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Airwolf article from UPI October 1985
Borgnine masters chopper (almost)
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By Vernon Scott
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 Ernest Borgnine had never been up in a helicopter before he reported for his role as Dominic Santini in "Airwolf," at the controls of the world's most advanced chopper.
I always wanted to go up in one of the things," Borgnine said, "but I never had the opportunity.
They gave me a coordination flight before the first show and found I'd make a good pupil and a good pilot. My coordination was perfect and I thought actually of flying the chopper. But there was so much work to do with the acting role, the inclination left me.
Then I read about a few accidents and thought better of it. Don't get me wrong, I love helicopters. They're a great way to look at real estate and they make a marvelous show, but I've given up the idea of flying them."
The producers will not allow Borgnine nor co-star Jan-Michael Vincent to fly Airwolf because of the insurance rates. But both stars spend a part of almost every shooting day in the chopper.
"We aren't allowed to take off or land," Borgnine said. "But we can handle the controls in the air and I have handled them. It's a great feeling of exhilaration.
Five minutes into my coordination test the pilot asked me to take over and I said I couldn't. But he insisted and I was swooping all over the sky until I learned to rest my arm on my thigh and it was the easiest thing in the world to fly.
The most frightening thing is when the rotor blades are moving and I'm sitting in the cockpit and there isn't a pilot around. You've got to be very, very careful getting in and out of that machine - otherwise something can happen.
On locations we use the real Airwolf. On the stage we have an exact replica except it doesn't have an engine."
Learning to operate a variety of vehicles and other means of locomotion is nothing new to Borgnine.
He mastered horseback riding in a dozen westerns, engineered a steam locomotive for "Emperor of the North" and piloted a PT boat for many years in TV's "McHale's Navy." He even learned his way around a submarine for "Torpedo Run."
"I spent 10 years as a cook and gunner's mate in the Navy," Borgnine said, "so learning to operate a PT boat was no big thing."
"Acting is an education in everything from philosophy to psychology to exposure to every trade you can think of. In 120 movies I've encountered most of them from gun fighting to playing a butcher.
It was great operating the steam engine. First time I tried it, I took off like a professional. On our off days I would engineer the train up to the lumber camps just for the hell of it.
You really get an education as an actor. I learned how to drive a big 16-wheel trailer-truck rig in 'Convoy' for (director) Sam Peckinpaw.
The stunt men take over on most dangerous stuff, but they do want close-ups of actors at the wheel in car chases. And I've hung some wheelies doing chase scenes. I have to fight the temptation when I drive my own car.
I've never been seriously hurt doing stunts. But the other day I got punched in the eye in a fight scene. As long as I worked with the stunt man I was okay, but when they put the actor in he misjudged and pasted me in the eye.
Any time you're working with cars, planes, boats or helicopters you're always in danger. You can never tell when there will be a mechanical breakdown or a miscalculation.
But the most dangerous things of all are horses. You're safer in a helicopter than on a horse. They're good animals, but they're dumb.
The first time I got on a horse was for a picture with Randolph Scott. They had me riding down what looked like a steep cliff.
I took one look and had second thoughts. The wrangler told me to keep the horse's head up in case he stumbled. I took off with that horse's head in my lap. I got to the bottom of the cliff, said my line and jumped off. Randolph took off his spurs and said, 'Here, kid, you earned 'em.'
One thing I haven't done is go up in a hot air balloon. But my real ambition is to write President Reagan and see what I can do about getting a ride in the shuttle. That would be the thrill of all time, to come back to Earth and tell people of my generation what it's all about."
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