The Skyship 500 was a twin-engine, non-rigid airship designed by British manufacturer, Airship Industries. One was owned by wealthy industrialist, Max Zorin, and was used as an escape vehicle during his scheme to destroy Silicon Valley. The aircraft first appeared in the 1985 James Bond film, A View to a Kill, and was subsequently featured in the film's tie-in gamebook, talking storybook, the tabletop role-playing game, and the 2004 video game, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent.
History[]
In addition to its big brother, the Skyship 6000, Zorin Industries also owned a smaller Skyship 500 airship (reg: G-BIHN) which was concealed (deflated) in a portakabin at Zorin's mine in California. The airship consisted of a helium-filled polyester fabric envelope, with cruciform tail surfaces carrying rudder and elevator control surfaces for yaw and pitch.[2] Mounted underneath was a gondola containing the cockpit, passenger cabin, propulsion systems and ballast.[2] Large windows to the front and sides provided excellent visibility for crew and passengers seated on six individual seats (four starboard, two port). On-board Zorin's airship, at the rear of the passenger cabin, was a weapons locker containing three Uzi submachine guns, two Heckler & Koch MP5s, and numerous sticks of dynamite.
The Skyship 500 functioned an observation platform and escape vehicle during Zorin's disastrous scheme to destroy Silicon Valley. After James Bond foiled his plan to trigger a catastrophic geological disaster, the vengeful industrialist swooped down and kidnapped his love interest, Stacey Sutton. Soaring over downtown San Francisco, 007 clung onto the Skyship 500's mooring rope as Zorin's pilot, Scarpine, tried to dislodge him - culminating in an attempt to collide him with the Golden Gate Bridge. However, Bond outmanoeuvred the villains and fastened the airship to the bridge; leading to an axe-wielding brawl with Zorin atop the monument. After Zorin lost his balance and fell to his death in the bay below, his mentor made a failed attempt to kill the spy with dynamite. Bond severed the mooring rope, causing the villain to fumble and drop the explosives in the cabin - resulting in the complete destruction of the airship.
Alternate Continuities[]
James Bond in Strike It Deadly[]
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Zorin and 007 fight on-board the Skyship 500, as seen in James Bond in Strike It Deadly (1985).
Based on the events of A View to a Kill, in the Strike It Deadly gamebook readers assumed the role of Bond and made choices that determined the his actions and the plot's outcome. Like the tabletop role-playing game, there were possible scenarios where Zorin would not reenact the concluding events of the film. But it is possible to encounter the Skyship 500 in the concluding stages of the story. Additional possibilities included attempting to climb up the mooring line and facing off against the villain inside the airship's cabin - either failing, and dying, or fighting the knife and fire-axe wielding Zorin. Notably, the airship survives whether Zorin perishes like his cinematic counterpart or falls to his death in mid-flight. Bond and Stacey embrace in a final romantic moment on-board the Skyship 500.
A View to a Kill (Kid Stuff)[]
The aircraft was re-imagined for a children's talking storybook adaptation of A View to a Kill by Kid Stuff. As in the film, Zorin attempts to flee with the kidnapped Stacey on-board his airship - this time sporting a prominent red "Zorin" logo, with a small blue and yellow gondala (noticeably, lacking its dual propellers). It meets a similar fate to its cinematic cousin atop the Golden Gate Bridge.
James Bond 007 (role-playing game)[]
The airship featured in the concluding stages of the James Bond tabletop role-playing game's A View to a Kill module. It is described as approximately 100 feet long with a gondola that can seat 25 people.[4] Unlike its cinematic relative, the craft is emblazoned with the "Max Zorin Oil" logo rather than "Zorin Industries". With the exception of fire axes it is not armed in any way. As in the film, the aircraft serves as Zorin's sole mode of transport once he begins Operation Main Strike. If Stacey Sutton is present at a location where the villain's scheme has been foiled and has become separated from the heroes, Zorin will abduct her in the airship. The events play out like the movie; concluding at the Golden Gate Bridge, but with the additional possibility that the heroes will fail. Alternatively, due to its open-ended nature, there's a very good chance that Zorin will escape at the end of the adventure.
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent[]
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Zorin's Skyship 500, as seen in GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004).
The Skyship 500 reappeared nineteen years later in the "Golden Gate Bridge" multiplayer map of the video-game, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. Floating outside the navigable bounds of the level, the airship was very similar, although not identical, to its 1985 counterpart. A notable difference being that its gondola port side is largely intact and lacking the entry hatch. Serving as a deathtrap for unwary players, an interactive switch on top of the bridge towers caused the Skyship to spray the central platform with gunfire (through a broken window on its port side).
Behind the Scenes[]
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The fourth unit, headed by special effects supervisor John Richardson, film the climactic final sequence.
Airship Industries managed a major marketing coup with the inclusion of their Skyship 500 series airship in the film. At the time Airship Industries were producing a fleet of ships which were recognisable over many capitals of the world offering tours, or advertising sponsorship deals. As all Bond films have included the most current technology, this included the lighter than air interest.[5]
The ship used in the climax was a Skyship 500, then on a promotional tour of Los Angeles after its participation in the opening ceremony of the 1984 Olympic Games. At that time, it had "WELCOME" painted across the side of the hull, but the word was replaced by "ZORIN INDUSTRIES" for the film. During the 1984 season, the ship was painted green and red as a part of Fujifilm's blimp fleet; it was subsequently coloured white. The film shows Zorin's blimp inflating in a matter of two minutes. In actuality, it would take that type of airship one day, working a full day and night of 24 hours, to be fully inflated.[5] The final fight sequence of the film was shot at Pinewood Studios by the fourth unit, headed by special effects supervisor John Richardson. The scenes, centered around the Golden Gate Bridge, were filmed using a mixture of scale models and a life-sized segment of the bridge complete with the underside of the Skyship 500 airship, carved from polystyrene and suspended from a crane.
Gallery[]
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See also[]
References[]
- ↑ SkyShip 500 / AD 500. Retrieved on 27 August 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 (1988) in John W.R. Taylor: Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89. London: Jane's Information Group, 660. ISBN 0-7106-0867-5.
- ↑ FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet for Skycruiser Skyship 500HL
- ↑ Klug, Gerry (1985). A View to a Kill, James Bond 007: Role-Playing In Her Majesty's Secret Service (in En). New York: Victory Games, p.43, 44. ISBN 0-912515-35-X.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Movie Airship : SkyShip 500 "Zorin Industries". The Airship Heritage Trust. Retrieved on 2 October 2007.
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