Social & External
It's June 1942 and the world's fate is about to be decided by a handful of pilots and their untested aircraft. Experience an inside look at the Battle of Midway, captured through rarely seen battle footage and firsthand accounts from its hero dive-bombing pilot, "Dusty" Kleiss. This is an hour-by-hour recount of one of the most pivotal conflicts of the 20th century. Take a closer look at how this desperately needed victory came about through the design of U.S. airplanes, the skill of the pilots, the element of surprise, and a stroke of luck.
A celebration of those still flying the last remaining Grumman Albatross, a seaplane from a long-lost era of adventure and romance.
Air Disasters exposes some painful truths behind the world of flight, using actual footage of real incidents to look at why planes crash; in aerodynamic and technical terms and in the way the industry is run.
On 28 November 1979, an Air New Zealand jet with 257 passengers went missing during a sightseeing tour over Antarctica. Within hours 11 ordinary police officers were called to duty to face the formidable Mount Erebus. As the police recovered the victims, an investigation team tried to uncover the mystery of how a jet could fly into a mountain in broad daylight. Did the airline have a secret it wanted to bury? This film tells the story of four New Zealand police officers who went to Antarctica as part of the police operation to recover the victims of the crash. Set in the beautiful yet hostile environment of Antarctica, this is the emotional and compelling true story of an extraordinary police operation.
Charles Lindbergh lived a life of absolutes, never doubting his own abilities or the altitude of his own moral high ground. His extraordinary character brought him unparalleled accomplishment but also public humiliation and lonely isolation, as his faith in genetic determinism could barely conceal his narrow, naive, and racist social and political views.
Today London, tomorrow Paris, the day after New York – the life of the "jetsetter." Long before the climate crisis and flight shame, flying was considered the epitome of luxury, freedom, and cosmopolitanism. Passenger aviation is making flight attendants and pilots the ultimate dream jobs. Modern aircraft are setting new standards in comfort, technology, and style. Flying is becoming a hobby of high society.
Few aircraft have attracted more attention than the ominous black supersonic jet that for years has ranged the world on reconnaissance missions. This is the definitive tribute to an extraordinary peacekeeper, the SR-71 Blackbird. The History. The Technology. The Missions. The Pilots. And compelling, gripping footage of the Blackbird itself, on its "rocket ride" through the world's airspace.
On February 21, 1945, the Royal Canadian Air Force Halifax bomber NP711 with a crew of seven men took off from the Linton-on-Ouse air base in England for a bombing raid over Worms, Germany. The bomber never made it to its target. The Halifax was struck by anti-aircraft fire and crashed into a mountainside near Leistadt, Germany. All crew members were killed. The crash was so horrific that the wreckage was strewn over 1,000 meters. Seventy-seven years later the wreckage was recovered and the site was deemed a gravesite for the perished crew. This documentary film examines the last days of the seven-member crew and the recovery of the wreckage of Halifax NP711.
Young Navy Officers, Jay and Meagan, have dreamt of becoming naval aviators flying the F-14 Tomcat since their childhoods. The film follows their two-and-a-half year journey as it takes them through dogfights in the Nevada desert, night landings on aircraft carriers in the Atlantic, and eventually to the biggest challenge young officers face: wartime deployments to Iraq.
Concorde: A Supersonic Story follows the story of the most glamorous aeroplane ever built - told by the people whose lives she touched. We uncover rare footage telling the forgotten row between the French and British governments over the spelling of Concorde which threatened to derail the whole project.
A fresh perspective on a modern-day miracle that many of us take for granted: flying. Narrated by Harrison Ford and featuring an original score from Academy Award® winning composer James Horner, the film takes viewers to 18 countries across all seven continents to illuminate how airplanes have empowered a century of global connectedness our ancestors could never have imagined.
Follows the development of Canadair's super-executive jet. A totally new type of aircraft, it is faster, cheaper to fly, and more comfortable than any other business jet. Would it make it off the drawing board and into the air? The film captures the spirit of the Canadian air transport industry and its attempt to compete with its American counterparts...
An exhilarating documentary film that celebrates the unsung hero of aviation - the local airport - by tracing the life, history, and struggles of an airport icon: Southern California's Van Nuys Airport. Featuring thrilling aerial photography and a sweeping original score, the film dispels common misconceptions and opposes criticism of General Aviation airports.
This 2004 documentary by Werner Herzog diaries the struggle of a passionate English inventor to design and test a unique airship during its maiden flight above the jungle canopy.
Guy Martin joins the two-year restoration of a Spitfire that was buried in a French beach for decades, and tells the Boy's Own-style story of its pilot, Squadron Leader Geoffrey Stephenson
Getting information about the enemy is vital in war, and today's aerial spies have science fiction capabilities unheard of even a few years ago. Reconnaissance and Intelligence Aircraft uses hitherto unreleased film to take you on active deployment with the pick of today's aircraft and equipment. Featured are dedicated, as well as podded, battlefield reconnaissance jet fighters and attack-aircraft and Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS) machines. The programme also includes remotely piloted vehicles and dedicated electronic warfare and jamming aircraft. Reconnaissance and Intelligence Aircraft is accompanied by a detailed script by aviation expert Bill Gunston.
Spitfires were the nemesis of the Luftwaffe and the instrument which halted Hitler’s plans for invasion. After relentless bombing of the Spitfire factories in Southampton, the Germans were convinced they had halted the production of the Spitfires for good. But across the South of England, hidden in sheds, garages, back gardens, bedrooms, a bus depot, and even a hotel, a workforce of unskilled young girls, boys, women, elderly men, and a handful of engineers secretly built thousands of Spitfires to help win the war. Witnesses recount this never-before-told story of amazing achievement.
Modern and historic footage tells the story of the war horse of the 12 Western air forces. The carrier-based Phantom II won its spurs in Vietnam where its extraordinary capabilities led to adaptation for land-based rolls ranging from ground attack through battlefield reconnaissance to defense suppression. McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II covers the first development of the type and its powerful engine and includes a walk-round of an F-4B. The Phantom then joins the fleet and US Navy, US Marine Corps and US Air Forces machines see action in Vietnam.
This early, influential propaganda film blends documentary and studio footage to show the valiant efforts of the Royal Air Force to defend the British people against the Nazis.
Investigators reveal how Boeing’s alleged priority of profit over safety could have contributed to two catastrophic crashes within months of each other.
