Role[]
Balto[]
Aircraft appear rarely, however, when the Telegraph Operator called for more medicine, a Bush Plane was to be sent but the inclement weather prevented the engine to start. In its place, a train was sent.
Balto II[]
Aircraft do not appear in this movie.
Balto III: Wings of Change[]
Aircraft play a significant role in the plot, which involves a plane delivering mail faster than Balto's sled team. A decision is made for the sled dog team to race the "Tundra Express", a JN Jenny flown by the dashing Bush Pilot, Duke. During the race, the Tundra Express got lost in a storm, was severely damaged by a tree, and crash landed in a forested part of the tundra. Muk & Luk noted the loud crash to Balto, who rushed to the scene. Upon arrival Balto had discovered that, Duke and Boris, the latter of which had stowed aboard, had survived. Balto took it upon himself to rescue Duke, once again achieving the status of a hero.
Trivia[]
- By 1928, Mail Carrier aircraft were common in the United States, often dropping sacks of mail to isolated settlements. The first aircraft mail service began in 1918, and was between Washington DC and New York City.
- The aircraft depicted in the film is a Curtiss JN Jenny, a military trainer often sold on the civilian market post-World War One. It was often used for mail deliveries among other civilian duties including barnstorming and private transportation.
- The term "Bush Plane" was first coined in 1924, so it is appropriate for the 1928 setting of the film.
- Realistically, when Duke is downed by clipping a tree, his Bush Plane's wing would have been ripped clean off by the trunk and various branches impacted.
