Except for a few scenes depicting the grand old DC-3, there's nothing legendary about "Legends of Flight," the new IMAX movie that opens at the St. Louis Science Center today, offering a commercial-style advertising pitch for Boeing's 787 "Dreamliner," without discussing why the plane is several years late in coming off an assembly line.
Mostly, it's an interesting, if un-dramatic, sales pitch for the Dreamliner given by Mike Carriker, chief test pilot for the 787. Along the way, we hear stories about two of the late, great, propeller-driven aircraft, the four-engine Constellation, known as the C-121 during its military days, and the twin-engine DC-3, the workhorse C-47 in its military career,which began when it flew for the Army Air Corps.
Both planes will bring back many memories for older viewers, but there is not enough footage of them in action. When the 787 finally goes into service, it may become legendary enough to require a film of its own, but not yet.
Legends of Flight opens today at the St. Louis Science Center.
—Joe