How Hollywood Takes to the Skies: Aero Mockups and the Movies

Where exactly do directors and production companies go if they need to film their lead actors in a 747, snag a seat for the President inside Air Force One, or fly some revelers down to Rio in a Lear jet? The answer can be found behind the doors of an anonymous warehouse in North Hollywood, and there’s a big clue when you come through the gates – just to your right is the nose and cockpit from the classic movie spoof Airplane!

For nearly 20 years, airplane interiors for some of the biggest movies and TV shows including the recent Steve Martin Pink Panther, Broken Flowers, Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, Face/Off, Fight Club, Hannibal, Jarhead, Traffic, The West Wing, Will & Grace, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, ER, Everwood, Ghost Whisperer, Crossing Jordan, Gilmore Girls, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have been assembled, customized and shipped by Aero Mock-ups to filming locations across the country.

Originally from the UK, founder and CEO Richard Chan explained how he first came to America to make up the flying hours so he could qualify for his pilot’s license:

“I was always fascinated by aviation. I was born in Edgeware, North London, and as a child our house was right under the flight path of Elstree aerodrome. I got my pilot’s license from there, but after my second visit to America I never really went back again. It’s my lifeblood, and I still always look up in the sky when I hear an airplane.”

All the airplane interiors in the warehouse are from the late 1980’s period - the 727’s and 737’s onwards - and Chan bought his first entire airplane interior in 1987:

“I acquired a 20ft cabin section that was a former display item. My first instinct was to tear it apart and sell the panels, but my then-secretary told me to hold on a moment. She used to be a script supervisor at a studio, and within a couple of months through her contacts we had our first show – and it’s been like that ever since.”