Airwolf: Season 1 Episode 11 Mind of the Machine
Hawke and Dominic are recruited to test out a flight simulator conducted by a former rival.
Series Index
Characters/Groups
Stringfellow Hawke - Jan-Michael Vincent
Michael Coldsmith Briggs III - Alex Cord
Dr. Robert Winchester - David Carradine
Character thumbnails with links to profiles
Detailed Synopsis
Stringfellow Hawke and Dominic are flying Airwolf through a canyon when Hawke complains of the controls being too mushy. Hawke tries to make it out of the canyon walls and they crash. Michael Coldsmith Briggs III, Archangel sticks his head into the cockpit and Dominic tells Dr. Robert Winchester he almost forgot it was a simulation. Hawke gets out and complains about the handling and then tells Winchester he wont be back for another simulation. Dominic asks how the simulation was created and Diana Norris takes him and Marella to show them how it works. Winchester tells Archangel that in order for the next phase to be successful he will need both Airwolf and Hawke. Diana shows Dominic the screen that allows viewers to see what the pilots see. Back at Hawke's cabin, Hawke and Marella try to convince Hawke to return to the simulation. Archangel tells him that with his help they can train other pilots against him when Hawke was in his prime. Marella then mentions how major league baseball teams are using it to map the perfect swing. While getting Airwolf ready for take off, Dominic tells Hawke that it is important to leave something behind and years from now it is great to think that someone will be using the simulator and wondering who Dominic and Hawke are. Diana is conducting the simulation for Winchester, who manages to succeed where Hawke failed.
Hawke and Dominic return to the testing grounds and a telemetry pod is placed in Airwolf's nose. Hawke and Dominic are tested in numerous tests including agility and accuracy in shooting. At the end of the day Winchester and Diana tell Hawke his score, an 87. Hawke angrily disputes the score, but Winchester tells him the computer can't lie. At night, Dominic tries to convince Hawke not to take the tests so personally, he and Hawke then compete on who can do a better coyote howl. At a country bar, Winchester and Diana dance together and they talk about how Hawke will soon be ready to challenge Winchester and he can prove he is better than Hawke. Diana then tells Winchester, Hawke really had a perfect score. Diana spills Winchester's butter onto his lap and as he goes to clean himself up, she talks with Alexi Provov and tells him soon Airwolf will be in Alexi's hands. The next day during the simulation Hawke demands to talk with Winchester after Winchester tells him he missed a target. Winchester then offers Hawke the chance to challenge him in an Airwolf versus Airwolf simulation. Hawke and Dominic return to the lab at night in Airwolf. Diana calls Alexi and tells him Airwolf is at the lab. Hawke and Winchester then compete against each other in the simulator. Suddenly alarms start to go off and Winchester tells Hawke to leave with Airwolf. Hawke and Dominic get Airwolf into the air and shoot at Alexi and his men who are in a firefight with security personnel. The next day Archangel tells Winchester and Diana that their project is shut down due to the security breach and they are under house arrest. Hawke walks up to Winchester and tells him he was a good competitor and offers to take Winchester in Airwolf someday.
Diana tells Winchester that Airwolf records all of its combat encounters. They then watch video recordings of all of Airwolf's encounters. Winchester then remembers that Dr. Moffet had mentioned that Airwolf was like a living thing and Winchester realizes Airwolf's design is in its computer. They then copy Airwolf's specifications onto data tapes. Diana calls Alexi and tells him the plan to escape with Airwolf's specifications. Hawke and Dominic land Airwolf next to Archangel and Marella's limo and they show him photos of men and Hawke and Dominic recognize Alexi as one of them. They then decide that either Diana or Winchester is working with Alexi. A security breach sounds at the lab and Alexi arrives in his helicopter and shoots and kills a couple of members of lab security. Diana pulls out the tapes and tells Winchester she is taking them with her and that he should come with her. Winchester tries to take the tapes, but is shot by Alexi. Diana and Alexi take the tapes and leave in Alexi's helicopter. Archangel and Marella arrive at the lab and Winchester tells them Diana and Alexi stole specifications for Airwolf. Archangel then calls Hawke and asks for help. Hawke and Dominic chase after Alexi. Diana uses a program to predict the movements of Airwolf and takes its weapons off line. Winchester tells Archangel to tell Hawke to turn off the computer system. Hawke and Dominic then manually control their weapons and shoot Alexi's helicopter out of the sky, killing him and Diana. Hawke lands back at the lab and picks up Winchester to take him to the hospital. On their way he notices Winchester grabbing towards the controls and allows him to fly Airwolf. Winchester dies and Hawke takes over the controls.