First Flights with Neil Armstrong

Season 3 focuses on the development of particular technologies within the broader field of aviation.

1. E1. Whirling Wings - Evolution of the Rotorhead

   Sep 8, 1993 · 25m

   From Cierva's breakthrough in autogyro design, to the state-of-the-art BK-117, the heart of the helicopter story has been the rotorhead. Early helicopters were complex, dangerous flying machines, prone to failure. For the men and women who took the controls, concentration and daring were essential.

2. E2. Water Birds - Floatplanes and Flying Boats

   Sep 15, 1993 · 25m

   By the 1930s, flying boats – massive, airborne ocean liners – opened up global routes for passenger service, while the floatplanes entering the Schneider Trophy races were the fastest, most innovative flying machines in existence.

3. E3. Jump to the Sky - Jet VTOL

   Sep 22, 1993 · 25m

   Conventional airplanes need large runways for takeoff and landing, a limitation that concerned defense planners. As turbine engines became lighter, a new type of aircraft became possible — one that could take off and land vertically, yet fly with the speed of jets.

4. E4. Tail First Flying - the Canard

   Sep 29, 1993 · 25m

   When the small tail surface wings which enable an airplane to go up or down are moved to the front, they are called canards. It is a technology as old as manned flight — the Wrights used canards on their early airplanes. Canards were rarely used after the first World War until computer technology provided the control needed to make the technology feasible.

5. E5. First Around The World

   Oct 6, 1993 · 25m

   Many times in aviation history the ultimate test of aircraft and pilot was to fly around the world. Competition and showmanship always played a part, but in the end it was the mental and physical endurance of the men and women who climbed into the cockpit that made success possible.

6. E6. Flying Blind

   Oct 20, 1993 · 25m

   In the early days of flying, instrumentation was crude. A weighted silk stocking tied to a strut could help the pilot gauge his airspeed. Wartime challenged pilots to learn the techniques of blind flying. Today, pilots use orbiting satellites to pinpoint their position, and complex autopilots enable an aircraft to fly itself.

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