Test Flights: Beyond the Limits

The New Frontier (1x3)

Air date: Dec 31, 1998

Computers have opened up a whole new dimension of flight allowing aircraft to perform flips, spins and dog-fight maneuvers impossible for a pilot to physically control. Share the drama of developing the Fly-by-Wire technology that has allowed the F-16, F-18, the Stealth Fighter and the B-2 Bomber to fly. Meet the researchers who helped prevent a possible catastrophe with the space shuttle. From the radical looking X-29 to the amazing thrust vectoring X-31, see how computer technology can improve safety and deliver undreamed of performance ... just one more challenge on the cutting-edge of flight research.