Name: First Flights with Neil Armstrong Season 1
Genre: Documentary
Released: 1991

S01 Episode 1

By the Seat of Their Pants

Using Lilienthal's glider research, the Wright brothers achieved controlled flight. The French reacted with renewed effort and Bleriot crossed the English Channel. Each airplane had its own quirks and a pilot flew by his wits, instinct and luck.

24 mins · Mon, 25 Mar 1991

S01 Episode 2

Every Day a Better Design

Aviators are separated into two groups: the aeroplane designer and those who tried to master the art of flying. Designers attempt to build a safe, predictable airplane, while pilots push the limits of possibility.

24 mins · Wed, 2 Oct 1991

S01 Episode 3

Flying Aces, War in the Air

In WWI the battlefields were full of unarmed aircraft, peering down at the trenches, then carrying news of an impending attack. With a machine gun mounted on the cowling of a Morane-Saulnier Bullet, the fighter plane was born.

24 mins · Wed, 9 Oct 1991

S01 Episode 4

Flying Entrepreneurs

After the war, seasoned pilots who had once duelled with an enemy over the trenches now performed aerobatics for spectators. Aviators as barnstormers quickly became an endearing folk hero; and also businessman carrying mail and passengers.

25 mins · Wed, 16 Oct 1991

S01 Episode 5

Bigger Is Better

During the 1920s and 30s, designers believed that bigger is better. Airline companies were formed, requiring larger, more comfortable airplanes. With the limitations of early airfields for large planes, the flying boat became the queen of the sky.

25 mins · Wed, 23 Oct 1991

S01 Episode 6

Fighters Between the Wars

Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan redefined the arts of aerial warfare with their revolutionary aircraft designs. As the storm clouds gathered for the Second World War, the rest of the world slowly began to rise to the challenge.

25 mins · Wed, 30 Oct 1991

S01 Episode 7

Testing Under Fire

The first German WW2 air attacks destroyed most old biplane fighters. The Allies responded with new monoplane designs, such as Britain with the Hurricane and Spitfire.

25 mins · Wed, 6 Nov 1991

S01 Episode 8

New Generation of Flyers

American industry entered the competition to create the world's best fighter, one that was faster and carried more armament. A dramatic increase in horsepower produced the P-47 Thunderbolt, often claimed to be the fastest fighter of the war.

24 mins · Wed, 13 Nov 1991

S01 Episode 9

Air Battles at Sea

Light, manoeuvrable and capable of flying long distances, the Japanese Zero was a great air weapon for the island hopping Pacific war; while the Japanese built fleets of light, replaceable aircraft, the Americans chose large, high-powered war planes.

25 mins · Wed, 20 Nov 1991

S01 Episode 10

Air Forts of the War

World War II bombers were capable of delivering an arsenal of destruction. Aerial warfare became a team effort that relied on coordination, accuracy and determination with up to 10 men in an aircraft, and sometimes 1,000 airplanes in a formation.

26 mins · Wed, 27 Nov 1991

S01 Episode 11

First Jets

When jet engines appeared, a whole new set of problems appeared with them. For pilots, the early jets were a nightmare. Trained to fly propeller aircraft, pilots found themselves in need of drastic changes in technique.

26 mins · Wed, 4 Dec 1991

S01 Episode 12

First to Fly

A hundred years before the Wright brothers, the hot air balloon had already lifted man to the sky. It grew in size and culminated in the huge pre-WW1 dirigibles that still hold the record for the largest craft ever to lift off the ground.

25 mins · Wed, 11 Dec 1991

S01 Episode 13

Workhorse of the Sky: The Turboprop

The turboprop is a mix of two successful technologies: the jet turbine and the propeller. Highly reliable, the turboprop has been the workhorse of the skies for decades and remains the mainstay of commercial short-haul aviation.

24 mins · Wed, 18 Dec 1991

Season 1

First Flights with Neil Armstrong

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Season 1 Episodes

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