[xnx]

Can anyone confirm that the helicopter flying over the underpass was actual flying and not VFX or a chopper on a trailer?

There are claims that the stunt pilot flew under (twice!), but it seems like no amount of skill could avoid weird uncontrollable effects from rotor wash.

[rwmj]

https://nedhardy.com/2023/02/12/terminator-2-helicopter/

[ge96]

It's interesting the bridge blocking the rotors didn't make it fall... maybe it's like a pressurized zone of air/ground effect... it's not a perfect vacuum

[sparky_z]

It's confirmed in the DVD commentary. The stunt pilot had to do it at a high enough speed that it would "outrun" the rotor wash.

[jonhohle]

I’m pretty sure the PPV feature the back in 1992 said it was real, and if not that, one of the documentaries on the Laserdiscs or DVDs. Nearly everything, besides the T-1000 morphing was practical. They blew up the front face of a building, jumped a motorcycles (with rigging), jumped through candy glass, and much more.

[markus_zhang]

I saw claims for that in multiple sources. I think they initially wanted to do CG but it was too hard back then so the pilot did it anyway.

[xnx]

It seems so weird that there's no "behind the scenes" type footage.

[kridsdale1]

The link in this thread says the camera team refused to participate so the shot in the film was just James Cameron holding a camera in the back of a truck. Nobody else around to film BTS footage.

[ButlerianJihad]

After the Twilight Zone tragedy, I wouldn’t get involved in such shenanigans either!

[groundzeros2015]

James Cameron claims it’s real. But I think that doesn’t exclude filming slow and speeding up later.