One reason Roy Scheider made this film was so that he would be unavailable to get cast as Chief Brody in Jaws 3-D (1983), though he also admitted in an interview that the "Jaws" producers knew better than to ask him to play Brody again.
The film is dedicated to actor Warren Oates who played Captain Jack Braddock. The movie's closing credits dedication reads: "For Warren Oates, with love for all the joy you gave us".
During filming where Cochrane ambushes Blue Thunder at the incomplete skyscraper, the MD-500 Defender (the one Cochrane flew) had an engine failure and had to auto-rotate to a landing below. Fortunately, the parking lot was cleared and the pilot walked away uninjured. The helicopter was only slightly damaged.
Anna Forrest who played the nude lady doing yoga, filmed another take of that scene with workout clothes on for the TV censors.
John Badham: Uncredited, as a television director situated in the video room. In the relevant shot, Badham is the furthest of the three cast members from the audience's point of view.