History Main / SurpriseVehicle

* ''Film/NarrowMargin''. RogerEbert tore this movie a new one over this trope.

* ''Film/BlueThunder''. The title helicopter appears from below the side of a bridge to save a woman being (unjustly) pursued by the police. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd3lDhyM21M#t=2m45s here]]. The helicopter actually had a "whisper" mode that could be turned on to make it quieter than normal. Apparently, it was not a good idea to use it all the time. It most likely reduced the performance in exchange for sound reduction.

* ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''. Stromberg's attack helicopter appears from behind a low wall at the edge of a cliff with no warning. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUxpXy1Oot4#t=4m15s here]].

* All those times a helicopter is mistaken for a UFO, despite having a distinctive sound. Examples appear in ''Series/DarkSkies'', ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'', and ''Series/TheXFiles'' (which managed to avoid the cliche for several seasons until the episode where Agent Dogget first appears).

* Happens frequently on ''NajicaBlitzTactics'', thanks to Najica's ever-so-handy remote-controlled helicopter gunship. Might be partially justified by it being a low-noise Stealth Chopper specifically designed for the kind of secret missions she engages in, but still...
* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' does this with the reveal of [[spoiler: Haruna's airship]], which provides a way for Negi to get to Nodoka in time to save her from a group of bounty hunters.
** Repeated with the same vehicle during the Governor's Ball.

[[quoteright:350: [[Film/BackToTheFuturePartII http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bttf2_surprise_1435.jpg]]]]

* ''GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' 1st Gig, first episode ("Section-9"). After the Major captures a terrorist on top of a building, a helicopter carrying Batou rises up from below the edge of the building.

* ''MahouSenseiNegima'' does this with the reveal of [[spoiler: Haruna's airship]], which provides a way for Negi to get to Nodoka in time to save her from a group of bounty hunters.

* A BlackHelicopter surprises Wallace this way in ''SinCity'' comic, Hell and Back.

* The Felreaver patrolling Hellfire Peninsula in ''WorldOfWarcraft''. It's a 50-foot tall demonic robot that shakes the ground with its footsteps and makes a sound not unlike a locomotive from hell, yet it still manages to suprise (and crush) unwary players who weren't paying attention to their surroundings. The game also has the dreaded Suprise Devilsaurs, which are even worse because they are actually quite sneaky (as sneaky as a T-rex can be).

* ''BuckarooBanzai''. When Buckaroo is about to be run over by a truck, a ladder suddenly appears swinging from the sky. Buckaroo grabs hold and is lifted away by a Blue Blaze Irregular helicopter.
* In ''[[Film/BackToTheFuture Back To The Future Part II]]'', Marty's SuicidalGotcha is aided by Doc's flying [=DeLorean=].

* This happens in the final scene of ''TheMist''. The main character is saved by the U.S Military but he never heard the rolling of the tanks which are rather hard to miss as they make plenty of noise as they shake the Earth as they move about. A fog shouldn't effect the clarity of sound, only sight.

* In the Leslie Nielsen film ''SpyHard'', the main character escapes by jumping off a roof, only to appear again in a Harrier jump-jet.

[[quoteright:350: [[Film/BackToTheFuture http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bttf2_surprise_1435.jpg]]]]

* This happened in ''FinalFantasyVII'' with a giant airship that comes out of nowhere.

[[quoteright:350: [[Film/BackToTheFuture http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bttf2_surprise_9141.jpg]]]]

* The DresdenFiles has a few:
** Gard repeatedly gets these from the cockpit of ''highly'' illegal military helicopters. Including once to the tune of ''We Will Rock You''.
** [[spoiler: Molly]] veiled a boat. A whole boat. The sound, the light, the ''water displacement'', the ''smell''. Everything. ''Over water''. Without shorting out any of the boat's electronics. The kid lives and breathes stealthy magic.

* One of the Russian main characters of ''Literature/RedStormRising'' had an encounter a force of M1 Abrams MBTs while he was on foot, noting that he didn't even hear them until they were practically on top of him. He noted that the engine design of the M1 makes them notably quieter than other MBTs.

* One of the Russian main characters of '''Literature/RedStormRising''' had an encounter a force of M1 Abrams MBTs while he was on foot, noting that he didn't even hear them until they were practically on top of him. He noted that the engine design of the M1 makes them notably quieter than other MBTs.

* An [[AmazonBrigade all female fighter planet unit]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Witches the 588th Night Bomber Regiment]], also known as the Night Witches or Nachthexen in German, used this trope to their advantage for the purposes of psychological warfare during World War II against the Nazis. At night using old biplanes the women would climb to as high an altitude as they could, cut the engine and then silently glide down until they were right above the German lines, at which point they would release their bombs and any Germans on the ground [[BringMyBrownPants promptly found themselves in need of new trousers]], with the worst part for them being that they could usually hear the planes going ''up'' but after the engines were cut [[NothingIsScarier had no idea when or where the bombs would actually hit until they already had]].

* An [[AmazonBrigade all female fighter planet unit]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Witches the 588th Night Bomber Regiment]], also known as the Night Witches or Nachthexen in German, used this trope to their advantage for the purposes of psychological warfare during World War II against the Nazis. At night using old biplanes the women would climb to as high an altitude as they could, cut the engine and then silently glide down until they were right above the German lines, at which point they would release their bombs and any Germans on the ground [[BringMyBrownPants promptly found themselves in need of new trousers]], with the worst part for them being that they could usually hear the planes going ''up'' but after the engines were cut had no idea when or where the bombs would actually hit until they already had.

* An [[AmazonBrigade all female fighter planet unit]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Witches the 588th Night Bomber Regiment]], also known as the Night Witches or Nachthexen in German, used this trope to their advantage for the purposes of psychological warfare during World War II against the Nazis. At night using old biplanes the women would climb to as high an altitude as they could, cut the engine and then silently glide down until they were right above the German lines, at which point they would release their bombs and any Germans on the ground [[BringMyBrownPants promptly found themselves in need of new trousers]].

** Some attack aircraft are designed with relative silence in mind. The American A-10 Warthog uses high-bypass turbofans (think of the big engines typical of airliners) rather than the low-bypass turbofans favored by most other combat aircraft because they trade raw power [[note]] not as useful to the Hog as it might be for jet fighters like the Blue Angels' Hornets or the Thunderbirds' Fighting Falcons[[/note]] for reduced noice. Flying at low speed and low altitude towards a target, these planes have been known to induce puckering-level amounts of fear and surprise even in the troops that ''called them in'', as the first sound they might hear of the plane is often the [[{{BFG}} 30mm Avenger cannon]] opening up on the target at close range.
*** Not quite. The rounds are supersonic themselves, so the first indication that the troops might have of the aircraft's attack is the target suddenly being blown to pieces, followed by the hellish buzzing of the rounds and the cannon, and THEN the sound of the Warthog itself.

* ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind''. The "searchlight-bearing helicopter at night mistaken for a UFO" scene that would be copied by later TV shows. In fairness the helicopters first appear from over the horizon, so it's plausible the distinctive sound of their rotor blades might not be heard at that distance. Played straight with the UN Taskforce in the Gobi Desert -- three range rovers and two helicopters [[DynamicEntry appear dramatically over a sand dune]].

* ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKin''. The "searchlight-bearing helicopter at night mistaken for a UFO" scene that would be copied by later TV shows. In fairness the helicopters first appear from over the horizon, so it's plausible the distinctive sound of their rotor blades might not be heard at that distance. Played straight with the UN Taskforce in the Gobi Desert -- three range rovers and two helicopters [[DynamicEntry appear dramatically over a sand dune]].

* ''UndercoverBrother''. As the title character is fighting Mr. Feather, The Man's helicopter rises up from behind a wall.
* ''Film/{{Star Trek V|The Final Frontier}}''. On the planet where "God" was imprisoned, the Klingon Bird-of-Prey rose up over a hill to rescue Kirk.

* ''NarrowMargin''. RogerEbert tore this movie a new one over this trope.

* ''ThePresidentsAnalyst'' - happens exactly as described as Russian agent Kropotkin, waiting at a roadside, is surprised by a helicopter rising from a valley just off the corridor. Luckily it's his American agent friend who he had arranged to meet.

* ''Film/{{Aliens}}''. When Ripley and Newt are about to be attacked by the Alien Queen in the atmosphere processing plant, the dropship rises up from below the edge of the platform they're on.
** Though the processing plant was loudly exploding around them, so not hearing the ship coming can be excused.

* In the ''EvenStevens'' [[MadeForTVMovie Movie]], [[spoiler: this stunt was pulled by Louis in order to fool the television producer of the reality show they were on. Louis ended up rising up on a helicopter, that was hosted by a rival television reality show.]]

See also SeeNoEvilHearNoEvil, SilentRunningMode, StealthHiBye, RuleOfPerception and LookBothWays.

* A [[AmazonBrigade all female fighter planet unit]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Witches the 588th Night Bomber Regiment]], also known as the Night Witches or Nachthexen in German, used this trope to their advantage for the purposes of psychological warfare during World War II against the Nazis. At night using old biplanes the women would climb to as high an altitude as they could, cut the engine and then silently glide down until they were right above the German lines, at which point they would release their bombs and any Germans on the ground [[BringMyBrownPants promptly found themselves in need of new trousers]].