Skip to content
0:00 / 0:00
Embed Player S1E1 API docs

							
						
× px

Choose which server this specific embed loads first. Leave on Default to keep the normal behavior (our sources first, automatic fallback only if they fail).

The Century of Flight

The Century of Flight

0.0 1997 Documentary

This definitive history of manned flight has been compiled into 26 hour episodes, with access to some of the rarest archive film ever taken. Unprecedented co-operation has been extended by the world's leading aircraft manufacturers and leading archive libraries. Included in the footage are shots of rare prototype accidents and failures which contributed to the inevitable achievement and success of man in the air. Since Charles Lindbergh became the first lone aviator to cross the Atlantic in 1927, air transport has greatly accelerated , revolutionised by the giant Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet - and what might we see in the 21st century?

Episodes 26

Man Learns To Fly 1 ▶ Playing
Man Learns To Fly 50m The development of the early heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air flying machines. The programme framework includes a comparison to all…
High Above The Trenches 2
High Above The Trenches 50m How the aeroplane went to war, with the development of the combat aircraft from the unarmed reconnaissance types…
Wings Over the Sea 3
Wings Over the Sea 50m This programme covers the development of naval aviation during the Great War. We travel back from the aircraft…
Strike From The Air 4
Strike From The Air 50m The aircraft soon bought civilians into the firing line as never before and brought about a new form…
The Trailblazers 5
The Trailblazers 50m A review of the great long distance flights and those aviators who achieved them including colour re-enactments by…
The Romance Of The Air 6
The Romance Of The Air 50m A review of heroic days of civil aviation. How civil airlines began in Europe and USA during the…
The Shadow Of The Bomber 7
The Shadow Of The Bomber 50m How air forces developed between the two world wars. Rearmament - creation of the Luftwaffe, expansion of the…
Struggle For The Skies 8
Struggle For The Skies 50m Fighter developments and the great air battles. Colour collage of World War II fighters. All powerful Luftwaffe -…
Airpower and Armies 9
Airpower and Armies 50m How aircraft were used in direct support of ground forces. Camera gun shots in colour of aircraft attacking…
Airpower and Navies 10
Airpower and Navies 50m The influence of aviation on maritime operations during World War II. Colour footage of Pearl Harbor in the…
The Bomber as War Winner 11
The Bomber as War Winner 50m Colour collage of World War II bombers taking off and airborne. Eastern front- German and Russian bombing operations,…
The Coming of the Jets 12
The Coming of the Jets 50m The development of the jet up to and including the Korean War. Pre-war developments, combat jets of World…
Cold War Skies 13
Cold War Skies 50m The role of airpower in the Cold War. Coming of the Cold War. Berlin Airlift - the story…
The Helicopter Story 14
The Helicopter Story 50m How the helicopter evolved into today’s multi-purpose aerial vehicles. In the beginning, the Autogiro, the first helicopters. The…
Korea To The Gulf War 15
Korea To The Gulf War 50m Air warfare developments in the second half of the Twentieth Century. Korea and SE Asia - air combat…
Naval Aviation 16
Naval Aviation 50m Aircraft carrier developments - from World War II types to the carrier of today, and their use from…
Embracing the World 17
Embracing the World 50m The airlines get back on their feet - immediate post World Ward II developments and how land-based aircraft…
The Spectacle of Flying 18
The Spectacle of Flying 50m Aerobatic display teams - the leading military and civilian display teams in action, and how they prepare their…
Law Enforcement from the Air 19
Law Enforcement from the Air 50m Helicopter monitoring of a high speed car chase. How police monitor traffic and deter crime, including tracking down…
Angels of Mercy 20
Angels of Mercy 50m The humanitarian uses of the aircraft. Helicopters rescuing people from a skyscraper fire. Aircraft as fire-fighter - dropping…
Anyone can fly 21
Anyone can fly 50m Private flying in all its forms. Light aircraft in flight. Theme of freedom of the air compared to…
To the Furthest Corners of the World 22
To the Furthest Corners of the World 50m Aerial exploration and its offshoots. Aerial views of the Amazon jungle, Himalayas, deserts of Arabia, Antarctica. Early aerial…
The Parachute Story 23
The Parachute Story 50m How parachuting has evolved over the century. Parachute formation team in action and military para drop. The early…
To the Moon and Beyond 24
To the Moon and Beyond 50m The means to get there - rocketry developments in the 1920s and 1930s, German rocket research and use…
Madcaps and Oddballs 25
Madcaps and Oddballs 50m Japanese manpowered flight competition. Manpowered flight - the story from Icarus and Daedalus to Kanellopolous’s 1988 distance record.…
The Future of Flight 26
The Future of Flight 50m What we might see in the Twenty-First Century. Stealth aircraft in flight. Current frontiers of technology - Stealth,…