Although not an accurate representation of Col. Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington's famed VMF-214 'Blacksheep' Squadron, the TV series, written and produced by Stephen J. Cannell in his years at Universal, did wonders for the popularity of the Corsair.

Eight Corsairs and a plethora of other aircraft were used in the making of the show, and in the years that followed the series cancellation, the popularity of the Corsair soared to new heights (which is sustained today), thanks to re-runs and syndication. Many more airframes were recovered and/or restored to flying condition.

In 1976 Greg Boyington sold the movie/TV rights for his 1958 book Baa Baa Blacksheep, to Universal. He was listed as "Technical Advisor" for the show, and made a guest appearance in the 1977 episode The Deadliest Enemy of All [Part 2].

Click here for books related to Boyington and VMF-214.

Location:
The pilot movie The Flying Misfits and the series that followed, were filmed at the now closed Indian Dunes Airfield (then a landing strip), in Valencia, CA. (NW of Los Angeles). Located W of I-5 on Highway 126 near the Ventura/LA county line. Latitude 34.42N, Longitude 118.64W. West of Six Flags Magic Mountain Theme Park.

A USGS topographic map of Indian Dunes landing strip, of the era, with Hwy 126 to the north of it.
©Copyright. Map: Courtesy of USGS

When you exit off I-5 onto Hwy 126, the area is located a few miles down the road on the left side. A moto-cross track within the Indian Dunes Park was located adjacent (this was the site where several years later Combat actor Vic Morrow, and two young children, Myca Dinh Le, & Renee Shin-Yi Chen, were tragically killed during the filming of Twilight Zone - The Movie, in the early hours of July 23, 1982. An out of control UH-1 helicopter came down on top of them during a difficult scene. After the airfield closed, it became farming land, and was planned for housing development. If you look closely at some of the flight line scenes in the Baa Baa Blacksheep series, you can spot the traffic on Hwy 126.

The islands that often formed the backdrop for the aerial shots of the overwater scenes are the Santa Rosa & Santa Cruz Islands to the west.

Actor Robert Conrad (himself a pilot) in publicity photos with F4U-7 'Blue Max'.
Photos: Tracey Smiley, courtesy of Universal

Show Information:

The movie-length premiere The Flying Misfits, being episodes 1 and 2, first aired in the U.S. on September 21, 1976. The series that followed ended on April 6, 1978.

Season 1 (episodes 3 - 24), was titled Baa Baa Blacksheep. Season 2 (episodes 25 - 37), was titled Blacksheep Squadron.

Cast:
Regular cast members playing the roles of the Blacksheep, their support crew, and superiors, were: Robert Conrad, James Whitmore Jr., Dirk Blocker, W.K. Stratton, Larry Manetti, Jeff MacKay, John Larroquette, Robert Ginty, Joey Aresco, Steve Richmond (Season 2 only), Simon Oakland, Dana Elcar, Red West (Season 2 only), & Jeb Adams (Season 2 only), and who can forget the white bull terrier "Meatball".

Aircraft:
The following Corsairs participated in the filming of the series. All survive today except for one F4U-7.

VARIANT (BUREAU #)	REGISTRATION, OWNER (THEN)	REGISTRATION, OWNER (TODAY)	STATUS
F4U-1A (Bu # 17799)	N83782. The Air Museum, Ontario, CA.	N83782. Planes of Fame, Chino, CA.	Airworthy
F4U-4 (Bu # 97359)	N97359. Tom Friedkin	N240CA. Doug Matthews, Atlanta, GA.	Airworthy
F4U-7 (Bu # 133693), 'Blue Max'. Used for half day of filming only	N33693. Bob Guilford	Aircraft destroyed in an accident at Brown Field near San Diego in 1987.	Destroyed
F4U-7 (Bu # 133710). Wore Bu # '133714' titles	N33714. John Schafhausen	N811AP. Heritage Aircraft LLC, Manassas, VA.	Airworthy
FG-1D (Bu # 92106)	N6897. David Tallichet	N106FG. Vintage Wings of Canada	Airworthy
FG-1D (Bu # 92132)	N3466G. David Tallichet	N3466G. Under rebuild with the Tri-State Warbird Museum in Batavia, OH.	Rebuild
FG-1D (Bu # 92433)	N3440G. Isaac. N. Burchinal Jr.	N773RD. Tom Duffy, Philadelphia, PA. Some airframe parts from Bu # 92433 used in rebuild of N773RD	Airworthy
FG-1D (Bu # 92629)	N62290. John Stokes.	N62290. Palm Springs Air Museum, CA.	Airworthy

Some cast members (Season 1) pose in front of the ill-fated F4U-7 'Blue Max'.
Left to Right: Dirk Blocker, James Whitmore Jr., W.K. Stratton, Robert Conrad, John Laroquette and Robert Ginty
Photo: Tracey Smiley, courtesy of Universal

Other aircraft types which were used during the course of filming for the series included:

• 'Zeros', 'Kates', and 'Vals' (T-6, Harvard, BT-13/15 airframes) supplied by the CAF (from their Tora Tora Tora group), Air Classics, and David Tallichet.
• Two different DC-3's (one being the DC-3 eventually restored by Delta Airlines, and the other owned by Jim Friedland).
• T-28 Trojan (camera ship)
• Curtiss P-40, used in movie-length premiere The Flying Misfits
• North American SNJ.
• Three North American B-25 Mitchells.
• Two North American P-51 Mustangs.
• Two Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. One of these, N3JB survives today intact. The other, N6961, later crashed at Salt Lake City on April 9, 1981 killing pilot John G. Deahl. The wreck is understood to be at the Planes of Fame, Chino, CA. Used in the episode Hot Shot, with guest star Frank Converse.
• Grumman F6F Hellcat
• Stinson L-5.
• Grumman Duck (believed to be N67790 [Bu # 33587], the same aircraft that was used in the 1974 movie Murphy's War.
• Two Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, seen in the episode WASPS
• Curtiss C-46 Commando
• Beechcraft Twin Beech.
• A glider was used in one episode.

Pilots (all aircraft):
Pilots for the series included: Frank Tallman, Isaac N. Burchinal Jr., Tom Friedkin, Glenn Riley, John Schafhausen, Tom Mooney, Gerald Martin, Steve Hinton, Jim Maloney, Ted Janczerick, Bill Yoak, Mack Sterling, Fred Elsberry, Clay Lacy, Jim Gavin, Frank Sanders and Art Scholl.

FG-1D leads a Corsair formation during filming.
©Copyright. Photo: Armand Veronico Collection

Cast and crew.
Photo: Tracey Smiley, courtesy of Universal

Who could forget Meatball!! (two bull terriers 'played the role').
Photo: Tracey Smiley