Stunt pilot Steve Stafford makes the unbelievable a reality
The look of sheer panic washed over actress Anne Heche’s face as she watched Harrison Ford pilot a de Havilland airplane through a thunder and lightning storm.
Over the Pacific Ocean and flying through pouring rain, Ford finally sees a small island where he could land. Pulling the controls for the plane’s wing flaps, Ford somehow manages to land on the water and taxi onto the beach, spinning the aircraft a few times before cutting the engine.
In a scene that took about five minutes on the film “Six Days, Seven Nights” actually took the team at Camarillo-based Studio Wings, Inc. about two weeks of planning and shooting to make sure not a hair on Heche or Ford would be harmed.
For motion picture stunt pilot Steve Stafford, making the unbelievable a reality is part of the daily challenge.
“About 90 percent of our job is preparation, and 10 percent is execution. So we are well prepared in what we have to do,” Stafford said. “A lot of energy goes into prep work and working with the FAA and other municipalities to guarantee that the general public is safe.”
From shooting complicated crash scenes to aerial stunts for television shows such as “Breaking Bad,” “Chuck,” and “Castle,” Stafford and his team at Studio Wings provide everything from the stunts and cinematography shots to location scouting.
Studio Wings founder and President Steve Stafford, 61, has used his long history in aviation with his background in film directing to get the shots that make Hollywood stars look like seasoned pilots.
In this business, safety is first, Stafford said.
For the crash landing scene on “Six Days, Seven Nights,” the de Havilland airplane Ford flew was actually connected to a helicopter with a 200-foot wire. While that helicopter pulled the de Havilland, Stafford was in another helicopter with cameras just a few feet away to get the tight shots of the actors.
“We will just walk away from it if it’s too dangerous,” Stafford said. “We have families we have to come home to and we want to go to the premieres so we can actually watch the movies and say, ‘Wow, it really looks like that was dangerous’ when really we all know it’s not.”
Stafford grew up around aviation with his father, George E. Stafford, flying B-17 bombers for the Air Force in World War II. Born in Darien, Conn., and raised on a cattle ranch in Helena, Mont., Stafford moved to Canoga Park in California with his family when Steve turned 15. When he graduated from Chaminade High in 1968, he followed his father’s footsteps and joined the military.
It was during his time in the Marine Corps from 1968 to 1974 that Stafford developed a deep interest in flying. Although he didn’t fly in any military missions, Stafford decided to use the GI Bill to get his private pilot license.
Stunt pilot Steve Stafford makes the unbelievable a reality
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