Other mistake: In one of the air battles, the one where our heroes come to aid to a platoon of infantry harassed by German Fokker D.I's, the plane of Lowry is under fire after he downed an enemy airplane. In one shot, you can see he gets multiple hits just behind the pilot seat. Since these planes are barely armoured, say not at all, Lowry should have been punctured by the bullets at his back as well, instead of being completely fine. (01:16:00)
Flyboys (2006)
1 other mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Tony Bill
Starring: James Franco, Jean Reno, Philip Winchester, Mac McDonald, Jennifer Decker, Scott Hazell
Factual error: The film is set up until the USA enter the war, which was April 1917. The Germans always appear flying Fokker Dr.I triplanes, which flew for the first time in August and only appeared in any significant numbers over the front in November. Granted, the triplanes were a great way of letting the audience know who were the good and bad guys when so many similar-looking aircraft were together in the sky at the same time and in such haste.
Blaine Rawlings: You, uh, slip there, killer?
More trivia for Flyboys
Question: Is it possible to shoot the pilot of an enemy bi-plane in mid-air with a handgun? I would have thought the high wind velocity would have blown the bullet sideways, but I'm hardly an expert.
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Chosen answer: Biplanes were not very fast in flight. For instance a Sopwith Camel at about 5000 ft altitude had a cruise speed of approximately 100 mph. A Fokker had a cruise speed of about 95 mph. A typical WWI handgun could shoot 830 feet per second. With the distances between the planes as shown in the movie, a bullet could travel between the planes in less than half a second. The pilot would have to lead the target some, but he conceivably could hit the other pilot if close enough.
rswarrior