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Discovery Channel, 2002 Unsolved History: The Death of the Red Baron During the summer of 2002, Brian and his former college roommate, Michael Selig, developed a custom flight simulator for a show on the Discovery Channel, titled "Unsolved History: Death of the Red Baron". The show was Episode 9 of the first season of the Unsolved History series. Michael developed the aircraft aerodynamics and engine physics, while Brian created all of the other software (core software, graphics, sounds, bullet physics, controls, and networking). The simulation was developed in only four months (July to October 2002), by working evenings and weekends. Although he was only a junior in high school at the time, Matthew (Brian's son) also played a critical role in the development of the simulation, creating the 3D computer graphics models for the Red Baron's blood-red Fokker DR-1 triplane as well as the two British Sopwith Camel biplanes.
The simulation involved three aircraft, all with realistic aerodynamics and engine effects, and included a ballistics simulation of every bullet fired by the aircraft's machine guns. This could detect if a bullet hit the aircraft's engine or the body of the pilot. Custom networking software allowed three aircraft to be flown simultaneously using three separate computers, allowing a re-creation of the Baron's final flight. Frasca International, Inc. (where Brian was employed at the time) graciously allowed filming of the show to take place in their modern, high-bay factory in Urbana, Illinois. Brian's software included graphics to drive one of Frasca's 3-channel, visual domes, showing a wide-angle view of the action during the re-creation. Filming for the show began around 8:30am (little did anyone know that shooting would continue all day until 10:00pm that evening). After the film crew got the cameras and equipment setup and the flight simulation computers were up and running, a makeup artist came by and applied makeup to Brian and Michael. Next, the bright lights came on and filming began. Filming included various interviews with Brian and Michael about the simulation, the aircraft, the machine guns, and the last flight of the Red Baron. Throughout filming, there were many takes and re-takes. This was often due to a complete lack of any written script. The director would often say, "Let's do that again and say the same thing you just did." That was especially hard, since Brian and Michael were simply describing things in an ad hoc manner.
After about six hours of "interview" filming, the final scene was setup in the 3-channel visual dome, where the Baron's final flight would be re-created. Matthew (who was located off scene) flew as Wilfrid Reid "Wop" May (the Baron's target), with Michael, as the Red Baron, in hot pursuit. Brian flew as Arthur Roy Brown, diving down for a single firing pass on the Baron.
Based on research for the show, Brown did not score any hits on the Baron's aircraft, since he never got close enough. However, several times during filming (and the scene required dozens of takes), Brian's simulated machine gun fire was able to hit the Baron's aircraft engine and sometimes even the Baron himself. When this occurred, the director would yell "Cut", since this was not the desired outcome. Shooting would stop and everyone would have to do it again, and this time, Brian needed to have his shots come close, but not too close to the Baron's aircraft...
After filming was complete, the film crew took down their equipment and the computers were packed. It was the end of a very long and tiring day. As everyone found out much later, the 13+ hours of filming ended up becoming just 5 minutes of "air time" on the show. The program first aired in the USA on Wednesday, 18 December 2002 at 9:00pm ET. It aired repeatedly in the USA for several months and later appeared on television in Canada and in Europe throughout 2003. Even 5-6 years later, it still appeared periodically on the Discovery Channel, sometimes in the middle of the night, offering insomniacs a chance to learn about the Red Baron. (It's a funny feeling to find out that you were on tv last night and didn't even know about it...) Most recently (2018), the show was broadcast on Quest TV, which is a small, nationwide broadcast network that entertains its viewers with "adventure programming". Unfortunately, the show was not produced in "hi-def", so it looks rather old and dated at this point on large tv displays. Brian, Michael, and Matthew were all included in the show's credits and all three have listings in IMDb, the Internet Movie Database, the online database of information related to films and television programs, including cast members and celebrities. Checkout their credits sometime: Brian's Credits on IMDb for "Self" and "Miscellaneous Crew" Michael's Credit on IMDb for "Self" Matthew's Credit on IMDb for "Miscellaneous Crew"
If you are interested, you can watch the show on YouTube:
Or, you can purchase the DVD on Amazon (while supplies last): -- January 2020
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