1 00:00:03,243 --> 00:00:05,410 [SEAGULLS SQUAWKING] 2 00:00:05,510 --> 00:00:07,777 NARRATOR: FOR ALMOST ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY, 3 00:00:07,877 --> 00:00:13,743 THE DREAM OF FLYING REMAINED JUST THAT, A DREAM. 4 00:00:13,843 --> 00:00:18,543 BUT WE ARE A STRANGE, CREATIVE SPECIES. 5 00:00:18,643 --> 00:00:22,276 OVER THE AGES, THE IDEA OF HUMAN FLIGHT 6 00:00:22,376 --> 00:00:24,576 PASSED FROM ONE MIND TO ANOTHER, 7 00:00:24,676 --> 00:00:28,176 AND EVENTUALLY, IT WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD. 8 00:00:28,276 --> 00:00:30,910 BUT THE STORY OF HOW WE TOOK TO THE SKY 9 00:00:31,010 --> 00:00:33,543 IS FULL OF EXTRAORDINARY ACCIDENTS 10 00:00:33,643 --> 00:00:35,810 AND BIZARRE CONNECTIONS. 11 00:00:35,910 --> 00:00:39,743 IT INVOLVES THE ILL-FATED PENNY FARTHING BICYCLE 12 00:00:39,843 --> 00:00:42,543 AND SEVERAL TRIPS TO THE BEACH, 13 00:00:42,643 --> 00:00:46,143 A VISIONARY STUDENT... 14 00:00:46,243 --> 00:00:48,643 AND A LEGENDARY GENIUS... 15 00:00:51,943 --> 00:00:54,743 A DISASTER AT SEA... 16 00:00:54,843 --> 00:00:58,076 AND THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE. 17 00:00:58,176 --> 00:01:02,610 TOGETHER, THESE EVENTS WOULD GIVE US OUR GREAT SUPERPOWER, 18 00:01:02,710 --> 00:01:06,743 THE ABILITY TO FLY. 19 00:01:10,243 --> 00:01:13,977 THESE ARE THE INVENTIONS THAT DEFINE OUR AGE 20 00:01:14,076 --> 00:01:16,176 AND HAVE CHANGED OUR WORLD FOREVER. 21 00:01:16,276 --> 00:01:17,576 [TIRES SCREECHING] 22 00:01:17,676 --> 00:01:19,910 THEY'VE ALLOWED US TO MOVE IN NEW WAYS, 23 00:01:20,010 --> 00:01:21,977 TO CONNECT TO EACH OTHER 24 00:01:22,076 --> 00:01:24,610 AND DISCOVER OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE, 25 00:01:24,710 --> 00:01:31,376 EACH A STORY OF INGENUITY, OF WONDER... 26 00:01:31,476 --> 00:01:33,877 OF BREAKTHROUGH. 27 00:01:47,510 --> 00:01:49,643 NARRATOR: AT THIS VERY MOMENT, 28 00:01:49,743 --> 00:01:52,643 AT LEAST HALF A MILLION PEOPLE ARE FLYING, 29 00:01:52,743 --> 00:01:56,043 MAKING ENORMOUS JOURNEYS AT INCREDIBLE SPEED. 30 00:01:56,143 --> 00:01:58,843 OUR ANCESTORS WOULD BE AMAZED. 31 00:01:58,943 --> 00:02:00,676 WE'VE BECOME A SPECIES 32 00:02:00,777 --> 00:02:04,476 THAT HAS OVERCOME OUR EARTHLY LIMITATIONS. 33 00:02:04,576 --> 00:02:08,476 THE INVENTION OF THE AIRPLANE HAS BEEN A TRUE REVOLUTION. 34 00:02:08,576 --> 00:02:11,076 BUT 11 CENTURIES AGO, 35 00:02:11,176 --> 00:02:13,276 THERE WAS NO ONE IN THE AIR 36 00:02:13,376 --> 00:02:16,476 EXCEPT FOR ONE INGENIOUS INVENTOR 37 00:02:16,576 --> 00:02:19,076 WHO WAS WAY AHEAD OF HIS TIME. 38 00:02:19,176 --> 00:02:21,243 [EAGLE SCREECHING] 39 00:02:26,510 --> 00:02:31,810 LEGEND HAS IT, IN ABOUT 860 A.D. IN MOORISH SPAIN, 40 00:02:31,910 --> 00:02:37,276 A MAN NAMED IBN FIRNAS CLIMBED TO THE TOP OF A MOUNTAIN. 41 00:02:54,343 --> 00:02:59,643 HE ATTACHED FEATHERS TO HIS BODY AND ARMS. 42 00:02:59,743 --> 00:03:03,777 HE GAVE HIMSELF WINGS. 43 00:03:03,877 --> 00:03:06,443 MAN: OOH. A LITTLE SHAKY. A LITTLE SHAKY. 44 00:03:06,543 --> 00:03:08,276 ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. 45 00:03:08,376 --> 00:03:14,576 NARRATOR: THEN...HE DID SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY. 46 00:03:14,676 --> 00:03:16,877 MAN: 3, 2, 1. 47 00:03:24,376 --> 00:03:26,877 IT MUST HAVE TAKEN INCREDIBLE COURAGE 48 00:03:26,977 --> 00:03:30,576 FOR THAT LEAP OF FAITH INTO THE UNKNOWN. 49 00:03:30,676 --> 00:03:33,476 I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE BECAUSE I'VE DONE IT. 50 00:03:34,977 --> 00:03:36,476 NARRATOR: BRANDON MIKESELL IS 51 00:03:36,576 --> 00:03:38,777 ONE OF THE WORLD'S TOP WING SUIT FLIERS, 52 00:03:38,877 --> 00:03:41,843 THE LATEST IN A LONG LINE OF PIONEERS 53 00:03:41,943 --> 00:03:43,710 PREPARED TO PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE. 54 00:03:43,810 --> 00:03:47,243 THIS IS A PASSION THAT TAKES OVER MY WHOLE, ENTIRE LIFE. 55 00:03:48,943 --> 00:03:53,643 I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO FLY SINCE I WAS A LITTLE KID. 56 00:03:53,743 --> 00:03:56,910 FLYING IS ABOUT SPEED, ABOUT CONTROL, 57 00:03:57,010 --> 00:04:01,109 AND IT'S ABOUT DEFEATING GRAVITY. 58 00:04:03,843 --> 00:04:05,076 NARRATOR: SO, WHAT HAPPENED 59 00:04:05,176 --> 00:04:08,309 TO THAT LEGENDARY PIONEER IBN FIRNAS? 60 00:04:08,410 --> 00:04:11,309 THE STORY GOES THAT, ALTHOUGH HE MANAGED TO FLY 61 00:04:11,410 --> 00:04:14,476 MORE THAN 1,000 YEARS AGO, WHEN HE LANDED, 62 00:04:14,576 --> 00:04:16,877 HE CAME DOWN MUCH TOO FAST. 63 00:04:16,977 --> 00:04:20,777 HE BROKE HIS BACK AND NEVER FLEW AGAIN. 64 00:04:23,276 --> 00:04:24,676 MIKESELL: LUCKILY, THOUGH, 65 00:04:24,777 --> 00:04:27,476 I HAVE MODERN TECHNOLOGY ON MY SIDE. 66 00:04:27,576 --> 00:04:29,676 IF IBN FIRNAS WERE ALIVE TODAY, 67 00:04:29,777 --> 00:04:31,476 I THINK HIS MIND WOULD BE BLOWN. 68 00:04:31,576 --> 00:04:34,676 I THINK HE WOULD BE AMAZED AT HOW FAR IT'S COME. 69 00:04:34,777 --> 00:04:37,076 I THINK THAT HE'D BE THRILLED THAT WE CARRIED ON 70 00:04:37,176 --> 00:04:41,076 HIS SAME PASSION AND HIS SAME LOVE FOR THIS. 71 00:04:41,176 --> 00:04:44,510 NARRATOR: MODERN-DAY FLYING IN ALL ITS FORMS 72 00:04:44,610 --> 00:04:48,543 IS DUE TO A MASTERY OF SOMETHING THAT SURROUNDS US 73 00:04:48,643 --> 00:04:52,443 BUT THAT WE CANNOT EVEN SEE, 74 00:04:52,543 --> 00:04:55,877 AND EVEN THOUGH IT SEEMS TO HAVE NO STRENGTH, 75 00:04:55,977 --> 00:04:59,143 IT CAN HOLD US ALOFT... 76 00:05:04,410 --> 00:05:07,410 THE AIR. 77 00:05:21,376 --> 00:05:24,376 IT MIGHT SEEM ODD, BUT THE STUDY OF AIRFLOW 78 00:05:24,476 --> 00:05:27,843 IS ACTUALLY CALLED FLUID DYNAMICS. 79 00:05:27,943 --> 00:05:30,810 AND IF THAT DOESN'T SEEM STRANGE ENOUGH, 80 00:05:30,910 --> 00:05:35,243 BEFORE WE HAD WINGS, WE HAD TAILS. 81 00:05:37,309 --> 00:05:42,476 WOMAN: THESE STRUCTURES ARE JUST ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT. 82 00:05:42,576 --> 00:05:44,743 I AM A FLUID DYNAMICIST, 83 00:05:44,843 --> 00:05:47,076 SO I HAVE STUDIED HOW AIR FLOWS, 84 00:05:47,176 --> 00:05:50,276 AND SO WHEN I COME TO A KITE FESTIVAL LIKE THIS, 85 00:05:50,376 --> 00:05:52,576 YOU REALLY SEE HOW SIGNIFICANT AIR IS 86 00:05:52,676 --> 00:05:54,676 IN BRINGING THESE STRUCTURES TO LIFE. 87 00:06:00,143 --> 00:06:03,276 DETAILS OF THE FIRST-EVER KITE ARE LOST IN HISTORY, 88 00:06:03,376 --> 00:06:07,510 BUT IT'S BELIEVED THAT AROUND 2,500 YEARS AGO, 89 00:06:07,610 --> 00:06:09,910 THE CHINESE PUT TOGETHER A SIMPLE STRUCTURE 90 00:06:10,010 --> 00:06:13,710 OF BAMBOO AND SILK, AND THAT BECAME THE FIRST KITE, 91 00:06:13,810 --> 00:06:16,010 AND THE REASON WHY IT'S SO SIGNIFICANT 92 00:06:16,109 --> 00:06:18,309 IS BECAUSE IT'S OUR FIRST-EVER UNDERSTANDING 93 00:06:18,410 --> 00:06:22,710 OF HOW A STRUCTURE COULD BECOME AIRBORNE AND DEFY GRAVITY. 94 00:06:30,643 --> 00:06:34,610 ONE OF THE MAJOR PRINCIPLES THAT A KITE USES TO STAY AIRBORNE 95 00:06:34,710 --> 00:06:40,676 IS BALANCING THE FORCES THAT ARE PUSHING THE KITE DOWNWARDS 96 00:06:40,777 --> 00:06:44,076 AND THE FORCES THAT ARE LIFTING THE KITE UPWARDS. 97 00:06:44,176 --> 00:06:46,877 THE WIND THAT'S BLOWING INTO THE KITE 98 00:06:46,977 --> 00:06:50,076 AND ALONG ITS UNDERBELLY IS DEFLECTED DOWNWARDS, 99 00:06:50,176 --> 00:06:52,276 AND THAT DEFLECTION OF AIR CREATES 100 00:06:52,376 --> 00:06:56,610 AN EQUAL AND UPWARD FORCE CALLED LIFT. 101 00:06:56,710 --> 00:07:00,543 NARRATOR: THE CHINESE PUT THEIR REVOLUTIONARY TECHNOLOGY 102 00:07:00,643 --> 00:07:02,309 TO MANY PURPOSES. 103 00:07:02,410 --> 00:07:06,510 KITES WERE USED FOR SIGNALING OVER LONG DISTANCES, 104 00:07:06,610 --> 00:07:08,743 DROPPING WEAPONS, AND THERE ARE EVEN LEGENDS 105 00:07:08,843 --> 00:07:12,476 OF THEM BEING USED TO LIFT PEOPLE. 106 00:07:12,576 --> 00:07:15,309 BUT, OF COURSE, KITES HAVE THEIR LIMITATIONS. 107 00:07:15,410 --> 00:07:17,109 SOMARA: KITES WERE A GREAT FIRST START 108 00:07:17,209 --> 00:07:18,576 IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF FLIGHT, 109 00:07:18,676 --> 00:07:20,676 BUT THEY NEEDED TO BE TETHERED, 110 00:07:20,777 --> 00:07:22,710 AND THEY NEEDED THE WIND TO BE ABLE TO GLIDE. 111 00:07:22,810 --> 00:07:26,510 SO IT WAS A GOOD START, BUT WE NEEDED MUCH MORE THAN THAT. 112 00:07:28,610 --> 00:07:30,810 [BELLS TOLLING] 113 00:07:32,977 --> 00:07:36,276 NARRATOR: TO FLY SUCCESSFULLY, WE NEEDED TO MASTER 114 00:07:36,376 --> 00:07:38,877 THE MYSTERIOUS FORCES OF THE AIR. 115 00:07:38,977 --> 00:07:41,676 IT WOULD TAKE A MAN WITH MANY OBSESSIONS 116 00:07:41,777 --> 00:07:44,209 TO BEGIN TO SOLVE THIS PUZZLE, 117 00:07:44,309 --> 00:07:46,476 AN ARTIST WHO WOULD GO DOWN IN HISTORY 118 00:07:46,576 --> 00:07:50,076 AS ONE OF THE GREATEST MINDS WHO EVER LIVED. 119 00:07:50,176 --> 00:07:54,877 LEONARDO DA VINCI WAS BORN FROM FAIRLY HUMBLE ORIGINS, 120 00:07:54,977 --> 00:07:58,143 BUT FROM AN EARLY AGE, HE SHOWED AN EXTRAORDINARY TALENT 121 00:07:58,243 --> 00:08:02,143 FOR PAINTING AND DRAWING. 122 00:08:02,243 --> 00:08:06,510 HIS SECRET WAS TO LOOK AT EACH SUBJECT IN MINUTE DETAIL, 123 00:08:06,610 --> 00:08:11,510 TO TRY AND SEE THE STRUCTURE BENEATH THE SURFACE. 124 00:08:11,610 --> 00:08:15,309 HE WAS OBSESSED WITH HOW THE BODIES OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS 125 00:08:15,410 --> 00:08:17,276 ACTUALLY WORK, 126 00:08:17,376 --> 00:08:20,109 WHICH HE DISCOVERED THROUGH THE GRISLY PROCESS 127 00:08:20,209 --> 00:08:24,376 OF TAKING THOSE BODIES APART. 128 00:08:24,476 --> 00:08:28,510 HE WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN ANIMALS THAT FLY. 129 00:08:28,610 --> 00:08:31,476 HE WANTED TO KNOW HOW THE BEATING OF A WING 130 00:08:31,576 --> 00:08:34,410 KEPT THEM ALOFT. 131 00:08:39,376 --> 00:08:41,877 IF HE COULD DISCOVER THIS SECRET, 132 00:08:41,977 --> 00:08:44,576 HE WAS CONVINCED HE WOULD HAVE THE KEY 133 00:08:44,676 --> 00:08:48,777 TO THE AGE-OLD DREAM OF HUMAN FLIGHT. 134 00:08:53,176 --> 00:08:55,810 LOOKING EVER CLOSER AT THE NATURAL WORLD, 135 00:08:55,910 --> 00:09:03,043 HE NOTICED THE EXQUISITE EFFICIENCY OF FLYING CREATURES. 136 00:09:03,143 --> 00:09:06,877 HE REALIZED THAT ATTACHING WINGS TO YOUR ARMS 137 00:09:06,977 --> 00:09:08,209 WAS UNLIKELY TO WORK. 138 00:09:08,309 --> 00:09:12,710 HUMAN MUSCLES ARE JUST NOT STRONG ENOUGH. 139 00:09:12,810 --> 00:09:16,910 SO, HE CAME UP WITH A REVOLUTIONARY NEW IDEA, 140 00:09:17,010 --> 00:09:21,610 AN IDEA HE BELIEVED WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD. 141 00:09:21,710 --> 00:09:25,510 INSTEAD OF ATTACHING THE WINGS TO THE ARMS, 142 00:09:25,610 --> 00:09:27,843 THEY WOULD BE PART OF A MACHINE 143 00:09:27,943 --> 00:09:30,877 THAT HAD BEATING WINGS LIKE A BIRD. 144 00:09:39,410 --> 00:09:45,510 IN HIS MIND, HE HAD INVENTED THE FIRST FLYING MACHINE. 145 00:09:45,610 --> 00:09:48,877 OVER HIS LIFETIME, HE DESIGNED MORE THAN A DOZEN MACHINES 146 00:09:48,977 --> 00:09:53,476 THAT FLAPPED THEIR WINGS, BUT AS FAR AS WE KNOW, 147 00:09:53,576 --> 00:09:55,877 NONE OF THEM EVER FLEW. 148 00:09:55,977 --> 00:09:57,476 SO, WHY IS THIS? 149 00:09:57,576 --> 00:10:01,076 WHAT IS IT ABOUT A BIRD'S WING THAT ELUDED 150 00:10:01,176 --> 00:10:04,877 EVEN THE GENIUS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI? 151 00:10:04,977 --> 00:10:09,376 TO FIND OUT REQUIRES MODERN TECHNOLOGY. 152 00:10:12,176 --> 00:10:13,610 MAN: HE'S FEEDING. 153 00:10:13,710 --> 00:10:17,476 OK. READY? WIND TUNNEL IS ON. 154 00:10:19,543 --> 00:10:21,643 NARRATOR: AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY, 155 00:10:21,743 --> 00:10:23,843 RESEARCHERS ARE STILL IN THE PROCESS 156 00:10:23,943 --> 00:10:28,510 OF UNLOCKING MOTHER NATURE'S SECRETS. 157 00:10:35,343 --> 00:10:37,176 LENTICK: THE WAY DA VINCI INSPIRES ME 158 00:10:37,276 --> 00:10:39,843 IS THAT, NOT ONLY IS HE AN ENGINEER, 159 00:10:39,943 --> 00:10:42,843 NOT ONLY IS HE A SCIENTIST, HE'S THIS ARTIST 160 00:10:42,943 --> 00:10:47,043 WHO COMBINES EVERYTHING IN ONE VISION OF FLIGHT. 161 00:10:47,143 --> 00:10:49,443 LEONARDO IS REALLY THE FIRST PERSON 162 00:10:49,543 --> 00:10:52,810 TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE STRUCTURE OF A BIRD WING REALLY MATTERS, 163 00:10:52,910 --> 00:10:57,810 THE WAY THE WING IS BUILT AND HOW THAT ENABLES FLIGHT. 164 00:10:57,910 --> 00:11:00,977 BUT THIS KIND OF MODERN STUDY OF BIRDS 165 00:11:01,076 --> 00:11:03,676 LEAVES US NO DOUBT THAT HE ACTUALLY REALLY STARTED 166 00:11:03,777 --> 00:11:05,376 THE SCIENCE OF FLIGHT. 167 00:11:11,176 --> 00:11:13,877 NARRATOR: BUT ALTHOUGH LEONARDO MADE DRAWINGS 168 00:11:13,977 --> 00:11:16,076 AND TOOK DETAILED MEASUREMENTS, 169 00:11:16,176 --> 00:11:20,476 HE COULD NOT GET THE DATA HE NEEDED. 170 00:11:20,576 --> 00:11:23,877 LENTICK: IT'S ONLY RECENTLY THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED THE TECHNOLOGY 171 00:11:23,977 --> 00:11:27,443 TO UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF HOW BIRDS FLY. 172 00:11:27,543 --> 00:11:32,043 NARRATOR: THE KEY IS HIGH-SPEED PHOTOGRAPHY. 173 00:11:32,143 --> 00:11:34,910 LENTICK: TODAY WE CAN SEE WHAT LEONARDO COULDN'T SEE. 174 00:11:36,943 --> 00:11:42,810 HE WAS THINKING THAT IT WAS ALL IN THE BEATING OF THE WING. 175 00:11:42,910 --> 00:11:45,109 THERE'S MUCH MORE TO IT THAN THAT, 176 00:11:45,209 --> 00:11:46,843 AND ACTUALLY, TO REALLY TAKE OFF, 177 00:11:46,943 --> 00:11:49,443 WE HAVE TO THINK BEYOND FLAPPING WINGS. 178 00:11:49,543 --> 00:11:51,443 NARRATOR: THE COMPLEXITY OF THIS MOTION 179 00:11:51,543 --> 00:11:53,443 MEANT THAT THE SECRET OF FLIGHT 180 00:11:53,543 --> 00:11:57,376 WOULD REMAIN HIDDEN FOR ANOTHER 300 YEARS, 181 00:11:57,476 --> 00:11:59,410 UNTIL A TRIP TO THE BEACH 182 00:11:59,510 --> 00:12:03,076 GAVE AN OBSCURE ENGLISH ARISTOCRAT AN IDEA. 183 00:12:03,176 --> 00:12:07,710 [LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING] 184 00:12:07,810 --> 00:12:10,276 THIS IS THE COAST OF THE COUNTY OF YORKSHIRE 185 00:12:10,376 --> 00:12:12,176 IN THE NORTHEAST OF ENGLAND, 186 00:12:12,276 --> 00:12:15,877 AND IT'S HERE THAT ONE OF THE VERY GREATEST MILESTONES 187 00:12:15,977 --> 00:12:18,910 IN THE HISTORY OF FLIGHT WOULD OCCUR. 188 00:12:21,376 --> 00:12:23,777 SOMARA: THIS SEASIDE TOWN OF SCARBOROUGH 189 00:12:23,877 --> 00:12:28,276 BECAME A FASHIONABLE DESTINATION AT THE TURN OF THE 19th CENTURY. 190 00:12:28,376 --> 00:12:29,943 WEALTHY LONDONERS WOULD FLOCK HERE 191 00:12:30,043 --> 00:12:31,777 TO MAKE USE OF THE SPA WATERS, 192 00:12:31,877 --> 00:12:36,209 WHICH APPARENTLY WOULD INCREASE WELL-BEING AND MENTAL CAPACITY. 193 00:12:39,943 --> 00:12:42,243 NARRATOR: LIVING IN A GRAND MANSION 194 00:12:42,343 --> 00:12:45,610 JUST OUTSIDE SCARBOROUGH WAS A WEALTHY BARONET, 195 00:12:45,710 --> 00:12:49,443 SIR GEORGE CAYLEY. 196 00:12:49,543 --> 00:12:53,343 HIS HOUSE STILL EXISTS TO THIS DAY. 197 00:12:58,309 --> 00:13:02,043 CAYLEY WAS A POLYMATH WITH A MYRIAD OF INTERESTS. 198 00:13:02,143 --> 00:13:06,977 HE'S EVEN BEEN CALLED THE ENGLISH LEONARDO. 199 00:13:07,076 --> 00:13:10,276 SINCE CHILDHOOD, HE'D HAD THE SAME DREAM-- 200 00:13:10,376 --> 00:13:12,843 TO BUILD A FLYING MACHINE. 201 00:13:12,943 --> 00:13:15,676 IN A SCHOOLBOOK DATED 1784, 202 00:13:15,777 --> 00:13:18,877 HE DREW A PICTURE OF A FLYING TOY, 203 00:13:18,977 --> 00:13:21,076 BUT IT WAS IN SCARBOROUGH 204 00:13:21,176 --> 00:13:24,410 THAT CAYLEY'S DREAM WOULD TAKE FLIGHT. 205 00:13:24,510 --> 00:13:26,309 SOMARA: ONE DAY, CAYLEY WAS AT THE BEACH, 206 00:13:26,410 --> 00:13:28,343 AND HE WAS LOOKING AT A GULL. 207 00:13:31,143 --> 00:13:34,043 IT WAS JUST GLIDING THERE. 208 00:13:36,109 --> 00:13:39,943 AND IT REALLY MADE HIM THINK ABOUT HOW THEY 209 00:13:40,043 --> 00:13:43,743 STAY UP THERE IN THE AIR WITHOUT FLAPPING THEIR WINGS. 210 00:13:43,843 --> 00:13:45,743 NARRATOR: CAYLEY WAS INSPIRED TO INVESTIGATE 211 00:13:45,843 --> 00:13:51,209 THIS FASCINATING MYSTERY SCIENTIFICALLY. 212 00:13:51,309 --> 00:13:53,643 SO, HE CREATED AN EXPERIMENT 213 00:13:53,743 --> 00:13:56,043 TO INVESTIGATE THE PHENOMENON. 214 00:13:56,143 --> 00:13:58,243 IT WAS DESIGNED TO WORK HERE, 215 00:13:58,343 --> 00:14:01,710 ON THE GRAND STAIRCASE OF HIS MANSION. 216 00:14:01,810 --> 00:14:04,676 IF HE COULD WORK OUT WHAT KEPT THE BIRD ALOFT 217 00:14:04,777 --> 00:14:06,543 WHEN IT'S NOT FLAPPING ITS WINGS, 218 00:14:06,643 --> 00:14:10,209 MAYBE HE COULD UNCOVER THE SECRET OF FLIGHT. 219 00:14:10,309 --> 00:14:12,676 SOMARA: AND THIS IS CAYLEY'S EXPERIMENT-- 220 00:14:12,777 --> 00:14:14,243 THE WHIRLING ARM. 221 00:14:14,343 --> 00:14:17,476 HOW IT WORKS IS THAT WEIGHTS ARE ATTACHED TO A STRING, 222 00:14:17,576 --> 00:14:20,076 AND THEY'D BE DROPPED FROM THE TOP OF THIS STAIRCASE 223 00:14:20,176 --> 00:14:21,443 ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE BOTTOM, 224 00:14:21,543 --> 00:14:24,676 AND THE STRING IS WOUND AROUND THIS DOWEL, 225 00:14:24,777 --> 00:14:27,476 AND WHEN THE DOWEL SPINS, SO DOES THE WHIRLING ARM. 226 00:14:27,576 --> 00:14:29,443 NARRATOR: AT ONE END OF THE ARM 227 00:14:29,543 --> 00:14:33,143 IS A SQUARE PLATE, A SIMPLIFIED WING. 228 00:14:33,243 --> 00:14:36,476 IT'S BALANCED WITH A WEIGHT ON THE OTHER END. 229 00:14:36,576 --> 00:14:39,877 AS THE ARM SPINS, THE PLATE IS DRIVEN THROUGH THE AIR 230 00:14:39,977 --> 00:14:42,676 AS IF IT WERE A WING IN FLIGHT. 231 00:14:44,777 --> 00:14:47,443 WITH THE PLATE FLAT, CAYLEY NOTED 232 00:14:47,543 --> 00:14:49,443 THAT THE ARM WAS AT THE SAME ANGLE 233 00:14:49,543 --> 00:14:52,643 AS WHEN IT WAS STATIONARY, 234 00:14:52,743 --> 00:14:56,143 AND THEREFORE, THERE WAS NO LIFT. 235 00:14:57,543 --> 00:14:59,176 SOMARA: FOR THIS EXPERIMENT, WE'VE GONE 236 00:14:59,276 --> 00:15:03,710 FROM A HORIZONTAL PLATE TO SIX DEGREES OF INCLINE OR ANGLE. 237 00:15:03,810 --> 00:15:05,643 NARRATOR: CAYLEY OBSERVED THAT, 238 00:15:05,743 --> 00:15:09,176 WITH AN INCLINATION OF JUST SIX DEGREES, 239 00:15:09,276 --> 00:15:12,010 SOMETHING MAGICAL HAPPENED. 240 00:15:17,010 --> 00:15:20,676 THIS TIME, THE ARM IS AT AN ANGLE. 241 00:15:20,777 --> 00:15:24,977 IT'S BEING RAISED BY THE PLATE MOVING THROUGH THE AIR. 242 00:15:25,076 --> 00:15:29,276 THE PLATE IS PRODUCING LIFT. 243 00:15:29,376 --> 00:15:33,877 SOMARA: IT WAS A REAL LEAP IN OUR UNDERSTANDING 244 00:15:33,977 --> 00:15:37,076 OF FLUID DYNAMICS, BECAUSE ESSENTIALLY, 245 00:15:37,176 --> 00:15:40,276 SCIENTISTS UP UNTIL THEN ONLY THOUGHT 246 00:15:40,376 --> 00:15:42,877 THAT LIFT WAS POSSIBLE THROUGH MECHANICAL ACTION, 247 00:15:42,977 --> 00:15:47,476 OR THE FLAPPING OF WINGS. 248 00:15:47,576 --> 00:15:49,276 NARRATOR: WITH THIS DATA, 249 00:15:49,376 --> 00:15:52,843 CAYLEY COULD AT LAST SET ABOUT MAKING HIS FLYING MACHINE, 250 00:15:52,943 --> 00:15:56,243 BUT IT WOULD TAKE HIM ALMOST 50 YEARS 251 00:15:56,343 --> 00:16:00,176 TO PERFECT HIS DESIGN, UNTIL, IN ABOUT 1849, 252 00:16:00,276 --> 00:16:02,910 HE WAS READY TO FLY A MAN. 253 00:16:03,010 --> 00:16:06,543 WELL, A 10-YEAR-OLD BOY AT LEAST. 254 00:16:06,643 --> 00:16:07,910 SOMARA: AND LIKE THE MAN 255 00:16:08,010 --> 00:16:09,510 WHO FIRST FLEW ANCIENT CHINESE KITES, 256 00:16:09,610 --> 00:16:12,276 THAT LITTLE BOY'S NAME WAS LOST IN TIME, 257 00:16:12,376 --> 00:16:14,376 BUT ONE DAY, IN THIS VERY FIELD, 258 00:16:14,476 --> 00:16:18,576 THAT SMALL BOY BECAME THE FIRST HUMAN BEING 259 00:16:18,676 --> 00:16:23,043 TO FLY IN AN UNTETHERED AIRPLANE. 260 00:16:33,977 --> 00:16:37,710 NARRATOR: THIS FLIGHT CHANGED EVERYTHING. 261 00:16:37,810 --> 00:16:42,877 CAYLEY HAD CREATED THE FIRST WORKING GLIDER, 262 00:16:42,977 --> 00:16:45,877 AND CAYLEY HIMSELF COULD SEE HOW REVOLUTIONARY 263 00:16:45,977 --> 00:16:48,043 THIS TECHNOLOGY WOULD BE. 264 00:16:49,943 --> 00:16:51,510 SOMARA: "I FEEL PARTICULARLY CONFIDENT 265 00:16:51,610 --> 00:16:54,276 "THAT THIS NOBLE ART WILL SOON BE BROUGHT HOME 266 00:16:54,376 --> 00:16:55,877 "TO MAN'S CONVENIENCE 267 00:16:55,977 --> 00:16:57,977 "AND THAT WE SHALL BE ABLE TO TRANSPORT 268 00:16:58,076 --> 00:17:01,510 "OURSELVES MORE SECURELY BY AIR THAN BY WATER 269 00:17:01,610 --> 00:17:02,843 "AND WITH A VELOCITY 270 00:17:02,943 --> 00:17:07,643 BETWEEN 20 AND 100 MILES AN HOUR." 271 00:17:07,743 --> 00:17:10,309 NARRATOR: AT A TIME WHEN MOST PEOPLE 272 00:17:10,410 --> 00:17:12,510 TRAVELED BY HORSE AND CART, 273 00:17:12,610 --> 00:17:15,843 THE IDEA OF FLYING AROUND AT 100 MILES PER HOUR 274 00:17:15,943 --> 00:17:18,943 MUST HAVE SEEMED ABSURD. 275 00:17:19,043 --> 00:17:22,276 YET THERE WAS ALREADY A WAY TO TRAVEL BY AIR 276 00:17:22,376 --> 00:17:28,010 USING A RIVAL INVENTION-- THE BALLOON. 277 00:17:28,109 --> 00:17:31,309 ALL THROUGH THE 19th CENTURY, BALLOONS WERE A BIG DEAL. 278 00:17:31,410 --> 00:17:33,877 MANY WERE PRODUCED AND USED FOR TRANSPORTING 279 00:17:33,977 --> 00:17:37,877 BOTH PEOPLE AND MAIL. 280 00:17:37,977 --> 00:17:39,643 BUT OTHERS WERE CONVINCED 281 00:17:39,743 --> 00:17:43,877 THAT ONLY A HEAVIER-THAN-AIR MACHINE WOULD ALLOW US 282 00:17:43,977 --> 00:17:47,143 TO FLY WHEREVER WE WANTED. 283 00:17:47,243 --> 00:17:49,276 MANY SUCH FLYING MACHINES WERE DESIGNED, 284 00:17:49,376 --> 00:17:52,977 ALTHOUGH FEW WITH ANY GROUNDING IN SCIENCE. 285 00:17:53,076 --> 00:17:58,276 BUT BY THE MID-1800's, THE IDEA OF COMMERCIAL AVIATION 286 00:17:58,376 --> 00:17:59,743 WAS FULLY FORMED, TOO. 287 00:17:59,843 --> 00:18:03,743 EXHIBITIONS WERE HELD, DETAILING FANTASTIC PROPOSALS 288 00:18:03,843 --> 00:18:06,243 TO AN ENTHRALLED PUBLIC. 289 00:18:06,343 --> 00:18:09,076 BUT NOW THERE WAS A TWIST IN THE STORY, 290 00:18:09,176 --> 00:18:11,109 QUITE LITERALLY, 291 00:18:11,209 --> 00:18:14,743 WITH THE INVENTION OF THE RUBBER BAND. 292 00:18:16,410 --> 00:18:21,309 IN 1870, A 20-YEAR-OLD FRENCHMAN, ALPHONSE PENAUD, 293 00:18:21,410 --> 00:18:24,910 HAD A BRAINSTORM. 294 00:18:25,010 --> 00:18:28,109 HE DESIGNED A TOY HELICOPTER, 295 00:18:28,209 --> 00:18:31,309 DRIVEN BY A TWISTED RUBBER BAND. 296 00:18:31,410 --> 00:18:35,777 A YEAR LATER, HE DESIGNED ANOTHER MODEL, THE PLANOPHORE. 297 00:18:35,877 --> 00:18:41,276 THE TOY FLEW FOR ALMOST 200 FEET. 298 00:18:41,376 --> 00:18:45,076 NEXT, PENAUD DESIGNED A FULL-SIZED AIRPLANE. 299 00:18:45,176 --> 00:18:49,276 IT FEATURED TWIN PROPELLERS, AN AUTOPILOT, 300 00:18:49,376 --> 00:18:51,676 AND RETRACTING LANDING GEAR. 301 00:18:51,777 --> 00:18:55,476 IT WAS YEARS AHEAD OF ITS TIME. 302 00:18:55,576 --> 00:18:58,476 YET, WITH THE BIG MONEY IN BALLOONING, 303 00:18:58,576 --> 00:19:02,743 PENAUD COULDN'T PERSUADE ANYONE TO INVEST IN HIM. 304 00:19:02,843 --> 00:19:08,043 DEPRESSED, AGE 30, HE TOOK HIS OWN LIFE. 305 00:19:12,743 --> 00:19:16,910 BUT PENAUD'S WORK WOULD NOT BE IN VAIN. 306 00:19:17,010 --> 00:19:20,710 AROUND THE TIME OF HIS DEATH, A MAN WALKED INTO A STORE 307 00:19:20,810 --> 00:19:24,710 AND BOUGHT A TOY HELICOPTER, INSPIRED BY PENAUD'S DESIGN, 308 00:19:24,810 --> 00:19:29,510 FOR HIS TWO YOUNG SONS, WILBUR AND ORVILLE. 309 00:19:29,610 --> 00:19:31,309 THIS MACHINE WOULD TRIGGER 310 00:19:31,410 --> 00:19:33,510 AN OBSESSION WITH MECHANICAL FLIGHT 311 00:19:33,610 --> 00:19:37,510 THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY TAKE US TO THE AIR. 312 00:19:37,610 --> 00:19:40,543 BUT BEFORE THAT HAPPENED, 313 00:19:40,643 --> 00:19:43,777 A WEALTHY ENTREPRENEUR IN GERMANY WAS READY 314 00:19:43,877 --> 00:19:47,610 TO PUT HIS REPUTATION AND HIS LIFE ON THE LINE. 315 00:19:47,710 --> 00:19:52,076 HE CONSTRUCTED A MACHINE THAT WAS BASED ON YEARS OF STUDY, 316 00:19:52,176 --> 00:19:55,676 PARTICULARLY ON THE WINGS OF THE STORK. 317 00:19:55,777 --> 00:19:58,076 HE NOTICED HOW THE WINGS ARE CURVED 318 00:19:58,176 --> 00:20:01,610 AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT THEY ARE AT THE CORRECT ANGLE 319 00:20:01,710 --> 00:20:04,076 TO THE ONCOMING AIR. 320 00:20:04,176 --> 00:20:07,443 HIS NAME WAS OTTO LILIENTHAL. 321 00:20:07,543 --> 00:20:10,476 HE WAS CONVINCED THAT A FULL-GROWN MAN 322 00:20:10,576 --> 00:20:14,910 COULD GLIDE LIKE A BIRD. 323 00:20:15,010 --> 00:20:16,410 LENTICK: WHAT MAKES LILIENTHAL SPECIAL 324 00:20:16,510 --> 00:20:19,109 IS THAT HE ACTUALLY COMBINED ALL THE DISCOVERIES 325 00:20:19,209 --> 00:20:23,443 AND BUILT A FLYING MACHINE THAT CAN WORK. 326 00:20:23,543 --> 00:20:26,543 AND TO FLY THAT GLIDER, HE BUILT HIS OWN HILL. 327 00:20:30,843 --> 00:20:35,610 [PEOPLE GASPING] 328 00:20:49,376 --> 00:20:54,410 NARRATOR: THE DREAM OF A FLYING MAN WAS REAL AT LAST, 329 00:20:54,510 --> 00:20:58,543 EVEN THOUGH THE FLIGHT COULD NOT BE SUSTAINED. 330 00:20:58,643 --> 00:21:00,410 [APPLAUSE] 331 00:21:04,376 --> 00:21:08,676 IN 2016, THE GERMAN AEROSPACE CENTER 332 00:21:08,777 --> 00:21:14,476 BUILT AN ACCURATE REPLICA OF ONE OF LILIENTHAL'S GLIDERS 333 00:21:14,576 --> 00:21:17,743 TO SEE HOW STABLE AND AIRWORTHY IT WAS. 334 00:21:17,843 --> 00:21:19,576 THEY PLACED THE GLIDER 335 00:21:19,676 --> 00:21:22,643 IN ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED WIND TUNNELS IN EUROPE. 336 00:21:25,176 --> 00:21:27,843 THE TUNNEL BLASTED AIR OVER THE REPLICA, 337 00:21:27,943 --> 00:21:30,443 WHICH WAS HELD STEADY BY AN ARM 338 00:21:30,543 --> 00:21:32,877 RIGGED WITH DOZENS OF SENSORS 339 00:21:32,977 --> 00:21:36,443 LINKED TO COMPUTERS IN THE CONTROL ROOM. 340 00:21:36,543 --> 00:21:39,443 THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE GLIDER'S CURVED WINGS 341 00:21:39,543 --> 00:21:43,243 DO INDEED PRODUCE A REMARKABLE AMOUNT OF LIFT. 342 00:21:43,343 --> 00:21:45,843 THE AIRCRAFT WAS CAPABLE OF FLYING 343 00:21:45,943 --> 00:21:50,043 NEARLY FOUR TIMES FARTHER THAN IT FALLS. 344 00:21:50,143 --> 00:21:53,877 BUT LILIENTHAL WAS AWARE THERE WAS MUCH MORE WORK TO DO. 345 00:21:53,977 --> 00:21:58,643 HE WROTE THAT, "ONLY WITH MUCH MORE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 346 00:21:58,743 --> 00:22:03,243 WILL WE EVER MAKE SUSTAINED FLIGHT A REALITY." 347 00:22:03,343 --> 00:22:07,076 BUT LILIENTHAL'S FLIGHTS HAD ALSO HIGHLIGHTED 348 00:22:07,176 --> 00:22:10,676 A MAJOR PROBLEM--CONTROL. 349 00:22:10,777 --> 00:22:13,676 THE ONLY WAY LILIENTHAL COULD STEER HIS GLIDER 350 00:22:13,777 --> 00:22:16,309 WAS BY SHIFTING HIS WEIGHT FORWARDS AND BACKWARDS 351 00:22:16,410 --> 00:22:19,076 AND FROM SIDE TO SIDE. 352 00:22:19,176 --> 00:22:24,176 IN 1896, HIS LUCK RAN OUT. 353 00:22:24,276 --> 00:22:27,276 HIT BY A GUST OF WIND, HE LOST CONTROL 354 00:22:27,376 --> 00:22:30,076 AND PLUMMETED TO EARTH, BREAKING HIS NECK. 355 00:22:30,176 --> 00:22:35,010 LEGEND HAS IT THAT HIS FINAL WORDS WERE, 356 00:22:35,109 --> 00:22:37,443 "SACRIFICES MUST BE MADE." 357 00:22:37,543 --> 00:22:41,243 LILIENTHAL DIED KNOWING THAT SUSTAINED FLIGHT 358 00:22:41,343 --> 00:22:43,010 SHOULD BE POSSIBLE, 359 00:22:43,109 --> 00:22:46,010 BUT WHAT HE DIDN'T REALIZE WAS THAT A CRAZE 360 00:22:46,109 --> 00:22:48,843 FOR ANOTHER FORM OF TRANSPORTATION 361 00:22:48,943 --> 00:22:52,209 HAD ALREADY SET THE WHEELS IN MOTION. 362 00:22:52,309 --> 00:22:54,343 [MUSIC PLAYING AND MAN WHISTLING] 363 00:22:57,143 --> 00:22:58,877 BACK IN THE 1880's, 364 00:22:58,977 --> 00:23:02,109 WHILE LILIENTHAL WAS SHOWING OFF HIS GLIDERS, 365 00:23:02,209 --> 00:23:04,510 OTHER DAREDEVILS WERE RISKING THEIR NECKS 366 00:23:04,610 --> 00:23:07,143 ON PENNY FARTHING BICYCLES. 367 00:23:07,243 --> 00:23:10,476 IT WAS A DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS MACHINE. 368 00:23:10,576 --> 00:23:13,276 BUT THEN A BREAKTHROUGH-- 369 00:23:13,376 --> 00:23:16,977 THE SAFETY BICYCLE WAS INVENTED. 370 00:23:17,076 --> 00:23:20,410 IT WAS EASIER TO RIDE AND MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE 371 00:23:20,510 --> 00:23:22,943 THAN ANY BICYCLE BEFORE. 372 00:23:23,043 --> 00:23:25,743 CYCLING BECAME A NATIONAL CRAZE. 373 00:23:25,843 --> 00:23:31,543 30,000 CYCLE SHOPS OPENED IN LESS THAN A DECADE... 374 00:23:31,643 --> 00:23:34,676 INCLUDING THIS ONE IN DAYTON, OHIO. 375 00:23:34,777 --> 00:23:37,276 IT WAS OWNED BY THE TWO BROTHERS 376 00:23:37,376 --> 00:23:40,743 WHO HAD RECEIVED A TOY HELICOPTER WHEN THEY WERE BOYS. 377 00:23:42,343 --> 00:23:45,977 THEY WERE, OF COURSE, WILBUR AND ORVILLE WRIGHT. 378 00:23:52,543 --> 00:23:55,443 FLETCHER: I'VE BEEN INTERESTED IN AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 379 00:23:55,543 --> 00:23:57,109 SINCE THE AGE OF 11. 380 00:23:57,209 --> 00:23:59,610 I'VE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN DESIGN AND MATHEMATICS 381 00:23:59,710 --> 00:24:03,710 AND SCIENCE, SO WHEN I SAW THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' FLIER, 382 00:24:03,810 --> 00:24:06,710 I ALWAYS WONDERED, HOW COULD SOMETHING 383 00:24:06,810 --> 00:24:09,710 THAT LOOKS SO FRAGILE AND FLIMSY 384 00:24:09,810 --> 00:24:12,943 ACTUALLY ACHIEVE CONTROLLED FLIGHT? 385 00:24:13,043 --> 00:24:15,676 NARRATOR: THE WRIGHT BROTHERS STARTED BY READING 386 00:24:15,777 --> 00:24:21,877 ALL THEY COULD ABOUT CAYLEY, PENAUD, AND LILIENTHAL. 387 00:24:21,977 --> 00:24:24,176 THEY REALIZED THAT THERE WAS STILL MUCH TO LEARN 388 00:24:24,276 --> 00:24:26,610 ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF WINGS. 389 00:24:28,176 --> 00:24:30,076 THEY BUILT A DEVICE USING A WHEEL 390 00:24:30,176 --> 00:24:33,276 ATTACHED HORIZONTALLY TO THE FRONT OF A BICYCLE. 391 00:24:33,376 --> 00:24:36,710 ON THIS WHEEL, THEY ATTACHED MODELS 392 00:24:36,810 --> 00:24:38,376 OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF WINGS. 393 00:24:38,476 --> 00:24:42,543 BY RIDING ALONG, THEY PRODUCED A STEADY STREAM OF AIR, 394 00:24:42,643 --> 00:24:47,043 WHICH GAVE THE BROTHER REAL DATA ON HOW WINGS WORK. 395 00:24:47,143 --> 00:24:49,209 FLETCHER: THEY WERE RIDING THEIR BICYCLE 396 00:24:49,309 --> 00:24:51,576 UP AND DOWN THE STREET, TRYING TO DISCOVER 397 00:24:51,676 --> 00:24:53,910 THE PERFECT WING FOR THEIR GLIDER. 398 00:24:57,743 --> 00:24:59,643 NARRATOR: THE WRIGHTS FOUND THAT THEY COULD IMPROVE 399 00:24:59,743 --> 00:25:02,977 ON LILIENTHAL'S DESIGNS BY CHANGING 400 00:25:03,076 --> 00:25:05,309 THE SHAPE OF THE WINGS, BOTH IN THEIR CURVATURE 401 00:25:05,410 --> 00:25:09,910 AND BY MAKING THEM LONGER AND NARROWER. 402 00:25:10,010 --> 00:25:11,710 ULTIMATELY, IT WOULD BE SCIENCE 403 00:25:11,810 --> 00:25:17,010 THAT WOULD GET US INTO THE AIR AND KEEP US THERE. 404 00:25:19,010 --> 00:25:21,476 FLETCHER: AT THE TIME, PILOTS HAD THE ABILITY 405 00:25:21,576 --> 00:25:24,076 TO LEAN IN ORDER TO CONTROL THE GLIDER. 406 00:25:24,176 --> 00:25:26,877 CYCLISTS HAD THAT SAME ABILITY WITH BIKES, 407 00:25:26,977 --> 00:25:30,076 BUT THEY ALSO HAD ONE OTHER ADVANTAGE--HANDLEBARS. 408 00:25:30,176 --> 00:25:32,977 THE WRIGHT BROTHERS HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO STEER. 409 00:25:36,576 --> 00:25:40,076 AS THE STORY GOES, IN 1899, 410 00:25:40,176 --> 00:25:43,877 WILBUR WRIGHT HAD A BREAKTHROUGH. 411 00:25:43,977 --> 00:25:46,276 HE WAS PLAYING WITH A CARDBOARD BOX 412 00:25:46,376 --> 00:25:48,877 OF AN INNER TUBE FOR A BICYCLE, 413 00:25:48,977 --> 00:25:54,243 AND HE HAD AN IDEA, AN IDEA THAT WILL TRANSFORM FLIGHT. 414 00:25:54,343 --> 00:25:57,843 NARRATOR: THE IDEA WAS CALLED WIND WARPING. 415 00:25:57,943 --> 00:26:01,710 BY WARPING OR TWISTING THE WING, IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE 416 00:26:01,810 --> 00:26:05,710 TO CHANGE THE AMOUNT OF LIFT EACH SIDE PRODUCES. 417 00:26:05,810 --> 00:26:08,710 THE SIDE THAT TWISTS UP SHOULD PRODUCE MORE LIFT, 418 00:26:08,810 --> 00:26:10,910 ROLLING THE PLANE AND STEERING IT 419 00:26:11,010 --> 00:26:13,710 A BIT LIKE A BICYCLE. 420 00:26:13,810 --> 00:26:17,710 THE SYSTEM WAS CONTROLLED BY THE PILOT, LYING IN A CRADLE. 421 00:26:17,810 --> 00:26:21,510 AN ARRANGEMENT OF WIRES MEANT THAT, IF HE MOVED HIS HIPS, 422 00:26:21,610 --> 00:26:25,109 THE WINGS WOULD TWIST, AND THE GLIDER SHOULD TURN. 423 00:26:25,209 --> 00:26:28,076 A MOVEABLE RUDDER ON THE REAR OF THE MACHINE 424 00:26:28,176 --> 00:26:30,076 CONTROLLED THE DIRECTION, 425 00:26:30,176 --> 00:26:32,410 AND A HORIZONTAL SURFACE ON THE FRONT 426 00:26:32,510 --> 00:26:34,676 CONTROLLED THE PITCH OF THE GLIDER. 427 00:26:34,777 --> 00:26:37,676 FOR THE FIRST TIME, HERE WAS AN AIRCRAFT 428 00:26:37,777 --> 00:26:42,777 THAT SHOULD HAVE CONTROL IN ALL DIRECTIONS. 429 00:26:50,043 --> 00:26:54,276 IN 1902, THEY BROUGHT THE NEW MACHINE HERE 430 00:26:54,376 --> 00:26:58,376 TO KITTY HAWK IN NORTH CAROLINA. 431 00:27:03,309 --> 00:27:05,877 THEY CHOSE THIS PLACE BECAUSE OF THE COMBINATION 432 00:27:05,977 --> 00:27:08,710 OF RELIABLE WINDS AND SAND DUNES, 433 00:27:08,810 --> 00:27:12,610 WHICH WOULD SOFTEN ANY LANDINGS. 434 00:27:14,410 --> 00:27:17,710 BRUCE WEAVER IS A LIFELONG FAN OF THE BROTHERS 435 00:27:17,810 --> 00:27:22,309 AND ESPECIALLY THEIR 1902 GLIDER. 436 00:27:22,410 --> 00:27:25,910 WEAVER: THE 1902 WRIGHT GLIDER, I THINK, IS ARGUABLY 437 00:27:26,010 --> 00:27:30,610 THE MOST IMPORTANT AIRCRAFT EVER BUILT. 438 00:27:30,710 --> 00:27:33,476 THIS IS THE ONE THAT THEY FIGURED OUT HOW TO FLY ON. 439 00:27:35,576 --> 00:27:38,476 NARRATOR: NOW BRUCE IS GOING TO TRY AND FLY IT 440 00:27:38,576 --> 00:27:43,276 WHERE THE WRIGHT BROTHERS FLEW THEIRS OVER A CENTURY AGO. 441 00:27:43,376 --> 00:27:46,810 WEAVER: AND THIS ONE IS AN EXACT REPRODUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL. 442 00:27:48,376 --> 00:27:52,676 THE 1902 GLIDER IS WHERE THEY ACTUALLY CREATED THE CONTROL 443 00:27:52,777 --> 00:27:56,343 THAT THEY NEEDED TO HAVE SUCCESSFUL MANNED FLIGHT. 444 00:28:02,777 --> 00:28:05,910 WEAVER: ALL RIGHT. ARE YOU READY? 445 00:28:06,010 --> 00:28:08,910 NARRATOR: HIGH WINDS TODAY MEAN THAT THE MACHINE 446 00:28:09,010 --> 00:28:10,710 MUST BE TETHERED FOR SAFETY. 447 00:28:10,810 --> 00:28:12,710 BUT AS FOR LIFT AND CONTROL, 448 00:28:12,810 --> 00:28:15,643 BRUCE IS FLYING THE GLIDER ON HIS OWN, 449 00:28:15,743 --> 00:28:19,410 JUST AS WILBUR AND ORVILLE WOULD HAVE DONE. 450 00:28:22,410 --> 00:28:25,943 WEAVER: FLYING IT, IT'S AMAZING HOW EFFICIENT THE GLIDER IS 451 00:28:26,043 --> 00:28:29,410 WITH ITS CONTROLS. IT'S AN INCREDIBLE MACHINE. 452 00:28:32,810 --> 00:28:34,910 WHAT I DIDN'T REALLY GRASP 453 00:28:35,010 --> 00:28:37,309 UNTIL I ACTUALLY FLEW IT SEVERAL TIMES 454 00:28:37,410 --> 00:28:39,710 WAS JUST HOW BRAVE THE WRIGHT BROTHERS WERE. 455 00:28:42,777 --> 00:28:44,676 YOU KNOW, THEY WERE TAKING THIS AIRCRAFT 456 00:28:44,777 --> 00:28:46,643 THAT THEY'D INVENTED THEMSELVES-- 457 00:28:46,743 --> 00:28:49,476 NO ONE HAD EVER DONE IT SUCCESSFULLY BEFORE-- 458 00:28:49,576 --> 00:28:53,276 AND THEY WERE TEST PILOTS. 459 00:28:53,376 --> 00:28:58,543 ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO FEEL WHAT THE WRIGHT BROTHERS FELT, 460 00:28:58,643 --> 00:29:01,543 FLYING THROUGH THE AIR ON THEIR INVENTION, 461 00:29:01,643 --> 00:29:04,443 IT'S ABSOLUTELY OVERWHELMING. 462 00:29:16,610 --> 00:29:20,710 NARRATOR: THE 1902 GLIDER SOLVED THE MOST DIFFICULT CHALLENGE, 463 00:29:20,810 --> 00:29:23,309 ADDING TRUE CONTROL OF FLIGHT, 464 00:29:23,410 --> 00:29:26,510 BUT IT WAS STILL JUST A GLIDER. 465 00:29:26,610 --> 00:29:28,309 IT WASN'T UNTIL THE FOLLOWING YEAR 466 00:29:28,410 --> 00:29:31,309 THAT THE WRIGHT BROTHERS MANAGED TO CREATE AN ENGINE 467 00:29:31,410 --> 00:29:35,410 THAT WAS LIGHT ENOUGH TO POWER THEIR AIRPLANE. 468 00:29:37,209 --> 00:29:41,510 AND SO, ON DECEMBER 17, 1903, THE WORLD'S FIRST POWERED FLIGHT 469 00:29:41,610 --> 00:29:45,576 TOOK PLACE AT KITTY HAWK. 470 00:29:45,676 --> 00:29:48,476 IT HAD TAKEN OVER 1,000 YEARS 471 00:29:48,576 --> 00:29:52,076 FROM IBN FIRNAS AND HIS LEAP OF FAITH 472 00:29:52,176 --> 00:29:57,076 FOR HUMANS TO BE ABLE TO AT LAST TRULY FLY. 473 00:29:57,176 --> 00:30:01,276 AND NOW AVIATION DEVELOPED RAPIDLY. 474 00:30:01,376 --> 00:30:03,943 THE WRIGHT BROTHERS SOLD THEIR FIRST PRODUCTION AIRCRAFT 475 00:30:04,043 --> 00:30:09,877 IN 1908 FOR $25,000 TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. 476 00:30:09,977 --> 00:30:13,643 THAT'S ALMOST $700,000 TODAY. 477 00:30:15,777 --> 00:30:18,276 OVER THE NEXT DECADE, THE AIRPLANE WAS DEVELOPED 478 00:30:18,376 --> 00:30:20,043 AT BREAKNECK SPEED, 479 00:30:20,143 --> 00:30:24,343 ACCELERATED BY THE ADVENT OF WORLD WAR I. 480 00:30:26,376 --> 00:30:29,143 AND AS WAR PLANES WENT HIGHER AND FASTER, 481 00:30:29,243 --> 00:30:32,443 NEW DANGERS AROSE, 482 00:30:32,543 --> 00:30:35,243 BUT IT WILL TAKE ANOTHER CHILDREN'S TOY 483 00:30:35,343 --> 00:30:38,276 TO TRIGGER THE NEXT BREAKTHROUGH IN FLIGHT. 484 00:30:42,343 --> 00:30:45,843 MAN: BY THE 1920's, PILOTS WERE RISKING THEIR LIVES 485 00:30:45,943 --> 00:30:51,576 FLYING THROUGH THICK FOG, THROUGH COMPLETE DARKNESS. 486 00:30:51,676 --> 00:30:54,276 FOR A PILOT, LOSING SIGHT OF THE HORIZON, 487 00:30:54,376 --> 00:30:57,143 EVEN FOR JUST A FEW SECONDS, CAN BE VERY DISORIENTATING. 488 00:30:57,243 --> 00:30:58,810 AT BEST, THEY COULD VEER OFF COURSE, 489 00:30:58,910 --> 00:31:00,410 AND THAT COULD BE QUITE SCARY. 490 00:31:00,510 --> 00:31:02,476 AT WORST, IT COULD BE FATAL. 491 00:31:02,576 --> 00:31:06,076 AT THE TIME, THE AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY FOR A PILOT 492 00:31:06,176 --> 00:31:09,676 WAS JUST THREE YEARS. 493 00:31:09,777 --> 00:31:12,076 THE PROBLEM OF FLYING IN POOR VISIBILITY 494 00:31:12,176 --> 00:31:15,676 WAS ONE OF THE MOST PRESSING CHALLENGES OF THE DAY, 495 00:31:15,777 --> 00:31:19,610 AND THE SOLUTION TO THAT PROBLEM WAS FOUND 496 00:31:19,710 --> 00:31:21,676 BECAUSE OF THIS SHIP. 497 00:31:21,777 --> 00:31:24,076 AL-KHALILI: THIS REVOLUTION BEGINS NOT ON LAND 498 00:31:24,176 --> 00:31:27,243 OR IN THE AIR, BUT AT SEA IN A DIFFERENT TIME 499 00:31:27,343 --> 00:31:33,076 WITH AN ATTEMPT TO SOLVE A VERY DIFFERENT PROBLEM. 500 00:31:33,176 --> 00:31:36,877 IN 1838, THE GREAT ENGINEER ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL 501 00:31:36,977 --> 00:31:39,243 DECIDED TO BUILD THIS, HIS NEXT SHIP, 502 00:31:39,343 --> 00:31:43,309 THE S.S. GREAT BRITAIN, FROM IRON. 503 00:31:43,410 --> 00:31:46,243 WHEN IT FIRST SAILED IN 1845, 504 00:31:46,343 --> 00:31:48,843 IT WAS THE LARGEST SHIP IN THE WORLD, 505 00:31:48,943 --> 00:31:50,643 A GRAND STATEMENT, 506 00:31:50,743 --> 00:31:53,043 AND, OF COURSE, EVERYTHING CHANGED. 507 00:31:53,143 --> 00:31:55,743 THE AGE OF OAK SHIPS WAS OVER. 508 00:32:00,643 --> 00:32:02,610 BRUNEL HAD KICK-STARTED THE AGE 509 00:32:02,710 --> 00:32:07,610 OF THE IRON HULL, BUT HAD ALSO UNWITTINGLY CREATED A PROBLEM. 510 00:32:20,410 --> 00:32:23,076 FOR CENTURIES, SHIPS HAD BEEN FINDING THEIR WAY 511 00:32:23,176 --> 00:32:27,276 ACROSS THE HIGH SEAS ASSISTED BY A MAGNETIC COMPASS, 512 00:32:27,376 --> 00:32:30,576 ALWAYS POINTING UNFAILINGLY TOWARDS THE NORTH. 513 00:32:33,243 --> 00:32:35,243 SUCH A VAST AMOUNT OF IRON 514 00:32:35,343 --> 00:32:38,209 INTERFERED WITH THE SHIP'S COMPASS. 515 00:32:38,309 --> 00:32:40,877 THE DEVICE THAT HAD BECOME AN ESSENTIAL PART 516 00:32:40,977 --> 00:32:45,843 OF ANY VOYAGE TO SEA WAS NOW DANGEROUSLY UNRELIABLE. 517 00:32:45,943 --> 00:32:50,243 THE S.S. GREAT BRITAIN HERSELF LOST HER COURSE... 518 00:32:50,343 --> 00:32:52,843 BECAME GROUNDED OFF THE COAST OF NORTHERN IRELAND, 519 00:32:52,943 --> 00:32:54,943 AND WAS BEACHED FOR ALMOST A YEAR. 520 00:33:03,676 --> 00:33:06,276 BUT WITH HUNDREDS OF IRON-HULLED SHIPS 521 00:33:06,376 --> 00:33:08,877 PUT OUT TO SEA EVERY YEAR, 522 00:33:08,977 --> 00:33:13,777 A RADICAL SOLUTION HAD TO BE FOUND, AND FOUND QUICKLY. 523 00:33:16,710 --> 00:33:20,076 ELMER SPERRY WAS A SUCCESSFUL ENGINEER, 524 00:33:20,176 --> 00:33:23,276 INVENTOR, AND BUSINESSMAN... 525 00:33:23,376 --> 00:33:26,777 AND PROLIFIC PROBLEM-SOLVER. 526 00:33:28,376 --> 00:33:32,243 BY 54, HE'D INVENTED A SEARCHLIGHT 527 00:33:32,343 --> 00:33:36,143 SIX TIMES BRIGHTER THAN EVER SEEN BEFORE. 528 00:33:36,243 --> 00:33:38,676 SO, WHEN THE PROBLEM OF COMPASSES AND IRON SHIPS 529 00:33:38,777 --> 00:33:44,543 CAME TO HIS ATTENTION, HE WAS DETERMINED TO SOLVE IT. 530 00:33:49,143 --> 00:33:51,643 OF ALL THE IDEAS THAT SURROUNDED 531 00:33:51,743 --> 00:33:54,010 AND FILLED THE WORLD OF ELMER SPERRY, 532 00:33:54,109 --> 00:33:57,443 THE ONE HE LOVED THE MOST WAS THE GYROSCOPE. 533 00:33:57,543 --> 00:34:00,043 HE LOVED THE CURIOUS FORCES AND THE MECHANICAL PRECISION 534 00:34:00,143 --> 00:34:01,610 OF THE DEVICE. 535 00:34:01,710 --> 00:34:04,109 ESSENTIALLY, IT'S A SPINNING WHEEL 536 00:34:04,209 --> 00:34:06,510 THAT, IF YOU SPIN IT VERY FAST, 537 00:34:06,610 --> 00:34:08,176 IT MAINTAINS THE SAME DIRECTION. 538 00:34:08,276 --> 00:34:12,309 NO MATTER WHAT FORCES ACT ON IT, IT RESISTS THOSE FORCES 539 00:34:12,410 --> 00:34:15,076 THAT MIGHT TRY AND CHANGE ITS DIRECTION OF SPIN 540 00:34:15,176 --> 00:34:17,777 OR THE SPEED OF ROTATION. 541 00:34:20,910 --> 00:34:23,276 SPERRY REALIZED THAT A SPINNING GYROSCOPE, 542 00:34:23,376 --> 00:34:25,676 WHICH IS NORMALLY JUST A CHILD'S TOY, 543 00:34:25,777 --> 00:34:27,877 WOULD, IF MOUNTED IN A GIMBALED FRAME 544 00:34:27,977 --> 00:34:29,510 AND KEPT SPINNING, 545 00:34:29,610 --> 00:34:32,076 MAINTAIN THE DIRECTION IT'S POINTING TO 546 00:34:32,176 --> 00:34:36,476 NO MATTER HOW THE FRAME AROUND IT MIGHT MOVE. 547 00:34:41,376 --> 00:34:44,076 IF A MOUNTED GYROSCOPE WAS POINTED NORTH 548 00:34:44,176 --> 00:34:47,910 AND THEN SET SPINNING, IT WOULD REMAIN POINTING NORTH 549 00:34:48,010 --> 00:34:50,043 THROUGHOUT THE SHIP'S JOURNEY, 550 00:34:50,143 --> 00:34:51,910 AND UNLIKE A MAGNETIC COMPASS, 551 00:34:52,010 --> 00:34:57,143 IT WAS UNAFFECTED BY THE IRON HULLS OF THE NEW SHIPS. 552 00:35:04,410 --> 00:35:08,109 NARRATOR: A FEW YEARS LATER, SPERRY'S THIRD SON, LAWRENCE, 553 00:35:08,209 --> 00:35:10,777 WHO WAS A KEEN AVIATOR, REALIZED THERE WAS 554 00:35:10,877 --> 00:35:14,810 A NEW AND PROFITABLE USE FOR THE GYROSCOPE. 555 00:35:19,977 --> 00:35:23,676 WHAT IF IT COULD BE USED NOT JUST AS A COMPASS, 556 00:35:23,777 --> 00:35:27,010 BUT ALSO TO TELL A PILOT WHICH WAY WAS UP, 557 00:35:27,109 --> 00:35:29,276 EVEN IN A THICK FOG. 558 00:35:29,376 --> 00:35:35,376 WE NOW CALL THE DEVICE AN ARTIFICIAL HORIZON. 559 00:35:39,576 --> 00:35:43,476 AL-KHALILI: SPERRY CLAIMED THAT, WITH HIS NEW GYRO HORIZON, 560 00:35:43,576 --> 00:35:45,276 A PILOT COULD FLY 561 00:35:45,376 --> 00:35:48,343 WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO SEE THE TRUE HORIZON. 562 00:35:48,443 --> 00:35:51,977 ESSENTIALLY, HE COULD FLY BLIND. 563 00:35:52,076 --> 00:35:56,443 IN 1929, A PILOT NAMED JAMES DOOLITTLE 564 00:35:56,543 --> 00:36:01,243 VOLUNTEERED TO PUT THE SYSTEM TO THE ULTIMATE TEST. 565 00:36:01,343 --> 00:36:03,710 HE CLOSED THE COCKPIT OF HIS BIPLANE 566 00:36:03,810 --> 00:36:07,109 TO BLOCK OUT ALL LIGHT. 567 00:36:07,209 --> 00:36:12,910 LUCKILY FOR DOOLITTLE, THE SYSTEM WORKED. 568 00:36:13,010 --> 00:36:14,910 WE SEE THIS HAPPENING TIME AND TIME AGAIN 569 00:36:15,010 --> 00:36:16,710 IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE, 570 00:36:16,810 --> 00:36:18,910 WHERE A COMPLETELY CHANCE DISCOVERY 571 00:36:19,010 --> 00:36:23,410 LEADS TO AN APPLICATION THAT NO ONE WAS EXPECTING. 572 00:36:25,977 --> 00:36:31,076 NARRATOR: NOW COMMERCIAL AVIATION BEGAN IN EARNEST. 573 00:36:31,176 --> 00:36:32,676 IN THAT SAME YEAR, 574 00:36:32,777 --> 00:36:36,243 THE FIRST COAST-TO-COAST AIRLINE SERVICE WAS LAUNCHED. 575 00:36:36,343 --> 00:36:37,877 [MUSIC PLAYING] 576 00:36:37,977 --> 00:36:39,877 THE SERVICE ADVERTISED 577 00:36:39,977 --> 00:36:42,510 THE AMAZING JOURNEY TIME OF 48 HOURS 578 00:36:42,610 --> 00:36:45,643 FROM NEW YORK TO LOS ANGELES. 579 00:36:45,743 --> 00:36:48,243 THE TRIP WAS THE HEIGHT OF GLAMOUR, 580 00:36:48,343 --> 00:36:52,543 COSTING $5,000 ONE WAY IN TODAY'S MONEY. 581 00:36:52,643 --> 00:36:57,143 BUT IT WAS A REAL TEST OF ENDURANCE. 582 00:36:57,243 --> 00:37:00,243 FIRST, PASSENGERS BOARDED AN OVERNIGHT TRAIN 583 00:37:00,343 --> 00:37:02,376 FOR A 530-MILE RIDE 584 00:37:02,476 --> 00:37:05,410 TO THE AIRPORT IN COLUMBUS, OHIO. 585 00:37:05,510 --> 00:37:09,109 THERE THEY BOARDED A FORD TRIMOTOR AIRLINER 586 00:37:09,209 --> 00:37:11,643 FOR THEIR FIRST DAY OF FLYING. 587 00:37:13,777 --> 00:37:16,076 THE PLANE HAD TO STOP FOUR TIMES TO REFUEL 588 00:37:16,176 --> 00:37:19,910 BEFORE THEY EVENTUALLY ARRIVED IN OKLAHOMA, 589 00:37:20,010 --> 00:37:22,309 WHERE THEY BOARDED ANOTHER SLEEPER TRAIN FOR THE NIGHT 590 00:37:22,410 --> 00:37:24,910 TO GET TO THE NEXT AIRPORT. 591 00:37:25,010 --> 00:37:30,510 ON DAY TWO, THE PASSENGERS TOOK A SECOND AIRPLANE... 592 00:37:30,610 --> 00:37:32,543 WHICH HAD TO STOP ANOTHER THREE TIMES. 593 00:37:32,643 --> 00:37:37,777 FINALLY, AFTER TWO STRAIGHT DAYS OF TRAINS AND PLANES, 594 00:37:37,877 --> 00:37:41,676 LOS ANGELES CAME INTO VIEW. 595 00:37:41,777 --> 00:37:43,576 WHILE THIS PROMOTIONAL FILM 596 00:37:43,676 --> 00:37:47,676 MAKES IT SEEM PIONEERING AND FUN... 597 00:37:47,777 --> 00:37:52,877 THE REALITY WAS OFTEN SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT. 598 00:37:52,977 --> 00:37:57,676 [THUNDER] 599 00:37:57,777 --> 00:38:00,076 FLYING AT JUST 5,000 FEET, 600 00:38:00,176 --> 00:38:03,243 THE TRIMOTOR WAS VULNERABLE TO BAD WEATHER, 601 00:38:03,343 --> 00:38:07,109 MAKING FOR AN UNPLEASANT RIDE. 602 00:38:07,209 --> 00:38:09,910 AND THAT SEPTEMBER, A TRIMOTOR CRASHED 603 00:38:10,010 --> 00:38:14,309 ON MOUNT TAYLOR, ARIZONA... 604 00:38:14,410 --> 00:38:16,710 KILLING ALL ON BOARD. 605 00:38:16,810 --> 00:38:20,877 IT WAS THE FIRST COMMERCIAL AIRLINE DISASTER. 606 00:38:27,610 --> 00:38:31,910 TO MAKE AIR TRAVEL BOTH SAFER AND FASTER, 607 00:38:32,010 --> 00:38:34,510 ANOTHER BREAKTHROUGH WAS NEEDED, 608 00:38:34,610 --> 00:38:38,109 THIS TIME INSPIRED NOT BY SOMETHING IN THE SKY, 609 00:38:38,209 --> 00:38:42,076 BUT SOMETHING FAR BENEATH THE WAVES. 610 00:38:42,176 --> 00:38:46,209 THE RADICAL IDEA WAS TO USE DEEP-SEA DIVING TECHNOLOGY 611 00:38:46,309 --> 00:38:48,276 TO EXPLORE THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE. 612 00:38:48,376 --> 00:38:51,076 MAYBE A PLANE COULD AVOID BAD WEATHER 613 00:38:51,176 --> 00:38:52,476 BY FLYING ABOVE IT 614 00:38:52,576 --> 00:38:55,076 AND TRAVEL FASTER THROUGH THINNER AIR. 615 00:38:55,176 --> 00:39:00,676 IT MEANT VISITING A PLACE THAT THIS AIRCRAFT CALLS HOME. 616 00:39:00,777 --> 00:39:03,376 FRANQUEMONT: THE U-2 IS MEANT TO FLY HIGH. 617 00:39:03,476 --> 00:39:05,743 IT IS LIKE WRESTLING A BEAR DOWN LOW. 618 00:39:05,843 --> 00:39:09,943 ONCE WE GET IT UP TO ALTITUDE, IT FLIES LIKE A SPORTS CAR. 619 00:39:10,043 --> 00:39:15,309 SO, TODAY WE'RE GONNA FLY UP TO AROUND 70,000 FEET. 620 00:39:15,410 --> 00:39:16,877 NARRATOR: THE U-2 IS ONE 621 00:39:16,977 --> 00:39:19,109 OF THE WORLD'S HIGHEST-FLYING AIRCRAFT, 622 00:39:19,209 --> 00:39:23,109 ABLE TO CRUISE AT OVER 13 MILES HIGH. 623 00:39:23,209 --> 00:39:27,910 BUT 90-ODD YEARS AGO, NOBODY KNEW WHAT WAS POSSIBLE. 624 00:39:28,010 --> 00:39:30,243 FRANQUEMONT: TODAY THERE WERE SOME THUNDERSTORMS AROUND, 625 00:39:30,343 --> 00:39:32,910 AND WE ACTUALLY CLIMBED HIGHER THAN THE THUNDERSTORMS. 626 00:39:33,010 --> 00:39:34,710 WE'RE GOING TO BE ABOVE ALL THE WEATHER. 627 00:39:34,810 --> 00:39:36,309 IT'S AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE 628 00:39:36,410 --> 00:39:39,910 ANY TIME YOU GO UP HIGH LIKE THAT. 629 00:39:40,010 --> 00:39:42,309 NARRATOR: THE DIFFICULTY WAS NOT JUST GETTING UP HERE. 630 00:39:42,410 --> 00:39:45,877 IT WAS STAYING ALIVE ONCE YOU'D ARRIVED. 631 00:39:45,977 --> 00:39:50,476 IN 1929, CAPTAIN HAWTHORNE C. GRAY 632 00:39:50,576 --> 00:39:56,076 ASCENDED TO OVER 40,000 FEET BY HELIUM BALLOON. 633 00:39:56,176 --> 00:39:58,777 BUT WHEN THE BALLOON LANDED A DAY LATER, 634 00:39:58,877 --> 00:40:02,877 HE WAS FOUND DEAD AT THE CONTROLS. 635 00:40:02,977 --> 00:40:07,076 ENTER AN AVIATOR WITH A NEED FOR SPEED. 636 00:40:07,176 --> 00:40:09,376 [MUSIC PLAYING] 637 00:40:11,743 --> 00:40:15,543 WILEY POST HAD LOST AN EYE IN AN ACCIDENT 638 00:40:15,643 --> 00:40:19,943 AND USED THE INSURANCE MONEY TO GET INTO AVIATION. 639 00:40:20,043 --> 00:40:23,710 IN 1931, HE AND HIS NAVIGATOR, HAROLD GATTY, 640 00:40:23,810 --> 00:40:27,443 CIRCUMNAVIGATED THE WORLD IN JUST EIGHT DAYS, 641 00:40:27,543 --> 00:40:30,943 EARNING THEM A WORLD RECORD, INSTANT FAME, 642 00:40:31,043 --> 00:40:33,276 AND A TICKERTAPE PARADE. 643 00:40:33,376 --> 00:40:36,810 BUT WILEY POST WANTED MORE SPEED STILL 644 00:40:36,910 --> 00:40:40,243 AND BELIEVED THAT FLYING HIGH WAS THE SOLUTION. 645 00:40:40,343 --> 00:40:43,910 TO DO IT, HE WOULD HAVE TO DEFEAT THE HIDDEN KILLER 646 00:40:44,010 --> 00:40:46,443 THAT LIES ABOVE THE CLOUDS. 647 00:40:46,543 --> 00:40:50,643 HERE, AT BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, U-2 PILOTS ARE SUBJECTED 648 00:40:50,743 --> 00:40:53,810 TO TESTING IN A CHAMBER THAT REPLICATES 649 00:40:53,910 --> 00:40:56,943 THE DANGERS OF HIGH-ALTITUDE FLIGHT. 650 00:40:57,043 --> 00:40:58,410 THOMAS: THIS CHAMBER IS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT. 651 00:40:58,510 --> 00:41:00,109 IT'S ABOUT 60 YEARS OLD. 652 00:41:00,209 --> 00:41:01,810 IT IS A GIANT IRON BOX 653 00:41:01,910 --> 00:41:03,676 WITH LOTS OF VALVES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, 654 00:41:03,777 --> 00:41:07,476 BUT WHAT WE DO IS IT'S CONNECTED TO A VACUUM SYSTEM, 655 00:41:07,576 --> 00:41:10,076 AND WE CAN PLACE PILOTS INSIDE, 656 00:41:10,176 --> 00:41:12,743 EVACUATE SOME OF THE AIR THAT THEY'RE IN 657 00:41:12,843 --> 00:41:14,676 SO THAT WE CAN SIMULATE THE REDUCED PRESSURE 658 00:41:14,777 --> 00:41:16,276 THAT THEY WOULD EXPERIENCE 659 00:41:16,376 --> 00:41:19,877 IF THEY WERE AT ALTITUDE UNPRESSURIZED. 660 00:41:19,977 --> 00:41:23,076 NARRATOR: EXPERIENCING THE RISKS OF HIGH ALTITUDE 661 00:41:23,176 --> 00:41:25,376 IS A VITAL PART OF PILOT TRAINING, 662 00:41:25,476 --> 00:41:29,843 THE EXACT SAME DANGERS THAT WILEY POST FACED. 663 00:41:33,977 --> 00:41:36,777 SO, GO AHEAD AND OPEN UP YOUR VISOR. 664 00:41:36,877 --> 00:41:38,777 THOMAS: SO, HE'S AT ROUGHLY 24,000 FEET. 665 00:41:38,877 --> 00:41:41,643 HE'S IN AN ALTITUDE WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY EXPOSE HIM 666 00:41:41,743 --> 00:41:43,043 TO THE AMBIENT PRESSURE. 667 00:41:43,143 --> 00:41:45,043 WOMAN: OK. SO, FIRST, CHRISTIAN... 668 00:41:45,143 --> 00:41:48,043 THOMAS: WE'LL HAVE THEM WORK THROUGH SOME MENTAL SKILLS-- 669 00:41:48,143 --> 00:41:51,243 NAME OFF STATE CAPITALS OR DO MATH PROBLEMS. 670 00:41:51,343 --> 00:41:52,843 OK. SO, WHAT'S THE CAPITAL OF CALIFORNIA? 671 00:41:52,943 --> 00:41:54,043 SACRAMENTO. 672 00:41:54,143 --> 00:41:55,843 THOMAS: FOR FOLKS LIKE WILEY POST, 673 00:41:55,943 --> 00:41:57,643 WHO WERE EXPLORING THIS ENVIRONMENT, 674 00:41:57,743 --> 00:41:59,610 THEY NOTICED THAT WITH SUSTAINED EXPOSURE 675 00:41:59,710 --> 00:42:03,276 TO EVEN THOSE MODERATE ALTITUDES ABOVE 10,000 FEET, 676 00:42:03,376 --> 00:42:06,410 THAT IT HAD SERIOUS FATIGUING EFFECTS 677 00:42:06,510 --> 00:42:09,076 ON YOUR MENTAL PROCESSES. 678 00:42:09,176 --> 00:42:12,276 WOMAN: WHAT IS 90 MINUS 4? 679 00:42:12,376 --> 00:42:13,877 86. 680 00:42:13,977 --> 00:42:17,643 WOMAN: OK. CAN YOU COUNT BACKWARDS FROM 100 BY 3? 681 00:42:17,743 --> 00:42:19,676 97... 682 00:42:19,777 --> 00:42:22,877 HA HA. UM... 683 00:42:22,977 --> 00:42:24,276 94, 91... 684 00:42:24,376 --> 00:42:26,943 WOMAN: OK. YOU'RE AT 87. 685 00:42:27,043 --> 00:42:29,676 OK. 87. UH...SO, 89. 686 00:42:29,777 --> 00:42:33,843 80...79. 687 00:42:33,943 --> 00:42:36,043 HA. SUDDENLY A LITTLE CONFUSION. 688 00:42:36,143 --> 00:42:37,443 DEFINITELY STARTING TO FEEL 689 00:42:37,543 --> 00:42:40,076 A LITTLE WARM IN MY FACE AREA. 690 00:42:40,176 --> 00:42:43,076 NARRATOR: THIS MENTAL CONFUSION CAN LEAD TO MISTAKES WHICH, 691 00:42:43,176 --> 00:42:45,643 IN THE AIR, CAN BE FATAL. 692 00:42:45,743 --> 00:42:47,777 THOMAS: THEN AN EMERGENCY HAPPENS. 693 00:42:47,877 --> 00:42:50,710 NOW YOU'RE TRYING TO COMBAT THAT EMERGENCY 694 00:42:50,810 --> 00:42:53,543 WITH LESS THAN ALL CYLINDERS FIRING IN YOUR BRAIN, 695 00:42:53,643 --> 00:42:56,843 SO, LESS THAN YOUR FULL MENTAL CAPACITY. 696 00:42:56,943 --> 00:42:59,243 NARRATOR: WILEY POST NEEDED A WAY 697 00:42:59,343 --> 00:43:02,109 TO PROTECT HIS BRAIN FROM A LACK OF OXYGEN. 698 00:43:02,209 --> 00:43:05,710 HE BUILT AN OUTFIT INSPIRED BY A DEEP-SEA DIVER'S SUIT, 699 00:43:05,810 --> 00:43:08,877 ONLY INSTEAD OF KEEPING WATER OUT, 700 00:43:08,977 --> 00:43:11,476 IT WOULD KEEP AIR IN. 701 00:43:11,576 --> 00:43:13,810 THOMAS: WILEY POST, REALIZING THAT WE NEED 702 00:43:13,910 --> 00:43:15,877 SOME SORT OF SOLUTION TO KEEP THE AVIATOR SAFE 703 00:43:15,977 --> 00:43:18,209 AT THE ALTITUDES THAT THEY WERE EXPLORING, 704 00:43:18,309 --> 00:43:20,376 DESIGNED AND BUILT A PRESSURE SUIT. 705 00:43:22,176 --> 00:43:26,476 THAT SUIT CAN CREATE A NEW LIVABLE ATMOSPHERE 706 00:43:26,576 --> 00:43:28,576 AROUND THE AVIATOR. 707 00:43:30,176 --> 00:43:32,977 NARRATOR: TODAY'S SUITS WORK ON THE SAME PRINCIPLE. 708 00:43:33,076 --> 00:43:35,676 AND TO SHOW JUST HOW EFFECTIVE THEY ARE, 709 00:43:35,777 --> 00:43:39,010 THE TRAINEE IS GOING TO CONTINUE HIS ASCENT. 710 00:43:43,343 --> 00:43:44,943 THOMAS: LOOKING AT THE ALTIMETER, 711 00:43:45,043 --> 00:43:46,443 THIS GENTLEMAN IS NOW PASSING THROUGH A FLIGHT LEVEL 712 00:43:46,543 --> 00:43:49,376 OF 36,000 FEET PRESSURE ALTITUDE EQUIVALENT. 713 00:43:49,476 --> 00:43:51,143 HE'S NOW GETTING INTO A POINT 714 00:43:51,243 --> 00:43:53,710 WHERE HIS SUIT IS GONNA START DOING ITS JOB 715 00:43:53,810 --> 00:43:55,043 AND KEEPING HIM SAFE. 716 00:43:55,143 --> 00:43:56,843 OK. WE'RE HEADED INTO FLIGHT LEVEL 6-0-0. 717 00:43:56,943 --> 00:43:58,643 GETTING READY TO SEE... 718 00:43:58,743 --> 00:44:01,710 NARRATOR: AS THE PRESSURE FALLS EVEN FURTHER, 719 00:44:01,810 --> 00:44:03,710 NEW DANGERS COME INTO PLAY. 720 00:44:03,810 --> 00:44:05,910 AT THIS POINT, ONLY THE SUIT 721 00:44:06,010 --> 00:44:08,510 IS KEEPING OUR MODERN PILOT ALIVE, 722 00:44:08,610 --> 00:44:11,309 JUST AS WILEY HOPED IT WOULD. 723 00:44:11,410 --> 00:44:13,176 WOMAN: HERE WE GO. 724 00:44:14,777 --> 00:44:17,076 THOMAS: HE'S ABOVE ARMSTRONG'S LINE RIGHT NOW. 725 00:44:17,176 --> 00:44:19,309 ARMSTRONG'S LINE IS 63,000 FEET, 726 00:44:19,410 --> 00:44:21,643 WHERE WATER BOILS AT 98.6 DEGREES, 727 00:44:21,743 --> 00:44:25,877 YOU KNOW, YOUR BODY BEING ROUGHLY 2/3 WATER, 728 00:44:25,977 --> 00:44:30,076 AND SO THE BLOOD IN HIS VEINS WOULD LITERALLY START TO BUBBLE. 729 00:44:30,176 --> 00:44:32,476 NARRATOR: ON A TEST FLIGHT IN 1934, 730 00:44:32,576 --> 00:44:35,676 WILEY POST LAID HIS LIFE ON THE LINE. 731 00:44:35,777 --> 00:44:40,476 UNFORTUNATELY, THE INSTRUMENTS MEASURING HIS ALTITUDE FAILED, 732 00:44:40,576 --> 00:44:43,076 BUT HE EXCEEDED 30,000 FEET 733 00:44:43,176 --> 00:44:45,676 AND REACHED 340 MILES AN HOUR, 734 00:44:45,777 --> 00:44:49,043 NEARLY DOUBLE WHAT THE PLANE COULD DO AT SEA LEVEL. 735 00:44:49,143 --> 00:44:51,043 FRANQUEMONT: IT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE TO THINK 736 00:44:51,143 --> 00:44:53,443 THAT SOMEBODY WOULD HAVE THE FORESIGHT AND THE COURAGE 737 00:44:53,543 --> 00:44:56,943 TO GO UP THERE AND TEST THE LIMITS OF THE HUMAN BODY, 738 00:44:57,043 --> 00:44:59,010 TO THINK THAT SOMEBODY WAS DOING THAT ALMOST 100 YEARS AGO, 739 00:44:59,109 --> 00:45:00,843 WHEN WE KNEW HARDLY ANYTHING 740 00:45:00,943 --> 00:45:03,710 ABOUT THAT PART OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 741 00:45:03,810 --> 00:45:05,710 NARRATOR: WILEY'S PIONEERING FLIGHTS 742 00:45:05,810 --> 00:45:09,309 COMPLETELY CHANGED THE FACE OF AVIATION. 743 00:45:09,410 --> 00:45:11,710 AIRCRAFT WERE ABLE TO FLY MUCH HIGHER 744 00:45:11,810 --> 00:45:15,109 AND THEREFORE MUCH FASTER. 745 00:45:15,209 --> 00:45:17,309 BY 1938, WE HAD AIRLINERS 746 00:45:17,410 --> 00:45:21,476 IN WHICH THE ENTIRE CABIN WAS PRESSURIZED. 747 00:45:21,576 --> 00:45:24,877 NOW PILOTS AND PASSENGERS COULD TRAVEL IN COMFORT, 748 00:45:24,977 --> 00:45:28,109 WITHOUT THE NEED FOR BULKY PRESSURE SUITS 749 00:45:28,209 --> 00:45:30,676 LIKE THE ONE DEVELOPED BY WILEY POST. 750 00:45:30,777 --> 00:45:34,877 BUT MODERN-DAY AIR TRAVEL REQUIRED ANOTHER BREAKTHROUGH, 751 00:45:34,977 --> 00:45:37,910 BECAUSE PROPELLER-DRIVEN PLANES DON'T WORK VERY WELL 752 00:45:38,010 --> 00:45:39,676 AT HIGH ALTITUDE. 753 00:45:39,777 --> 00:45:43,076 THIS REVOLUTION STARTED WITH YET ANOTHER BOY 754 00:45:43,176 --> 00:45:46,777 WITH YET ANOTHER TOY. 755 00:45:49,376 --> 00:45:52,276 BROWNING: FRANK WHITTLE WAS THE SON OF A MECHANIC, 756 00:45:52,376 --> 00:45:54,843 BORN IN ENGLAND IN 1907. 757 00:45:54,943 --> 00:45:56,977 AGE FOUR, HE WAS GIVEN A TOY AIRPLANE 758 00:45:57,076 --> 00:45:59,443 WITH A WIND-UP PROPELLER. 759 00:45:59,543 --> 00:46:02,510 JUST LIKE THE WRIGHT BROTHERS, THE TOY INSPIRED 760 00:46:02,610 --> 00:46:05,309 A LIFELONG LOVE OF AVIATION. 761 00:46:05,410 --> 00:46:07,977 AND SO, WHEN HE WAS 16 YEARS OLD, 762 00:46:08,076 --> 00:46:11,910 HE JOINED THE ROYAL AIR FORCE AND LEARNED TO FLY. 763 00:46:12,010 --> 00:46:14,710 THEN, AS A STUDENT, HE WROTE AN EXTRAORDINARY ESSAY 764 00:46:14,810 --> 00:46:17,376 OUTLINING HIS VISION OF THE FUTURE OF FLIGHT, 765 00:46:17,476 --> 00:46:22,910 WITH AIRCRAFT ABLE TO FLY MUCH HIGHER AND MUCH FASTER. 766 00:46:23,010 --> 00:46:24,710 I THINK THAT, AT THE AGE OF 21, 767 00:46:24,810 --> 00:46:26,276 TO MAKE THESE OBSERVATIONS 768 00:46:26,376 --> 00:46:28,843 AND TO NOT ONLY THINK THROUGH WHAT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE 769 00:46:28,943 --> 00:46:30,543 IN TERMS OF OVERCOMING THEM, 770 00:46:30,643 --> 00:46:32,476 BUT ACTUALLY TO PUT IT DOWN IN WRITING 771 00:46:32,576 --> 00:46:34,276 AND TO PUBLISH SUCH A COMPREHENSIVE 772 00:46:34,376 --> 00:46:36,076 ALMOST PREDICTION OF WHERE THE FUTURE SHOULD GO, 773 00:46:36,176 --> 00:46:38,043 I THINK THAT'S QUITE A REMARKABLE STEP. 774 00:46:38,143 --> 00:46:40,343 EVEN AS HE WAS LEARNING TO FLY PROPELLER PLANES, 775 00:46:40,443 --> 00:46:42,276 HE WAS DEVELOPING HIS IDEAS, 776 00:46:42,376 --> 00:46:45,743 A COMPLETELY NEW KIND OF ENGINE. 777 00:46:45,843 --> 00:46:48,276 PISTON ENGINES AND PROPELLERS ARE INHERENTLY LIMITED 778 00:46:48,376 --> 00:46:51,143 WHEN IT COMES TO PROPELLING AIRCRAFT HIGH AND FAST. 779 00:46:51,243 --> 00:46:53,877 FRANK WHITTLE WAS DETERMINED TO DEVELOP SOMETHING BETTER, 780 00:46:53,977 --> 00:46:56,877 AND HE CAME UP WITH THIS, THE JET ENGINE. 781 00:46:58,977 --> 00:47:00,143 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: HERE IT IS. 782 00:47:00,243 --> 00:47:02,510 IN THE PRECISE LANGUAGE OF THE ENGINEER, 783 00:47:02,610 --> 00:47:04,843 IT'S CALLED A JET PROPULSION GAS TURBINE. 784 00:47:04,943 --> 00:47:07,710 TO YOU AND ME, IT'S THE JET ENGINE. 785 00:47:07,810 --> 00:47:11,109 BROWNING: A CAR ENGINE WORKS BY TAKING FUEL AND AIR 786 00:47:11,209 --> 00:47:13,109 INTO A CYLINDER, INTO A SERIES OF CYLINDERS, 787 00:47:13,209 --> 00:47:15,376 AND COMPRESSING THAT MIXTURE UNTIL YOU THEN IGNITE IT, 788 00:47:15,476 --> 00:47:18,710 AND THE EXPLOSION DRIVES THE CYLINDER BACK. 789 00:47:18,810 --> 00:47:20,209 FRANK WHITTLE REALIZED 790 00:47:20,309 --> 00:47:23,076 THAT IF YOU COULD MAKE THAT PROCESS CONTINUOUS, 791 00:47:23,176 --> 00:47:26,109 IT WOULD BE FAR MORE EFFICIENT. 792 00:47:26,209 --> 00:47:30,043 [JET ENGINE ROARING] 793 00:47:30,143 --> 00:47:33,076 WHITTLE'S DESIGN WORKS LIKE THIS. 794 00:47:33,176 --> 00:47:35,410 AT THE FRONT, AIR ENTERS A COMPRESSOR, 795 00:47:35,510 --> 00:47:39,877 WHICH, AS THE NAME SUGGESTS, COMPRESSES THE AIR. 796 00:47:39,977 --> 00:47:43,076 THIS IS MIXED WITH FUEL AND SET ALIGHT, 797 00:47:43,176 --> 00:47:45,476 WHICH CREATES A JET OF HOT EXHAUST 798 00:47:45,576 --> 00:47:47,476 WHICH CREATES THE THRUST. 799 00:47:47,576 --> 00:47:50,276 THAT EXHAUST ALSO SPINS A TURBINE, 800 00:47:50,376 --> 00:47:52,076 LIKE A SMALL WINDMILL, 801 00:47:52,176 --> 00:47:54,877 WHICH IS ATTACHED TO THE COMPRESSOR AT THE FRONT, 802 00:47:54,977 --> 00:47:58,076 MAKING THE WHOLE PROCESS SELF-SUSTAINING. 803 00:47:58,176 --> 00:48:02,076 IT'S A VERY NEAT PACKAGE WITH A LOT OF THRUST. 804 00:48:02,176 --> 00:48:04,143 WHITTLE BELIEVED THAT A JET ENGINE 805 00:48:04,243 --> 00:48:05,410 WOULD HAVE MORE POWER 806 00:48:05,510 --> 00:48:08,076 THAN A PROPELLER ENGINE OF THE SAME WEIGHT, 807 00:48:08,176 --> 00:48:10,209 SO A JET PLANE SHOULD BE FASTER. 808 00:48:10,309 --> 00:48:12,710 MAN: I'M SORRY TO SAY WE'VE HAD ANOTHER BLADE FAILURE. 809 00:48:12,810 --> 00:48:15,309 BROWNING: UNFORTUNATELY, WHITTLE HAD GREAT DIFFICULTY 810 00:48:15,410 --> 00:48:17,710 GETTING ANYONE INTERESTED IN HIS IDEA. 811 00:48:17,810 --> 00:48:19,543 THE R.A.F. THOUGHT IT WOULD NEVER WORK, 812 00:48:19,643 --> 00:48:24,176 AND INDEED, SOME OF HIS EARLY TESTS ENDED IN DISASTER. 813 00:48:24,276 --> 00:48:27,743 IN A FILM MADE IN 1950, WHITTLE HIMSELF REENACTED 814 00:48:27,843 --> 00:48:30,910 THE STORY OF THE JET. 815 00:48:31,010 --> 00:48:36,043 [JET ENGINE ROARING] 816 00:48:36,143 --> 00:48:37,576 COME BACK! COME BACK! 817 00:48:37,676 --> 00:48:39,877 [EXPLOSION] 818 00:48:39,977 --> 00:48:42,443 BROWNING: BUT EVENTUALLY, AFTER NINE YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT, 819 00:48:42,543 --> 00:48:44,243 HE SUCCEEDED IN MAKING 820 00:48:44,343 --> 00:48:46,910 THE WORLD'S FIRST WORKING JET ENGINE. 821 00:48:47,010 --> 00:48:49,843 [DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING] 822 00:48:49,943 --> 00:48:52,209 WHITTLE'S FIRST JET-POWERED FLIGHT 823 00:48:52,309 --> 00:48:55,309 WAS ON THE 15th OF MAY, 1941. 824 00:48:55,410 --> 00:48:58,643 THE JET AGE HAD BEGUN. 825 00:49:03,810 --> 00:49:06,410 FRANK WHITTLE WAS A PIONEER OF HIS AGE. 826 00:49:06,510 --> 00:49:08,543 THE FACT THAT A HUGE PROPORTION OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION 827 00:49:08,643 --> 00:49:10,543 GET CAN ON A PLANE FOR RELATIVELY LITTLE MONEY 828 00:49:10,643 --> 00:49:13,209 AND TRAVEL ANYWHERE IN A MATTER OF HOURS 829 00:49:13,309 --> 00:49:15,510 IS ALMOST ENTIRELY DOWN TO HIS BREAKTHROUGHS. 830 00:49:15,610 --> 00:49:19,076 WHITTLE'S JET ENGINE, OFTEN CALLED THE GAS TURBINE, 831 00:49:19,176 --> 00:49:20,910 DOMINATES MODERN AIRCRAFT DESIGN. 832 00:49:21,010 --> 00:49:24,309 NOT ONLY BECAUSE IT CAN OPERATE AT HIGH ALTITUDES, 833 00:49:24,410 --> 00:49:28,376 BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF A PROPERTY THAT IS HARDER TO APPRECIATE. 834 00:49:28,476 --> 00:49:31,309 JET ENGINES, EVEN MINIATURE ONES, 835 00:49:31,410 --> 00:49:35,376 PACK AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF POWER FOR THEIR WEIGHT. 836 00:49:37,610 --> 00:49:40,309 HERE WE HAVE A REAL-LIFE JET ENGINE. 837 00:49:40,410 --> 00:49:42,309 IT'S A MINIATURE VERSION OF WHAT YOU GET ON A... 838 00:49:42,410 --> 00:49:44,309 A PLANE THAT YOU GO ON HOLIDAY ON 839 00:49:44,410 --> 00:49:45,710 OR EVEN A JET FIGHTER. 840 00:49:45,810 --> 00:49:47,676 AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS FIRE THEM UP. 841 00:49:47,777 --> 00:49:50,276 THERE'S A LITTLE CONTROL IN HERE. 842 00:49:50,376 --> 00:49:53,676 YOU CAN HEAR THE ELECTRIC MOTORS WHINING AND STARTING UP NOW. 843 00:49:53,777 --> 00:49:57,276 AS THAT STARTS TO FLOOD THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER WITH AIR, 844 00:49:57,376 --> 00:49:58,877 AND YOU CAN HEAR NOW, 845 00:49:58,977 --> 00:50:01,209 FUEL STARTS GOING IN THE COMBUSTION CHAMBERS. 846 00:50:01,309 --> 00:50:02,877 AND IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY DOWN THERE, 847 00:50:02,977 --> 00:50:04,076 YOU CAN SEE THAT FUEL STARTING TO BURN. 848 00:50:04,176 --> 00:50:09,476 [JET ENGINES ROARING] 849 00:50:09,576 --> 00:50:11,476 NARRATOR: IN RICHARD BROWNING'S HANDS, 850 00:50:11,576 --> 00:50:14,276 WHITTLE'S INVENTION ALLOWS A MAN TO FLY 851 00:50:14,376 --> 00:50:18,476 IN A WAY THAT NOT EVEN IBN FIRNAS, LEONARDO DA VINCI, 852 00:50:18,576 --> 00:50:21,510 OR OTTO LILIENTHAL COULD HAVE IMAGINED. 853 00:50:23,676 --> 00:50:25,576 [JET ENGINES ROARING] 854 00:50:25,676 --> 00:50:27,576 BROWNING: WHEN YOU SQUEEZE THAT TRIGGER, 855 00:50:27,676 --> 00:50:30,276 THOSE ENGINES WILL BE PUTTING OUT A THOUSAND HORSEPOWER, 856 00:50:30,376 --> 00:50:33,843 AND AS YOU START VECTORING THAT DOWNWARDS, 857 00:50:33,943 --> 00:50:37,543 THE WEIGHT JUST COMES OFF YOUR FEET, AND YOU'RE AIRBORNE. 858 00:50:39,343 --> 00:50:42,643 AS SOON AS YOU LIFT OFF, IT DOES FEEL LIKE IT'S YOU FLYING. 859 00:50:42,743 --> 00:50:44,643 IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE YOU'RE IN A FLIGHT VEHICLE. 860 00:50:44,743 --> 00:50:48,343 IT'S A REAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN MAN AND MACHINE. 861 00:51:08,510 --> 00:51:10,076 [THEME MUSIC PLAYING] 862 00:51:10,176 --> 00:51:12,209 NARRATOR: TODAY, A NEW BREAKTHROUGH 863 00:51:12,309 --> 00:51:14,276 IN AVIATION IS UNDERWAY. 864 00:51:14,376 --> 00:51:16,877 ALL OVER THE WORLD, COMPANIES ARE DEVELOPING 865 00:51:16,977 --> 00:51:20,877 DIFFERENT CONCEPTS OF THE FLYING MACHINE. 866 00:51:20,977 --> 00:51:23,943 CALIFORNIA STARTUP KITTY HAWK, 867 00:51:24,043 --> 00:51:27,243 NAMED FOR THE PLACE WHERE THE WRIGHT BROTHERS LEARNED TO FLY, 868 00:51:27,343 --> 00:51:30,243 IS TESTING SMALL SELF-FLYING MACHINES 869 00:51:30,343 --> 00:51:33,343 THAT THEY HOPE WILL REPLACE THE AUTOMOBILE 870 00:51:33,443 --> 00:51:36,843 AS THE MOST COMMON WAY TO TRAVEL. 871 00:51:36,943 --> 00:51:38,443 OTHERS SEE THE FUTURE 872 00:51:38,543 --> 00:51:40,843 AS A DEVELOPMENT OF WHITTLE'S JET ENGINE, 873 00:51:40,943 --> 00:51:44,243 ONLY POWERED BY ELECTRICITY. 874 00:51:44,343 --> 00:51:47,643 THIS CONCEPT AIRCRAFT USES A JET 875 00:51:47,743 --> 00:51:50,643 THAT HAS AN ELECTRIC MOTOR AT ITS CORE. 876 00:51:50,743 --> 00:51:53,376 IF BATTERY TECHNOLOGY CAN BE IMPROVED 877 00:51:53,476 --> 00:51:56,243 TO THE POINT WHERE THEY ARE LIGHT AND POWERFUL ENOUGH, 878 00:51:56,343 --> 00:51:59,610 THE ELECTRIC AIRLINER COULD BE THE NEXT STEP 879 00:51:59,710 --> 00:52:02,877 IN OUR JOURNEY TO THE SKY. 880 00:52:02,977 --> 00:52:06,676 BUT IF THE AIM IS TO GO HIGHER AND FASTER THAN BEFORE, 881 00:52:06,777 --> 00:52:08,610 AS IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN, 882 00:52:08,710 --> 00:52:11,276 THEN HYPERSONIC HIGH-ALTITUDE FLIGHT 883 00:52:11,376 --> 00:52:15,877 WILL REVOLUTIONIZE MASS TRANSPORT ALL OVER AGAIN. 884 00:52:15,977 --> 00:52:19,877 BRITISH COMPANY REACTION ENGINES IS TESTING AN ENGINE 885 00:52:19,977 --> 00:52:22,877 THAT COULD WORK ALL THE WAY FROM THE GROUND 886 00:52:22,977 --> 00:52:24,743 UP TO THE EDGE OF SPACE. 887 00:52:24,843 --> 00:52:28,877 IT USES A VERSION OF THE JET WHICH TURNS INTO A ROCKET 888 00:52:28,977 --> 00:52:33,376 AT ABOUT THE ALTITUDE OF THE U-2 SPY PLANE. 889 00:52:33,476 --> 00:52:36,043 IF IT WORKS, THE PLANE COULD CRUISE 890 00:52:36,143 --> 00:52:40,043 AT SEVERAL TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND, 891 00:52:40,143 --> 00:52:42,443 ALLOWING US TO TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD 892 00:52:42,543 --> 00:52:46,043 IN A FRACTION OF CURRENT FLIGHT TIMES. 893 00:52:46,143 --> 00:52:49,843 WHATEVER THE FUTURE HOLDS, WE, AS A SPECIES, 894 00:52:49,943 --> 00:52:55,043 OWE OUR ABILITY TO FLY TO THE PIONEERS OF THE PAST, 895 00:52:55,143 --> 00:52:58,843 FROM WHITTLE'S DETERMINATION TO MAKE THE JET WORK 896 00:52:58,943 --> 00:53:02,510 TO WILEY POST'S WILLINGNESS TO RISK HIS OWN LIFE 897 00:53:02,610 --> 00:53:04,910 EXPLORING THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE, 898 00:53:05,010 --> 00:53:07,276 FROM SPERRY'S GROUNDBREAKING IDEA 899 00:53:07,376 --> 00:53:11,076 TO USE A CHILD'S TOY TO CONQUER THE PROBLEM 900 00:53:11,176 --> 00:53:14,410 OF REDUCED VISIBILITY, RIGHT BACK THROUGH 901 00:53:14,510 --> 00:53:17,877 THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' EXTRAORDINARY MACHINES, 902 00:53:17,977 --> 00:53:21,276 LILIENTHAL'S SELFLESS SACRIFICE, 903 00:53:21,376 --> 00:53:25,877 GEORGE CAYLEY'S DETERMINATION TO UNDERSTAND LIFT, 904 00:53:25,977 --> 00:53:29,877 AND DA VINCI'S CONCEPT OF A MACHINE THAT DOES THE FLYING, 905 00:53:29,977 --> 00:53:33,010 ALL THE WAY BACK TO IBN FIRNAS, 906 00:53:33,109 --> 00:53:36,176 THE MAN WHO JUMPED INTO THE VOID. 907 00:53:38,676 --> 00:53:42,543 WITHOUT THEM, WE WOULD NEVER HAVE LEARNED TO FLY. 908 00:53:42,643 --> 00:53:45,843 [DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING] 909 00:53:51,143 --> 00:53:52,410 NEXT TIME ON "BREAKTHROUGH," 910 00:53:52,510 --> 00:53:54,710 MECHANICAL BEINGS HAVE THE POTENTIAL 911 00:53:54,810 --> 00:53:56,610 TO CHANGE EVERYTHING. 912 00:53:56,710 --> 00:54:00,176 HOW WE GOT THEM IS A STORY OF ASTONISHING TWISTS 913 00:54:00,276 --> 00:54:02,309 AND AMAZING TURNS. 914 00:54:02,410 --> 00:54:05,643 IT WOULD TAKE AN ANCIENT GREEK LEGEND 915 00:54:05,743 --> 00:54:09,043 AND A CHANCE CONVERSATION IN THE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL, 916 00:54:09,143 --> 00:54:13,343 A CHILD SHELTERED FROM THE EXCESSES OF HER FAMOUS FATHER, 917 00:54:13,443 --> 00:54:21,076 AND THE MISSION TO MARS TO GIVE US THE ROBOT. 918 00:54:21,176 --> 00:54:24,877 [THEME MUSIC PLAYING]