10 Best Aviation Movies of All Time

Dreaming of a high-flying, heart-pounding, cloud-surfing aviation movie?

There’s a wide variety of movies for aviation enthusiasts. Action/adventure flicks are always popular with us, but then there are also comedies, war movies, documentaries, and biopics.

And, of course, there are also space movies, which may deserve their own category but are very much connected to aviation, aerospace, and general flying-machine awesomeness. 

Here are ten of your best aviation movies the next time you want to sit down and enjoy a great pilot movie. 

Best Aviation Movies for Pilots

Looking at this list, you might wonder, what makes a good aviation movie?

Pilots demand a lot from Hollywood. Nothing rubs us the wrong way faster than fake Hollywood radio comms or 747s being used for short-hauls from Atlanta to Miami.

Unfortunately, that sort of thing is all too common when the flying is incidental to the movie.

But just because there’s a plane scene in the movie does not make it an aviation movie!

The best plane flicks are focused on flying and keep it real. Pilots being pilots, and aircraft strutting their stuff on screen. So break out the popcorn and kick up your La-Z-Boy — here are ten must-see movies for aviation fans everywhere.

Top Gun (1986) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Fly into the ‘danger zone’ with Maverick — whether you’ve never seen it or have seen it a dozen times, it doesn’t matter.

The original hot-shot fighter jock, Maverick takes charge at the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School in his F-14 Tomcat. 

And the 2022 sequel? Many turn their nose up at sequels, but this one proved them all wrong.

It’s an amazing and fun trip down memory lane and a great aviation movie in its own right.

But would that F-14 still have been airworthy? Never mind, it’s awesome; go watch it. 

Airplane! (1979)

“Surely, you can’t be serious.”

“I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.” 

Infinitely quotable, 1979’s Airplane! was a spoof of the earlier movie Zero Hour.

But that flick basically faded from popular memory, whereas Airplane! became a cult classic (especially among the cult of pilots and aviation nerds everywhere). From Otto the Pilot to coping with drinking problems, the movie is still wildly inappropriate and hilarious.

It’s impossible not to love this movie, even if you don’t speak Jive. 

Air America (1990)

Mel Gibson and Robert Downey, Jr. star as cargo pilots working in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, unwittingly working for the CIA.

Crazy situations ensue, they get shot down a few times, etc. T

his movie gets negative reviews for a myriad of reasons, but a lack of cool flying scenes isn’t one of them.

Pushing Tin (1999)

John Cusack stars as a hot-shot air traffic controller in this look behind the radar scope at New York TRACON.

He winds up in a battle of the hand-offs with a newly transferred controller played by non-other-than Billy Bob Thorton.

Nothing clears your head like the wake turbulence from a 747.

The Right Stuff (1983)

It’s a little long-winded at times, but this film gives a historically accurate look at the US side of the Space Race of the 1950s and 1960s.

From the test pilots who flew in the first Mercury and Gemini space capsule missions to the tragedy of Apollo 1, The Right Stuff looks at those early space pioneers and the machines they flew.

Based on the book by Tom Wolfe.

Apollo 13 (1995)

It would be a crime to compile a list of movies without including something starring Tom Hanks, right?

But for this one, let’s not forget Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise, and director Ron Howard.

Apollo 13 is a movie you must not miss, whether you’re a pilot or not. The drama and the accuracy of the portrayal of the plight of Apollo 13, which suffered an oxygen tank leak on its way to the moon, is one of the most memorable aviation movies out there.

And watching this movie today, it’s impossible not to be awestruck by what NASA could accomplish with 1960s technology.

The Aviator (2004)

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the singular Howard Hughes, the billionaire and Hollywood tycoon with a serious airplane problem.

The film chronicles Hughes’ attempts to make the movie Hells Angels (1930), which featured a level of aviation stuntwork that the world had never seen. Hughes goes on to build his H-1 Racer, win speed records, and start up one of the world’s most iconic airlines: TWA.

While the movie spends more time on Hughes’ personal issues than on the flying, the flying is still pretty dang cool.

And Hughes can only be described as one of the most interesting and colorful characters in the last 100 years of aviation.

Blue Thunder (1983)

Helicopter fans, don’t feel left out. If you were ever a fan of the TV show Airwolf, you need to see Blue Thunder.

A similar sort of super-weapon helicopter, the Blue Thunder, is being tested by the LA Police Department.

High-flying air-to-air battles ensue, and let’s be honest — there’s just not much cooler than super-helicopter air battles. 

Sully (2016)

Tom Hanks stars as Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, PIC of US Airways Flight 1549 — the flight that became known as the ‘Miracle on the Hudson.’ 

When the Airbus hit a flock of geese and lost all power just after takeoff, Sully calmly and cooly glided the plane to a touchdown in the river.

His actions saved all on board the aircraft and reminded us all that a glider lesson or two is a pretty sound investment.

Amelia (2009)

Hilary Swank stars as the indomitable Amelia Earhart.

While many know the story and mysteries surrounding her tragic final flight, the movie reminds us of the aviatrix who broke records and loved flying.

It documents her attempt to become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe by airplane and how that all ended, with vignettes and flashbacks to all the past accomplishments that helped her reach that moment.