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Jock Lindsey was a pilot that was often employed by Indiana Jones that was introduced in the opening sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark. He would later become a member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers.

History[]

Backstory[]

1920s[]

Jock Lindsey was a skilled American aviator and pilot in the early half of the 20th century who frequently worked as a stunt-pilot in air-shows. In 1925 he performed in Bessie Coleman's Flying Circus under legendary and progressive aviatrix Bessie Coleman.[1] On the February 9 of 1929, Jock won first-place in the Midwest Races & Stunt Shows due to his skills in aerial maneuvers.[2] Also in 1929, Jock won the national air-races held in Cleveland, Ohio.[3]

1930s[]

At some point during or prior to 1931, Jock established the Air Pirates Circus which performed stunts and feats of aviation. This club and Lindsey himself were taken into the Chicago Aviators & Aviatrices Flying Club where in 1931 they were given annual stunt-show honours.[4]

Jock moved to Venezuela due to a love for the calm airs of South and Central America however one belief asserts he might have moved due to an aircraft accident.[5] Jock was fairly well liked and made solid contacts for himself in the airfields which he visited while working as a freelance pilot. Jock predominately used his sea-plane the OB-CPO and travelled with his pet boa Reggie.

Jock was frequently hired by Indiana Jones to take him to different destinations around the world in the OB-CPO. It is believed (but not fully confirmed) that Jock was Indy's pilot in 1931 on his expedition to the Lost River Delta of Cuzco, Peru to work with the League of Adventurers and uncover the Temple of the Crystal Skull. If true then at this time, Jock would have been affiliated with the local Piranha Aviation and flown a sea-plane known as the C3PO rather than the OB-CPO.

In 1934 Jock piloted Jones when when the archaeologist was searching for the Calendar of the Sun in South America. The two however frequently butted heads due to Jones having been a stern and intense man while Lindsey was laid back and care-free. Jones also suffered from a crippling case of ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) due to a snake-related trauma from his youth resulting in him and Jones frequently arguing about Lindsey's bringing Reggie on missions. Also in 1934, Jock was involved with the MacRobertson Trophy Air Race of Australia.

In the June of 1936, Jock took Indiana Jones and his Marshall College affiliate Marcus Brody to an uncharted Tibetan river.[6] On this mission, the three sought after an artifact known as the key to the Tomb of the Gods which was in the posession of one Alex Beresford-Hope. During this adventure, the OB-1 careened off of a cliff when encountered by bandits leading the team to disembark. Jock stayed behind to repair his plane and at some point after this adventure, Jock travelled to Shanghai where he spent time in the infamous Club Obi Wan and was robbed by the pick-pocket, "Short Round".

In the July of 1936, Jock took Jones to the jungles of Peru to search for the Chachapoyan Fertility Idol with assistance from a man named Diego.[7] The adventurers were however beaten by Jones' rival archaeologist René Belloq who manipulated the local Hovitos tribe into attacking Jones with him making a narrow escape on the OB-CPO. Jones and Lindsey went drinking in the Python bar of Caracas following this failed mission and later Jock flew Indy to the Himalayas to reunite with his past flame Marion Ravenwood who had a medallion needed to find the Ark of the Covenant.

In 1938, Jock and his Air Pirates Circus performed in Bigelow's Air Circus in Los Angeles, California. Within Bigelow's circus, Jock became acquainted with fellow pilots Cliff Secord and Pancho Barnes. Around this time, Jock also travelled to the headquarters of the Jungle Navigation Company to dine at the Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen, a dining-service established in the headquarters by JNC president Alberta Falls. Jock attended the Skipper Canteen around the same time that it was frequented by the eccentric professor The Dreamfinder and English witch-doctor Colonel Nedley Lostmore though Jock would leave his toolbox behind at the establishment, potentially with Reggie inside. The toolbox was put up in the JNC's lost & found, awaiting Jock's return to pick it up.

Also in 1938, Jock and Indy would search for the Fountain of Youth in central Florida, frustrating Jones when deciding to stop at the tourist attraction in Saint Augustine. While flying over the sleepy town of Disney Springs, Jock was so inspired by the waters that he would later settle there. In 1939, Jock performed again for Bigelow's Air Circus with Secord and Barnes in Los Angeles.[8]

1940s[]

In the year 1940, Jock took to testing out a variety of new airplanes. Jock's method for testing came from using these planes to fly around the world to different drinking establishments. Among these establishments were the historic Lapin Agile in Paris, France, the Bar Pilota in Venice, Italy, and the Café Noir in Brussels, Belgium. Ultimately, Jock decided the best of the airplanes which he used was a DC-3 airplane called the G-CFO.

In the September through October of 1943, Jock and Reggie travelled to the Nile river in Africa and went on several adventures including having been attacked by blowdart wielding natives and shown the world-famous Schweitzer Falls by a skipper for the Jungle Navigation Company. At some point during the 1940s, Jock was inducted into the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, an international secret-society of romance, adventure, discovery and innovation.

After Indiana returned from the war, Jock and Indiana flew Indiana to Alaska to take reconnaissance photos of the Aleutian Islands where he discovered an ancient Chinese temple. Jones and Jock were attached by a band of pirates lead by Emerelda Vasquez while meeting up with captain Simon Katanga. While Jock, Jones and Katanga managed to succeed over the pirates, it was this job which had Jock start to lose his spirit for high-stakes adventures and wish to settle down. The August 30th of this year, Jock and Reggie participated in the National Air Races.[9]

In the January of 1948 Jock, started looking for a place to settle down and then chose to permanently settle in Disney Springs and had a large hangar constructed for himself along the water at 1138 Seaton Avenue. Jock developed the reputation of being a mysterious local adventurer in Disney Springs. Locals also became accustomed to Jock having long disappearances and stashing odd objects in his hangar. From the hangar, Jock lead seaplane tours for Florida locals through his company, "Jock Lindsey's "Air Tours"".

Jock also invited several other members of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers to visit the hangar. He became particularly close with members of the S.E.A. splinter-faction, "The Adventurers Club". Through unknown means, Jock was left in possession of a statue of the goddess Babylonia which had previously been located in the headquarters of the Adventurers Club on the presumably abandoned Pleasure Island. At some point between 1942 and 1955, Jock either crashed into the water or abandoned ship and parachuted into the water during a flight connecting South America to Africa which earned him a membership into the, "Goldfish Club".

1950s[]

At some point after settling in Disney Springs, Lindsey was wired $500 dollars by Dr. Jones who sent him to Marakesh to track down the Chachapoyan Idol from an unknown party connected to the now deceased Belloq with Lindsey having had succeeded.[10] Lindsey later kept the idol on a shelf within the Hangar Bar for apparent safekeeping. At some point, Jock was left in possession of three, "Voodoo" dolls created by Indian priest Mola Ram in the likenesses of Indiana Jones and his accomplices Short Round and Willie Scott.[11] The previous owner of these dolls was one Trader Sam, another affiliate of Indiana Jones and the Adventurers Club who was entrusted with the dolls for safekeeping. It is likely that Jock either received these dolls c. 1960 to keep permanently or that he returned them to Trader Sam at some point in time.

Around 1954/1955, Jock did mysterious work for the United States Navy. The nature of this mission remains a mystery however it is known that it involved Jock's affiliates on the mission scuba-diving and Jock himself using a diving-bell. Following this expedition, Jock was left in possession of the diving-bell which he brought back to his hangar and used as a booth.[12] When reporter Joe Tankerskley of The Source Gazette interviewed Jock on the nature of this mission in 1955, Jock responded only that he'd, "Been doing work for the U.S. Navy".

In 1955, Jock turned the hangar into, "Jock Lindsey's Hangar" with members of the Adventurers Club having joined him in the opening festivities. Jock became well acquainted with the club and its members such as Otis T. Wren and Samantha Sterling who frequented the Hangar Bar in the 1950s. From this bar, Lindsey apparently became acquainted with the town mayor, keeping a private alcohol reserve for him. Other notable patrons of this bar included the likes of billionaire Howard Hughes, industrialist Howard Stark, Pancho Barnes, Indiana Jones, historic aviator Charles Lindbergh, one Theron S., fellow bar-owner Marion Ravenwood, and painter B. Ricci who made a portrait of Jock. Notably employees of Jock's within this bar included Jeff and, "D".

Development history[]

Jock Lindsey is a character who first appeared in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark where he was played by actor Fred Sorensen. In 2015, Jock was made subject to the Indiana Jones themed restaurant, Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar in Disney Springs. Jock in the films was played by professional pilot Fred Sorenson and story-beats in the Hangar Bar reflect the real Sorenson's history. Sorenson opted for a quiet life as a pilot rather than returning to do more films with Spielberg, reflecting Lindsey's relationship with Jones in lore. Fred also saved Steven Spielberg from a hurricane on the isle Kauai with a tribute to this in the Hangar Bar.

Appearances and allusions[]

Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar[]

Jock's bar contains a number of his personal mementos from his years of adventuring, including material chronicling his and Dr. Jones's Florida expeditions.

Lost River Delta[]

A seaplane modelled after the OB-CPO with the ID C-3PO is parked along the rivers of the Lost River Delta, implied to be used by Indiana Jones on his 1931 mission to the Temple of the Crystal Skull. While it is unknown if the sea-plane belongs to Jock Lindsey (in part because the Hangar Bar's flight-log begins in 1936), the implication is clearly for it to represent Lindsey's plane from the film. A logo on the plane's tail reads, "Piranha Aviation", the same group which runs the, "Hangar Stage" of the Lost River Delta.[13]

Skipper Canteen[]

On the Lost and Unfound shelf in this restaurant is a toolbox with a note saying that it belongs to, "J. Lindsey". A warning on the box says that it might contain a live-snake.[14]

Connections[]

Adventurers Club[]

Several members of the Adventurers Club attended the opening of Jock Lindsey's bar in 1955. There are several photographs of club members and the passport of Samantha Sterling in the lost & found. Objects in Jock's possession also reference the club such as him having the statue of the goddess Babylonia and an ice-machine coming from the, "Yakoose Ice Co. Est. 1938".

Cars[]

There are scrapped airplane parts in this bar with the logo of Skipper Riley, the anthropomorphic airplane and deuteragonist of the film Planes (2013).[15] It is unknown was position the Cars franchise has intersecting with the parks mythos. It can however be assumed that it exists in a separate continuity due to not every Disney Parks character being a form of anthropomorphic vehicle.

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye[]

In the lost & found of the Hangar Bar is a depiction of Mara and her temple. On the map detailing Jock's adventures, the eye of Mara is located overtop of India, referencing the temple's location in the Lost Delta. It Jock was affiliated with the Lost Delta Archaeological Expedition, it is more than likely that it would have been in 1935 of at-least prior to the June 3 of 1936 as by that point Jock started a new flight-log which makes no reference to the Lost Delta.

Jungle Cruise[]

Jock Lindsey was a patron of the skipper canteen in the JNC's headquarters and was shown Schweitzer Falls by a JNC skipper. The lost & found of his bar also contains a shrunken-head next to several umbrellas, potentially inferring that Chief Nah-mee was a patron.

Jurassic Park[]

There is also a tooth of a Tyrannosaurus-Rex on display which is said to be a gift from, S. with the message, "Thanks for getting me off the island". This is an allusion to director Steven Spielberg (1946-present) who directed the Indiana Jones films as-well as the film Jurassic Park (1993) where scientists in the 1990s create an island theme-park with genetically engineered dinosaurs. In 1993 these dinosaurs escaped after a hurricane, most notable amongst them being a ravenous T-Rex.

This note was reportedly created and left in the bar by Spielberg in tribute to Jock Lindsey's actor Fred Sorenson. The note from S. references Hurricane Iniki which struck Kauaʻi in 1992 when Spielberg was filming Jurassic Park (1993). At Spielberg's request, Sorenson piloted a helicopter to the island during the hurricane and rescued the film's crew.

Marvel Comics[]

Stark Industries founder and S.H.I.E.L.D. co-founder Howard Stark was a patron of Jock Lindsey's Bar. By the 2010s, the town of Disney Springs also served as a base of operations for S.H.I.E.L.D.. It might be worth noting that said base was located in the neighbourhood of West Side which was constructed in the 1950s. This is noteworthy as Howard Stark would have had to of visited the bar during or following the year 1955, meaning SHIELD's presence in the town could be dated to whenever Stark visited the bar.

Howard's son Tony Stark AKA Iron Man is also referenced in the Hangar Bar via a scrapped airplane with the words, "Iron Human" underneath albeit with the H and U being blotted out by ink, making it say, "Iron Man". It is likely that this reference is simply an easter-egg though there is room for the possibility that it is connected to Stark's history. It is worth noting that in the backstory for Avengers Campus, Howard Stark previously ran experimental colonies in Orange, California and Paris, France which Tony later turned into superhero outposts.

The Rocketeer[]

In his bar, Jock is shown to be in possession of coasters from the South Seas Club featured in the film. A banner for Bigelow’s Air Circus performing in 1938 in Chaplin Airfield, Los Angelos is hung on one a wall with later Society of Explorers and Adventurers member Jock Lindsey having been a part of the Air Pirates Circus which participated in it. A poster for the circus can also be found for an October of 1939 performance which not only featured Jock Lindsey, but also Cliff Secord himself. The keys of historic aviator Howard Hughes whose fictionalized counterpart engineered the rocket pack are located in the lost & found.

Star Tours[]

Jock's plane the OB-CPO is an allusion to the Star Wars characters Obi-Wan Kenobi and C-3PO. In the Disney Parks, C3PO is notably featured in the attraction Star Tours: The Adventurers Continue. Star Tours is further alluded to in the Hangar Bar where there is a salvaged airplane built into the bar with the codes "RTO D-2" and, "RXE 2-4" referencing R2-D2 from Star Wars and RX-24 from Star Tours. It is worth noting that on one of the shelves is a 1940s Rolls Royce Derwent jet engine. This prop is notable as in the Star Wars films it was used to portray drink dispensers in the Mos Eisley Cantina and the head of robot bounty-hunter IG-88.

Trivia[]

  • In the Daily Gnus newspaper from the Adventure Trading Company is an advert for a man named, "Jacque" selling baby snakes.[16] It is possible that this was a misprint of, "Jock" given how the newspaper and attraction make several references to S.E.A. and Indiana Jones with Jock being affiliated as both and having a pet snake.
  • In real-life, Fred Sorenson was born in 1949 and was 32 when he played Jock Lindsey.[17] As Raiders of the Lost Ark is set in 1936, it is possible that Jock Lindsey was born around 1904. If this is true, it would mean that Jock was 34 when he first traveled to Disney Springs, 44 when he settled in Disney Springs, and 51 when he opened the bar.
  • Lindsey's address of 1138 Seaton Avenue is a tribute to George Lucas' film THX 1138 (1971).
  • Jock Lindsey is similar to the character of Trader Sam from the Jungle Cruise in that they are both bar-keeps that are affiliates with Indiana Jones and the Adventurers Club.
  • Jock Lindsey and Captain Mary Oceaneer are the two members of S.E.A. who exist chronologically furthest on the timeline, having both been active in the 1950s.

External links[]

References[]

  1. https://allears.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/bessie-coleman-e1550861740439.jpg
  2. https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Jock-Lindseys-Hangar-Bar-15-0020.jpg
  3. https://atdisneyagain.com/2016/01/25/runaway-to-relaxation-jock-lindseys-hangar-bar/#jp-carousel-15152
  4. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgq9AQAleiI/
  5. Raiders of the Lost Ark Sourcebook (1994)
  6. https://www.mousesteps.com/2015/09/23/jock-lindsey-s-hangar-bar-opens-at-disney-springs-food-drink-review-detailed-tour/
  7. https://www.instagram.com/p/BofvrFVFZdZ/
  8. https://thehobbitholeplusme.wordpress.com/2017/09/19/jet-packing-around-disney-world-looking-for-the-rocketeer/
  9. https://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/jock-lindseys-hangar-bar-updated-menu-review-and-happy-hour-revisited/
  10. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgq1aEtFRHX/
  11. https://allears.net/2019/02/27/grab-your-whips-and-satchels-here-are-all-the-cool-indiana-jones-hidden-details-at-jock-lindseys-hangar-bar/
  12. http://www.mainstgazette.com/2016/01/mysterious-diving-bell-appears.html
  13. https://allears.net/2008/07/03/tokyo-disneysea-lost-river-delta/
  14. http://www.mainstgazette.com/2016/05/lost-and-unfound.html
  15. https://insidethemagic.net/2015/09/jock-lindseys-hangar-bar-opens-at-walt-disney-world-inspired-by-indiana-jones-packed-with-movie-nods-to-star-wars-pixar-and-more/
  16. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=871455071077&set=oa.1903682069948046
  17. https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2019/06/fred-sorenson-celebrates-his-70th-birthday-at-jock-lindseys-hangar-bar-at-disney-springs/
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