patterns, he'll turn and come back here.
Fire! They nearly got us with that rocket.
When will we start sh**ting back, String?
Weapons to combat mode.
Negative function, combat mode.
g*ns?
Negative.
ADF rockets?
They won't deploy.
Then give me turbos.
Somebody pulled our teeth.
Another rocket.
[rocket f*ring]
We got nothin' goin' for us, String.
Can we deploy the g*ns manually?
I can try.
Look out, rocket coming in! TeII Hawke fIy coId.
AirwoIf, ArchangeI here.
Fr.
Winchester says fIy coId.
Cold?
Pull the plug back there.
They're into our electronics.
Everything?
Every last microchip.
It's Orville and Wilbur time! (ArchangeI) I've aIready got an ambuIance chopper coming.
What couId be faster than AirwoIf?
Have I got full power?
Full power.
You want the turbos?
I don't think so.
It might hurt him.
You got it.
All yours.
I got it.
I'm flying it.
01x11 - Mind of the Machine
Watch/Buy Amazon Merchandise
As part of a deal with an intelligence agency to look for his missing brother, a renegade pilot goes on missions with an advanced battle helicopter.
As part of a deal with an intelligence agency to look for his missing brother, a renegade pilot goes on missions with an advanced battle helicopter.