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 northside of Northolt in the early eighties.

James Bond (Roger Moore) is seen 'flying' a Bede Jet through a hanger, then firing a missile which destroys the building...
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The 'Bede' is seen flying towards the open hanger doors (looks more like a 125 to me!). Note the dumped Argosy (left) and the stored Whirlwind (right, behind a 'guard').

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The Bede, (presumably 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.

View of the Bede exiting the hanger, the stored Whirlwind plainly in view.
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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

- 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 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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