Northolt has starred in films several times over the years,partly due to it's proximity to the Pinewood film studio's, but also because the old terminal still looked 1950's era until it's demolition...

Goldfinger feature

Octopussy

The following screen shots are from the opening minutes of the James Bond film, Octopussy, which were filmed in a hanger 311 north side of Northolt in the early eighties, ironically the same hangar that featured in 'Goldfinger' some twenty years previously!

Scenario - James Bond (Roger Moore) is seen 'flying' a Bede Jet through a hanger, then firing a missile which destroys the building...

	The 'Bede' is seen flying towards the open hanger doors (actually a based Ba125 was used!). Note the dumped Argosy (left) and the stored Whirlwind (right, behind a 'guard').
The Bede, (a model!), is seen flying through the hanger with a tail-less Devon centre right. There is also what looks like a T33 mid-centre left. Apparently the model aircraft was mounted atop a pole carried by a Jaguar car which had its roof removed to avoid getting in the shot.
	View of the Bede exiting the hanger, the stored Whirlwind plainly in view.
The Bede passes a based HS125-CC1, it's engine cowlings removed for maintenence
	The Northolt Control Tower is clearly seen in this shot
	The hanger explodes! (The hanger was of course not really blown up and is still in use today.)
Beech 18 N75WB visited Northolt several times in connection with the filming and also visited Pinewood. For filming, the registration was altered to read 'VN75WB'

All credit is due to the film Octopussy for these frame captures

Also that week an RAF Canberra was noted doing an O/Shoot possibly for Sound effect's.
Roger Moore was there too in a large Land Rover and Horse Box, and also of note the backdrop scenery was fake Palm trees.

Thanks go to David Avery for information on the above filming

- Another Bond film, 'Goldfinger' had several scenes filmed here in the mid 1960's. See the link above for details.

- Other filming here, included a scene from the film 'Great Balls of Fire' about Jerry Lee Lewis. The filming involved the presence of a DC3, which however was not included in the film. The scenes that were included were the arrival of Jerry Lee in the UK for his failed tour, plus his departure, both filmed inside the original 'old' terminal building that was replaced a few years ago.
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- A scene for the 'Tomb Raider II' movie was filmed using the hangars and Falcon 2000 G-IBSF on Saturday 14th September 2002. The airfield was purported to be 'Chai Wan private airfield, Hong Kong'. Titles 'CHAI WAN H.K' were applied in big letters on the hangar 5 western doors with Chinese 'equivalent' underneath. The aircraft performed a couple of landings in the early evening after being present from the previous day and departed the next day. The scene included in the film was very short, the highlights shown below.....
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Based Ba125 visible in the hangar

Hangar titles partially visible on this shot, the same area as used in 'Goldfinger', almost 40 years earlier!

- A scene for another James Bond film, 'The World Is Not Enough', was filmed between 15th and 17th April 1999 using Casa 212 F-GOGN. The filming took place around the disused runway 12 threshold, a scene purported to be in Azerbaijan.
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- A scene from the television programme 'New Avengers', an episode entitled 'Sleeper', which included several close up shots of the tower.
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- An advert for a parcels delivery company involving a HPR7 Herald and Anneka Rice.
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Also filmed here were scenes from the film 'Shining Through' during early December 1990, causing the presence of two Dakota's, N3455 which arrived 27/11/90 and G-DAKS/'316299' which arrived on 29/11/90, both staying for several days.

Peter Norris also supplied the following info:
There was another film & TV program made at Northolt in 1964. The film involved using a Derby Airways Argonaut repainted in old BOAC colours and a palm tree on the apron. The TV series was called 'The Plane Makers' , a drama series about, would you believe, an aircraft manufacturer and involved a mock up of a "prototype" fighter. It arrived on the back of a lorry with an authentic RAF serial and caused a good deal of excitement for a couple of hours until we saw them bolting it together!
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John Davison has kindly supplied more information on this subject:

In the TV and
film section of your Northolt website you make reference to an "aircraft" that appeared at Northolt for filming parts of the TV series called "The Plane Makers". This full-sized taxyable model of a vertical take-off aircraft looked rather like a fat Fairey Delta and had a natural metal finish. In the series it was known as the Scott Furlong Predator. The 1980 BARG book "British Military Aircraft Serials and Markings ISBN 0 906339 03 0 includes, at page 411, a monochrome photograph of this model taken by B.Stainer at Biggin Hill in "the early 1960s". It carried the drone serial XS341. There are marquees in the background and portable railings in the foreground, so I would presume that this photograph was taken either at an Air Fair or a "Battle of Britain" display of that era. If I find a date for this model aircraft being at Northolt in my early logs, I will write again. The local press probably featured a picture of it hoisted by a crane to simulate flight, but until we can narrow down the date it would be impractical to search their archives. (photo thanks to BARG)
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An early episode of the TV series 'Yes Minister' titled 'The Official Visit' featured a story regarding the visit of the ruler of 'Burunda' visiting the UK. A 32 sqn Andover had 'Burundan Airways' titles applied and several short shots of the aircraft appeared in the episode, some on a TV screen....

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