Reaching for the Skies

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  • : 12
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  • BBC Two
  • Documentary History

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1x1
The Pioneers
Episode overview
From the Wright Brothers' first controlled-powered flight in 1903 to the advent of the space shuttle - come to know the key figures in aviation history - the people and the machines that .. show full overview
1x2
The Adventures of Flight
Episode overview
This is the account of the master aviators who pushed back the frontiers and found new ways to use aircraft...of test pilots, who displayed that rare combination of qualities: coolness .. show full overview
1x3
The Aeroplane Goes to War
Episode overview
Over France in World War I, where man and flying machines were first forged into a formidable fighting unit. At the start of the war, the adversaries could muster only a few hundred .. show full overview
1x4
Victory Over the Sea
Episode overview
Since the Second World War, aircraft have played an important role in naval operations...defending the fleet against attack by making it possible for pilots to spot the enemy beyond the .. show full overview
1x5
Bombers
Episode overview
Dresden... London... Vietnam... Tokyo... their names alone are dramatic testimony to the awesome power of the bomber. These aircraft came to dominate military strategy during World War .. show full overview
1x6
Fighters
Episode overview
Few aspects of the history of aviation match the vitality, drama and scale of the World War II fighter planes. As the strategists discovered the advantages of these warships of the .. show full overview
1x7
Giants of the Air
Episode overview
We take them - the jumbo jets - for granted today, yet overwhelming obstacles had to be overcome to first get these giants off the ground. The challenge to build larger aircraft has .. show full overview
1x8
Rivals Over the Atlantic
Episode overview
The development of the jet engine represented a quantum leap in aviation, and revolutionised commercial aviation. Although first developed for fighter aircraft, this engineering triumph .. show full overview
1x9
Trail Blazers
Episode overview
Flying between countries and continents is an accepted way of life to millions of people. But as their airliners cruise along at hundreds of miles an hour, tens of thousands of feet .. show full overview
1x10
The Quest for Speed
Episode overview
This film begins with the SR-71 Blackbird, expressed as the ultimate expression in the quest for speed. The film, after credits, begins with the 1905 Curtiss biplane, owned and flown by .. show full overview
1x11
Lighter Than Air
Episode overview
Paris, November 1783: an awe-struck crowd in the Bois de Boulogne watched as a balloon built by Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier rose into the sky. Later, magnificent airships became .. show full overview
1x12
Vertical Flight
Episode overview
Examining the history of vertical flight, the program begins with the early helicopters, and then deals the with the pivotal breakthrough of the Cierva Rotor-head, followed by an .. show full overview

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