Spencer's Pilots - Episode Guide

This time Spencer Parish and his pilots are involved in a case of industrial espionage. A drone (a radio-controlled airplane) which was developed by Cat Atkins, an old friend of Spencer's, falls in the hands of two employees of Atkins' who have stolen the airplane and put it for the highest bidding as a deadly weapon. This situation endangers the lives of Spencer's pilots.

A seemingly routine flight carrying convicted murderer Gordon Locke and the deputy sheriff escorting him from northern California to imprisonment becomes a hazardous one for Cass and Stan when the 'deputy" proves to be Locke's confederate who has engineered an escape plot that unfolds after takeoff. When the plane crash lands, Stan finds himself stranded and with a sprained ankle.

Annette Collier's, an industrialist's daughter, anticipated flying lesson with Cass Garrett becomes a kidnapping-extortion nightmare when one of her father's employees hijacks the airplane. The only clue to the whereabouts of Cass's hijacked plane is a jumbled radio message Stan (Todd Susman) believes is in code. The abductors are demanding US$600.000 from her father, Herbert Collier.

A scheming crop duster (Cameron Mitchell) hires Cass to fly one of his planes. Little does he know that our boy is on assignment by the government to see if he is doing something illegal (of course, he is) behind that crop-dusting front.

Half a dozen fishing trips Cass, Stan and an advertising man have taken to a mountain lake prove to be the cover for an espionage plot that endangers the pilots' lives and threatens to blow up a top-secret experimental fuel plant.

Stan and Cass manage to convince Spencer to work with them in the acquisition of a "bargain": an old twin-engine propeller. Nevertheless, when the two friends see their new purchase, they suffer another disappointment: the old airplane is in a deplorable state. Lest Spencer's reaction, Stan and Cass decide to take the plane to the mechanic Wig Wiggins, even at the cost of interrupting his vacation, to tidy it up a bit. En route to Spencer Aviation, Cass and Stan help Susan, a pregnant hitchhiker, search for her husband, who works in the oil fields.

The brave survivor of a desert plane crash tests her mettle as well as that of Spencer, Cass and Stan when the burning heat and their Injuries combine to jeopardize their lives.

Cass, accompanied by Stan, substitute temporarily for a friend as a helicopter pilot for tourists at San Pedro port. One day, Marie, a young woman climbs aboard as passenger and once in flight she beseeches that Cass and Stan land at sea upon his grandfather's yacht. After their refusal, Marie proceeds to explain her situation. She is Marie Delagar, the granddaughter of a man sought by hired killers and asks Cass and Stan to get him out of the country.

After serving 26 years in prison, a demolition expert sets about the task of killing the man whose testimony helped to put him behind bars. Two explosions at Spencer Aviation have the look of sabotage. Someone is out to get Spencer. This is deduced from the fact two explosions rip part of the Spencer Aviation facilities in a short period. In addition, there is a suspicion that a bomb may be rigged to Spencer's sailplane.

Willie Hunt, a destitute pilot suffering from blackouts, defies his doctor's orders and volunteers to help Spence (Gene Evans) transport a shipment of high explosives. Befriending the old pilot who is suffering a serious ailment puts Cass in a precarious position when the older man has a blackout while flying the deadly shipment.

Philo McGrew challenges Stan and Cass to perform some risky air tricks during an air show in Arizona. Starring in "Spencer's Pilots" are Christopher Stone (who appeared in "The Interns") as ex-air force flyer Cass Garrett, the hot pilot of the company whose sense of responsibility overrides his penchant for derring-do. Todd Susman (who has been seen in "M*A*S*H") as younger pilot Stan Lewis, who admires Cass and almost matches him in aerial skills; and Gene Evans (who starred in the first color television series, "My Friend Flicka") as charter owner Spencer Parish, an old-school flyer.

Also starring are Margaret Impert (who has been seen in "Cannon") as Linda Dann, a liberated woman who runs the Spencer Aviation office; and Britt Leach (who has appeared in "Popi" on the Network) as Mickey (Wig) Wiggins. Spencer's ever-reliable mechanic.

Bill Bixby (who formerly starred in "My Favorite Martian" on the Network) guest stars as daredevil stunt flyer Philo McGrew, who inveigles his friend Chris and, ultimately, Stan and Spencer to perform two dangerous stunts at an Arizona Air Show Linda Kelsey also guest stars as Philo's wife Cynthia.

(This movie was the pilot for the series)