Flying Boat

The Real Top Gun

May 2022 •English

The 2022 film "Top Gun: Maverick" continues the adventures of the ace fighter pilot made famous by Tom Cruise. But how true to life is the fictional story to the real Naval Fighter Weapons School? TOPGUN flight instructors take us inside the most famous and prestigious training program in the sky, where only the top 5% of U.S. naval aviators are accepted. We reveal the tactics and techniques taught in the classroom and in the air. We also examine how the real Navy TOPGUN came to be, an origin story that is truly stranger than fiction.

Air Force One: America's Flagship

January 2018 •English

Take the ultimate guided tour of the most famous plane in the world, and meet the tireless crew charged with operating this global command center in the sky.

Comet: A Great British Air Disaster

February 2013 •English

The De Havilland Comet was the world's first passenger jet airliner. But less than two years into service, two aircraft blew up in mid-air, killing all aboard. PM Winston Churchill ordered an assemblage of experts to discover what went wrong - in the process, inventing many of the air crash investigation techniques still used today.

Fighting the Red Baron

June 2010 •English

Two modern Red Arrows pilots take on the challenges faced by World War I pilots by performing photo reconnaissance, artillery ranging, and bombing missions in period aircraft - culminating in a classic dogfight.

The Balloonist

October 2023 •English

Meet Brian Boland—the beloved, eccentric hot air balloonist and artist from the rural Upper Valley of Vermont.

The White Diamond

November 2004 •English

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.

The Lockerbie Bombing

December 2013 •English

On 21 December 1988 a Pan Am 747 jet exploded over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie. On the 25th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on British soil, this is the story.

The Secret Spitfires

November 2017 •English

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.

Air & Space Smithsonian: Dreams of Flight - Higher Faster Farther

July 1995 •English

Go higher, faster and farther with the Smithsonian as they explore the dreams of flight.

First In, Last Out

January 1985 •English

During the Vietnam War, the main threat to the strike packages was the V-750 (S-75) Dvina, the first effective Soviet surface-to-air missile (SAM). Better known by the NATO designation SA-2 Guideline To suppress and destroy this threat, the U.S. Air Force countered with the courage and skill of the Wild Weasels, who not only flew some of the most dangerous missions in Southeast Asia but also became pioneers in Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) operations. This documentary tells the story of the Wild Weasel program.

Air Disasters

January 1996 •English

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.

'A Wing and a Prayer' - The Story of Knock Airport

September 1986 •English

"We're building an airport", Monsignor James Horan tells Jim Fahy of RTÉ News, in 1981. The bold story of a 'simple' country priest, with a dream to build a 7500ft runway for an international airport, on a "foggy, boggy hill" in and around Barnacahoge and Barnalyra, Co. Mayo. A feat few thought possible. It began as a one off news item, and develops into a charming documentary, written by Fahy and directed by Blackman over the years. The changing governments, all get caught up in the chaos, and almost nobody in power wanted it to go ahead. This controversial campaign to put Connacht on the map, faces setback after setback. But none great enough, to stop this "old man in a hurry" from getting his airport for the province, opened to the public by 1986.

Avions de chasse : Une technologie XXL

February 2023 •French

Return with Honor

June 1999 •English

The story of U.S. fighter pilots shot down over North Vietnam who became POWs for up to 8 and a half years.

747: The Jumbo Revolution

February 2014 •English

At any given moment hundreds of people are soaring above us in a 747. From the moment the very first jumbo jet took off in 1969, it has been the aircraft against which all others are judged. But its 45-year journey has been anything but smooth. This is the definitive story of the Boeing 747, from its milestones and triumphs to its turning points and disasters. Witness its history through rare archival footage and tales from pilots, engineers, designers, and passengers who were there when it all began.

Airbus vs Boeing: The Jumbo Jet Race

September 2017 •English

The story of the rivalry between Boeing and Airbus is no doubt one of the greatest human and technological adventures of the 20th century. A modern-day western, with the protagonists trying out every underhand trick and bluff possible to achieve their aims. But it is also a story of power and influence, driven by geopolitical ambitions and struggles, where deals and contracts define a country.

Living in the Age of Airplanes

April 2015 •English

LIVING IN THE AGE OF AIRPLANES offers 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.

80 years of Air Army

June 2014 •French

Erebus: Operation Overdue

July 2014 •English

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.

The Lion Has Wings

November 1939 •English

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.