All language subtitles for The Machines That Built America s01e02 Plane Pioneers.eng

(plane engines roaring)

‐ [Narrator] We take off
in them every two seconds,

(reverent orchestral music)

part of a global business
worth over $700 billion,

serving more than three and a
half billion passengers

every single year.

‐ The ability to fly
anywhere in the world

really makes us a
global civilization.

‐ [Narrator] But
one century ago,

the passenger airplane
is a farfetched notion‐

‐ I want a small
cabin, for passengers.

‐ [Narrator] With
deadly implications.

‐ Now, not only did people
come to see them fly,

they also came to see 'em crash.

‐ [Narrator] In
the 1920s and '30s,

four men race to make
passenger travel a reality:

aviation maverick Bill Boeing,

master engineer Donald Douglas,

enemy warplane builder
Anthony Fokker,

and a living legend out to
conquer yet another industry.

‐ Henry Ford was an all‐in guy.

‐ What do you want
for the whole company?

‐ [Narrator]
Fortunes will be won‐

‐ She was born to fly.

(plane propellers whirring)

‐ [Narrator] And lost.

‐ You're a cheat
and you're a thief!

But‐
(phone receiver thudding)

‐ [Narrator] Only one
will emerge victorious.

This is "Plane Pioneers."

(plane engines roaring)

(intense dramatic music)

(soft electronic music)

‐ [Narrator] It's 1910, and
Americans are living in an age

of transportation wonders

few could've imagined
decades earlier.

‐ If you wanted to get
from place to place

in the United States,

you would have thought you
had died and gone to heaven

compared to your grandparents.

‐ Once you have the
automobile, you're in charge.

You can go, well, frankly,
wherever there's a road.

‐ [Narrator] There's another
transportation technology

still in its infancy.

But nearly a decade after
Orville and Wilbur Wright

took their first flight,

progress on the revolutionary
airplane is painfully slow.

‐ There are early planes,

but they look more like a
kid's science experiment.

They're made out
of wood and wire,

and they're really
unsafe at the time.

‐ The history of aviation is
really a life‐and‐death story.

If you get something wrong

in the design of your
airplane, people die.

Often, the inventors themselves
were the ones who died.

‐ [Narrator] Airplanes
seldom carry passengers.

And if they do, it's a
terrifying experience.

‐ You're exposed.

You're not really
strapped down very well.

You don't have a parachute.

So, if something goes
wrong, you are going to die.

‐ [Narrator] But that
doesn't stop some Americans

from dreaming of what could be.

(pensive electronic music)

In January 1910,

250,000 attend America's
first major airshow,

the Los Angeles
International Air Meet.

‐ Well, in 1910,
airplanes are a novelty,

something very strange,
something very fearsome,

as well as something
quite exciting.

‐ And it seemed
like such a miracle,

these machines just taking
off and floating in the air.

‐ [Narrator] In the crowd is a
wealthy 28‐year‐old visionary

from Seattle who's traveled
1,100 miles to be here.

He's never seen an
airplane fly in person,

but he's obsessed with
the new invention.

‐ Excuse me.

Excuse me, I'd like to inquire

about taking a ride
in your airplane.

‐ And you are?

‐ Boeing.

Bill Boeing.

‐ One of the things to
know about Bill Boeing

is that he's a man of science.

This is a must‐see
event for him.

‐ [Narrator] A
few years earlier,

Boeing shocked
his wealthy family

when he dropped out of college,
moved to Washington State,

and launched a timber business.

‐ Bill Boeing was a
well‐known figure in Seattle

and actually one of
the richest people

in the state of Washington,

but no one else really
knew who he was.

He was a bit of a nobody.

‐ [Pilot] Mr. Hearst!

You ready for your ride?
‐ Absolutely!

‐ Right this way.
‐ All right.

‐ [Narrator] After trying
for three days to get a ride,

Boeing goes home disappointed.

But that frustration
will light a fire.

(plane engines roaring)

One day, the Boeing
name will by synonymous

with passenger aircraft,

including the most
legendary of all, the 747.

The company will be worth nearly
a quarter‐trillion dollars,

its factory the single
largest building by volume

on the planet.

It all starts with a
snub he'll never forget.

He gets his pilot's
license and, in 1916,

forms his own airplane company.

‐ In those articles
of incorporation,

he did note that he
would build airplanes

to carry passengers,
to carry freight.

It really does help

to understand what
a visionary he was.

‐ Aviation wasn't
really an industry.

It was more like an invention
looking for a market.

(upbeat electronic music)

‐ [Narrator] By
1917, it has one:

not passengers, but world war.

When the US joins the conflict,

Boeing wins a $575,000 contract,

$11 million today, to
build planes for the Navy.

His operation grows
20‐fold to 300 employees.

But the end of World War I
brings it all crashing down.

‐ There's no contracts
for his airplanes.

And so, then he's left with,
"I just built all of these.

"I've got all this stuff,
but now there's not a market.

"What am I gonna do?"

‐ We can't make payroll.

‐ (sighing) Again?

‐ [Narrator] Over
the next two years,

Boeing will lose today's
equivalent of $6 million

and he'll do anything
to keep the doors open.

‐ So, they turned
to making furniture.

They did bedroom sets,
headboards, dressers.

‐ [Narrator] But
it's not enough.

‐ Take it from my account.

‐ [Narrator] Boeing
uses his own money

to keep the company afloat,
but he's on borrowed time.

(soft hip‐hop music)

1,100 miles away, a
28‐year‐old aviation engineer

is desperate to open his
own airplane design firm,

but the only office
he can afford

is in the back of a barbershop.

His name is Donald Douglas.

‐ Donald Douglas is very
deliberate in his approach.

He's very conservative.

He doesn't take many risks.

‐ The story goes
that Donald Douglas

had the same meal every day.

It was chopped steak, an ice
cream sundae, and coffee.

‐ [Narrator] An
engineering savant,

Douglas graduated MIT's
four‐year aeronautics program

in just two.

He designed planes for the
military during the war,

but hated working for others.

‐ People would do strange things

to determine if their plane
was structurally sound,

like maybe run over it
with a tractor tire.

This bothered Donald Douglas.

‐ [Narrator] Right now, most
people are terrified of flying.

But Douglas sees possibility.

To build enthusiasm,
he publishes an article

touting the benefits
of passenger travel

and gets to work
on his new designs.

(knocking on door)

He's even convinced a
few like‐minded engineers

to join his operation.

‐ Are you serious?

‐ What?

This is just temporary.

Listen...

This is a chance to build
airplanes the way we want to.

The smart way!

‐ [Narrator] One day,
Douglas will create

some of the most iconic
aircraft in history

and a company worth
$13.3 billion,

McDonnell Douglas.

But with no orders in sight,

now he's forced to
moonlight on a potato farm.

Unless business picks up,

this could be Donald Douglas's
permanent occupation.

Coming up, a world‐famous Dutch
plane maker escapes Europe

and takes on an American titan‐

‐ Let's get ready
for the competition.

‐ (laughing) It'll be a
friendly one, I promise.

‐ [Narrator] As
Boeing and Douglas fight

to keep their
companies alive.

‐ But we're gonna give
them something so good

they can't say no.

(light electronic music)

‐ [Narrator] Four years
after World War I,

Bill Boeing's airplane
company is in big trouble.

‐ [Bill] We need to try
something different.

‐ [Engineer] Different?
How?

‐ [Narrator] To stay in
business, he needs a Hail Mary.

‐ I don't have to tell
you, we need orders

or we're not gonna
last much longer.

Here's what we're gonna do.

The DH.4 fighter plane,

we're gonna redesign
it for the Army.

‐ But they didn't request that.

‐ No, I know. (laughing)

I know they didn't.

But we're gonna give
them something so good

they can't say no.

‐ [Narrator] Boeing wants to
try something revolutionary:

remake a wooden military
plane using metal.

‐ Everybody is still utilizing
wood, ash, and poplar

and all these different
lightweight woods.

‐ Metal is much heavier,

so it's a problem in
aircraft construction.

But as planes started going
faster, they had to be stronger.

‐ [Narrator] It's a huge gamble.

‐ I think being a pioneer is
all about just having the guts

to really invent the future

when the future isn't even
obvious for anyone out there.

‐ [Narrator] And he's
about to face competition

from a brand new player,

one of the most
powerful men in America.

2,000 miles away,

Henry Ford is looking for
new industries to dominate.

‐ In the 1920s, Henry
Ford is riding high.

He's churning out Model
Ts left and right,

1,000 of them a day.

He's the third‐largest
employer in the United States.

‐ [Narrator] Ford believes
conditions are right

for air travel, an idea
planted by his 30‐year‐old son.

Edsel Ford has been an aviation
fanatic since he was a teen,

when he and his father built a
crude plane from spare parts.

‐ Henry Ford recognizes
that a whole new economy

is gonna build up
around the airplane

the same way that it did
around the automobile.

‐ [Narrator] But
there are obstacles,

starting with public perception.

(plane clattering)

‐ For the average person,

what the airplane is is it's
a source of entertainment.

A barnstormer would
come through town

and everybody would go out
to see this person fly,

but they were more interested

to see if the
person would crash.

(plane clattering)

‐ What's not exciting
in a very dark way

about witnessing
an airplane crash?

Now, a lotta times, sadly,

these gentlemen did
perish in the crash.

(plane clattering)

But a lotta times, they were
close enough to the ground

that they could at least
pancake in and walk away.

You get to see the crash,
but the hero lives!

That's what everybody
wants in a movie.

‐ [Narrator] Henry Ford
believes the public

will see a Ford plane as safe,

but he needs a design
that can back that up.

‐ You know a plane builder
named William Stout?

‐ Never heard of him.

‐ He wants us to invest.

Listen to this.

"For your $1,000, you will
get one definite promise:

"You will never get
your money back."

(both laughing)

‐ Now, that's a
man we should meet.

Stout sells the Fords on
a breakthrough design:

not part‐metal, but all‐metal
with a new wonder material.

‐ Duralumin.

One‐third the weight of steel.

‐ Duralumin.

Basically, it stood
for "durable aluminum."

‐ If we take this
amount of aluminum

and we pair it with this
particular type of metal,

we come up with something
that's still very light,

but quite a bit stronger.

‐ Well, Mr. Stout,
you have my $1,000.

What do you want for
the whole company?

(William laughing)

‐ [Narrator] If Duralumin works,
it could be a game‐changer.

(pensive music)

Meanwhile, Donald Douglas still
dreams of passenger travel,

but needs military
work to survive.

The Army is planning an
around‐the‐world flight

and wants a plane that can fly

thousands of miles
without refueling.

‐ These bombers have
100‐gallon capacity.

I want 600.

‐ How?

‐ We rip out the bomb bays.

Replace them with fuel tanks.

Fuel is king.

‐ [Narrator] Douglas's design,
completed in just 45 days,

wins the contract.

Its 2,200‐mile range is 10 times

what an average plane can do.

He calls it the World Cruiser.

‐ This is one of
the first advantages

and leaps in the technology
that you will need

in order to have
commercial air traffic

that goes across a country as
large as the United States.

‐ I mean, that's just
inspirational, right,

potentially executing on
a flight around the world?

If we can do this under
these circumstances,

imagine all the other things
that are potentially possible.

‐ [Narrator] His tiny company

is now on the industry's radar,

as the mission becomes
a national story.

But most believe his
planes will never make it.

‐ He was competing in
a very public arena.

The whole world would
be watching this.

If something went wrong,

the blame wouldn't
be on the US Army,

it would be on the company
that built the aircraft.

‐ [Narrator] Six months
later, on April 6th, 1924,

four World Cruisers set
out from Washington State.

Douglas knows the stakes.

If his planes beat the
odds, he'll be a hero.

If they fail, it means
the end of his company

and his dream of
passenger travel.

‐ Army's on the phone.

‐ This is Donald Douglas.

What?

Where?

Thanks.

Keep me posted.

One of the planes fell behind.

Two pilots are missing.

(gentle pop music)

(gentle pop music)

(dramatic music)

‐ [Narrator] Donald Douglas's
World Cruiser airplanes

are attempting an
around‐the‐world flight,

but one plane and
its two‐man crew

have been missing for 10 days.

(phone ringing)

‐ Donald Douglas.

Yeah.

Oh no.

Okay.

Okay.

They crashed into a mountain.

They survived.

They made it to a local town.

Oh, we're lucky.

(Donald exhaling)

‐ [Narrator] The
crew is rescued.

And on September 28th, 1924,

after 175 days and
over 24,000 miles,

the remaining three crews

touch down in Los
Angeles victorious.

‐ So, this is huge.

This is all over the newspapers,
first around the world.

‐ [Narrator] The world flight

is the leading aviation
story of the early‐1920s,

putting Douglas's name

on the map.

His triumph wins him

a fresh contract

to build 50 more Army planes.

Douglas is now one step closer

to his dream of
passenger air travel,

and his achievement is
not lost on Bill Boeing.

‐ Boeing, his
competitor, his rival,

ended up taking out
full‐page ads in the papers

to congratulate him.

It was Boeing trying to
build his brand equity

by building on
top of his rivals.

(pensive music)

‐ [Narrator] With
his business failing

and a hot new
competitor in Douglas,

Boeing is taking a gamble

to score his own
military contract.

He's redesigned a wooden plane
for the Army using metal.

‐ This is a highly risky
move by Bill Boeing

because there are no guarantees

that all of the money
that he's spending

is really going to pay off.

‐ We didn't ask for this.

‐ Just take a look
at the comparison.

It's 14% lighter.

‐ It can't be strong enough.

‐ It is!

We tested a load seven
times the plane's weight.

It held up.

‐ How can I say no?

(Bill exhaling)

‐ That's the idea.

‐ Boeing was willing to gamble.

He gambled again and again
on big, expensive ideas,

especially at a time when
the aircraft industry

wasn't doing that well.

It was just typical
of his boldness.

‐ [Narrator] But Boeing
won't be celebrating long.

(pensive music)

By 1924, Henry Ford has
leaped past Boeing and Douglas

to create America's first
all‐metal passenger plane,

the Air Pullman.

‐ This was an aircraft built
of metal, not wood, not fabric;

inside, more like a
Pullman car of a train.

That was what they
were going for

in the design of the interior.

‐ [Narrator] Americans are
still reluctant to fly,

so Ford begins by transporting
employees around the Midwest.

‐ Henry Ford was an all‐in guy.

"Not only am I getting in
the airline businesses,

"I'm going deep."

Nobody played harder
than Henry Ford.

‐ [Narrator] His plan is simple:

Use the Air Pullman to
show flying is safe.

‐ One of our Pullmans...

It was coming back from Dayton.

It came down.

‐ Passengers?

‐ Not sure.

‐ [Narrator] One deadly crash
could ruin Ford's strategy.

‐ "Fire in engine.

"Went down in farm field.

"Crashed through fence.

"Down ditch.

"Across road.

"Through second ditch.

"Second fence.

"Came to rest on farm field.

"All aboard...

"Okay.

(Henry exhaling)

"Pilot believes the
plane saved them.

"But there was one
casualty on the ground:

"Farmer lost a chicken."

(all laughing)

‐ Tell the farmer I'll pay
for the chicken! (laughing)

‐ [Narrator] Ironically, the
crash has proven the safety

of Ford's all‐metal plane,

but he won't risk
another engine failure.

He secretly commissions
the Ford Trimotor,

a plane with three
engines instead of one,

and launches the Ford
Reliability Tour,

a series of airshows
designed to show the public

that flying is safe.

‐ Any time that Henry Ford
would put his name on something,

it brought with it
a certain panache,

a certain sort of vision
in the American mind

that it was something
reliable and dependable

and, in many ways,
on the cutting edge.

‐ There's not a lotta
folks in the world

that say, "I'm gonna take on
a totally separate industry

"in a totally different
literal stratosphere."

‐ [Narrator] Ford's so confident
he'll dominate the skies

like he does the car
market that he even lets

other plane makers enter
his Reliability Tour.

But he's in for a surprise.

In 1924, Dutch‐born plane
maker Anthony Fokker

arrives in America.

He's world‐famous for
building an airplane

that allowed World War I flying
ace Manfred von Richthofen,

the Red Baron, to
terrorize Allied pilots.

(plane propeller whirring)

‐ Anthony Fokker is a very
interesting character.

He is very global,
very cosmopolitan,

and he is very much committed

to entering the
United States market.

‐ Fokker is renowned.

He wasn't a great individual.

He was not very nice
to his employees.

‐ Fokker was brilliant
in many ways,

but he was also undisciplined,

impetuous, kind of child‐like.

He was addicted to candy
and kept gorging on candy.

‐ Not sweet enough.

(soft electronic music)

‐ [Narrator] Fokker
will try anything

to get a leg up in
the American market.

He learns from a source that
Ford is producing a tri‐motor

and quickly designs his own,
entering it in Ford's tour

before the mogul has
even finished his.

‐ His was liberal in borrowing.

He borrowed heavily from
other people's work.

(pensive music)

‐ Mr. Fokker!

‐ Mr. Ford!

Such a pleasure to meet you.

‐ Welcome to the
Reliability Tour.

You'll be flying a
tri‐motor, I understand.

‐ Yes, it's new.

Very safe.

‐ Interesting.

‐ Fokker says, "Hey, Ford,
I'm gonna show you guys

"how you really
design airplanes."

‐ There's an awful lot
of stealing of ideas

going back and forth during
this era of early aviation.

‐ Well, I'll let you
get on with your work.

‐ Thank you.

Must get ready for
the competition.

‐ (laughing) It'll be a
friendly one, I promise.

‐ [Narrator] But Henry Ford

is not about to
be outmaneuvered.

‐ Get somebody over
to the hangar tonight.

I need something done.

(soft electronic music)

‐ [Narrator] It's 1926,
and titan Henry Ford

is playing a game of
corporate espionage

with aviation giant Anthony
Fokker as they battle to launch

a new game‐changing
plane with three motors.

‐ There's something I need done.

The Fokker plane.

I want every inch
of it measured.

Take photographs.

I wanna know everything there
is to know about that plane.

‐ Fokker brought over
his new tri‐motor plane,

and sounds like
the Ford engineers

got to take a very,
very close look at it.

‐ [Narrator] Both
Fokker and Ford

know there's a potential
fortune to be made

on commercial air travel.

But they need to
build a safer plane

that the public will trust,

and they'll do whatever
it takes to be the first.

(pensive music)

Bill Boeing is also determined

to build a successful
passenger plane.

For now, military contracts
are keeping his business going.

But he knows from his experience

not to depend on them for long.

Luckily, he gets a lifeline
from a surprising place.

‐ Aviation was still kind
of looking for its market,

and one way the
government helped

was by encouraging
the Post Office

to launch airmail delivery.

It was a really smart decision

that encouraged a
lot of companies

to get into the
business of flying mail.

All of a sudden, you
had aviation companies,

you had airlines, and
these were springing up

all over the country.

‐ [Narrator] Boeing,
unlike his rivals,

plans to manufacture planes
and operate his own airline,

delivering mail.

He calls it Boeing
Air Transport.

In 1926, Boeing bids
on the lucrative

Chicago‐to‐San‐Francisco
route, but he has bigger plans.

‐ I want a small
cabin, for passengers.

‐ Less space for mail.

‐ It's worth it.

(soft electronic music)

‐ The genius in that

was he basically double‐dipped,
(laughing) right?

So, he's using one
to launch the other.

He just adds two chairs

that he ends up just
drilling into the plane.

I mean, these were not
specific aviation chairs.

He's like, "We'll just
put some chairs in here."

‐ This was brilliant.

Bill Boeing was essentially
beta‐testing a new market.

It was a way for him to
dip his toe into a market

while reducing potential risk.

‐ [Narrator] In early
1927, he wins the contract

and plans to carry
two passengers

plus mail each flight.

His timing couldn't be better.

‐ Along comes Charles Lindbergh,

and he's gonna
challenge this thing

that has never happened before:

flying nonstop across
the Atlantic Ocean.

(plane engine whirring)

‐ [Narrator] 33 hours
after leaving New York,

Lindbergh's "Spirit of
St. Louis" lands in Paris

and is mobbed by thousands.

‐ It changed aviation for the
rest of all time for humanity.

It showed us that the airplane

might be a viable mechanism
for global travel.

‐ And the whole country
went airplane crazy,

and anybody that had
the money wanted to fly.

‐ [Narrator] By 1929,

the airplane manufacturing
business triples

and the annual
number of passengers

rises from a few
thousand to 173,000.

Looking to capitalize on the
booming air travel market,

Henry Ford launches his
now‐completed Trimotor.

It quickly becomes
the passenger plane

everyone's talking about.

(pensive music)

(phone ringing)

‐ Ah!

Mr. Fokker.

To what do I owe this pleasure?

‐ You know why I'm calling!

You took my plane
and you copied it!

‐ Well, I hardly
think that's true.

‐ I'll bet you
told your engineers

to make my plane, but
just do it in metal.

‐ [Henry] Well, I
did no such thing.

‐ You know what you are, Ford?

You're a cheat and
you're a thief!

But‐

(phone receiver slamming)

‐ [Narrator] As the
1920s draw to a close,

competitors look to dominate

the growing passenger
plane market.

But soon, two will find
themselves suddenly

out of the game.

(soft electronic music)

(gentle pop music)

(pensive music)

‐ [Narrator] In October 1929,
US stock prices plunge,

a crash that will
ultimately wipe away

80% of the market value.

‐ The stock market crash of 1929

and the resulting depression

has a devastating effect
on the nation as a whole.

Factories are shuttered.

Nearly a quarter of
Americans are out of work.

‐ [Narrator] Among the
major aviation players,

Henry Ford feels it first.

His annual sales plunge from
over 90 planes to just two.

‐ (laughing) Remember when
we built that monoplane?

‐ Of course, it was a
monstrosity. (laughing)

‐ It sure was. (laughing)

We're gonna wind down
the aviation business.

‐ Why?

We've had a bad year, but
we can turn it around.

‐ We've done our part.

‐ It's a rude awakening
for Henry Ford,

but it's a realistic one.

Rather than let his automobile
industry wither on the vine,

he doubles back down on autos.

‐ Henry Ford, he is not
one like Boeing or Douglas,

who are very much
enraptured with aviation.

To him, it is
another opportunity,

which, again, explains
why he can walk away.

‐ [Narrator] Things
are much worse

for another aviation executive.

(pensive music)

(phone ringing)

On March 31st, 1931, a
12‐seat commercial airliner

loses a wing and nosedives
into a farm field.

One of the eight dead

is celebrated Notre Dame
football coach Knute Rockne.

The plane?

A Fokker Trimotor.

‐ [Man on phone] The press
is calling,

and they're asking
about the plane.

‐ You don't wanna be the
guy that built the plane

that killed America's
beloved football coach.

‐ [Narrator] Fokker's
Trimotor has a metal body.

But to save money, he's
continued to use wooden wings.

Investigators find the wings
were structurally unsound,

causing one to
break off in flight.

‐ As planes got bigger
and heavier and faster,

the limitations of wood
were coming to the surface.

One limitation was
inspect all those wooden joints,

so you couldn't really
tell, "Is it still good?"

‐ [Narrator] All of Fokker's
planes are grounded.

His US operation will
collapse and later be sold.

(soft pensive orchestral music)

With two rivals fading fast,

Bill Boeing sees an opening.

‐ It's important to remember,

wealthy folks rode out the
Depression in pretty good style.

If you wanted to
fly off on vacation

and somebody had a way
for you to get there,

you could do it.

‐ [Narrator] Airline
ridership is exploding

and will double over
the next five years.

In late‐1931, Boeing gives his
booming business a new name:

United Air Lines.

And to take it over the top,

he builds a new
airline: the Boeing 247.

Its top speed of
200 miles per hour

will be 50 miles per hour faster

than any other commercial
airliner on Earth.

‐ It was clearly the most modern
plane built up to that time

and perhaps the safest
plane built up to that time.

And one of the things

that you hear people
say about it most,

even at the time, is,
"Just looks right."

‐ [Narrator] But the 247
has another innovation,

one that has nothing
to do with its design.

‐ So, during these
beginning days

of the airlines flying was,

today we would look at it as
a very miserable experience.

It was very rough.

You flew low, flew through the
weather, lots of turbulence.

‐ There's a pilot and a copilot

in the front of the airplane,

but they don't come
back and talk to you.

The airplane begins to fly
through a storm, begins to buck.

"What's happening?

"Are we safe; are
we gonna crash?"

‐ So, this gave a
young lady an idea.

Her name was Ellen Church,
and she was a nurse.

If you have a young
lady on the flight

who's a registered nurse,

her presence will help
to calm the passengers.

‐ [Narrator] Boeing
is the first to deploy

what are then known
as stewardesses,

the first modern‐day
flight attendants.

Soon, every airline
copies the idea.

Boeing starts producing
a fleet of 247s

for his United Air Lines,

and it quickly becomes the
new must‐have airplane.

But when rival TWA
tries to order some,

Boeing makes a
surprising decision.

‐ Boeing says, "We're sorry.

"Maybe after the first
20 are delivered,

"we might be able
to get you in."

And that's not acceptable.

‐ [Narrator] What
Boeing doesn't know

is that TWA will turn
to a rival plane maker

and commission one of the most
iconic aircrafts of all time.

(soft electronic music)

In 1933, TWA is looking
to build a passenger plane

to compete with
Bill Boeing's 247,

the pride of United Air Lines,

and TWA is banking
on Donald Douglas.

‐ You've heard the story of
the tortoise and the hare?

Bill Boeing's the hare.

Donald Douglas is very
much the tortoise.

‐ [Narrator] The TWA
job is the opening

Douglas has been
waiting years for.

He calls his two‐engine
plane the Douglas Commercial,

or the DC‐1.

It's faster than Boeing's 247

and can carry two
more passengers,

but it's 3,000 pounds heavier.

And TWA has one
non‐negotiable demand.

‐ It was almost mind‐blowing
in how advanced it was.

They wanted to be
sure that that plane

could take off with
one engine and fly.

‐ We're gonna need
one hell of an engine.

‐ [Narrator] The test is set
for September 12th, 1933.

Winslow, Arizona, is chosen
for its high altitude

and thin air, which makes
takeoff even harder.

‐ Could you survive on takeoff
if one of your engines fail?

Gonna tend to cause the plan
to crab, maybe even roll.

The pilot has no idea how
he's supposed to react.

If you react the wrong way,

you're gonna crash the
plane and probably die.

(pensive electronic music)

‐ Can she do it?

‐ We're about to find out.

(plane propeller whirring)

At takeoff, the pilot cuts
one of the two engines,

causing the giant
plane to struggle.

‐ Come on, girl.

Come on.

Come on!

Come on!

Yes.

Yes!

Oh, yes!

TWA just got itself
one hell of a plane.

‐ It's said that the propellers
almost scraped the runway,

but it did get into the
air, it proved its point.

And the DC‐1 went on to become

one of the most iconic
aircraft in aviation history.

‐ The airplane was
so much better,

better than anything, the 247,
anything that was out there.

Douglas dominated the market.

‐ [Narrator] Within three years,

DC planes, most
commonly the DC‐3,

carry over 90% of US
commercial air traffic.

By 1940, Douglas is raking
in $61 million a year

from DC orders,
$1.1 billion today.

‐ If you've ever looked
at what built America

from an aviation
perspective, it was the DC‐3.

‐ I was in Antarctica
about 16‐17 months ago,

and you see DC‐3 aircraft.

So, we're talking aircraft
that are like 75 years old.

They're flying
scientists all around

in the harshest
climates in the world

where other aircraft can't go.

‐ [Narrator] 13,000
DC‐3s will be built

compared to only
75 of Boeing's 247.

‐ This is an important
business lesson

that the Boeing Company,

Boeing Airplane Company
learned the hard way.

‐ [Narrator] Two decades later,

Boeing launches a new airplane

that will dominate the market
for years to come, the 707.

Sadly, Boeing dies a year later,

having never seen the
dominance of the 707

and its iconic successors,
the 747 and the 737,

which will become the
bestselling aircraft

of all time.

‐ If you get on an airplane,

the odds are very high that
you're getting into an airplane

built by the company
that Bill Boeing built.

‐ [Narrator] In 1996, Boeing
buys rival McDonnell Douglas

in a deal worth more
than $13 billion.

‐ It's hard to quantify the
passion of these individuals.

Getting involved in this
industry is a gamble,

so they were all risk‐takers.

Each of them, they
made their own imprint.

(plane propeller whirring)

‐ These guys were brave
and a little bit crazy

to try and fly some
of these things,

but they pushed forward
our civilization

to what we are today.

‐ She was born to fly.

She might just fly on forever.

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