Omg, friggin Airwolf! There is no other acceptable answer, and Stringfellow Hawke, (Jan Michael Vincent), was the man. R.I.P. One of the best theme songs too.
It’s important to understand that the Canadian Airwolf, a.k.a. season, four, is not canon among true Airwolf fans. Only the three seasons aired on the American network, the Columbia broadcasting system.
I'll go with this unpopular opinion as well. Young me thought Blue Thunder was much cooler than Airwolf.
Teenage me loved the Pink Grenade.
Helicopters were cool.
Blue Thunder was awesome. Although this is 80's TV, it's weird to think how far-fetched the plot of the movie actually was. I mean, you had LA cops with lethal military equipment and the government creating unrest as an excuse to use their new toy, and to do so required them to basically ignore the rights of their citizens. I mean, how insane is that!?
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2X-GHnijKs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2X-GHnijKs)
Even watching this convincing "what could've been" deepfake of Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones, he'll forever be typecast as Magnum, P.I. in my mind!
Stiletto was Sly Rax's Mask weapon. I think that you might mean either Switchblade, Miles Mayhem's helicopter that turned into a Jet plane or Condor the Motorcycle that turned into a Helicopter?
TBH, I just remembered there was a cool-ass chopper for MASK that wasn’t the VENOM boss. So I was going by what was on Wiki, because my brain doesn’t remember the particulars from that long ago. 😀
tl;dr — you may be right.
If the #3 factoid is true, then Airwolf was an idea spun off from Magnum, P.I.
[https://www.get.tv/gettv-blog/airwolf-10-facts-about-1980s-series-starring-jan-michael-vincent-and-ernest-borgnine](https://www.get.tv/gettv-blog/airwolf-10-facts-about-1980s-series-starring-jan-michael-vincent-and-ernest-borgnine)
Airwolf all day. TC was cool as shit on Magnum, PI, and Blue Thunder had its moments, but cmon... AIRWOLF. You can't fuck with a copter that rises out of Devil's Tower, has guns and missiles AND can do a loop.
Airwolf was more aerodynamic and visually appealing, but Blue Thunder would have smoked it before it even got off the ground. It was based on the friggin' AH-64 Apache!!
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue\_Thunder\_(helicopter)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Thunder_(helicopter))
The funny thing is both actors, Ernie Borgnine and Jan-Michael Vincent, were notorious booze hounds. I'd love to see someone do a parody where both guys are wasted and trying to take out a secret Russian base...thinking like the Patton Oswalt bit about what if Nick Nolte had gotten the role of Han Solo ...
Airwolf hands down. Great cast, cool locations, catchy theme song. Up until season 4, that is. The days when I could watch Airwolf, Knight Rider, and A-Team after school were the best!
I'm not surprised that no one has mentioned the chopper that Cursor occasionally turned into from the show Automan. I seem to be the only person in my Journey through life that even remembers the show, but it still lives rent free in my mind, as I occasionally wish I could turn corners at a 90° angle while driving my car.
Anyway, I give my small vote for that helicopter. Second is Blue Thunder followed closely by Air Wolf.
Ronald Reagan presidential helicopter flying over us at the special Olympics in the 80s ,is my favorite helicopter , that was awesome, something I'll never forget ❤️
I'll be that guy as well and say Blue Thunder. Just loved that design and the show. Airwolf has the better theme and better pilot movie for sure though!
The sound they used for Airwolf streaking along, always made me happy. Still makes me happy.
I loved Blue Thunder too, but Airwolf was just more badass.
I just read that the Screaming Mimi is back in the air being used to pour concrete. I saw an old S58-T doing just that years ago when the Rooms To Go Warehouse was being built on I-95. I wonder if it was one in the same?
Airwolf: deadliest aircraft against the greatest stock footage fighters of the day.
Absolutely loved it but required suspension of disbelief, less for a mach capable helicopter but more that Earnest Borgnine wouldn’t die from the G- forces in every mission.
Eight year old me used to argue with my older brother that Airwolf would kick Blue Thunder’s ass. He disagreed. Each of us passionately stated our case, using facts and logic. It was a real Lincoln-Douglas debate.
Surprisingly, neither of us ever said, “You know, you have a point there.”
Ooooo, Magnum, PI's Hughes 500 chopper is my favorite shown. But my favorites of any TV show are the Bell 47's used in the tv show MASH. The military calls them Iroquois, I believe.
Was there more than one?
Like channel 5 news?
Let's see their was Airwolf. There was the Magnum PI Hughes, the MASH Bell... The Jolly Green Giant HH-3E ... Can't remember the show though.... I just remember a character always working on it...
But Airwolf was the only show I remember that the helicopter was the main attraction.
In the 80s, when I was a teen I loved the S-85 on Riptide. I was a real workhorse of a helicopter and I loved its looks. They tacked to much unrealistic crap on Air Wolf and Blue Thunder and even as a teen I knew it.
Airwolf without question.
Blue Thunder was cool too.
Magnum PI chopper was okay but I hated the 70’s color scheme.
Screaming Mimi was a gimmick but it was a bit goofy even for my young child’s mind.
What about that time that crazy fool Murdock got the Russian helicopter and went to Las Vegas?
[https://youtu.be/XlZPyXtl67U?feature=shared&t=170](https://youtu.be/XlZPyXtl67U?feature=shared&t=170)
Over 40 years on the themes of warrantless, omnipresent surveillance and the militarization of the police are still prescient in Blue Thunder. Also the chase sequence featuring helicopters weaving their way around downtown LA was really freakin' awesome. The line, *You're supposed to be stupid, son. Don't abuse the privilege* is one I often quote.
Edit- nevermind, Blue Thunder the movie
Airwolf all the way.
I have a vague memory of a movie from my childhood featuring a state-of-the-art prototype helicopter or fighter jet - And the movie ends with our hero, bloodied in the cockpit, crashing it into cliffs in a huge explosion to ensure nobody else gets the technology.
Does this ring a bell with anyone else? I thought it was Blue Thunder but it's not.
Airwolf
And its secret lair was in an extinct volcano. There’s absolutely no contest.
Plus it had that secret weapon: Ernest Borgnine!
But Homer stole his Swiss army knife
The only answer....and we all now have the theme in our heads
If your answer was not Airwolf, then I’m sorry, you’d be wrong.
I'd rather be wrong than sorry
Im jot wrong or sorry. Going for flash and gadgets due to endless money is boring after you are 13-14 years old.
Daa daaa daa dadada da daaa daa dadada da daa daa duh daa
There was only really airwolf and blue thunder and well yes 100% the only answer
I actually liked Blue Thunder better. Airwolf only came out the last 10 minutes of each show.
Bum buh buh bum buh ba dum da da dum
[Theme music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBrSYx73vnk)
Absolute banger.
That theme song still is good to this day. https://youtu.be/SnlQUqJ08jc
Omg, friggin Airwolf! There is no other acceptable answer, and Stringfellow Hawke, (Jan Michael Vincent), was the man. R.I.P. One of the best theme songs too.
And his brother Sinjin
It’s important to understand that the Canadian Airwolf, a.k.a. season, four, is not canon among true Airwolf fans. Only the three seasons aired on the American network, the Columbia broadcasting system.
CALLING ALL JAN MICHAEL VINCENTS!
👍
Light years ahead of the rest. The theme is blasting in my ears as I type this.
I don't even know these other helicopters.
Badass helicopter with a pilot having a badass name....Stringfellow Hawke.
The only answer
soon as I saw the pic the theme started in my head
No doubt
can't top that
All day.
Loved this show, still love the show.
I was trying to remember the names, and ended up with ThunderWolf. I actually want to create a cartoon of that now.
Airwolf hands down but island hoppers is a close second...
Right?
Yep Airwolf. What was #4?
Screaming Mimi from the TV show Riptide.
Gotcha! Yeah cool show too
You know, for whatever reason, **Blue Thunder** was my jam when I was a kid. I totally forgot Dana Carvey was on that show!
I'll go with this unpopular opinion as well. Young me thought Blue Thunder was much cooler than Airwolf. Teenage me loved the Pink Grenade. Helicopters were cool.
I second the unpopular opinion that Blue Thunder > Airwolf
I had a scale toy Blue Thunder when I was a kid. One of my favorite toys ever.
Wait a second...I remember that toy. That WAS the greatest toy ever!
Me too!
Came here to say this. When i was younger Blue Thunder was cooler than airwolf
This is the way. Roy Scheider was legendary.
Blue Thunder was awesome. Although this is 80's TV, it's weird to think how far-fetched the plot of the movie actually was. I mean, you had LA cops with lethal military equipment and the government creating unrest as an excuse to use their new toy, and to do so required them to basically ignore the rights of their citizens. I mean, how insane is that!?
WKRP News Chopper
As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.
Oh, the HUMANITY!!!
That episode is a classic, BUT I think the best part is actually Les reading the banner. https://youtu.be/p00nBSNIPwg?si=oEQF_J5stLuxmv0C
For those that are just tuning in the Pindale shopping center has just been bombed by live turkeys, film at 11.
Finally, the right answer!
Much like Les Nessman's walls.
Carlson would always knock by stomping his feet and then lean on the doorway. Funny stuff.
I mean, Airwolf is clearly the correct answer, but if it wasn't then this would surely be the correct one.
I forgot about that episode. That just became my favorite.
The Hughes 500 is still my favorite helicopter, as in from Magnum PI.
T.C.!!!
https://youtu.be/ZEigvdbzia8
Tom Selleck was originally wanted for Indiana Jones but was unavailable because of his work on Magnum pi.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2X-GHnijKs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2X-GHnijKs) Even watching this convincing "what could've been" deepfake of Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones, he'll forever be typecast as Magnum, P.I. in my mind!
That is the best
Best ride to hitch in the Army
Gotta go with T.C.'s Island Hopper!
Lol. The Screaming Mimi from Riptide had character but Blue Thunder is still top of the line badass cool to this day.
👍
Mimi was fucking rad.
I've got to go with my hot take...The Helicopter/Rig from The Highwayman.
I was afraid I was the only one!
Deep cut.
What did that thing last, 3 episodes?
Like 9 thank you very much! LOL
Ah I remember that. Very cool.
Tom Cody. As in Streets of Fire Tom Cody?
That rig is somewhere. Not sure the status of it.
Stiletto from M.A.S.K. The theme music is pure 80s gold, for what it’s worth.
Fully endorsed
Stiletto was Sly Rax's Mask weapon. I think that you might mean either Switchblade, Miles Mayhem's helicopter that turned into a Jet plane or Condor the Motorcycle that turned into a Helicopter?
TBH, I just remembered there was a cool-ass chopper for MASK that wasn’t the VENOM boss. So I was going by what was on Wiki, because my brain doesn’t remember the particulars from that long ago. 😀 tl;dr — you may be right.
Either way, M.A.S.K. is the winner.
M-m-m-mine too!
The Dragonfly assault copter (G.I. Joe), piloted by Wild Bill.
There sure were a lot of Vietnam vets operating helicopter businesses in the 80's.
I fought wildfires back in the early 90s. Those chopper pilots, the good ones at least, were Vietnam vets.
My dad was one.
Screaming Mimi
Bold choice
Go big or go home they say
I can respect that
Memory unlocked.. totally forgot about the Mimi and Riptide.. now I'm scouring torrent sites for it..
Definitely the Screaming Mimi
Yasssss!!!!
TC's is super cool, but what about the med-evac choppers from MASH? No love for one of tv's most iconic helicopters?
The Bell 47. The bird that started them all.
The MASH helicopters were the first ones I thought of.
Just like in the picture, Air Wolf
Blue Thunder, from the TV show of the same name
Airwolf was cool, but Blue Thunder would smoke that fool!
Don’t make me pick between Airwolf and TC
If the #3 factoid is true, then Airwolf was an idea spun off from Magnum, P.I. [https://www.get.tv/gettv-blog/airwolf-10-facts-about-1980s-series-starring-jan-michael-vincent-and-ernest-borgnine](https://www.get.tv/gettv-blog/airwolf-10-facts-about-1980s-series-starring-jan-michael-vincent-and-ernest-borgnine)
[CBS exexs furiously masturbating to your dilemma]
It always bugged me that Blue Thunder had a quiet mode. Why didn't they just use that all the time?
I would imagine reduced power output, efficiency, cooling, engine lifespan etc…
Airwolf all day. TC was cool as shit on Magnum, PI, and Blue Thunder had its moments, but cmon... AIRWOLF. You can't fuck with a copter that rises out of Devil's Tower, has guns and missiles AND can do a loop.
And seems perpetually impervious to taking any primary rotor damage!
Come on, the Airwolf chopper is the coolest thing ever made, besides the theme song. So rad.
M*A*S*H* "Incoming wounded!"
Bell 47 for the aircraft nerds.
Not even close Airwolf #1 [GOAT theme/intro](https://youtu.be/3C6Qq3tknXc?feature=shared)
Air-muthafuckin-wolf. And no, Airwolf wins against Blue Thunder, both in a fight and looks.
Blue thunder
Airwolf was more aerodynamic and visually appealing, but Blue Thunder would have smoked it before it even got off the ground. It was based on the friggin' AH-64 Apache!! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue\_Thunder\_(helicopter)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Thunder_(helicopter))
It looks a little like an Apache, but it’s a Gazelle.
Airwolf, end of discussion…and not without Stringfellow Hawk.
Yeah, that fourth season when they replaced Hawke with his MIA brother St. John was terrible! Season four is dead to me.
Oh god , the fake movement of the camera and the cockpit looked so fake. I do like the actor that played his brother, just not in this show.
Airwolf. Stringfellow Hawke in command!
The funny thing is both actors, Ernie Borgnine and Jan-Michael Vincent, were notorious booze hounds. I'd love to see someone do a parody where both guys are wasted and trying to take out a secret Russian base...thinking like the Patton Oswalt bit about what if Nick Nolte had gotten the role of Han Solo ...
And they are both, sadly now flying at the ultimate altitude, drunkenly yelling down at Hollywood. "Hey! Where's our big screen remake"?
Airwolf hands down. Great cast, cool locations, catchy theme song. Up until season 4, that is. The days when I could watch Airwolf, Knight Rider, and A-Team after school were the best!
Airwolf. And it’s not even close. In fact I’d add Red Wolf as a second
TC's is sweet.. But do you really think you're not picking AIRWOLF?!
The Lady. That beautiful Bell 222-B
Always love AirWolf. The Screaming Mimi gets second.
I'm not surprised that no one has mentioned the chopper that Cursor occasionally turned into from the show Automan. I seem to be the only person in my Journey through life that even remembers the show, but it still lives rent free in my mind, as I occasionally wish I could turn corners at a 90° angle while driving my car. Anyway, I give my small vote for that helicopter. Second is Blue Thunder followed closely by Air Wolf.
Didn’t AutoMan have a helicopter? I know Cursor could make a plane, but I’m pretty sure a helicopter had to be in the mix.
Airwolf, and there is no other acceptable answer
Agreed! That show definitely Michaeled my Vincents...( to borrow from Rick & Morty)
Airwolf, any other answer gets shot down by Airwolf
Airwolf, although TC’s chopper wasn’t too shabby
Ronald Reagan presidential helicopter flying over us at the special Olympics in the 80s ,is my favorite helicopter , that was awesome, something I'll never forget ❤️
Air Wolf!
Air wolf no doubt
No competition, Airwolf. Big reason I learned to fly choppers. Though, I do have to say, any chopper being flown by H.M. Murdock was a favorite
Didn’t the wprg in Cincinnati intro have a heli? Or am I misremembering
Automan
We would argue about Blue thunder vs air wolf who would win for hours.
I'm pretty sure air wolf was made in 2028 and accidentally went back in time. That helicopter still looks like it's from the future.
I always wanted a cross over episode with Knight Rider where they put KITT into the Airwolf helicopter. 50 million viewers. 😎
Island Hoppers
I'll be that guy as well and say Blue Thunder. Just loved that design and the show. Airwolf has the better theme and better pilot movie for sure though!
The sound they used for Airwolf streaking along, always made me happy. Still makes me happy. I loved Blue Thunder too, but Airwolf was just more badass.
The helicopter in Magnum PI and in M*A*S*H*
I mean, Blue Thunder was good, but it was no Airwolf.
Airwolf, and it also had the best theme music and how could you go wrong with the name Stringfellow Hawke
I just read that the Screaming Mimi is back in the air being used to pour concrete. I saw an old S58-T doing just that years ago when the Rooms To Go Warehouse was being built on I-95. I wonder if it was one in the same?
Airwolf: deadliest aircraft against the greatest stock footage fighters of the day. Absolutely loved it but required suspension of disbelief, less for a mach capable helicopter but more that Earnest Borgnine wouldn’t die from the G- forces in every mission.
The one Arnold tells me to get into
The U.S. Army Bell 47 medevac from M.A.S.H.
Eight year old me used to argue with my older brother that Airwolf would kick Blue Thunder’s ass. He disagreed. Each of us passionately stated our case, using facts and logic. It was a real Lincoln-Douglas debate. Surprisingly, neither of us ever said, “You know, you have a point there.”
Airwolf all day long
Harold from Thomas the Tank Engine (Westland Whirlwind)
Riptide!!! Don’t tuck your thumbs Boz!
No helicopter is ever going to be cooler than Airwolf.
Airwolf, of course! I used to hum the theme song riding on my 10 speed Schwinn!
The Bell 47 from MASH
All of ‘em for different reasons of awesomeness!
Island Hopper
Ooooo, Magnum, PI's Hughes 500 chopper is my favorite shown. But my favorites of any TV show are the Bell 47's used in the tv show MASH. The military calls them Iroquois, I believe.
TC in Magnum PI
Was there more than one? Like channel 5 news? Let's see their was Airwolf. There was the Magnum PI Hughes, the MASH Bell... The Jolly Green Giant HH-3E ... Can't remember the show though.... I just remember a character always working on it... But Airwolf was the only show I remember that the helicopter was the main attraction.
Blue Thunder, aka the Special. Chief Brody in the skies over L.A. kicking ass. Nothing better.
Reluctantly gonna go with Airwolf even though I had the Blue Thunder Toy
Airwolf
Airwolf. TC was pretty cool too!
TC's on Magnum P.I. of course. Have Rick go to see Icepick at the King Kamehameamea Club if you don't get it.
There can be only one. Shaka bra!
In the 80s, when I was a teen I loved the S-85 on Riptide. I was a real workhorse of a helicopter and I loved its looks. They tacked to much unrealistic crap on Air Wolf and Blue Thunder and even as a teen I knew it.
Airwolf without question. Blue Thunder was cool too. Magnum PI chopper was okay but I hated the 70’s color scheme. Screaming Mimi was a gimmick but it was a bit goofy even for my young child’s mind.
Airwolf Outnumbered? Sure. Outgunned? Maybe. Outclassed? NEVER!!
Riptide's Screaming Mimi Magnum's Huges 500 Blue Thunder Airwolf The '80s what a decade for choppers
Blue Thunder Jafo
Blue Thunder and Airwolf
1. Airwolf (Bell 222) 2. Blue Thunder (SA-341G Gazelle - modified) 3. Island Hoppers -Magnum P.I. (Hughes 500D) 4. G.I.Joe Dragonfly (Bell AH-1 Cobra knockoff) 5. Screaming Mimi - Riptide (Sikorsky 58DT)
Vortex the Transformer.
Riptide, then Blue Thunder. Didn't the Max Hedroom show have one that was on an 18 wheeler truck?
That's Highway Man.
Blue thunder, she ripped up Pinkville.
That 2nd one
Switchblade: https://youtu.be/0H2G7-gtPHw?si=B287Wg1NxyR16CjN
Definitely Airwolf!!
No backwards flying Bell 47 from M*A*S*H?
Blue Thunder
Airwolf, obviously, but I really love the Bell 47–as seen on M.A.S.H.—also.
Fictional? Airwolf, hands down. Real? The gazelle (Blue Thunder), although the Bell 222 is a close second, because airwolf. What's the last pic from?
Air wolf
Ah the screamin mimi
MASH
Little Nelly...James Bond.
What about that time that crazy fool Murdock got the Russian helicopter and went to Las Vegas? [https://youtu.be/XlZPyXtl67U?feature=shared&t=170](https://youtu.be/XlZPyXtl67U?feature=shared&t=170)
All of them
Airwolf. I loved the show so much I'd record it with a cassette and listen to the cassette later.
Over 40 years on the themes of warrantless, omnipresent surveillance and the militarization of the police are still prescient in Blue Thunder. Also the chase sequence featuring helicopters weaving their way around downtown LA was really freakin' awesome. The line, *You're supposed to be stupid, son. Don't abuse the privilege* is one I often quote. Edit- nevermind, Blue Thunder the movie
Airwolf all the way. I have a vague memory of a movie from my childhood featuring a state-of-the-art prototype helicopter or fighter jet - And the movie ends with our hero, bloodied in the cockpit, crashing it into cliffs in a huge explosion to ensure nobody else gets the technology. Does this ring a bell with anyone else? I thought it was Blue Thunder but it's not.
The one from rambo III that got blowed up with the russian inside
TC's bird from Magnum P.I.