Chasing the Sun

This 4-part documentary mini-series traces the development of commercial passenger aviation in the 20th century, from the Wright Brothers to the Concorde and beyond. In episode 1, "Heroes and Daredevils" rule the skies after the Wrights invent the first controllable powered airplane. Air travel is expensive, dangerous, and slow. Air mail becomes the big money-maker for the fledgling airlines after World War I. Passengers are not a priority--if there is room, they sit among the bags of mail. The public's interest in air travel is piqued by the adventures of Charles Lindbergh and the writings of his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, perhaps the most well-known airplane passenger. In episode 2, "The Visionaries" develop new aircraft and build the infrastructure for worldwide air travel. Designers and engineers such as Donald Douglas, the Lockheed brothers, Jack Northrop, and William Boeing construct larger, faster, and safer airplanes, while airline executives such as Juan Trippe of Pan ...