The Challenge of Flight

Fighter pilots study their opponents the way football players study game films. Adversary air is one such film. In it you will see the flight capabilities of aircraft we may one day face. For fighter pilots the questions are easy; the answers are a matter of life and death. See some of the world's deadliest military aircraft. Are we really the world's top guns? As seen on The Military Channel.

The U. S. Coast Guard has put air power to work since the very first days of flight, meeting the challenges of emergencies, always with the threat of being overwhelmed during a rescue. This is the story of pilot and aircraft in the dangerous world of air rescues. See daring rescues during hurricanes, on cliffs, at sea, on ice, accident scenes, emergencies, more. As seen on The Military Channel.

Here is the real story of naval military aviation. Find out what it takes to serve on an aircraft carrier. Until pilots and equipment pass the tests and qualify for duty, they'll stay on land. One cold catapult incident can send a pilot into the sea or to their death if they are not fast and accurate. Witness all the challenges of Aircraft Carrier Qualifications. As seen on The Military Channel.

Challenge of Flight is the real story of military aviation. In this video go behind the scenes to meet the daring pilots who flew the missions and listen to their thrilling stories of Desert Storm. Pilots describe the tension of daily combat complete with original air footage. The story behind the story, from Stealth aircraft to Warthogs, as only pilots can tell. As seen on The Military Channel.

Getting through to the target and destroying it is the mission. The bonus is getting out without getting blown out of the sky by the enemy. Facing a gauntlet of AAA, SAMs, ground fire, dust, and confusion, this action-packed program sends you on high speed runs against the enemy. It's so real you can almost feel the heat, smell the smoke and taste the flames. As seen on the Military Channel.

It is the nature of pilots to stay with their planes and bring them and their crews home, no matter what shape they are in and no matter the cost. It is not always a rational thing to do and often it fails. In this program, you'll witness numerous damaged aircraft trying to make their way home. Some make it, some don't. See rare accident footage caught on film. As seen on the Military Channel.

The cat launch; the recovery; the most challenging phases of naval aviation flight. No job is more hazardous than Carrier Air operations. Because, when you're flying over the vast expanse of the ocean, there really is nowhere else to go. Witness amazing approaches and landings that seem impossible to make. You'll also see many of those that failed. Rare footage. As seen on The Military Channel.

They are missions as dangerous as combat itself. Witness challenging air attacks of C130 Hercules, P-3 Orions, OV-10 Broncos and a host of civilian transports, against the violence and unpredictable rage of wildfires. You'll ride in the cockpit as you push a C130 down into Malibu Canyon and learn what it takes to drag an 8-ton load over an out of control wildfire. As seen on The Military Channel.

Eject! The one word a pilot hates and fears most. When an aircraft has nowhere to go but down, the only escape for a pilot is his ejection seat. While often the saving grace, the ejection seat is not without risks of its own. With never-before-seen test crash footage, trace the progress of the pilot's safety system of last resort from inception to today's models. As seen on The Military Channel.

In the heat of combat, nothing is more frustrating or deadly than engaging an enemy that outperforms you. Those are things called limits. Limits on airspeed, G-forces, turn rates, and more. Exceed a limit and you kill yourself, push the limits back and you build an airplane that can kill the enemy. One finds the limits of flight in the dangers of flight testing. As seen on The Military Channel.

Top gun pilots know the sound of freedom is the sound of a fighter jet with power to the max and afterburners blazing. You'll feel a part of it all as military pilots tell their stories of trials and triumphs in the ever-pressing job of keeping America free and safe. Features a masterful soundtrack and some of the most incredible shots in aviation film and video. As seen on The Military Channel.

In vertical flight, aircraft control is a balance between the enormous forces of gravity pulling in opposition to powerful motors. Each is necessary to maintain stability and each becomes deadly in mishaps as shown here. With newly obtained footage, you may now view the challenges of vertical flight from its beginnings to the development of modern aircraft. As seen on The Military Channel.

Unbelievable declassified footage of pilots and aircraft in terrifying moments of flight. Pilots respond to emergencies during take-offs and landings. See the F-16's first flight - one no pilot should have survived. Challenge of Flight is the real story of military aviation. An internationally popular program, created by pilots, for pilots and all aviation fans. As seen on The Military Channel

The ultimate challenge of pilots in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat is to deliver their weapons to the enemy before he can deliver his. This program traces the development of air combat from the use of air balloons to advanced weaponry of this era. See rare historic battle footage, cockpit views, battlefield action, bombs-eye-view in actual attacks, and more. As seen on The Military Channel.

For 10 long years, Vietnam was home to thousands of American military aviators. One by one, pilots of this difficult, confusing war met the challenge daily. It wasn't what anyone wanted, but it came down to duty and this duty was theirs. This incredible video shows you the life of a pilot in Vietnam like you've never seen it before. It's 0-dark-30 in Vietnam. As seen on the Military Channel.

Bullets and missiles aren't the only things that kill military aviators and destroy aircraft. Sometimes, a disastrous out-of-control situation can be worse. Watch accident footage from actual mishaps, uncontrollable situations with stalls and drops, pilot induced oscillations, unrecoverable spins, massive structural failures, and many more astonishing fails. As seen on the Military Channel.

WWII as seen from the gun sights of American fighters and attackers. Be in the center of dogfights. Dive for the ones trying to escape. Sit in the cockpit. Original camera footage shows the best Japan and Nazi Germany had to offer. These unrelenting images of World War II air-to-air and air-to-ground dog fights and strafing runs are still chilling after 75 years. As seen on The Military Channel.

Military aircraft are finely tuned, tough, fast and agile machines. But even the smallest system failure can cause a major disaster. Witness first hand the moments when things do go wrong and when a small glitch brings down the finest technology. Best of all, see pilot ingenuity at work to beat insurmountable odds and bring their aircraft home in one piece or many. As seen on The Military Channel.

Witness first hand a jet that has been struck, disoriented, killed by a missile shot, dying in violent skies. In the end, pilots survive from pure instinct and adrenaline. It's a rush that leaves a pilot unable to explain what he did to survive. Pilots know that someday they'll face the challenge of such violence. And when they do, this is what they'll see. As seen on The Military Channel.