Original subtitles

Subtitles by explosiveskull

♪ I WAS JUST SITTING UP IN MY TREE ♪

♪ IN MY TREE, IN MY TREE ♪

♪ I SAW A BEAUTIFUL FACE WAS LOOKING UP AT ME ♪

♪ UP AT ME, UP AT ME ♪

♪ OH, SHE HAD A CUTE SMILE, SO I ASKED HER NAME ♪

♪ ASKED HER NAME, ASKED HER NAME ♪

♪ WHEN WE GOT TO TALKING, SAID SHE FELT THE SAME ♪

♪ THAT SHE FELT THE SAME, FELT THE SAME ♪

♪ OH, EVERY TIME I SEE HER, I DO MY THING ♪

♪ WELL, NOW SHE'S BY MY SIDE WHERE SHE WANTS TO BE ♪

♪ UH, SHE WANTS TO BE ♪

♪ IT'S WHERE SHE WANTS TO BE ♪

♪ SHE'S COOKING US A CHICKEN WITH A JUG OF TEA ♪

♪ A JUG OF TEA ♪

- ♪ OH, YEAH ♪ - ♪ A JUG OF TEA ♪

♪ I'M THANKFUL FOR THE DAY SHE KNOCKED ONTO MY DOOR ♪

♪ I'M THANKFUL FOR THE DAY SHE KNOCKED ON MY DOOR ♪

♪ AND I NEVER THOUGHT I'D FALL FOR THE GIRL NEXT DOOR ♪

♪ AND I NEVER THOUGHT I'D FALL FOR THE GIRL NEXT DOOR ♪

♪ AND EVERY TIME I SEE HER, I DO MY THING ♪

♪ EVERY TIME I SEE HER, I DO MY THING ♪

♪ AND EVERY TIME I SEE HER, I DO MY THING ♪

WHOO-HOO!

VROOM, VROOM!

GREETING, WINGED SCOUTS.

HEY, IT'S COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

HI, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

GUMDROP, VROOMER,

IT'S TIME FOR OUR ANNUAL TIME-HONORED

PLANES WITH BRAINS CONTEST

WHERE YOUNG PLANE TEAMS

COMPETE FOR THE CHANCE TO WIN

THE PRESTIGIOUS PLANES WITH BRAINS AWARD.

YOUR MISSION, GUMDROP AND VROOMER,

IS TO DISCOVER ALL ABOUT

THE MOST FASCINATING MACHINE OF ALL.

PLANES!

PLANES!

EXACTLY!

YOU WILL TRAVEL ALL OVER THE WORLD

ACROSS TIME, SPACE, AND BEYOND.

YOU MUST KEEP YOUR LITTLE METAL NOSES POINTED AHEAD,

YOUR MOTORS HUMMING,

AND YOUR WINGS PERKED AT ALL TIMES.

WE DEPEND ON YOU TO DO THE BEST JOB POSSIBLE.

ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR ASSIGNMENT?

WOW, MY LITTLE WINGS ARE FLUTTERING WITH THRILLS!

MY LITTLE MOTOR IS VROOM, VROOM!

VROOMING WITH EXCITEMENT!

PLANE SCOUTS READY

FOR OUR MISSION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

THIS IS SURE TO BE A CHALLENGING MISSION, LITTLE ONES.

FLUFFY WHITE CLOUDS? I LOVE CHALLENGING MISSIONS.

BRILLIANT BLUE SKIES! ME TOO!

I'M SENDING YOU TWO ON A MISSION TO LEARN ABOUT

THE HISTORY OF PLANES.

THE HISTORY OF PLANES?

HOW COOL!

CAN'T WAIT!

IT'S UP TO YOU TO LEARN ALL ABOUT IT

AND REPORT BACK TO ME WITH WHAT YOU'VE DISCOVERED.

FLAPPING FUN WINGS!

THIS IS GOING TO BE AN INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE!

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE HISTORY OF PLANES, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

WELL, THE DESIRE TO CREATE A FLYING MACHINE

IS AS OLD AS HUMANKIND,

BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL 200 YEARS AGO

THAT THE TRUE CONCEPT OF AN AIRPLANE CAME TO BE.

WOW, I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT MORE!

THE HISTORY OF AIRPLANES.

SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

AS YOU KNOW, VROOMER AND GUMDROP,

TO WIN THE ANNUAL PLANES WITH BRAINS CONTEST,

YOU MUST FIND OUT AND LEARN

TONS OF AMAZING FACTS ABOUT AIRPLANES.

YES, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

VROOM, VROOM!

WE WILL!

EXCELLENT.

YOU MUST ALSO KNOW THAT THERE IS A QUESTION

THAT ALL THE BRIGHTEST FLYING MINDS ALL OVER THE WORLD SKIES

HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ANSWER

ABOUT THE HISTORY OF AIRPLANES.

WE NEED YOU TWO WINGED SCOUTS

TO HELP US ANSWER THE "WHO FLEW" QUESTION

ABOUT THE HISTORY OF AIRPLANES.

"WHO FLEW" QUESTION?

LOVE IT!

WHAT IS THE QUESTION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

WHEN DID THE FIRST

AND LONGEST UNMANNED AIRCRAFT FLIGHT TAKE PLACE?

THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WE'LL LAND THE ANSWER IN A SPIN OF A PROPELLER,

I'M SURE.

I WILL ASSIGN YOU THE BEST WINGED SCOUT HELPER

IN THE WORLD.

HIS NAME IS WILLY WIDGET.

HE'S A ROBOTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AIRCRAFT KNOWLEDGE.

HE WILL ASSIST YOU ON YOUR MISSION.

WILLY WIDGET?

WE LOVE WILLY WIDGET.

BE SURE TO ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS, WINGED SCOUTS.

THE PRESTIGIOUS PLANES WITH BRAINS AWARD

IS UP FOR GRABS.

YAY!

WINGED SCOUTS READY TO FLY, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WINGED SCOUTS.

VROOM, VROOM!

HOORAY!

WINGED SCOUTS!

READY TO GET STARTED ON YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE?

YES, SUPER READY.

TOTALLY READY.

REMEMBER, WINGED SCOUTS,

ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS YOU HAVE,

I'M HERE TO ANSWER THEM.

WHERE DO WE BEGIN?

BACK IN TIME MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS AGO IN GREECE.

YOU SEE, ANCIENT PEOPLE WERE INSPIRED

BY THE OBSERVATION OF BIRDS SOARING THROUGH THE SKY,

AND DESIGNED AIRCRAFTS THAT COPIED THE BEATING OF A BIRD'S WINGS.

THESE MACHINES ARE KNOWN AS ORNITHOPTERS.

WITH ORNITHOPTERS, THE FLAPPING WINGS

GENERATED BOTH LIFT AND PROPULSION.

ONE OF THE EARLIEST KNOWN EXAMPLES OF THIS TYPE OF MACHINE

IS THE WOODEN BIRD,

DESIGNED BY GREEK SCIENTIST,

PHILOSOPHER AND MATHEMATICIAN, ARCHYTAS OF TARENTUM

IN 400 B.C.

EVEN THOUGH SOME OF THESE ANCIENT MACHINES

TOOK OFF FOR A FEW SHORT FLIGHTS,

THEY REMAIN IMPRACTICAL.

WHOA!

TO TRACE THE BEGINNING OF THE HISTORY OF FLIGHT,

WE HAVE TO TRAVEL IN TIME

ALL THE WAY TO THE 16TH, 17TH,

AND 18TH CENTURIES.

LET'S TAKE A TOUR AROUND EUROPE

AND MEET SOME OF THE GREAT THINKERS

WHO PAVED THE WAY FOR THE EVOLUTION OF AIRPLANES.

YEAH!

IN ITALY, THE NETHERLANDS, AND ENGLAND,

MATHEMATICIANS, SCIENTISTS, AND INVENTORS

LIKE LEONARDO DA VINCI,

GALILEO GALILEI,

CHRISTIAAN HUYGENS AND ISAAC NEWTON

ALL CONTRIBUTED THE FIRST RESEARCH

INTO AERODYNAMICS.

WHAT'S AERODYNAMICS, WILLY WIDGET?

"AERO" MEANS AIR

AND "DYNAMICS" MEANS MOTION,

SO, AERODYNAMICS DEALS WITH THE DYNAMICS OF AIR

AS IT INTERACTS WITH SOLID OBJECTS,

LIKE AN AIRPLANE!

DID YOU KNOW YOU TWO GUYS EXPERIENCE AERODYNAMICS

EVERY TIME YOU FLY?

INCREDIBLE!

HIT MY PLANE BRAIN WITH MORE COOL FACTOIDS, WILLY WIDGET.

IT WASN'T UNTIL THE TURN OF THE 18TH CENTURY

WHEN AN ENGLISH BARONET NAMED GEORGE CAYLEY

TURNED FLYING THEORY INTO REALITY

BY BEING THE FIRST TO FOCUS HIS ATTENTION

ON FIXED-WING AIRCRAFTS

LIKE MODERN AIRPLANES

AS OPPOSED TO THE EARLIER AIRCRAFTS

WITH BEATING WINGS LIKE BIRDS'.

HE WAS A PIONEER OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

WHO, IN 1804, FLEW THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL FLYING GLIDER...

OR A NON-MOTOR-POWERED FLYING MACHINE... ON RECORD.

BLASTING ENGINES, THAT'S AMAZING.

IN 1853, GEORGE CAYLEY LAUNCHED AND FLEW THE FIRST GLIDER

EVER RECORDED TO CARRY A PERSON ONBOARD.

VERY INTERESTING.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT, WILLY WIDGET?

EXCELLENT QUESTION, GUMDROP.

IN THE 1870S, OTTO LILIENTHAL,

A GERMAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER,

FOLLOWED IN CAYLEY'S FOOTSTEPS

AND LAUNCHED A SERIES OF VERY IMPORTANT STUDIES

ON WING DESIGN.

LILIENTHAL DESIGNED, BUILT AND FLEW

A NUMBER OF MONOPLANE AND BIPLANE GLIDERS,

ACCOMPLISHING AS MANY AS 2,000 FLIGHTS

BETWEEN 1890 AND 1896.

WHOA! FUN FACTOID.

BUT HOW WE DID WE GET FROM THOSE REALLY COOL GLIDERS

TO WINGED AIRPLANES WITH ENGINES LIKE US, WILLY WIDGET?

THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION, VROOMER.

LET'S TAKE A TRIP TO THE UNITED STATES

AND MEET THE WRIGHT BROTHERS.

WHOO-HOO!

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS, ORVILLE AND WILBUR

WERE TWO AMERICAN INVENTORS AND AVIATION PIONEERS

WHO BUILT AND FLEW THE WORLD'S FIRST SUCCESSFUL AIRPLANE.

THEIR LIFELONG DREAM CAME TRUE

WHEN ORVILLE TOOK TO THE SKY

IN THE FIRST EVER MOTOR-POWERED,

HEAVIER-THAN-AIR AIRCRAFT

CALLED "THE FLYER" ON DECEMBER 17TH, 1903,

FOUR MILES SOUTH OF KITTY HAWK, NORTH CAROLINA.

WHAT WAS THE FLYER MADE OF, WILLY WIDGET?

THE FLYER WAS MADE USING A STRONG AND LIGHTWEIGHT WOOD

FROM THE GIANT SPRUCE TREE

AS THE MAIN CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL,

AND MUSLIN, A LIGHTWEIGHT COTTON CLOTH,

WAS USED FOR SURFACE COVERINGS.

EVEN THE FLYER'S PROPELLERS WERE MADE OF WOOD.

OH, WHOA, WILLY WIDGET.

FACTOID COOLER THAN RAIN CLOUDS

AFTER A SPRING SHOWER.

HOW WAS THE FLYER POWERED, WILLY WIDGET?

EXCELLENT QUESTION, VROOMER.

ORVILLE AND WILBUR HAD A GASOLINE ENGINE

FABRICATED IN THEIR BICYCLE SHOP JUST FOR THE FLYER.

THE ENGINE WAS FAIRLY SIMPLE IN CONSTRUCTION,

BUT IT PROVIDED EXACTLY THE POWER REQUIRED

TO PROPEL THEIR AIRCRAFT.

WHAT ABOUT STEERING AND PILOTING

THESE EARLY PLANES, WILLY WIDGET?

VERY GOOD QUESTION, VROOMER.

I SEE YOU ARE PAYING ATTENTION.

DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY,

AIRCRAFTS HAD USED A STEERING GEAR FOR YAW CONTROL,

WHICH IS DIRECTING THE PLANE'S NOSE TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT.

CAYLEY WAS THE FIRST TO CREATE AN ELEVATOR

FOR CONTROL IN PITCH,

WHICH IS THE DIRECTING OF A PLANE'S NOSE UP OR DOWN.

IT WAS FINALLY THE WRIGHT BROTHERS

WHO DEVISED A SYSTEM THEY CALLED WING WARPING,

WHICH ALLOWED THE PILOT CONTROL

OVER THE MOVEMENT OF THE WINGS.

WERE THE WRIGHT BROTHERS THE ONLY ONES

WHO CREATED AIRCRAFTS AROUND THIS TIME?

THEY WERE THE FIRST TO SUCCESSFULLY FLY ONE,

BUT DEFINITELY NOT THE ONLY ONES TO DO SO.

LET'S TAKE A TOUR OF EUROPE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY

AND WE'LL FIND AVIATORS LIKE BRAZILIAN-BORN ALBERTO SANTOS-DUMONT

WHO MADE THE FIRST PUBLIC FLIGHT IN EUROPE IN 1906.

AND THE FRENCHMAN HENRI FARMAN

WHO MADE HIS FIRST SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT AT FLIGHT

THE FOLLOWING YEAR IN 1907.

WHOA.

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT, WILLY WIDGET?

AS WORLD WAR ONE APPROACHED,

THE GOVERNMENTS OF VARIOUS COUNTRIES

FORESAW THE POTENTIAL OF WAR PLANES DURING WAR TIME.

AIRPLANE PRODUCTION AND IMPROVEMENTS IN AERODYNAMICS SURGED.

CONSTRUCTION OF AIRCRAFTS INCREASED,

ALONG WITH THE POWER OF THE AIRCRAFT'S MOTOR.

PLANES ALSO BECAME FASTER

AND CAPABLE OF FLYING HIGHER.

DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR,

AIRPLANE SPEEDS INCREASED TO 130 MILES PER HOUR

AND AERIAL BATTLES WERE TAKING PLACE

AT THE INCREDIBLE ALTITUDE OF 20,000 FEET.

WHOA!

TOOTING TURBINES, THAT'S INCREDIBLE!

AFTER THE WAR, THERE WERE A LOT OF AIRPLANES

WAITING FOR THEIR NEXT ASSIGNMENT.

MANY OF THEM WERE CONVERTED FOR COMMERCIAL USE.

EVEN THE U.S. POST OFFICE JUMPED ON BOARD

AND LAUNCHED ITS FIRST AIR MAIL IN 1918.

IMAGINE HOW FAST MAIL GOT DELIVERED NOW

WITH THE HELP OF COMMERCIAL PLANES.

SENDING MAIL BY PLANE

ALLOWED PARCELS TO GET FROM COAST TO COAST

22 HOURS SOONER.

WHOO-HOO!

YAY!

AVIATION'S IMPROVEMENTS CONTINUED IN EARNEST,

AND IN 1927, INVENTOR, WRITER,

AND AVIATOR CHARLES LINDBERGH

COMPLETED THE FIRST NONSTOP

CONTINENT-TO-CONTINENT FLIGHT EVER.

HE FLEW FROM NEW JERSEY TO PARIS

IN 33 HOURS ALL BY HIMSELF.

SUDDENLY, AMERICANS TOOK AN INTEREST IN AVIATION

LIKE NEVER BEFORE.

PASSENGER FLIGHT BECAME ALL THE RAGE

AND A LOT OF COMPANIES INVESTED INTO THE AVIATION INDUSTRY.

THE WORLD JUST BECAME SMALLER AND SMALLER

AS PEOPLE COULD TRAVEL FROM CONTINENT TO CONTINENT

IN JUST A FEW HOURS AS OPPOSED TO MONTHS.

COOL SKIES.

NOWADAYS, AVIATION HAS CREATED AMAZING OPPORTUNITIES

AROUND THE WORLD

FOR EVEN MORE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES.

WHEN DID THE FIRST AND LONGEST UNMANNED AIRCRAFT FLIGHT

TAKE PLACE, WILLY WIDGET?

HA HA, YES!

THE RECORD GOES TO THE AMAZING GLOBAL HAWK,

DEVELOPED BY NASA.

IN 2001, THE GLOBAL HAWK WAS THE FIRST AIRPLANE

TO ACCOMPLISH THE LONGEST POINT-TO-POINT FLIGHT

BY AN UNMANNED AIRCRAFT EVER.

HEY, GUMDROP,

I THINK WE JUST FOUND OUT THE ANSWER

TO COMMANDER AIRHEAD'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION.

YOU'RE RIGHT, VROOMER.

THE RECORD GOES TO THE AMAZING GLOBAL HAWK

DEVELOPED BY NASA.

AH, CONGRATULATIONS ON FINDING THE ANSWER

TO THIS MISSION'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION, WINGED SCOUTS.

COMMANDER AIRHEAD WILL BE PROUD OF YOU,

NO PISTONS ABOUT IT.

FANTASTIC WORK, WINGED SCOUTS.

YOUR MISSION WAS A GREAT SUCCESS.

YOU'RE WELL ON YOUR WAY TO WINNING

THE PRESTIGIOUS PLANES WITH BRAINS AWARD.

VROOM, VROOM!

VRR... AWESOME!

SAY, WERE YOU ABLE TO FIND THE ANSWER TO THIS MISSION'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION?

YES, COMMANDER AIRHEAD, WE SURE DID.

THE RECORD GOES TO THE AMAZING GLOBAL HAWK

DEVELOPED BY NASA!

THE FIRST AND LONGEST UNMANNED AIRCRAFT FLIGHT

WAS ACHIEVED BY THE GLOBAL HAWK IN 2001.

THAT'S GREAT!

GOOD JOB, WINGED SCOUTS.

WHAT'S OUR NEXT MISSION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

YOUR NEXT MISSION IS GOING TO BE YOUR MOST INCREDIBLE YET.

WE WANT YOU TO LEARN ABOUT HOW PLANES FLY.

HOW PLANES FLY?

WOW!

COOL!

FOR ALL THE BUMPY FLIGHTS,

CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED.

YAY!

WINGED SCOUTS READY TO FLY, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WINGED SCOUTS.

VROOM, VROOM! VROOM!

HOORAY!

GUMDROP, VROOMER,

AS WE KNOW, THERE ARE NO LIMITS TO WHAT WE CAN LEARN.

CONSIDERING YOU TWO DID SO WELL LAST TIME,

I HAVE ANOTHER ADVENTURE FOR YOU.

YOUR MISSION, GUMDROP AND VROOMER,

IS TO DISCOVER ALL ABOUT THE MOST FASCINATING MACHINES OF ALL.

PLANES!

PLANES!

EXACTLY!

YOU WILL TRAVEL ALL OVER THE WORLD

ACROSS TIME, SPACE, AND BEYOND.

YOU MUST KEEP YOUR LITTLE METAL NOSES POINTED AHEAD,

YOUR MOTORS HUMMING,

AND YOUR WINGS PERKED AT ALL TIMES.

WE DEPEND ON YOU TO DO THE BEST JOB POSSIBLE.

ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR ASSIGNMENT?

AS READY AS WE'LL EVER BE, COMMANDER.

WE WERE BORN READY.

PLANE SCOUTS READY FOR OUR MISSION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

THIS IS SURE TO BE A CHALLENGING MISSION, LITTLE ONES.

IS THERE ANY OTHER KIND?

THE MORE CHALLENGING, THE BETTER!

GLAD TO HEAR IT

BECAUSE I'M SENDING YOU TWO

ON A MISSION TO LEARN HOW DO PLANES FLY?

HOW DO PLANES FLY?

COOL.

CAN'T WAIT!

IT'S UP TO YOU TO LEARN ALL ABOUT IT

AND REPORT BACK TO ME WITH WHAT YOU'VE DISCOVERED.

DEPART TO DISCOVERY.

LOOKING FORWARD TO NAVIGATING ALL THOSE FACTOIDS.

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT HOW PLANES FLY?

WHAT ARE THE MECHANICS OF FLIGHT, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

WELL, A PLANE'S ENGINES ARE DESIGNED

TO MOVE IT FORWARD AT HIGH SPEED.

THAT MAKES AIR FLOW RAPIDLY OVER THE WINGS,

THROWING THE AIR DOWN TOWARD THE GROUND

AND GENERATING AN UPWARD FORCE CALLED LIFT

THAT OVERCOMES THE PLANE'S WEIGHT AND HOLDS IT IN THE SKY.

SO IT'S THE ENGINES THAT MOVE A PLANE FORWARD,

WHILE THE WINGS MOVE IT UPWARD.

WOW!

I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT MORE!

HOW DO PLANES FLY?

SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

AS YOU KNOW, VROOMER AND GUMDROP,

TO BE THE BEST RESEARCH PLANES YOU CAN BE,

YOU MUST FIND OUT AND LEARN

TONS OF AMAZING FACTS ABOUT AIRPLANES.

YES, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

VROOM, VROOM!

WE WILL!

EXCELLENT.

YOU MUST ALSO KNOW THERE IS A QUESTION

THAT ALL THE BRIGHTEST FLYING MINDS

ALL OVER THE WORLD SKIES

HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ANSWER

ABOUT HOW PLANES FLY.

WE NEED YOU TWO WINGED SCOUTS

TO HELP US ANSWER THE "WHO FLEW" QUESTION

ABOUT HOW PLANES FLY.

"WHO FLEW" QUESTION?

LOVE IT.

WHAT IS THE QUESTION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

WHAT IS THE FASTEST PASSENGER AIRCRAFT EVER BUILT,

AND WHAT ENGINE DOES IT USE?

THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WE'LL LAND THE ANSWER IN A SPIN OF A PROPELLER.

I'M SURE.

I WILL ASSIGN YOU

THE BEST WINGED SCOUT HELPER IN THE WORLD.

HIS NAME IS WILLY WIDGET.

HE'S A ROBOTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AIRCRAFT KNOWLEDGE.

HE WILL ASSIST YOU ON YOUR MISSION.

AWESOME ANDROID.

WE ALWAYS LOVE FLYING WITH WILLY WIDGET.

BE SURE TO ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS, WINGED SCOUTS.

WILLY KNOWS IT ALL.

YAY!

WINGED SCOUTS READY TO FLY, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WINGED SCOUTS.

VROOM, VROOM!

HOORAY!

WINGED SCOUTS!

READY TO GET STARTED ON YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE?

YES, SUPER READY.

TOTALLY READY!

REMEMBER, WINGED SCOUTS,

ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS YOU HAVE,

I'M HERE TO ANSWER THEM.

WHERE DO WE BEGIN?

ONCE UPON A TIME, THE TWO BROTHERS,

WILBUR AND ORVILLE WRIGHT,

MADE FOUR BRIEF FLIGHTS

WITH THEIR FIRST POWERED AIRCRAFT AT KITTY HAWK.

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS SUCCESSFULLY INVENTED THE FIRST AIRPLANE

TO FLY ON DECEMBER 17TH, 1903.

ORVILLE PILOTED THE GASOLINE-POWERED PROPELLER-DRIVEN BIPLANE,

WHICH STAYED IN THE AIR FOR 12 SECONDS

AND COVERED 120 FEET ON ITS FIRST FLIGHT.

WHOA.

TO TRACE THE FIRST FLIGHT OVER

AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MECHANICS OF FLYING,

WE NEED TO TRAVEL BACK IN TIME TO 1903

TO WITNESS THIS FIRST SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT TO EVER TAKE PLACE.

LET'S GO VISIT THE DESIGNERS OF THE MECHANICS

OF THE EARLY PLANES.

YEAH!

IN GERMANY, GERMAN ENGINEER, OTTO LILIENTHAL

STUDIED AERODYNAMICS

AND WORKED TO DESIGN A GLIDER THAT WOULD FLY.

HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO DESIGN A GLIDER

THAT COULD FLY A PERSON

AND WAS ABLE TO FLY LONG DISTANCES.

SAMUEL LANGLEY, AN ASTRONOMER,

REALIZED THAT POWER WAS NEEDED TO FLY.

HE BUILT A MODEL OF A PLANE,

WHICH HE CALLED AN AERODROME,

WHICH INCLUDED A STEAM-POWERED ENGINE.

IN 1891, HIS MODEL FLEW FOR THREE-FOURTHS OF A MILE

BEFORE RUNNING OUT OF FUEL.

WHAT'S A GLIDER, WILLY WIDGET?

A GLIDER IS A LIGHT AIRCRAFT

THAT IS DESIGNED TO FLY WITHOUT USING AN ENGINE.

SO, A GLIDER PERFORMS THE ACT OF GLIDING THROUGH THE AIR.

DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU TWO GUYS GLIDE

EVERY TIME YOU FLY?

INCREDIBLE!

HIT MY PLANE BRAIN WITH MORE COOL FACTOIDS.

IN 1903, THE WRIGHT BROTHERS DESIGNED THE FIRST AIRPLANE ENGINE

WHICH WAS A FOUR-CYCLE ENGINE CALLED THE WRIGHT FLYER.

BLASTING ENGINES, THAT'S AMAZING.

IN THE 1930S, HUNGARIAN ENGINEER GYORGY JENDRASSIK

DESIGNED THE JENDRASSIK CA-1,

THE FIRST FUNCTIONAL TURBOPROP ENGINE.

THE ENGINE WAS INTENDED FOR THE HUNGARIAN TWIN ENGINE

VARGA RMI-1 RECONNAISSANCE BOMBER.

VERY INTERESTING.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT, WILLY?

EXCELLENT QUESTION, GUMDROP.

IN 1911, AFTER THE WRIGHT BROTHERS VISITED FRANCE,

ALESSANDRO ANZANI, AN ITALIAN LIVING IN FRANCE,

WAS INSPIRED TO START DESIGNING AIRPLANE ENGINES.

HE DESIGNED A SERIES OF THREE-CYLINDER ENGINES

THAT PRODUCED ANYWHERE FROM TEN TO 50 HORSEPOWER,

INCLUDING THE 25 HORSEPOWER ENGINE

THAT POWERED LOUIS BLERIOT'S XI AIRPLANE

ACROSS THE WHOLE ENGLISH CHANNEL IN 1909.

WHOA, FUN FACTOID!

SO, HOW DID WE GO FROM THESE SLOW PLANES

TO THE VERY FAST AIRPLANES WE HAVE TODAY?

THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION, VROOMER.

IN THE LATE 1920S IN FRANCE,

THE GNOME-RHONE MISTRAL MAJOR,

ALSO KNOWN AS THE 14K,

WAS A TWO-ROW RADIAL ENGINE

THAT WAS, FOR A TIME,

THE MOST POWERFUL ENGINE

ORDERED IN LARGE NUMBERS ON THE PLANET.

IT GAVE AN AMAZING OUTPUT,

SURPASSING THE OUTPUTS OF MOST OTHER EUROPEAN ENGINES.

WHOO-HOO!

MM, WHAT TYPES OF PLANES

WAS THE GNOME-RHONE 14K ENGINE USED FOR, WILLY WIDGET?

THE GNOME-RHONE 14K ENGINE WAS USED

IN MORE THAN A DOZEN DIFFERENT AIRPLANE TYPES,

AND WAS AVAILABLE IN A LARGE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT VARIANTS

ON THE CONTINENT AND BEYOND.

WHOA, WILLY,

FACTOID COOLER THAN RAIN CLOUDS

AFTER A SPRING SHOWER.

WHAT ENGINE TYPE WAS USED TO POWER

THE APOLLO 11 SPACESHIP, WILLY?

EXCELLENT QUESTION, VROOMER.

THE APOLLO 11 SPACESHIP IN 1969

COMPLETED THE FAMOUS LUNAR MISSION

AND WAS POWERED BY THE ROCKETDYNE F-1,

WHICH WAS DEVELOPED IN THE 1950S.

WHAT KIND OF ENGINE WAS THE ROCKETDYNE F-1, WILLY WIDGET?

VERY GOOD QUESTION, VROOMER.

I SEE YOU ARE PAYING ATTENTION.

THE ROCKETDYNE F-1 WAS THE MOST POWERFUL

LIQUID FUEL PROPULSION SYSTEM EVER BUILT

AND PUT OUT 1.5 MILLION POUNDS OF THRUST.

FIVE F-1S WERE USED FOR EACH SATURN V ROCKET LAUNCH

WITH EACH ENGINE BURNING MORE THAN 400 GALLONS

OF LIQUID OXYGEN PER SECOND,

APPROXIMATELY 5,000 TIMES THE AMOUNT

OF A HIGH-POWERED JET ENGINE

USED ON COMMERCIAL AIRLINERS TODAY.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE AN AIRPLANE

GO 7,000 MILES PER HOUR?

ACCORDING TO NASA'S X-43 IN 2004,

THE ANSWER IS SUPERSONIC COMBUSTION RAM JET,

OR SCRAMJET,

TECHNOLOGY WHICH ALLOWS ULTRA HIGH-SPEED AIRCRAFT

TRAVELLING FASTER THAN MACH 4

TO GET THEIR OXYGEN STRAIGHT FROM THE ATMOSPHERE,

AS OPPOSED TO RELYING ON AN ONBOARD SUPPLY

OF HEAVY OXIDIZER OR A TRADITIONAL TURBINE ENGINE,

MAKING THEM FASTER.

WHOA, HOW FAST CAN THEY GO?

ACCORDING TO RESEARCH, THE SCRAMJET TECHNOLOGY

COULD SOMEDAY HELP AIRCRAFTS TO TRAVEL

AS MUCH AS 15 TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND,

TURNING A NORMAL 18-HOUR FLIGHT FROM NEW YORK CITY TO TOKYO

INTO A TWO-HOUR JOURNEY.

WHOA!

TOOTING TURBINES, THAT'S INCREDIBLE!

OVER THE YEARS, MANY NEW AIRPLANES AND ENGINES

HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO HELP TRANSPORT PEOPLE,

LUGGAGE, CARGO, MILITARY PERSONNEL,

AND WEAPONS FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER

IN RECORD TIME.

BUT IT IS GREAT TO NOTE

THAT ALL THIS IS ONLY POSSIBLE

AND BASED ON THE FIRST ENGINES

BUILT BY THE WRIGHT BROTHERS FROM OHIO.

WHOO!

YAY!

THE MECHANICS OF FLIGHT HAVE IMPROVED OVER THE YEARS.

THE AN-225 HOLDS THE TITLE OF THE BIGGEST

COMMERCIALLY-USED FREIGHTER IN THE WORLD.

POWERED BY SIX TURBOFAN ENGINES,

IT IS THE BIGGEST HEAVIER-THAN-AIR AIRCRAFT

IN TERMS OF LENGTH AND WINGSPAN

IN OPERATIONAL SERVICE.

IT IS ABLE TO CARRY

UP TO 250 TONS OF CARGO,

WHICH IS THE SAME AS THE AVERAGE WEIGHT

OF 52 MATURE ELEPHANTS.

THAT'S SOME HEAVY PLANE!

COOL SKIES.

NOWADAYS, PEOPLE CAN GET FROM ONE END OF THE WORLD TO THE OTHER

IN THE SHORTEST OF TIMES

DUE TO THE IMPROVEMENTS OF AIRPLANE ENGINES.

WHAT IS THE FASTEST PASSENGER AIRCRAFT EVER BUILT

AND WHAT ENGINE DOES IT USE, WILLY?

A-HA!

THE SUPERSONIC TUPOLEV TU-144

PRODUCED BY TUPOLEV OKB

BETWEEN 1968 AND 1984

IS THE FASTEST PASSENGER PLANE EVER BUILT.

THE PLANE WAS POWERED BY

FOUR KOLESOV RD-36-51 TURBOJET ENGINES

WITH A MAXIMUM SPEED

OF 1,510 MILES PER HOUR.

HEY, GUMDROP,

I THINK WE JUST FOUND THE ANSWER

TO COMMANDER AIRHEAD'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION.

YOU'RE RIGHT, VROOMER.

THE RECORD GOES TO THE SUPERSONIC TUPOLEV TU-144

BUILT BY TUPOLEV OKB.

CONGRATULATIONS ON FINDING THE ANSWER

TO THIS MISSION'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION, WINGED SCOUTS.

COMMANDER AIRHEAD, WILL BE PROUD OF YOU,

NO PISTONS ABOUT IT.

FANTASTIC WORK, WINGED SCOUTS.

YOUR MISSION WAS A GREAT SUCCESS.

YOU TWO ARE A SUPER TURBO TEAM.

VROOM, VROOM!

VRR... AWESOME!

SAY, WERE YOU ABLE TO FIND THE ANSWER

TO THIS MISSION'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION?

YES, COMMANDER AIRHEAD, WE SURE DID.

THE RECORD GOES TO THE SUPERSONIC TUPOLEV TU-144,

BUILT BY TUPOLEV OKB.

THE FASTEST PASSENGER PLANE

WAS POWERED BY FOUR KOLESOV RD-36-51 TURBOJET ENGINES

WITH A MAXIMUM SPEED

OF 1,510 MILES PER HOUR.

THAT'S GREAT!

GREAT JOB, WINGED SCOUTS.

WHAT'S OUR NEXT MISSION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

YOUR NEXT MISSION IS GOING TO BE

YOUR MOST INCREDIBLE YET.

WE WANT YOU TWO TO LEARN ABOUT FIGHTER PLANES.

FIGHTER PLANES.

WOW, COOL!

FOR ALL THE BUMPY FLIGHTS,

CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED.

YAY!

WINGED SCOUTS READY TO FLY, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WINGED SCOUTS.

VROOM, VROOM!

HOORAY!

FIGHTER PLANE FUN.

THIS IS GONNA BE A BLAST!

MY WINGS ARE ALL A-FLUTTER.

THAT'S WHY I LIKE YOU, WINGED SCOUTS.

YOU'RE ALWAYS UP FOR THE CHALLENGE.

GUMDROP, VROOMER, YOU ARE TWO OF THE BEST

ANSWER-FINDERS IN OUR FLEET.

AND TODAY, I HAVE ANOTHER RESEARCH TASK FOR YOU GUYS.

YOUR MISSION, GUMDROP AND VROOMER

IS TO DISCOVER ALL ABOUT THE MOST FASCINATING MACHINE

OF ALL TIME!

PLANES!

PLANES!

EXACTLY!

YOU WILL TRAVEL ALL OVER THE WORLD

ACROSS TIME, ACROSS SPACE AND BEYOND.

YOU MUST KEEP YOUR LITTLE METAL NOSES POINTED AHEAD,

YOUR MOTORS HUMMING,

AND YOUR WINGS PERKED AT ALL TIMES.

WE DEPEND ON YOU TO DO THE BEST JOB POSSIBLE.

ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR ASSIGNMENT?

I'M LOOPITY LOOPY TO GET STARTED.

WE'LL VROOM TO THE ANSWERS, COMMANDER.

LET'S FLY.

THIS IS SURE TO BE A CHALLENGING MISSION, LITTLE ONES.

CLEAR SKIES AND HIGH MOUNTAIN TOPS.

I LOVE CHALLENGING MISSIONS.

GOLDEN DAWN HORIZONS!

ME TOO!

I'M SENDING YOU TWO ON A MISSION

TO LEARN ABOUT FIGHTER PLANES.

FIGHTER PLANES?

HOW COOL.

CAN'T WAIT!

IT'S UP TO YOU TO LEARN ALL ABOUT THEM

AND REPORT BACK TO ME WITH WHAT YOU'VE DISCOVERED.

FLAPPING FUN WINGS.

THIS IS GOING TO BE AN INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE.

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT FIGHTER PLANES, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

WELL, THE FIGHTER PLANES ARE BUILT MAINLY

FOR AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT

AGAINST OTHER AIRCRAFT,

WHICH IS CONTRASTING TO BOMBERS

AND ATTACK PLANES

WHOSE MAIN MISSION IS TO ATTACK GROUND TARGETS.

THE ADVANTAGES OF A FIGHTER

ARE ITS SPEED, MANEUVERABILITY,

AND SMALL SIZE RELATIVE TO OTHER COMBAT AIRCRAFT.

THE FIRST FIGHTER PLANE WAS BUILT AS FAR BACK

AS DURING WORLD WAR ONE.

WOW, I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT MORE!

FIGHTER PLANES, SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

AS YOU KNOW, VROOMER AND GUMDROP,

TO OVERTURN EVERY STONE YOU CAN,

YOU MUST FIND OUT AND LEARN

TONS OF AMAZING FACTS ABOUT AIRPLANES.

YES, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

VROOM, VROOM!

WE... WILL!

EXCELLENT.

YOU MUST ALSO KNOW THERE IS A QUESTION

THAT ALL THE BRIGHTEST FLYING MINDS

ALL OVER THE WORLD SKIES

HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ANSWER ABOUT FIGHTER PLANES.

WE NEED YOU TWO WINGED SCOUTS

TO HELP US ANSWER THE "WHO FLEW" QUESTION ABOUT FIGHTER PLANES.

"WHO FLEW" QUESTION?

LOVE IT.

WHAT IS THE QUESTION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

WHO FLEW THE FIRST FIGHTER PLANE AND WHEN?

THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WE'LL LAND THE ANSWER IN A SPIN OF A PROPELLER.

I'M SURE.

I WILL ASSIGN YOU THE BEST WINGED SCOUT HELPER

IN THE WORLD.

HIS NAME IS WILLY WIDGET.

HE'S A ROBOTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AIRCRAFT KNOWLEDGE

AND HE WILL ASSIST YOU ON YOUR MISSION.

BRING ON WILLY!

WE WANT WILLY WIDGET!

BE SURE TO ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS, WINGED SCOUTS.

NO FACTS GET BY WILLY,

NO MATTER HOW SMALL.

YAY!

WINGED SCOUTS READY TO FLY, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WINGED SCOUTS.

VROOM, VROOM!

HOORAY!

WINGED SCOUTS!

READY TO GET STARTED ON YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE?

YES, SUPER READY.

TOTALLY READY!

REMEMBER, WINGED SCOUTS,

ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS YOU HAVE

I'M HERE TO ANSWER THEM.

WHERE DO WE BEGIN?

MANY YEARS AGO, FIGHTER PLANES WERE DESCRIBED

AS TWO-SEATER AIRCRAFTS WITH SUFFICIENT LIFT

TO CARRY THE PILOT, A MACHINE GUN, AND ITS OPERATOR.

MANY COUNTRIES, ESPECIALLY THE BRITISH,

TRIED EARLY ON TO BUILD GUN-MOUNTED AIRPLANES,

BUT FACED A SERIES OF DRAWBACKS

SUCH AS SPEED AND WHERE TO MOUNT THE MACHINE GUN.

ONE OF THE EARLIEST BUILT WAS THE VICKERS F.B.5 GUNBUS

BY THE BRITISH IN 1914,

BUT IT WAS CONSIDERED INEFFECTIVE

DUE TO A LOT OF DRAWBACKS AND SUBSEQUENTLY ABANDONED.

IT WASN'T UNTIL MARCH 1915

THAT THE FRENCH AVIATOR, ROLAND GARROS

FLEW A MODIFIED MONOPLANE

THAT SUCCESSFULLY DOWNED THE FIRST AIRCRAFT IN HISTORY.

OOH, WHOA.

TO FOLLOW THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE FIGHTER PLANE THROUGHOUT HISTORY,

WE HAVE TO TRAVEL BACK IN TIME

AND VISIT SOME OF THE GREATEST MINDS

WHO STARTED THE EARLY REVOLUTION OF FIGHTER PLANES.

YEAH!

DURING WORLD WAR ONE,

MANY COUNTRIES LIKE BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND GERMANY

ALL CONTRIBUTED TO THE EARLY EFFORTS TO BUILD THE FIRST FIGHTER PLANES.

SOME USED MONOPLANES,

OTHERS BIPLANES.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MONOPLANE

AND A BIPLANE, WILLY?

AH, A MONOPLANE HAS ONE MAIN SUPPORTING SURFACE

OR A SINGLE WING ON EITHER SIDE OF THE BODY,

WHILE A BIPLANE HAS TWO SETS OF TWO SUPPORTING WINGS.

THE BODY OF THE MACHINE IS BETWEEN THE TWO PLACES.

INCREDIBLE!

HIT MY PLANE BRAIN WITH MORE COOL FACTOIDS, WILLY WIDGET.

IN GERMANY IN 1913,

A SWISS ENGINEER, FRANZ SCHNEIDER,

PATENTED A DEVICE WITH A FORWARD-FIRING GUN

WHOSE BULLETS PASSED THROUGH THE PROPELLER ARC

AND COULD TIME THE FIRING OF THE INDIVIDUAL ROUNDS

TO AVOID HITTING THE PROPELLER BLADES,

BUT HIS ORIGINAL WORK WAS NOT FOLLOWED UP.

BLASTING ENGINES?

TELL ME MORE!

FRENCH AIRCRAFT DESIGNER, RAYMOND SAULNIER,

PATENTED A PRACTICAL DEVICE IN APRIL 1914.

BUT TRIALS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL

BECAUSE THE MACHINE GUN DESIGN

REPEATEDLY JAMMED DURING FIRING

BECAUSE OF DEFECTIVE AMMUNITION.

VERY INTERESTING.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT, WILLY?

IN DECEMBER 1914, ROLAND GARROS, A FRENCH PILOT,

ASKED SAULNIER TO MOUNT HIS SYNCHRONIZATION GEAR

ON HIS MORANE-SAULNIER TYPE L AIRCRAFT.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE GAS-OPERATED HOTCHKISS MACHINE GUN HE WAS GIVEN

HAD AN ERRATIC FIRING RATE

AND IT WAS DIFFICULT TO SYNCHRONIZE

WITH A SPINNING PROPELLER.

WHOA!

FUN FACTOID.

SO HOW WAS HE ABLE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM?

AH, THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION, VROOMER.

IN 1915, ROLAND GARROS MODIFIED HIS MONOPLANE PROPELLER BLADES

WITH ARMOR FITTED WITH METAL WEDGES

TO PROTECT THE PILOT FROM RICOCHETS,

AND HE BEGAN COMBAT OPERATIONS SOON THEREAFTER.

GARROS SCORED THREE VICTORIES IN THREE WEEKS

BEFORE HE HIMSELF WAS DOWNED ON THE 18TH OF APRIL.

AND HIS AIRPLANE, ALONG WITH ITS SYNCHRONIZATION GEAR

AND PROPELLER WAS CAPTURED BY THE GERMANS.

OH, NO!

SO, WAS THAT HOW THE GERMANS GOT THE SECRET

TO FIGHTER PLANES, WILLY WIDGET?

THE GERMANS FORCED A DUTCH AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURER,

ANTHONY FOKKER, WHOSE FACTORY WAS NEARBY

TO INSPECT THE FIGHTER PLANE AND REPLICATE THE DESIGN.

FOKKER AND HIS ENGINEERS DID AS THEY WERE TOLD

AND BUILT THE FIRST MACHINE GUN FIGHTER PLANES

FOR THE GERMANS.

WHOA, WILLY WIDGET,

FACTOID COOLER THAN RAIN CLOUDS

AFTER A SPRING SHOWER.

DID THE GERMAN FIGHTER PLANES

WORK AS WELL AS THE FRENCH FIGHTER PLANES, WILLY WIDGET?

EXCELLENT QUESTION, VROOMER.

ANTHONY FOKKER AND HIS ENGINEERS

CAME UP WITH A BETTER DESIGN.

THEY BUILT A MACHINE GUN WHOSE RATE OF FIRE

WAS CONTROLLED BY THE TURNING OF THE PROPELLER.

THIS SYNCHRONIZATION ASSURED THAT THE BULLETS

WOULD PASS HARMLESSLY THROUGH THE EMPTY SPACE

BETWEEN THE PROPELLER BLADES.

SO, WAS ROLAND GARROS THE ONLY PILOT

TO SHOOT DOWN PLANES DURING WORLD WAR ONE, WILLY WIDGET?

VERY GOOD QUESTION, VROOMER.

I SEE YOU ARE ALL EARS.

THE FIRST VICTORY FOR THE GERMANS

CAME ON THE FIRST OF JULY 1915

WHEN LIEUTENANT KURT WILCKENS,

FLYING THE FOKKER EINDECKER MONOPLANE

WITH THE FIELD FLIEGER-ABTEILUNG SIX UNIT

ON THE WESTERN FRONT

FORCED DOWN A MORANE-SAULNIER TYPE L

TWO-SEAT PARASOL MONOPLANE

JUST EAST OF LUNEVILLE.

HE WAS THE SECOND PILOT TO SHOOT DOWN A PLANE.

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT, WILLY WIDGET?

THE SUCCESS OF THE EINDECKER

GAVE RISE TO A COMPETITIVE CYCLE OF IMPROVEMENT

AMONG COMBATANTS.

BOTH SIDES TRIED TO BUILD EVEN MORE

CAPABLE SINGLE-SEAT FIGHTERS.

THE ALBATROSS D-1 AND SOPWITH PUP OF 1916

SET THE CLASSIC PATTERN FOLLOWED BY FIGHTERS

FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS.

MOST OF THE FIGHTER PLANES WERE BIPLANES

AND ONLY RARELY MONOPLANES OR TRIPLANES.

WHOA, SO THE FIGHTERS WERE AS GOOD AS THEIR FIGHTER PLANES?

YES, TO AN EXTENT.

AS COLLECTIVE COMBAT EXPERIENCE GREW,

THE MORE SUCCESSFUL PILOTS, LIKE OSWALD BOELCKE,

MAX IMMELMANN AND EDWARD MANNOCK

DEVISED TACTICAL FORMATIONS AND MANEUVERS

TO IMPROVE THEIR AIR UNITS' COMBAT SUCCESS.

WHOA!

TOOTING TURBINES, THAT'S AMAZING!

WITH TIME, AIRCRAFT ENGINES INCREASED SEVERAL FOLD IN POWER.

GOING FROM A COMMON 180 HORSEPOWER IN THE 19-8 FOKKER D.VII

TO THE 900 HORSEPOWER IN THE 1938 CURTISS P-36.

WHOO-HOO!

GOOD GOLLY!

WORLD WAR TWO FEATURED FIGHTER COMBAT

ON A LARGER SCALE

THAN ANY OTHER CONFLICT TO DATE.

AND FIGHTER PLANE DESIGNS VARIED EXTENSIVELY AMONG NATIONS.

EXAMPLES INCLUDE THE ITALIAN MACCHI M.C.200

AND FIAT G.50

AND THE JAPANESE NAKAJIMA KI-27

AND NAKAJIMA KI-43.

COOL SKIES.

FIGHTER TECHNOLOGY QUICKLY ADVANCED

DURING WORLD WAR TWO.

PISTON ENGINES, WHICH POWERED MOST OF THE WORLD WAR TWO FIGHTERS

BECAME MORE POWERFUL.

AT THE START, WAR PLANES USUALLY HAD ENGINES

POWERED BY 1,000 HORSEPOWER AND 1,400 HORSEPOWER ENGINES,

BUT BY THE END OF THE WAR,

MANY COULD PRODUCE OVER 2,000 HORSEPOWER.

FOR INSTANCE, THE SPITFIRE,

WHICH WAS IN PRODUCTION ALL THROUGHOUT THE WAR,

WAS, IN 1939,

POWERED BY A 1,030-HORSEPOWER MERLIN II,

WHILE VARIANTS PRODUCED IN 1945

PRODUCED 2,035 HORSEPOWER.

POWERED BY GRIFFON 61 ENGINES.

WHO FLEW THE FIRST FIGHTER PLANE AND WHEN?

THE FIRST FIGHTER PLANE WAS DEVELOPED BY A FRENCH PILOT,

ROLAND GARROS, IN 1915,

WHO FLEW AN AIRPLANE ARMED WITH A MACHINE GUN

THAT FIRED THROUGH ITS PROPELLER DURING WORLD WAR ONE.

GARROS BECAME A NATIONAL HERO

AND HAD A TOTAL OF FIVE ENEMY KILLS IN THE AIR.

HEY, GUMDROP, I THINK WE JUST FOUND OUT THE ANSWER

TO COMMANDER AIRHEAD'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION!

YOU'RE RIGHT, VROOMER.

THE RECORD GOES TO FRENCH PILOT ROLAND GARROS.

HA, CONGRATULATIONS

ON FINDING THE ANSWER TO THIS MISSION'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION, WINGED SCOUTS.

COMMANDER AIRHEAD WILL BE PROUD OF YOU.

NO PISTONS ABOUT IT.

FANTASTIC WORK, WINGED SCOUTS.

YOUR MISSION WAS A GREAT SUCCESS!

YOU'RE WELL ON YOU'RE WAY TO PLANE-LIGHTENMENT.

VROOM, VROOM!

VRR... AWESOME!

SAY, WERE YOU ABLE TO FIND

THE ANSWER TO THIS MISSION'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION?

YES, COMMANDER AIRHEAD, WE SURE DID.

THE RECORD TO GOES TO FRENCH PILOT ROLAND GARROS.

THE FIRST FIGHTER PLANE WAS DEVELOPED BY A FRENCH PILOT,

ROLAND GARROS, IN 1915 DURING WORLD WAR ONE.

AH, THAT'S GREAT!

GOOD JOB, WINGED SCOUTS.

WHAT'S OUR NEXT MISSION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

YOUR NEXT MISSION IS GOING TO BE YOUR MOST INCREDIBLE YET.

WE WANT YOU TO LEARN ABOUT SUPERSONIC JETS

AND THE SOUND BARRIER.

SUPERSONIC JETS AND THE SOUND BARRIER?

WOW!

COOL!

FOR ALL THE BUMPY FLIGHTS,

CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED.

YAY!

WINGED SCOUTS READY TO FLY, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WINGED SCOUTS.

VROOM, VROOM!

HOORAY!

I CAN'T WAIT TILL NEXT TIME.

I'M SUPERSONIC SERIOUS.

MY WINGS ARE ALL A FLUTTER.

YOU TWO LITTLE PLANES ARE RAPIDLY SOARING

TO THE VERY PINNACLE OF OUR KNOWLEDGE.

AND TODAY, WE HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE

TO EXPAND THOSE REVVING BRAINS.

YOUR MISSION, GUMDROP AND VROOMER,

IS TO DISCOVER ALL ABOUT

THE MOST FASCINATING MACHINE OF ALL.

PLANES!

PLANES!

EXACTLY.

YOU WILL TRAVEL ALL OVER THE WORLD

ACROSS TIME, SPACE AND BEYOND.

YOU MUST KEEP YOUR LITTLE METAL NOSES POINTED AHEAD,

YOUR MOTORS HUMMING,

AND YOUR WINGS PERKED AT ALL TIMES.

WE DEPEND ON YOU TO DO THE BEST JOB POSSIBLE.

ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR ASSIGNMENT?

MY BRAIN'S FRONTAL LOBE IS SPINNING LIKE A PROPELLER.

YOUR BRAIN'S FRONTAL LOBE IS A PROPELLER.

PLANE SCOUTS READY FOR OUR MISSION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

THIS IS SURE TO BE A CHALLENGING MISSION, LITTLE ONES.

BRING IT ON.

NO CLOUD IS TOO DARK FOR US TO FIND THE SUNSHINE,

OR THE ANSWERS.

I'M SENDING YOU TWO ON A MISSION

TO LEARN ABOUT SUPERSONIC JETS

AND THE SOUND BARRIER.

SUPERSONIC JETS AND THE SOUND BARRIER?

NO WAY!

TOTALLY AWESOME!

CAN'T WAIT!

IT'S UP TO YOU TO LEARN

ALL ABOUT IT.

AND REPORT BACK TO ME WITH WHAT YOU'VE DISCOVERED.

TURBO TAKEOFFS, WE'LL DO IT.

THIS IS GOING TO BE AN INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE SUPERSONIC JETS

AND THE SOUND BARRIER, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

SUPERSONIC JETS ARE PLANES THAT CAN FLY

UP TO FIVE TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND.

760 MILES PER HOUR IS THE SPEED OF SOUND.

IT'S ALSO CALLED MACH 1.

PLANES IN THIS REGIME HAVE SPECIALLY DESIGNED

HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENGINES

THAT CAN BREAK THE SOUND BARRIER.

THEY ARE ALSO DESIGNED WITH LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS

TO PROVIDE LESS DRAG.

WOW, I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT MORE.

SUPERSONIC JETS AND THE SOUND BARRIER?

SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

AS YOU KNOW, VROOMER AND GUMDROP,

AS PART OF THE MISSION,

YOU MUST FIND OUT AND LEARN TONS OF AMAZING FACTS

ABOUT AIRPLANES.

YES, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

VROOM, VROOM!

WE WILL.

EXCELLENT.

YOU MUST ALSO KNOW THAT THERE IS A QUESTION

THAT ALL THE BRIGHTEST FLYING MINDS ALL OVER THE WORLD SKIES

HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ANSWER

ABOUT SUPERSONIC JETS AND THE SOUND BARRIER.

WE NEED YOU TWO WINGED SCOUTS

TO HELP US ANSWER THE "WHO FLEW" QUESTION

ABOUT SUPERSONIC JETS AND THE SOUND BARRIER.

"WHO FLEW" QUESTION?

LOVE IT!

WHAT IS THE QUESTION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

WHAT IS THE FIRST JET

AND WHO IS THE FIRST PERSON TO BREAK THE SPEED OF SOUND?

THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WE'LL LAND THE ANSWER IN A SPIN OF A PROPELLER.

I'M SURE.

I WILL ASSIGN YOU

THE BEST WINGED SCOUT HELPER IN THE WORLD.

HIS NAME IS WILLY WIDGET.

HE'S A ROBOTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AIRCRAFT KNOWLEDGE.

HE WILL ASSIST YOU ON YOUR MISSION.

BRING ON OUR THIRD BRAIN.

LET'S HAVE OUR WILLY WIDGET!

BE SURE TO ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS, WINGED SCOUTS.

YOU KNOW NOTHING'S TOO HARD FOR WILLY.

YAY!

WINGED SCOUTS READY TO FLY, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WINGED SCOUTS.

VROOM, VROOM!

HOORAY!

WINGED SCOUTS.

READY TO GET STARTED ON YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE?

YES, SUPER READY.

TOTALLY READY!

REMEMBER, WINGED SCOUTS,

ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE

I'M HERE TO ANSWER THEM.

WHERE DO WE BEGIN?

IN THE 1960S AND 70S,

MANY DESIGN STUDIES FOR SUPERSONIC AIRLINERS WERE DONE.

AND, EVENTUALLY, TWO TYPES ENTERED SERVICE,

THE ANGLO FRENCH CONCORDE

AND THE RUSSIAN TUPOLEV TU-144.

HOWEVER, CLIMACTIC AND POLITICAL

AND ECONOMIC IMPEDIMENTS

AND ONE FATAL CONCORDE CRASH PREVENTED THEM

FROM BEING USED TO THEIR FULL COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL.

AND THESE AIRCRAFT ARE NO LONGER FLYING.

THE MAJORITY OF SUPERSONIC JETS

ARE MILITARY OR EXPERIMENTAL PLANES.

WHOA!

THE SOUND BARRIER, ALSO CALLED A SONIC BARRIER,

IS A POPULAR TERM THAT REFERS TO THE SUDDEN INCREASE

IN AERODYNAMIC DRAG

AND OTHER EFFECTS EXPERIENCED BY A JET

OR OTHER OBJECT WHEN IT APPROACHES SUPERSONIC SPEED.

THE SOUND BARRIER IS REACHED

WHEN AN OBJECT MOVES AT A SPEED

OF 343 METERS PER SECOND.

YEAH!

THE GERMANS, FRENCH, BRITISH, AND OTHER FIGHTER PILOTS

WHO FOUGHT DURING WORLD WAR TWO

WERE THE FIRST TO EXPERIENCE THE SOUND BARRIER

WHEN A NUMBER OF AIRCRAFTS

STARTED TO ENCOUNTER THE EFFECTS OF COMPRESSIBILITY.

A NUMBER OF UNRELATED AERODYNAMIC EFFECTS

THAT STRUCK THEIR AIRCRAFT,

THEREBY BLOCKING FURTHER ACCELERATION.

BY THE 1950S, NEW AIRCRAFT DESIGNS

REGULARLY BROKE THE SOUND BARRIER.

WHAT ARE EARLY CLAIMS OF THE SOUND BARRIER LIKE?

IN 1942, IN ONE OF THE EARLIEST CLAIMS,

THE REPUBLIC AVIATION ISSUED A PRESS RELEASE

STATING THAT LIEUTENANTS HAROLD E. COMSTOCK

AND ROGER DYER HAD EXCEEDED THE SPEED OF SOUND

DURING TEST DIVES IN THE P-47 THUNDERBOLT.

IT IS WIDELY AGREED THAT THIS WAS DUE

TO INACCURATE ASI READINGS.

FOREIGN SIMILAR TESTS,

THE NORTH AMERICAN P-51 MUSTANG,

A HIGHER-PERFORMANCE AIRCRAFT,

DEMONSTRATED LIMITS AT MACH 0.85,

WITH SOME HIGH SPEEDS CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT

TO BE DAMAGED BY VIBRATION.

INCREDIBLE.

HIT MY PLANE BRAIN WITH MORE COOL FACTOIDS, WILLY.

ON THE FIRST OF MARCH 1945,

THE LUFTWAFFE TEST PILOT, LOTHAR SIEBER,

MAY HAVE ACCIDENTALLY BECOME THE FIRST MAN

TO BREAK THE SOUND BARRIER.

THIS OCCURRED WHILE HE WAS PILOTING A BACHEM BA 349 NATTER

FOR THE FIRST MANNED VERTICAL TAKEOFF OF A ROCKET IN HISTORY.

IN 55 SECONDS, HE TRAVELLED A TOTAL OF 14 KILOMETERS

OR 8.7 MILES.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED

AND HE DIDN'T SURVIVE.

BUT THE PRECEDENT WAS SET!

OH, WHOA.

IN 1942, THE UNITED KINGDOM'S MINISTRY OF AVIATION

BEGAN A TOP SECRET PROJECT WITH MILES AIRCRAFT

TO DEVELOP THE WORLD'S FIRST AIRCRAFT

CAPABLE OF BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER.

THE PROTOTYPE, MILES M.52 TURBO JET-POWERED AIRCRAFT,

WAS DESIGNED TO REACH 1,000 MILES PER HOUR,

OVER THE TWICE THE EXISTING SPEED RECORD

IN LEVEL FLIGHT

AND TO CLIMB TO AN ALTITUDE

OF 36,000 FEET IN ONE MINUTE AND 30 SECONDS.

BUT THE PROJECT WAS EVENTUALLY CANCELLED.

VERY INTERESTING.

TURBO TRICKY.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER IMPORTANT FIGURES

IN SUPERSONIC JET FLYING, WILLY?

HISTORY IS LITTERED WITH IMPORTANT PILOTS,

ENGINEERS, MECHANICS, DESIGNERS AND GENERALS

WHO ALL HELPED FORWARD THE CAUSE AND THE MISSION

OF SUPERSONIC FLIGHT.

PERHAPS NONE AS WELL KNOWN

AS FORMER AIR FORCE GENERAL

AND WORLD-FAMOUS TEST PILOT CHUCK YEAGER.

WHOA, CHUCK YEAGER?

CHUCK YEAGER SOUNDS LIKE ONE HECK OF A PILOT.

WAS HE?

VERY GOOD QUESTION, VROOMER.

HE SURE WAS.

FROM HIS HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS A PRIVATE IN WORLD WAR TWO,

CHUCK YEAGER WENT ON TO BE A TEST PILOT

FOR MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF AIRCRAFT,

INCLUDING EXPERIMENTAL ROCKET-POWERED AIRCRAFT.

ALL TOLD, MR. YEAGER'S FLYING CAREER

SPANNED OVER 60 AMAZING YEARS.

JEEZ, MAKES ME PROUD TO BE A PLANE.

DID CHUCK YEAGER EVER CRASH A PLAN?

YES, HE DID!

CHUCK YEAGER LOST CONTROL OF A PLANE CALLED THE BELL X-1A

DUE TO THE BARELY UNDERSTOOD PHENOMENON OF INERTIA COUPLING.

THE X-1A DROPPED FROM MAXIMUM ALTITUDE

TO 25,000 FEET,

DURING WHICH YEAGER BROKE THE CANOPY WITH HIS HELMET

BEFORE REGAINING CONTROL

ONLY DUE TO HIS SUPER STRONG SKILLS AS AN AVIATOR.

WHOA!

WHAT IS INERTIA COUPLING?

INERTIA COUPLING IS COMMON WITH SINGLE-ENGINE JET FIGHTER AIRCRAFT

AND OCCURS WHEN AN AIRCRAFT IS QUICKLY PUT INTO A ROLL

RESULTING IN VIOLENT PITCHING, AND YAWING,

AND LOSS OF CONTROL

AS THE AIRCRAFT ROTATES ON ALL THREE AXES.

WHOA!

TOOTING TURBINES, THAT'S INCREDIBLE!

INERTIA COUPLING NEARLY KILLED CHUCK YEAGER

IN THE X-1A IN 1953

AND IT DID KILL PILOT CAPTAIN MEL APT

IN HIS FIRST FLIGHT IN THE ROCKET-POWERED BELL X-2

ON SEPTEMBER 27TH, 1956.

INERTIA COUPLING CRAZINESS.

WOW, THIS FLYING BUSINESS SURE CAN BE DANGEROUS.

FOR AIRCRAFT SPEEDS WHICH ARE GREATER THAN THE SPEED OF SOUND,

THE AIRCRAFT IS SAID TO BE SUPERSONIC.

TYPICAL SPEEDS FOR SUPERSONIC AIRCRAFT ARE GREATER

THAN 750 MILES PER HOUR,

BUT LESS THAN 1,500 MILES PER HOUR

AND THE MACH NUMBER, M, IS GREATER THAN ONE.

AS IN MACH 1, MACH 2, OR MACH 3.

COOL SKIES.

SUBSEQUENT EXPERIMENTAL SUPERSONIC JETS

WERE BUILT AFTER THE BELL X-1A

PROVED THAT HUMANS COULD FLY SUPERSONICALLY.

THE AERODYNAMICS OF THESE EARLY AIRCRAFT

IS USED ON MODERN SUPERSONIC FIGHTER AIRCRAFT.

THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL EFFORTS TO DEVELOP

COST-EFFECTIVE SUPERSONIC AIRLINERS.

THE RUSSIAN TU-144 AND THE ANGLO FRENCH CONCORDE

WENT INTO SERVICE IN THE EARLY 1970S,

BUT WERE FINANCIAL FAILURES.

WHAT IS THE FIRST JET AND WHO IS THE FIRST PERSON TO BREAK THE SPEED OF SOUND?

THE BELL X-1 ON 14 OCTOBER, 1947

BECAME THE FIRST AIRCRAFT TO BREAK THE SPEED OF SOUND.

IT WAS PILOTED BY NONE OTHER THAN AIR FORCE CAPTAIN CHUCK YEAGER

WHO ALSO BECAME THE VERY FIRST PILOT TO BREAK THE SPEED OF SOUND.

HEY, GUMDROP, I THINK WE JUST FOUND OUT THE ANSWER

TO COMMANDER AIRHEAD'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION.

YOU'RE RIGHT, VROOMER.

THE BELL X-1 HOLDS THE RECORD

FOR FIRST JET TO BREAK THE SPEED OF SOUND.

AND CAPTAIN CHUCK YEAGER WAS ITS PILOT.

CONGRATULATIONS ON FINDING THE ANSWER

TO THIS MISSION'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION, WINGED SCOUTS.

COMMANDER AIRHEAD WILL BE PROUD OF YOU.

NO ENGINES ABOUT IT.

FANTASTIC WORK, WINGED SCOUTS.

YOUR MISSION WAS A GREAT SUCCESS.

YOU'RE WELL ON YOUR WAY TO BECOMING OUR MOST HEIGHTENED

AND ENLIGHTENED PLANES.

VROOM, VROOM!

VRR... AWESOME!

SAY, WERE YOU, UH,

WERE YOU ABLE TO FIND THE ANSWER TO THIS MISSION'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION?

YES, COMMANDER AIRHEAD, WE SURE DID.

THE BELL X-1 HOLDS THE RECORD

FOR FIRST JET TO BREAK THE SPEED OF SOUND.

YES, ON THE 14TH OF OCTOBER, 1947,

THE BELL X-1 BECAME THE FIRST AIRCRAFT TO BREAK THE SPEED OF SOUND.

IT WAS PILOTED BY AIR FORCE CAPTAIN CHUCK YEAGER

WHO ALSO BECAME THE VERY FIRST PILOT

THE BREAK THE SPEED OF SOUND.

THAT'S GREAT.

GOOD JOB, WINGED SCOUTS.

WHAT'S OUR NEXT MISSION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

YOUR NEXT MISSION IS GOING TO BE YOUR MOST INCREDIBLE YET.

WE WANT YOU TO LEARN ABOUT MODERN JETS.

MODERN JETS?

SUPER COOL-L-L-L!

FOR ALL THE BUMPY FLIGHTS, CAN'T WAIT!

YAY!

WINGED SCOUTS READY TO FLY, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WINGED SCOUTS.

VROOM, VROOM!

HOORAY!

I CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED.

ME NEITHER, THIS IS GONNA BE FUN.

GUMDROP, VROOMER,

I CAN'T BEGIN TO TELL YOU

HOW MUCH YOUR DEDICATION TO LEARNING

IMPRESSES US ALL.

WITH THAT IN MIND,

TODAY WILL BE ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST TESTS.

YOUR MISSION, GUMDROP AND VROOMER,

IS TO DISCOVER ALL ABOUT

THE MOST FASCINATING MACHINE OF ALL.

PLANES!

PLANES!

EXACTLY!

YOU WILL TRAVEL ALL OVER THE WORLD

ACROSS TIME, AND SPACE AND BEYOND.

YOU MUST KEEP YOUR LITTLE METAL NOSES POINTED AHEAD,

YOUR MOTORS HUMMING,

AND YOUR WINGS PERKED AT ALL TIMES.

WE DEPEND ON YOU TO DO THE BEST JOB POSSIBLE.

ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR ASSIGNMENT?

- MACH 5 KNOWLEDGE? - LET'S GET IT!

PLANE SCOUTS READY FOR OUR MISSION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

THIS IS SURE TO BE A CHALLENGING MISSION, LITTLE ONES.

OOH, TELL ME MORE, I LOVE CHALLENGING MISSIONS.

SOUND BARRIER BRAIN BLAST, ME TOO!

I'M SENDING YOU TWO ON A MISSION

TO LEARN ABOUT MODERN JETS.

MODERN JETS?

HOW COOL.

CAN'T WAIT.

IT'S UP TO YOU TO LEARN ALL ABOUT IT

AND REPORT BACK TO ME WITH WHAT YOU HAVE DISCOVERED.

FLAPPING FUN WINGS.

THIS IS GOING TO BE AN INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE.

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE MODERN JETS, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

WELL, THE FIRST JETS WERE BUILT OVER 1,000 YEARS AGO.

AND OVER THAT TIME, DURING TIMES OF WAR AND IN BETWEEN,

THERE HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS BREAKTHROUGH

IN THE MANUFACTURING OF BOTH COMMERCIAL

AND FIGHTER JETS.

NUMEROUS TESTS AND MODIFICATIONS

HAVE LED TO WHAT WE KNOW AS MODERN JETS TODAY.

WOW, I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT MORE.

MODERN JETS? SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

AS YOU KNOW, VROOMER AND GUMDROP,

TO BE ALL YOU CAN BE,

YOU MUST FIND OUT AND LEARN

TONS OF AMAZING FACTS ABOUT AIRPLANES.

YES, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

VROOM, VROOM!

WE WILL!

EXCELLENT.

YOU MUST ALSO KNOW THERE IS A QUESTION

THAT ALL THE BRIGHTEST FLYING MINDS ALL OVER THE WORLD SKIES

HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ANSWER ABOUT MODERN JETS.

WE NEED YOU TWO WINGED SCOUTS

TO HELP US ANSWER THE "WHO FLEW"QUESTION ABOUT MODERN JETS.

"WHO FLEW" QUESTION?

LOVE IT.

WHAT IS THE QUESTION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

WHAT IS THE FASTEST MODERN JET

AND WHAT IS ITS MAXIMUM SPEED?

THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WE'LL LAND THE ANSWER IN A SPIN OF A PROPELLER.

I'M SURE.

I WILL ASSIGN YOU

THE BEST WINGED SCOUT HELPER IN THE WORLD.

HIS NAME IS WILLY WIDGET.

HE'S A ROBOTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA

OF AIRCRAFT KNOWLEDGE.

HE WILL ASSIST YOU ON YOUR MISSION.

OUR BOT.

IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY SKIES

WITH OLE WILLY WIDGET.

BE SURE TO ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS, WINGED SCOUTS.

AS ALWAYS, WILLY KNOWS IT ALL.

YAY!

WINGED SCOUTS READY TO FLY, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

WINGED SCOUTS.

VROOM, VROOM!

VROOM, VROOM, VROOM, VROOM, VROOM, VROOM, VROOM

HOORAY!

WINGED SCOUTS!

READY TO GET STARTED ON YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE?

YES, SUPER READY.

IS THE SKY BLUE?

REMEMBER, WINGED SCOUTS,

ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS YOU HAVE

I'M HERE TO ANSWER THEM.

WHERE DO WE BEGIN?

MORE THAN 100 YEARS AGO,

ORVILLE AND WILBUR WRIGHT

TAUGHT MANKIND HOW TO FLY.

AND EVER SINCE THEN,

THERE HAS BEEN REPLICATIONS,

IMPROVEMENTS AND MODIFICATIONS

THAT HAVE SEEN JETS DO NUMEROUS FEATS

ONCE CONSIDERED IMPOSSIBLE.

THE FIRST JET TO BREAK THE SPEED OF SOUND,

THE BELL X-1 PILOTED BY CHARLES YEAGER

IN 1947 SET THE PACE.

AND EVER SINCE THEN,

OTHERS HAVE FOLLOWED.

WHOA!

TO SEE SOME OF THE LATEST IN MODERN FIFTH-GENERATION JETS,

WE WILL HAVE TO TRAVEL ACROSS THE WORLD

TO MANY COUNTRIES.

WINGS UP, LET'S GO HAVE SOME FUN!

YEAH!

IN RUSSIA, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME TREMENDOUS BREAKTHROUGHS

WITH THE FOURTH-GENERATION JET FIGHTERS.

MIKOYAN MIG-29

AND SUKHOI SU-27.

BUT RECENTLY, THEY HAVE DEVELOPED

THE FIFTH-GENERATION SUKHOI SU-35,

WHICH IS AN IMPROVEMENT ON THE SU-27.

AND BELONGS ON THE TOP TEN MODERN JETS OF THE CENTURY.

THERE'S ALSO A NEW SUKHOI PAK FA

STEALTHY SUPERIOR AIR FIGHTER JET BEING DEVELOPED.

SAY, WHAT'S THE MAXIMUM SPEED

OF THE SUKHOI SU-35?

THE SUKHOI SU-35 HAS A MAXIMUM SPEED

AT ALTITUDE OF 2,410 KILOMETERS PER HOUR

OR MACH 2.25.

INCREDIBLE.

HIT MY PLANE BRAIN WITH MORE COOL INFO, WILLY WIDGET.

BY LATE 2010,

CHINA DESIGNED TWO PROTOTYPES

OF THE CHENGDU J-20

AND BEGAN HIGH-SPEED TAXI TRIALS.

THE J-20 MADE ITS FIRST FLIGHT

IN JANUARY 2011.

IN DECEMBER 2015,

A NEW J-20 WITH SERIAL NUMBER 2101

WAS SEEN LEAVING ITS CHENGDU AVIATION CORPORATION FACTORY.

IT IS BELIEVED TO BE THE FIRST OF THE LOW-RATE

INITIAL PRODUCTION AIRCRAFT.

THE 2101 CONDUCTED ITS MAIDEN FLIGHT

IN JANUARY 2016.

BLASTING ENGINES, THAT'S AMAZING.

THERE WERE RUMORS OF A POSSIBLE PROTOTYPE

OF THE F-60, NAMED THE SHENYANG J-31,

WHICH WAS LATER LAUNCHED AND MADE ITS MAIDEN FLIGHT

IN OCTOBER, 2012.

VERY INTERESTING.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT, WILLY?

EXCELLENT QUESTION, GUMDROP.

THE UNITED STATES HAS REMAINED

ONE OF THE LEADERS IN BUILDING MODERN JETS.

THEY OWN SOME OF THE BEST MODERN JETS

AND THEIR LOCKHEED MARTIN BOEING F-22 RAPTOR

IS THE MOST SUPERIOR JET EVER PRODUCED.

AND IS ALMOST INVISIBLE TO RADARS.

IT CARRIES A POWERFUL ARRAY OF WEAPONRY

AND REMAINS THE MOST ADVANCED

AND MOST EXPENSIVE PRODUCTION FIGHTER AIRCRAFT TO DATE.

WHOA!

FUN FACTOID.

ARE ALL THE MODERN JETS FIGHTER JETS?

THAT'S A VERY QUESTION, VROOMER.

NOT ALL THE MODERN JETS ARE FIGHTER JETS

AS THERE ARE ALSO SOME PASSENGER JETS.

PASSENGER JETS USUALLY HAVE TWO OR FOUR JET ENGINES.

THREE-ENGINE DESIGNS WERE POPULAR IN THE 1970S,

BUT ARE LESS COMMON TODAY.

HIGH-FLYING FACTOID.

WHAT WERE THE FIRST PASSENGER JET PLANES EVER MADE, WILLY?

THE FIRST JET AIRLINER WAS THE BRITISH DE HAVILLAND COMET,

WHICH FIRST FLEW IN 1949.

ALSO DEVELOPED IN 1949

WAS THE AVRO CANADA C102 JETLINER,

WHICH SADLY NEVER REACHED PRODUCTION.

WHOA-OH-OH.

FACTOID COOLER THAN ICICLES ON MY PROPELLERS

AFTER AN ICY FLIGHT.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE NEWEST

MODERN PASSENGER JETS, WILLY WIDGET?

EXCELLENT QUESTION, VROOMER.

THE FRENCH AIRBUS A350 XWB

AND THE AMERICAN BOEING 787-9 DREAMLINER

ARE CURRENTLY PERHAPS THE TWO MOST ADVANCED

PASSENGER JETS IN THE WORLD.

AND ARE STILL IN PRODUCTION.

ARE ALL PASSENGER JETS CAPABLE

OF SUPERSONIC FLIGHT, WILLY WIDGET?

VERY GOOD QUESTION, VROOMER.

I SEE YOU ARE KEEPING A KEEN MIND.

NO JET AIRLINER, OTHER THAN THE CONCORDE,

IS CAPABLE OF SUPERSONIC FLIGHT.

IS THE CONCORDE STILL OPERATIONAL TODAY?

NO, GUMDROP, THE AEROSPATIALE/BAC CONCORDE

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS IN 2003.

WHOA!

HOW WAS THE CONCORDE POWERED?

THE CONCORDE WAS POWERED WITH THE OLYMPUS 320 TURBO JET,

A DEVELOPMENT OF THE BRISTOL ENGINE

FIRST USED FOR THE AVRO VULCAN BOMBER.

WHOA.

HOOTING TOOTING TURBINES.

THOSE ARE SOME COOL TERMS.

MANY COUNTRIES SUCH AS CHINA, JAPAN,

RUSSIA, FRANCE, UNITED STATES AND THE UK

ARE ALL MAKING EFFORTS

TOWARD DEVELOPING SIXTH-GENERATION JETS,

WHICH WILL BE THE FUTURE OF THE MODERN WORLD.

SOME OF THESE JETS INCLUDE THE RUSSIAN MIKOYAN MIG-41,

THE JAPANESE MITSUBISHI X-2 SHINSHIN

AND LOTS MORE!

WHOO-HOO!

YAY!

RECENTLY, LOCKHEED MARTIN ENGINEERS

HAVE DEVELOPED A BOX WING CONCEPT

TO FIND NEW WAYS TO REDUCE FUEL BURN

WITHOUT ABANDONING THE BASIC SHAPE OF CURRENT AIRCRAFT.

ADAPTING THE LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS

FOUND IN THE F-22 AND F-35 FIGHTER JETS,

THEY DESIGNED A LOOPED WING CONFIGURATION

THAT WOULD INCREASE THE LIFT-TO-DRAG RATIO BY 16%,

MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO FLY FURTHER

USING LESS FUEL

WHILE STILL FITTING INTO AIRPORT GATES.

COOL SKIES.

THE FIRST ERA OF COMMERCIAL SUPERSONIC TRANSPORTATION

ENDED ON NOVEMBER 26TH, 2003

WITH THE FINAL FLIGHT OF THAT CONCORDE I MENTIONED,

A NOISY, INEFFICIENT AND HIGH-POLLUTING AIRCRAFT.

BUT THE DREAM OF A SUB-THREE-HOUR

CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT LINGERED.

AND IN 2010, DESIGNERS AT LOCKHEED MARTIN

PRESENTED THE MACH 1.6 SUPERSONIC GREEN MACHINE.

THE PLANE'S VARIABLE CYCLE ENGINES

IMPROVED EFFICIENCY BY SWITCHING TO CONVENTIONAL TURBOFAN MODE

DURING TAKEOFF AND LANDING.

COMBUSTORS BUILT INTO THE ENGINE

WOULD REDUCE NITROGEN OXIDE POLLUTION BY 75%.

WHAT IS THE FASTER MODERN JET?

AND WHAT IS ITS MAXIMUM SPEED?

OH, THE ROCKET-POWERED X-15

HOLDS THE OFFICIAL WORLD RECORD

FOR THE FASTEST SPEED EVER REACHED BY A MANNED AIRCRAFT,

MACH 6.72,

WHICH IS 6.72 TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND

OR 4,520 MILES PER HOUR.

HEY, GUMDROP, I THINK WE JUST FOUND THE ANSWER

TO COMMANDER AIRHEAD'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION.

YOU'RE RIGHT, VROOMER.

THE RECORD GOES TO THE X-15 AIRCRAFT.

CONGRATULATIONS ON FINDING THE ANSWER

TO THIS MISSION'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION, WINGED SCOUTS.

COMMANDER AIRHEAD WILL BE PROUD OF YOU.

NO PISTONS ABOUT IT.

FANTASTIC WORK, WINGED SCOUTS.

YOUR MISSION WAS A GREAT SUCCESS.

LIKE ALWAYS, YOU TWO NEVER LET US DOWN.

UNTIL IT'S TIME TO LAND, RIGHT?

SAY, WERE YOU ABLE TO FIND

THE ANSWER TO THIS MISSION'S "WHO FLEW" QUESTION?

YES, COMMANDER AIRHEAD, WE SURE DID.

THE OFFICIAL RECORD GOES TO THE ROCKET-POWERED X-15

FOR THE FASTEST SPEED EVER REACHED BY A MANNED AIRCRAFT.

THE FASTEST MODERN JET IS THE ROCKET-POWERED X-15

WITH A SPEED OF MACH 6.72,

WHICH IS 6.72 TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND

OR 5,520 MILES PER HOUR.

THAT'S GREAT!

GOOD JOB, WINGED SCOUTS.

WHAT'S OUR NEXT MISSION, COMMANDER AIRHEAD?

YOUR NEXT MISSION IS GOING TO BE YOUR MOST INCREDIBLE YET.

WE WANT YOU TO LEARN ABOUT THE WORLD'S FASTEST JETS.

THE WORLD'S FASTEST JETS? WOW!

COOL!

FOR ALL THE BUMPY FLIGHTS,

CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED.

YAY!

WINGED SCOUTS READY TO FLY, COMMANDER AIRHEAD.

- WINGED SCOUTS. - VROOM, VROOM!

HOORAY!

YOU KNOW, I'M PRETTY FAST MYSELF.

IF I DO SAY SO.

BUT YOU'RE NOT THE WORLD'S FASTEST FAST, VROOMER.

YOU GUYS ARE STILL YOUNG.

THERE'S ALWAYS TIME FOR GROWTH, WINGED SCOUTS.

Subtitles by explosiveskull

♪ I WAS JUST SITTING UP IN MY TREE ♪

♪ IN MY TREE, IN MY TREE ♪

♪ I SAW A BEAUTIFUL FACE WAS LOOKING UP AT ME ♪

♪ UP AT ME, UP AT ME ♪

♪ OH, SHE HAD A CUTE SMILE, SO I ASKED HER NAME ♪

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♪ WHEN WE GOT TO TALKING, SAID SHE FELT THE SAME ♪

♪ THAT SHE FELT THE SAME, FELT THE SAME ♪

♪ OH, EVERY TIME I SEE HER, I DO MY THING ♪

♪ WELL, NOW SHE'S BY MY SIDE WHERE SHE WANTS TO BE ♪

♪ UH, SHE WANTS TO BE ♪

♪ IT'S WHERE SHE WANTS TO BE ♪

♪ SHE'S COOKING US A CHICKEN WITH A JUG OF TEA ♪

♪ A JUG OF TEA ♪

- ♪ OH, YEAH ♪ - ♪ A JUG OF TEA ♪