FOCUS ON SPINDRIFT

One of the most popular aspects of Irwin Allen’s ‘Land of The Giants’ TV series is the ‘little peoples’ spacecraft, ‘Spindrift’.

Considering it was very rarely seen flying in the series, and spent the most part covered in moss, it still inspired the imagination of fans, and lovers of sci-fi vehicles, who have speculated on many different aspects of the ship, some seen in the series and some imaginary.

So, what do we know about the ship? It’s obviously an advanced design using some exotic propulsion system that is apparently able to recharge itself.  When it’s fully charged the side intakes flash red, and when it’s charging it flashes blue.

The back wall of the six -seater passenger compartment flashes to relax the passengers and to indicate the state of the charge (Although, I’d imagine that a gauge in the cockpit might do the same thing, and any passenger with epilepsy might have a problem)

One thing that does bug me about the seats in the passenger compartment is they are not secured to the floor, so there's not much point in having a safety belt as you just end up with a chair on top of you in an accident!

The cockpit has a radar scanner which can detect movement outside the ship, and a powerful radio which manages to pick up the Earthlings rechargeable walkie -talkies anywhere on the Giant’s planet.  The antennae array is situated on the roof of the ship behind the oval crimson/milky white coloured blister.

There’s also a specific radio room in the ship, which also contains a removable ‘astrogator’ which engineer Mark alters to act as a tracker when the ship is taken by an escaped prisoner.  Although it’s rare for the ship to fly in the show, it does get moved a few times, even ending up in a Giant’s house in the episode ‘Shell Game’

The engine room contains a Delta system which powers the atomic motors. This must be used with care as when tinkered with causes mass hallucinations which cover areas beyond the forest which hides the Earthling’s ship. (Nightmare)

In the episode ‘Manhunt’, co-pilot Dan uses the Beta control which produces a surge of power, although, according to pessimistic Mark, this could result in blowing the engines.

There’s also a galley, restroom and workshop, and at the far end of the stairwell, a storage compartment which is handy for storing knotted rope, giant safety pins and matchstick razorblade axes.

The front of the ship has powerful front floodlights and an extendable towing arm attachment, although in the series we never see any specific landing gear; however there is a small retractable set of steps below the single hatch.

I’m sure there’s lots of other details about the ‘Spindrift ‘  that I haven’t discovered yet, like where do those other extra rooms actually fit into the ship, or how would a six-seater  space liner  be economically viable, or should I simply just enjoy this super ship from  Irwin Allen’s imagination.

Next time – Spindrift model kits