Aviation: A 20th Century Epic

Description

Dive into the heart of a remarkable adventure based on courage, talent, and personal success, but also one plagued by failures and disappointments. A full-screen documentary video explores this fabulous epic, from the first steam-powered takeoff by Ader to the superplanes of tomorrow. You will meet the larger-than-life personalities who created a modern legend--pilots, aircraft builders, and inventors: Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Jean Mermoz, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Marcel Dassault, and Andre Tupolev. Experience their adventures: crossing the Atlantic and the Channel, the first around-the-world flight, and breaking the sound barrier. Place the aviation adventure in its wider historical context by examining its relationship to the great movements of the 20th century: national rivalries, voyages of discovery, the arms race, and the battles between commercial carriers. Discover the major players in the sector: the main airlines, including American Airlines, British Airways, Pan Am, TWA, United Airlines, Lufthansa, Alitalia, KLM; civil and military manufacturers, such as Airbus, Aérospatiale, Boeing, British Aerospace, Douglas, Matra, McDonnell, and Rolls-Royce. Admire more than 200 legendary airplanes: the DC3, the Superconstellation, the Spitfire, the French Mirage fighter jet, the Russian Mig 21, the Concorde, and others. You will learn all about their technical characteristics, their performance, and the technological advances achieved from one generation of aircraft to another. You can compare their vital statistics, cruising altitudes, and speeds. These flying machines will keep you fascinated for hours.