The U.S. Navy Department cooperated fully with the making of this film, which was dedicated to the United States Naval Aviation Service. With war clouds hovering over Europe, the Navy knew that enlistments would increase with the release of the movie, so they eagerly allowed on-location shooting at the Naval Air Training Station in Pensicola, Florida and the Naval Air Station on North Island in San Diego, California, and allowed the use of naval equipment. I was surprised at the clunky WWI biplanes used for training in Pensicola, but was impressed with the huge "flying boats" in San Diego. These were multi-crew seaplanes which were lifted out of the water by huge cranes for storage on land, an impressive sight. The movie is sprinkled with a bit of tedious romantic rivalry between brothers George Brent and John Payne for Olivia de Havilland, some comedy provided by Frank McHugh, and some suspense about the outcome of a test flight of a plane Brent designed. It's very typical of the military films of the period, following a group of would-be pilots, some of whom make it and some of whom don't.