A Special Visitor to Republic Airport

The producers of the television show Pan Am were back at Republic Airport recently, filming scenes for an upcoming episode. And once again, they brought a classic airliner in for the shoot. This time, it was the Boeing 707 owned by actor John Travolta. The airplane is restored with historic QANTAS markings, and had temporary Pan Am colors applied for the show.


The transformation complete, the big 707 was ready for her close ups.



The American Airpower Museum once again hosted the production company, with the museum hangar being used to prepare extras, for catering, and as a backdrop for some of the scenes. Spending two nights - all night, until sunrise - with them, gave me the opportunity to meet many of the cast and crew, who were all friendly and happy to talk about their show. Lead actor Mike Vogel, who plays Captain Dean Lowrey on the show, is a pilot himself, and he spend much of his time between shots with museum volunteers, talking aviation.

This time, Republic Airport acted as a stand-in for Haiti, where the crew of Jet Clipper Majestic have to make an emergency landing in an episode titled Unscheduled Departure which will air this Sunday, November 13.