Thoughts on the final episode - Birds of Paradise

Having just finished watching the final episode of Airwolf season three, I wanted to discuss it. I consider this to be the final episode of what was the proper Airwolf, not the silly effort that was season four.

I would like to know, was this intended to be the final filmed episode when it was made? Did the cast know they were laying down their final scenes for the show forever?

Hawke kind of loses a family member and invites a kid to be his adopted son. It was a touching ending in those regards as Hawke always looks rough but we all know he has a soft side that comes out with his awkward smiles. The appearance of that old ("300 knot") Huey was nice.

Sadly, they re-used footage for the last action scenes from another episode. Airwolf hardly made much of an original appearance in this episode. Perhaps this suggests that the budget was well and truly exhausted by this stage.

The music featured an all-new recording of the Airwolf theme for the customary end battle and the end credits seemed to have some extended moments in the music.

It has been a great adventure but it's clear to see how the Airwolf production had its problems with budgetary constraints and mismatched editing (how many times did we see daytime shots of Airwolf's cannons firing while it was meant to be at night?).

Was Jan Michael Vincent experiencing his drinking / health problems during the production of Airwolf?

MC.