One of Airwolf's creators, Dr. Moffett, steals the bird during a demonstration, destroys all the schematics, and flies it to Libya, where he runs death missions for Quadafi in exchange for being treated like royalty. Unable to build another Airwolf, The Firm recruits their best pilot, Stringfellow Hawke, to retrieve Airwolf and bring it back safely. All Hawke wants in return is for The Firm to locate his brother Sinjin, who has been M.I.A. since the Vietnam War.

Hawke succeeds in getting back Airwolf, with the help of his co-pilot and friend Dominic "Dom" Santini, but The Firm doesn't keep their end of the bargain. So Hawke hides Airwolf in a remote desert location, refusing to return it to The Firm until they locate his missing brother. Until they do that, he will not return the bird. And as an insurance policy, Hawke informs The Firm that if he doesn't make a certain phone call every 24 hours, Airwolf will be destroyed.

Unwilling to sacrifice Airwolf, The Firm agrees to his demands. They will help him search for his brother and keep Hawke out of the government's hands. But Hawke must agree to fly secret Airwolf missions for The Firm--and sometimes for himself--as needed. Together with Dom, Hawke is sent on mission after deadly mission, operating outside the law but for the sake of hunting evil, all the while waiting for any news of his brother's fate.

Rescuing the Airwolf helicopter from Libyan hands, Hawke keeps the chopper as collateral, on the condition the government help find his brother, Saint John, who was listed missing-in-action in Vietnam in 1969. The missions that Hawke undertakes would never get congressional approval.

Airwolf is based on ultra-state of the art helicopter aircraft capabilities of the mid 80s. The helicopter could reach mach 1+ speed and had the most powerful weapons in the air. It is invisible to radar and pursued by every military and secret service organisation in the world. Airwolf comes equipped with fourteen firepower options ranging from 30 millimetre cannons to nuclear-tipped shrike missiles. However, it was the offsetting of real life drama with believable characters against the backdrop of technology that made Airwolf so popular and fondly remembered.

The series was created by Donald P. Bellisario, who had been supervising producer on Battlestar Galactica and creator and executive producer on Magnum p.i. and the production values were always of high standard.

The series blended technology with classic old school acting. The series utilised two Hollywood stars for the lead roles. Jan-Michael Vincent was a bright hope in the 70s, whilst Ernest Borgnine was one of the most instantly recognisable movie stars of the 20th century.

Jan-Michael Vincent had spent some time in the wilderness after he had made his name in the early 70s with appearances in films such as The Mechanic and The World's Greatest Athlete. His role as Byron Henry in the epic mini-series The Winds Of War opened up the possibility of a t.v. series to him.

Ernest Borgnine lent the series an absolute gravity. Borgnine was one of those rare actors who regenerated his popularity throughout the decades. In the fifties he was known for his role as Fatso Judson, the army sergeant who killed Frank Sinatra in From Here To Eternity, and his Oscar-winning performance as the shy Brooklyn butcher who finds love against the odds in Marty. In the sixties he was known for his ensemble playing in The Dirty Dozen and The Wild Bunch. The 80s made him a cult star in Airwolf, and he was more recently seen performing a superb cameo in Gattaca.

Although not a huge success when first broadcast, the cult that has grown up around Airwolf is formidable. If you haven't yet partaken, come and join us here at Playback and marvel at the technology and the strength of performances in Airwolf.