History Channel - Fly Past (2001) Part 2 Straight Up

The dream of flight was finally realized on a North Carolina beach in 1903. In the century since then, innovations have come fast and furious, and the skies have filled with extraordinary creations. This 4-part documentary mini-series looks at key developments in powered flight. Fly past tells the story of the legendary figures and machines that pepper the history of aviation, breathing new life into a story that is as vital today as it was when it began almost one hundred years ago.

Part 2 Straight Up

Igor Sikorski's prototype machine, vertical jets and the revolutionary and controversial tilt-rotor designs of the 1990s are in the spotlight as Fly Past chronicles the development of vertical takeoff vehicles. The second episode, “Straight Up”, details the history of VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft, from Leonardo DaVinci's drawings, through Igor Sikorsky's invention of the helicopter, to the development of tilt-rotor and vectored-thrust machines such as the XV-15, V-22, Harrier, and the X-32/X-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

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