Looking for info/title about a movie...

I saw part of a movie on tv once, back in the late 80's, that was made in the early-mid 80's, and it didn't have any major stars. It had some sort of time-travel plot, and what sticks out is a scene where the main character is flying an old bi-wing plane or the like towards a huge strobing light machine that looked like modified windmill with bright light and loud noises, like a giant hypnosis device. I think it caused the plane to briefly hover in place. I remember it gave us a headache for a minute. Help?