Experimental

Travel into the world of aviation and explore the dreams of flight with the Smithsonian as they step into the unknown.

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

This documentary is about Bob Diemert of Carman, Manitoba, and his dream of building the world's next great fighter plane. His worldwide reputation as a genius at restoring "warbirds" enables him to finance his dream. The Defender is a lively, sometimes wild and funny, tale about a remarkable, modern-day folk hero.

Documentary about icelandic aviators.

Best of the 2009 convention, including the Airbus A-380 ~ WhiteKnightTwo ~ Red Bull Helicopter ~ the Erickson Air-Crane ~Meet AirVenture’s “Air Boss” ~ Sully Sullenberger and Jeff Skiles ~ Performance by Jeff Dunham ~ Opening Concert by the Doobie Brothers ~ Appearance of American Chopper TV Crew ~ Elvis the Erickson Aircrane Helicopter ~ reunion of the Concorde ~ greatest air show pilots in the worlds ~ and the world’s best Homebuilt, War bird, Vintage, Light plane, and Aerobatic aircraft and much more including several bonus features.

A film about the education of young aviators, which uses the natural interest of the youth in aviation and leads them through modeling circles and motorless flying to flying powered planes.

A hilarious countdown of the black sheep of aviation, aircraft that have embarrassed their builders, enraged the owners and terrified their pilots. These are stories of aircraft that should have never been built, including highly imaginative concepts to “fly” tanks and jeeps directly onto the battlefield, a real flying saucer and starkly bizarre efforts to design and build a submarine that flies. We come to understand why these ideas were doomed from the start…

Panair do Brasil revives the story of the most important commercial aviation company in Brazil, between 1930 and 1965, with its commercial daring in establishing routes to the four corners of a continental country, taking the adventure of air transport to never-before imagined places, as well as the first international routes. Four decades after it closed its doors, it still retains a marked presence in the country's collective imagination for its pioneering spirit and stories of heroic deeds and for the bewilderment which was aroused by the facts surrounding its closure during the military regime.

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.

An eccentric history buff lives in a cabin in the woods but spends most of his time flying his biplane.

A celebration of those still flying the last remaining Grumman Albatross, a seaplane from a long-lost era of adventure and romance.

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

Barnstorming is the true story of an unexpected friendship that developed between a farm family and two pilots who literally dropped out of the sky. Their friendship has created a new tradition out of an old one long gone: barnstorming.

There was a time when the DC-3 was the world's most successful aircraft and an indispensable tool: its military version became a crucial factor in achieving peace in various wars and helped many people rise from the ashes during the inevitable humanitarian crises that follow every conflict. But now the Basler factory located in Oshkosh, near Chicago, in the United States, seems to have become a sinister airplane boneyard.

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.

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 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.

An exhilarating documentary film that celebrates the unsung hero of aviation - the local airport - by tracing the life, history, and struggles of an airport icon: Southern California's Van Nuys Airport. Featuring thrilling aerial photography and a sweeping original score, the film dispels common misconceptions and opposes criticism of General Aviation airports.

This 2-DVD set focused on the development and combat history of the Grumman F4F Wildcat and was created from holdings at the National Archives, the National Museum of Naval Aviation, the Naval Historical Center, and the Marine Corps Historical Center. The F4F Wildcat was the front-line carrier fighter in the first days of the Pacific war - flying off legendary ships like the Lexington, Saratoga, Hornet, Yorktown, and Enterprise - the Wildcat held the line as America built for victory.

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.