Tom Cruise films World War II drama in Victor Valley

APPLE VALLEY — Stars, crews and sets for the Tom Cruise World War II drama “Valkyrie” have been spotted across the Victor Valley this week.

“Tom Cruise came in and out of here almost every day,” said Terry Stover, manager of the Apple Valley Airport.

Stover said Cruise was flown in on a King Air plane, would walk down the ramp and directly onto a helicopter waiting to take him to filming in Lucerne Valley.

Residents have reported seeing tanks on the dry lake bed near Lucerne Valley High School. The area is allegedly being used to recreate Germany’s North African campaign for Cruise’s film, tracing the true story of high-ranking German officers who tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler during the height of World War II, according to the Internet Movie Database.

The Apple Valley Airport also played host to P-40 fighter planes used in the filming for several days over the last week. Stover said one was flown by John Hinton, with Planes of Fame in Chino. Stover said both the pilots and their planes refueled at the airport between filming.

Because of the aircraft involved, a temporary flight restriction was issued for a 1.5-mile radius around Lucerne, from ground level up to 3,700 feet.
“The reason for the flight restriction was to avoid any potential hazards between aircraft used in filming the movie and any other aircraft, including aircraft hired by the paparazzi,” said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Gregor said the restriction was also to prevent damage to passing aircraft from ground effects such as pyrotechnics used during filming.

Dick Pearson, former Apple Valley councilman and a retired Air Force fighter pilot, was surprised to see the restriction. He said the last time he saw one locally was during the Big Bear fire last year, to prevent planes from interfering with firefighting aircraft. (Source: Daily Press)

Share