DC Wings - Flying Boats (1996) Part 1 On the Step

The 'Flying Boats' is the definitive film history of some of the most beautiful and spectacular aircraft ever built and flown - packed with rare action archive footage and stills featuring dozens of different designs around the World. This acclaimed Discovery Wings series tells the gripping story of these incredible aircraft from aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss' first designs in 1913 right through to the present day. First seeing service in the First World War, flying boats quickly adapted to peacetime when they became the World's first Airliners. In the 1930s Pan American Airways Giant Clippers established the World's first air service across two oceans and offered their passengers the ultimate in style, grace, romance and luxury. For the flying boat, it was a Golden Age. When the Second World War broke out, flying boats swiftly reverted to their military roles. Aircraft like the Sunderland and Catalina played a vital role in both the Battle of the Atlantic and the war in the Pacific - but it was becoming increasingly obvious that their days were numbered. Post-war designs like Howard Hughes gargantuan Spruce Goose and the British Princess proved costly failures and even radical new US Navy designs like the jet powered Seamaster and the supersonic Sea Dart could not compete with the cold efficiency of land-based aircraft. Flying Boats takes a fascinating look at the rise and fall of an aviation legend. Return to a golden age when the romance of the high seas blended with the science of aeronautics. Retrace the flight of the famous China Clipper. Fight fires with the largest flying boat still in operation. And find out who's keeping these classics alive.

Part 1 On the Step

In 1913, aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss became the first to develop the flying boat. From the start, these large seaplanes surpassed land planes in both size and range. By 1920, they had become the first airliners, the first American aircraft to engage in combat and the first to conquer the Atlantic Ocean by air.

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