The Century of Flight

Episode Synopsis

What we might see in the Twenty-First Century. Stealth aircraft in flight. Current frontiers of technology - Stealth, fly-by-wire, swingwing, VTOL. Air Combat of the Future - the X-30 aircraft trials into future air combat, supersonic VSTOL aircraft, and other concepts. What of the helicopter? - the feasibility of helicopters flying much faster than they do at present. Use of diagrams and graphics to explain the problems. Civil Aviation - the future of supersonic flight and other new concepts. Solar-powered flight - its recent history and prospects for the future. Manpowered flight - future prospects. Airships - a possible resurgence, with German and US projects to develop further from the Zeppelins of the 1930s. The ultimate - space exploration, will the Twenty-First Century see landings on planets other than the moon? In just less than one hundred years humankind has not only learnt to fly, but has exceeded its wildest dreams.