Movies Like Pancho Barnes

If you liked Pancho Barnes (1988), a drama and adventure movie directed by Richard T. Heffron, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
The Aviator (2004)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
A biopic depicting the life of filmmaker and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes from 1927 to 1947, during which time he became a successful film producer and an aviation magnate, while simultaneously growing more unstable…
2
Propeller One-Way Night Coach (2026)
★ 6.2/10Also adventure and drama
During the golden age of aviation, a young airplane enthusiast and his mother embark on a cross-country journey to Hollywood—and their simple flight transforms into the trip of a lifetime.
3
Flyboys (2006)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.
4
American Underdog (2021)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
The true story of Kurt Warner, who went from a stockboy at a grocery store to a two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion, and Hall of Fame quarterback.
5
Fate Is the Hunter (1964)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
An airline executive refuses to believe that pilot error, by his friend, caused a fatal crash and persists in looking for another reason.
6
No Highway in the Sky (1951)
★ 7/10Also drama
James Stewart plays aeronautical engineer Theodore Honey, the quintessential absent-minded professor: eccentric, forgetful, but brilliant. His studies show that the aircraft being manufactured by his employer has a…
7
Momo (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also adventure
Momo is a young orphan girl who lives in the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and becomes friends with everybody in the neighborhood. But when a powerful international corporation starts stealing everybody’s time…
8
The High and the Mighty (1954)
★ 5.9/10Also adventure and drama
Dan Roman is a veteran pilot haunted by a tragic past. Now relegated to second-in-command cockpit assignments he finds himself on a routine Honolulu-to-San Francisco flight that takes a terrifying turn when disaster…
9
The Rocketeer (1991)
★ 6.5/10Also adventure
A stunt pilot comes across a prototype jetpack that gives him the ability to fly. However, evil forces of the world also want this jetpack at any cost.
10
Bruised (2021)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
Jackie Justice is a mixed martial arts fighter who leaves the sport in disgrace. Down on her luck and simmering with rage and regret years after the fight, she's coaxed into a brutal underground fight by her manager…
11
True Grit (1969)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and adventure
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of…
12
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
A runaway orphan, young Sonora, persists in a menial job mucking stables in Doc Carver's travelling stunt show. Her great wish is to become a death-defying "diving girl," but Doc refuses her pleas. Undaunted, Sonora's…
13
Rogue Agent (2022)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
14
The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)
★ 6.1/10Also adventure
Based on an "actual event" that took place in 1943. About a US Navy Destroyer Escort that disappeared from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and sent two men 40 years into the future to 1984.
15
Interceptor (2022)
★ 6/10Also adventure
A U.S. Army Captain uses her years of tactical training to save humanity from sixteen nuclear missiles launched at the U.S. as a violent attack threatens her remote missile interceptor station.
16
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
★ 8.2/10Also drama
After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates…
17
On a Wing and a Prayer (2023)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
After their pilot dies unexpectedly mid-flight, passenger Doug White must safely land a plane and save his entire family from insurmountable danger.
18
The Boy Who Could Fly (1986)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
Milly and Louis, and their recently-widowed mom, Charlene, move to a new neighborhood. Once there, they all deal with a variety of personal problems, but Milly finds a friend in Eric, her autistic next door neighbor…
19
Men of Honor (2000)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Against formidable odds -- and an old-school diving instructor embittered by the U.S. Navy's new, less prejudicial policies -- Carl Brashear sets his sights on becoming the Navy's first African-American master diver in…
20
The First of the Few (1942)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
This 1942 fictionalized biopic chronicles the true story of how two of the most remarkable men in aviation history - visionary Spitfire designer R.J. Mitchell and his test pilot Geoffrey Crisp - designed a streamlined…