Original subtitles

Please, don't try anything

you are about to see at home.

We're what you call experts.

Narrator: On this episode of

"mythbusters," hold onto your

hats, because the action is fast

and furious.

That was awesome!

Narrator: First up, Adam and

Jamie investigate excavators on

the Internet.

Copy that.

Narrator: They take to task

three extraordinary viral videos

and ask are they fact or

fiction.

This has got to be one of the

strangest things that I've ever

done.

Narrator: Then, kari, Grant,

and Tory rip into the most

requested insane myth in

mythbuster history.

Code name, "grizzly."

Narrator: If a bear tears a

hole in your plane, is it really

possible to patch it up with

duct tape?

Lives are on the line.

Narrator: Who are the

mythbusters?

Adam savage...

[ Snaps fingers ]

What more do you need to know?

Narrator: And

Jamie hyneman...

it's party time.

Narrator: Between them, more

than 30 years of special-effects

experience.

Together with Grant imahara...

A little hotter than i

expected.

Narrator: Kari Byron...

Here you go.

Package for you.

Narrator: And

Tory belleci.

All in the name of science.

Narrator: They don't just

tell the myths.

They put them to the test.

Captions by vitac... www.Vitac.Com

first up, gear up for the rise

of the machines.

Are you having fun?

[ Laughs ]

I am, but there's a point to it.

Which is?

Well, we've been gathering

videos over the past few months

of people purportedly doing

incredible things using an

excavator?

Like?

Well, we've got one in which

a guy seems to be rowing a barge

with one, another where a guy

actually uses an excavator and

climbs in it, and a third where

people apparently use one to go

wakeboarding.

I can dig it.

[ Laughs ] I thought so.

Narrator: Here on the show,

we've often shown that seeing is

not always believing.

[ Screams ]

Narrator: After all, the

Internet incubates fake viral

videos like a cyber petri dish.

So Adam and Jamie are

approaching these three crazy

viral videos with a healthy dose

of skepticism.

Are they real or more film

fakery?

One thing's for sure... putting

the clips to the test by

attempting them is gonna be an

earth-moving experience.

Well, the plan for this seems

pretty simple.

We take each of the clips one by

one and see if we can replicate

them with an excavator.

Totally.

Can we start with rowing?

That's the one that thrills me

the most right now.

I don't see why not.

Excellent.

This is our barge.

These are our excavators.

And behind me, the open water of

the San Francisco bay.

Soon, we're gonna be dragged out

into that water, and we're gonna

have to get back using only

these as our oars.

Shall we put these guys in

place?

I think so.

All right.

Basically, what we're gonna

be is rowing a boat, except that

instead of wooden oars, we're

gonna be using these buckets.

And instead of human power,

we're be using diesels and

hydraulics.

Otherwise, it's the same.

We lower them into the water,

and we push, and hopefully we go

forward.

Narrator: So after breaking

down the key elements of the

test, they next discuss the

potential logistical problems.

There are a number of

problems that we're gonna have

to overcome, and the first and

foremost one is current.

If we have a lot of current or

even a lot of wind, it's gonna

make our job really hard.

Secondly, we've got to get our

act together.

I mean, Adam and i have to

coordinate so that we're working

in tandem to keep the barge on

track.

Narrator: In addition to the

tricky logistics required to

coordinate their giant,

mechanical oars, there's also a

very real danger of going

overboard.

We're not taking any chances.

We're gonna actually weld these

excavators to the deck of the

barge, because once we start

swinging back and forth, we

could swing ourselves right off

the barge.

Narrator: Even welded down,

disaster is just one mistimed

oar stroke away.

Catch the barge with a bucket

and the excavators wait, and

powerful hydraulics will easily

snap those cables.

Hey, Adam, you want to do a

little fist bump?

Narrator: Note that unlike

the clip, Adam and Jamie are

using two excavators instead of

one.

Nice!

Narrator: But the principle

is the same.

Can you generate momentum and

maintain directional control to

test that they're getting a

tugboat tow half a mile into the

middle of the bay and will have

to row back.

It's a nerve-racking operation.

I'll be honest with you, when

i swing my arm out over the

water and all i can see below my

cab is water, i get that wheezy

feeling in my legs.

It's a little bit woodsy.

I swear, i think this is gonna

work.

Narrator: With no time to

practice, it's time to put that

prediction to the test.

Well, the tugs left.

Are you ready?

All right.

This is rowing with an excavator

back towards shore.

Here we go.

Narrator: Adam and Jamie,

positioned at the front of the

barge, go to work.

And initially, things look

great.

Whoo-hoo!

Narrator: They can re-create

the rowing action from the video

clip.

The bucket is lowered, pulled

back through the water, lifted

out, and reset.

However, simply going through

the motions is not enough.

They need forward momentum and

control of the barge.

You might want to slow down a

little bit so i can keep the bow

pointed towards shore more.

Narrator: Despite the

difficulties of communicating

from their awkward vantage

points...

Copy that.

Narrator: A high degree of

teamwork does enable them to

orientate the barge in the

correct direction.

I'm gonna start to reverse.

Copy.

Narrator: But crucially,

forward momentum eludes them.

Well, so far, the current is

turning out to be a bit of a

problem.

I'm encouraged by the fact that

we are able to control the

direction of the barge, but we

need more speed.

We need more power.

Narrator: Meaning it's time

to call in the tugboat and

assess their lack of success.

Up next is a grizzly, sticky

story that hit the headlines the

world over.

All right, I'll give you one

guess.

What's this myth about?

Duct tape, airplanes.

And bears.

It's the old "a bear mauled my

airplane" story.

Oh, this is the one where a

bear tears into a landed plane

to get the food when the pilot

returns, sees the damage, but

uses duct tape to repair it and

flies out of there.

It's a crazy tale that sent

the Internet into a tailspin.

The story goes that an Alaskan

local stumbles upon a stranded

plane, tears apart the aircraft,

presumably searching for a free

lunch, and wanders back into the

woods to do what bears do.

And our pilot returns to find

he's not flying anywhere.

It may sound like a tall story,

but the pictured evidence is

real.

Our hero did, in fact, repair

the extensive damage with duct

tape.

But the question on everyone's

social-network site is could the

pilot really have flown the

patched-up plane home?

It sound like a really tough

checklist.

I mean, first, we need a plane,

and second we need a bear to

maul it.

Well, the good news is we

found a pilot that's actually

gonna let us use his plane for

our myth.

Really? That's great.

What about the bear?

Yeah. There's no way we're

gonna be able to take a plane up

to Alaska and have a wild bear

tear into it.

I mean, that's just too

unreliable.

I mean, we could build our own

claws and tear it up ourselves.

Now, i like that idea.

You gonna be the bear?

[ Growls ]

So, we are testing the myth,

can you repair a plane with duct

tape?

Now, when i first heard this

myth, i thought this was fertile

grounds for "mythbusters."

We're building a plane.

A bear tears into an airplane

to get food.

When the pilot returns to his

plane, sees the damage done,

repairs it with duct tape and

then flies out.

Now, before we start, we need to

build a plane.

Narrator: And our generous

aircraft owner is James, who

confirms his tentative

relationship with sanity...

Today we're building a plane.

Narrator: By not only

allowing the wrong brothers to

assemble the plane...

I wouldn't trust us to put a

plane together.

Narrator: But also by

volunteering to fly it after

they re-create the myth by

tearing it apart and sticking it

back together with duct tape.

And to test this, we can't

use the actual aircraft that was

in the myth, because the f.A.A.

Frowns upon the type of

modifications that we'd be doing

to it and then trying to fly it.

But what we have is the next

best thing... a bee-like

aircraft that falls under an

entirely different set of f.A.A.

Guidelines.

But it has a very similar

envelope.

Narrator: By "envelope,"

Grant means the aircraft's outer

skin... a flexible,

state-of-the-art,

polyethylene-based material.

A crucial component of the

experiment is that ours matches

the myth.

That way, the team is testing

like for like.

They also like the location.

We've come out to the

new Jerusalem airfield in Tracy,

California.

First, we're gonna fly our

plane, and then it's time to

bring out the bear.

Narrator: But before mama

bear bares her claws, the team

wants a pre-mauled control

flight to confirm their flying

machine is in full working

order.

What James is doing right now

is putting the plane through its

paces...

That's awesome!

Just to see if our assembly

worked, if everything is working

correctly so that we know what

it's gonna do after it's been

repaired.

The plane looks good.

It's time for my favorite

part... pulling out the claws.

Narrator: And, sporting a

pair of heavy-metal hand pieces

she made back at the shop, kari

is all set to let rip.

Code name, "grizzly."

Now, we know a bear can tear up

a plane.

They've been known to peel cars

right apart.

But because no bears will be

harmed in the filming of this

"mythbusters" episode, I'm going

to be the bear.

I've created these somewhat

destructive claws with

razor-sharp edges so that i can

tear the plane apart.

Everybody knows when it comes to

a duct-tape myth...

Destruction is kind of my job.

All right. Here we go.

Narrator: In character,

wielding her weapons in a

furious flurry of flashes...

She's a wild woman.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: Kari soon has

the fuselage skin in tatters.

[ Growls ]

Narrator: With her

razor-sharp claws, the damage

done mirrors the mauling in the

genuine photographic evidence.

The central cavity is completely

exposed.

The tail section is seriously

compromised, but the metal

infrastructure is still intact.

So, the damage that you see

here is very similar to what we

saw in the photos.

The task now is to fix it with

duct tape and then try and put

it back in the air.

A high-stake task they'll

tackle back at the shop.

We're really putting duct

tape to the test this time.

I mean, lives are on the line.

Narrator: Coming up on

duct-tape plane...

We'll have this done before

the bear returns.

Narrator: Do two wrong

brothers make a right?

Narrator: Internet videos of

excavator exploits have gone

viral, and Jamie and Adam are

digging up the truth.

So far, although the clip

suggests you can row a boat,

real life begs to differ.

But they're not done yet.

Our first attempt was a

little bit of a bust.

It's a flood tide here in the

San Francisco bay, which means

the current's pushing us south

into the bay, and it was too

strong for us to overcome.

This next time around, we're

gonna go a little close to the

shore to see whether that makes

enough of a different that we

can actually get to our target.

Narrator: A couple of hundred

yards further in, away from the

central riptide, they're ready

to try again.

Cue test two.

All right, Jamie.

We're back in position.

You want to try this again?

Yeah. I'm good to go.

Narrator: Once again, Adam

and Jamie swing their giant,

diesel-powered oars into action.

Okay. Now you can come in.

Narrator: And away from the

grip of the rip, their high

degree of teamwork begins to pay

off.

Copy.

Narrator: Incredibly,

incrementally, they progress

towards their goal.

I think we're getting it.

Narrator: Just like the video

clip, they are clearly rowing a

barge with excavators.

Well, it took us a little bit

of time to get up to speed to

get our practice, to get our sea

legs, but once we did, we had

actually a pretty fair measure

of control over this barge.

And it's not small.

Yeah. You break, I'll turn,

and we'll put the stern of the

barge towards the dock.

Copy that.

This is great example of how

well Jamie and i work together,

despite the fact that we don't

like each other.

Okay. Go forward, Adam.

He's got extensive experience

playing around with the momentum

of large objects in the water,

and the two of us can pick up

skills pretty fast.

Let's try one more shove

towards the dock a little bit,

and then just let it drift.

Even from our really

disadvantaged vantage points, we

were able to see what the other

was doing and intuit what was

necessary, and that made this

successful.

Hey, Jamie, i think we made it,

baby.

Ha!

Well, it wasn't a

picture-perfect landing at the

dock, but we got within a few

feet of it.

Narrator: Despite the

Internet's reputation as a

repository of all things fake

and fabricated, rowing a barge

with an excavator is clearly

possible, making the first of

the three viral videos

confirmed.

It's a fact that a bear mauled

and grounded an Alaskan

aircraft.

And these photos before and

after the duct-tape patch-up are

genuine.

But what caused the

"mythbusters" mailbox to

overflow is the pilot's claim

that he then flew the patched-up

plane home.

Kari, Grant, and Tory are about

to test just that.

First, we took our aircraft

up, just to see what it could

do.

That was awesome!

Then turned myself into a

grizzly bear, just to see what

sort of damage i could do.

Now we've got a bunch of duct

tape, and we need to see if we

can actually repair this plane

and make it airworthy again.

Narrator: Because as things

stand, just like the mythically

mauled aircraft, it's definitely

grounded.

With this plane in this

condition, would you try and fly

it?

Absolutely not.

The first problem here is that

we've lost our rudder, so I'm

not gonna have any directional

control of the airplane.

The good news is is that we do

have structural integrity, but

the bad news is is that the skin

is gone and flapping in the

breeze, creating drag.

We've got this acting like a

scoop.

This is not gonna fly straight.

Narrator: Sounds like a job

for the mythbusters' favorite

engineering cure-all.

But surely it's a stretch,

replacing the aircraft's $13,000

aerodynamic fabric covering with

a few rolls of five-buck duct

tape.

And while kari and Tory focus on

the fuselage, Grant concentrates

on the crucial control surfaces.

So, we've done a lot of

damage to this plane, both to

the fuselage and the tail

section.

But this right here... this is

the most important part.

This is called a horizontal

stabilizer.

This is called a vertical

stabilizer.

They're called stabilizers for

a very important reason...

Because they keep the plane

stable.

Narrator: Stability and

steering are obviously

priorities when fixing a plane.

But a strategy to stay intact in

flight is fairly important, too.

All right, the way we're

repairing the plane, we did one

skin of duct tape going

vertically, and now we've

covered it with another skin

going horizontally.

This way is in line with the

travel of the plane, because we

don't want any edges to get

caught on the wind and unravel

what we have made.

We'll have this done before the

bear returns.

Narrator: It's certainly a

quick fix.

The question is, will it have

the necessary structural

integrity for a stable flight?

Will they come unstuck?

With the finished fix-up looking

airworthy, there's only one way

to find out.

The true test is when we take

this thing up in the air.

But personally, i think duct

tape is plausible for fixing a

plane.

Narrator: Kari is clearly

confident it'll work.

[ Horn honks ]

However, back out on location...

Hope it flies.

Narrator: As the moment

approaches when James will be

risking serious injury on their

behalf, their confidence that

duct tape will withstand the

elements and the rigors of

flight is replaced with a

nervous caution.

It's so hot out here, and as

it gets hotter, the duct tape

loses its stickiness.

Not only that, we don't know how

the tape is gonna react once

it's up in the air and the wind

speed is going across it.

I mean, the wind might catch an

edge and rip the tape off.

This could be very bad.

So i think we need to get this

plane up as soon as possible.

Next myth, can duct tape fix

a pilot?

Been good knowing you.

Nice knowing you.

Narrator: Despite the danger

of the duct tape coming unstuck

in the 90-degree heat...

Clear prop.

Narrator: They won't be

rushing into anything.

We're gonna do this the safe

and methodical way.

So if this thing goes south, we

all run, right?

Run is the plan?

Yeah.

And that is first.

James is gonna taxi up and down

the runway just to make sure

all the control surfaces are

okay.

So far so good.

I don't see any duct tape

whipping in the wind.

Once he's comfortable with

that, then he's going to take it

up for the real flight.

Narrator: With several

cautious runs up and down the

runway, happy that everything

feels right, James gives the

signal that he's ready to try

this for real.

This is it.

Will the temporary, sticky

solution survive the rigors of

flight?

Is it really possible to fix

your plane with duct tape?

There he goes!

Exciting. This guy is insane.

For survival, you'd have to do

it, right?

Whoo-hoo!

[ Laughs ]

Whoo-hoo!

We fixed it with the duct

tape.

Let's see if it holds.

It totally works!

Dude, that's great.

Let's hope it does hold.

Yeah.

He's gonna circle a little

bit first.

Let's make sure it holds, 'cause

things can still go wrong.

Narrator: Kari's correct.

Getting off the ground is one

thing.

Returning to it safely is

another.

One interesting thing is that

the duct tape is actually

flapping a lot more than the

dacron.

So, i don't know how long you

could actually fly like this.

Narrator: Yep.

The air flow across the striped,

uneven surface is causing the

duct tape to shudder and ripple.

Hope it doesn't shake apart.

Narrator: But James is

apparently having no trouble

maintaining altitude or making

controlled maneuvers, and

there's no sign that duct tape

is delaminating.

Looking pretty stable right

now.

Narrator: And when flight

time takes over the 30-minute

mark, the team is confident they

can call the result.

This is awesome.

This is one more confirmed myth

for duct tape.

Bear mauls a plane, you fix it

with duct tape and get it back

in the air.

How cool is this?

I mean, we have done a lot of

things with duct tape, but never

have we done something that is

so important as keeping an

aircraft in the air.

This one is totally confirmed.

It works!

That was great!

Thank you very much.

That was awesome.

Fixing a plane with duct

tape, confirmed.

I'm starting to think that

maybe duct tape can do

absolutely anything.

Narrator: And up next, the

team is going to test that claim

by stretching their high-flying

heroics to the limit.

They're making a whole plane out

of duct tape.

Narrator: Adam and Jamie are

excited that their first

excavator clip was confirmed.

You can in fact row a barge with

a backhoe.

I think we made is, baby.

Narrator: The next viral

video they're testing also falls

into the exuberant excavator

category... exuberantly

dangerous, for one thing.

But is it faked?

There's only one way to find

out.

[ Laughs ]

That looks awesome.

Have you ever wakeboarded

before?

No.

Neither have i.

Clearly, we're perfect to try

this out.

[ Laughs ]

Well, i can't see any reason not

to get started.

Well, I'll get suited up.

I'll bring the excavator

down.

Awesome.

With the clip as reference,

Adam and Jamie have everything

they need to attempt this

dangerous, typically outrageous

test.

This has got to be one of the

strangest things that I've ever

done.

Narrator: The ingredients...

An excavator, the perfect-sized

pond, and a few essential safety

precautions.

Notice in the clip that at

one point, our skier swings way

away from the excavator and then

starts to move back towards it

at a high rate of speed.

[ Laughs ]

Now, i obviously have some

concerns about that, so we're

gonna do this thing

incrementally.

[ Laughs ]

I think this is gonna work.

I'm gonna go really slow and

then a little faster and faster

until we really get a good feel

for what we're dealing with.

Perfect day for

wakeboarding.

And then the skier has to

have one thing to keep in mind,

and that is to let go before

it's too late.

Narrator: Which may sound

like a simple precaution, but

remember, Adam and Jamie have

never wakeboarded before.

Even under ideal circumstances,

they'd be preoccupied with

technique, standing up, and

balancing.

And this is far from ideal.

There are additional factors to

focus on, like rotational

circumference, speed of the

spin, and height of the bucket.

But all of that only comes into

play if Adam manages to stand

up.

All right. Here we go.

Excavator wakeboarding.

You ready?

Go ahead.

Start pulling me slowly.

[ Laughs ]

All right. Try that again.

It's gonna be a little bit of

a learning curve here.

Narrator: "Learning curve" is

one phrase.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: Repeatedly falling

with the uncoordinated, chaotic

grace of a car crash is another.

Question is, are Adam's falls a

failure in technique, or is it

just not possible to wakeboard

behind an excavator?

This is hard.

Want me to try starting with

the bucket up higher?

Hard to say.

Okay.

I'm gonna raise the bucket.

Narrator: Jamie may also be a

novice wakeboarder, but he's an

experienced water skier and has

noticed the angle is too low.

Adam has to crouch awkwardly

forwards and downwards.

Jamie's also noticed there's not

enough tension on the rope.

Adam needs to go faster.

So they adjust.

Go ahead.

Narrator: And those few feet

and slightly faster spin speed

makes all the difference.

[ Laughs ]

Whoo! [ Laughs ]

Yeah!

Narrator: With Adam's new and

improved body position...

Whoo!

Narrator: It's a

completely different ballgame.

Yeah!

Narrator: It's not like he's

suddenly become a champion

wakeboarder...

Whoa!

Narrator: But his

perseverance, the tweak in

technique...

Doing great!

[ Screams ]

Narrator: And Jamie's

careful control of the spin

speed means that not only have

they confirmed the myth...

Yeah! Whoo!

Narrator: But the rest of

the day's schedule is out the

window.

One more time!

Well, that may be the most fun

I've had in a long time on this

set.

It was a little touch-and-go at

the beginning, but once i

figured out the physical

mechanics of it... and I've

never wakeboarded before... it's

nothing but fun!

Yeah!

So, wakeboarding with an

excavator... busted, plausible,

or confirmed?

Well, clearly it's confirmed.

But I'd like to add a fourth

category for this one.

Can we add "pure, unadulterated

fun" to "confirmed"?

Why, yes, we can.

Excellent.

Let's get out of here.

Okay.

Narrator: Confirmed

unadulterated fun it is.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: But be responsible,

or you'll answer to the hyneman.

Water skiing off of one of

these things looks like fun,

doesn't it?

Well, it's dangerous, so you

shouldn't do it at home.

Coming up next on

"mythbusters," can you fly a

plane entirely made of duct

tape?

Do not try what you're about

to see at home.

We're what you call experts.

Okay, so, the myth is

confirmed.

But I'm kind of curious.

Do you think we could make an

entire plane out of duct tape?

I like it, but how do we do

it safely?

We could do it with

radio-controlled, but a

full-size, unmanned aircraft

requires f.A.A. Certification,

and that could take forever.

Well, there is one thing we

could do, and that's get a

pilot.

And not just any one, but a

skilled test pilot that's used

to flying experimental

airplanes.

And let's face it, it doesn't

get any more experimental than

this.

And then we'll see if the duct

tape works.

[ Growls ]

Narrator: "Experimental" is

right.

By replacing all of the

aircraft's high-tech fuselage

fabric, the team is taking duct

tape to its aerodynamic limits.

So far, we've been very

successful at repairing our

plane using duct tape and flying

it, thus confirming our myth.

But that was only one controlled

surface on part of the fuselage.

Now it's time to put it to the

ultimate test, and that means

ripping up and replacing every

surface on this plane with duct

tape.

And to do that, we're gonna use

not only our bear claws, but

also any sharp tool we can find

in the shop.

Narrator: However, if

breaking it was fun, furious,

and fast...

[ Growls ]

Narrator: Fixing it is

gonna be anything but.

It's as tough a challenge as

team duct tape has ever faced.

Their first strategic decision

will be weight management.

The material they're replacing

is equal in mass to just five

rolls.

So to retain the aircraft's

balance and power-to-weight

ratio, they'll want to use five

rolls or less.

But that is gonna be very

tricky.

With gravity laying down the

law, this is a high-tension

build in more ways than one.

Now, if we don't use enough duct

tape or if our quick fix isn't

solid enough, it's gonna be just

as disastrous as if we used too

much.

And here's why.

So, if we analyze the

high-speed footage of our flight

with the duct-tape side, what we

see are vibrations that look

like ripples in water.

Now, with any system that has

vibrations, what you can do is

develop a resonance frequency.

[ Glass shatters ]

Whoa!

[ Cheers ]

Whoo!

If that happens, it could

literally shake itself apart.

Narrator: To avoid that,

they'll need structural

integrity and a smooth,

aerodynamic surface.

Their solution is cross-hatched

layering.

With the base layer adding

sufficient stiffness and the top

layer running in the same

direction as the air flow, their

design is looking up.

But with their five-roll limit

long gone, their prospects are

going down.

When we ripped off the skin

of the airplane and weighed it,

it weighed 10 pounds, which

equated to 5 rolls of duct tape.

So far, we've burned through 10.

So we have more than doubled the

weight of our airplane already,

and we're not even finished.

But, i mean, that's what you

get.

When you're using duct tape and

you want the strength and the

smoothness, you're gonna be

adding more weight.

When this is all said and done,

this thing might not even get

off the ground.

Narrator: And as 10 rolls

become 11, then 12, and ever

upwards, the additional mass is

becoming a serious problem.

We finished our final

duct-tape plane.

Now, we tore off all of the

covering and fixed it with 17

rolls of duct tape.

That's pushing the weight limit.

And this thing is dangerous

enough on its own.

So we're not just gonna throw

our test pilot up into the air.

Whoo!

We're gonna do a little

wind-tunnel testing first with

our own special kind of wind

tunnel.

Now, clearly, we're just in

the parking lot.

We're not in a wind tunnel like

we're normally used to seeing at

NASA.

But the most important thing

here is that we simulate the

type of air speed that this

aircraft is gonna experience.

That's why we have this...

Hollywood wind machine.

That ought to be enough.

Now, the way we're gonna test

this is we are gonna fire up the

fan to the speeds that the

airplane is gonna be moving at.

I don't know why i get this

job.

I can barely fly.

Then what we're gonna do is

we are gonna watch the duct tape

and see how it reacts to those

wind speeds, see whether or not

it's flapping or tearing.

All right. Starting the fan.

I'll measure the wind speed.

Most importantly, we are seeing

if the duct tape is gonna hold.

'Cause let's face it, more

important that we find out down

here than it is up in the air.

Whoa! [ Laughs ]

Narrator: Once the fan

matches the air speed of the

aircraft...

Okay! Come on!

Narrator: Tory and Grant

inspect every inch of the

duct-taped surface, looking for

any aerodynamic compromises.

And they're extremely happy with

their handiwork.

That looks good.

Narrator: So it's onwards and

upwards.

We got up to a wind speed of

50, which is what the test pilot

wants to take it up to.

So i say we take it up in the

air.

All right.

Let's see if it flies.

Can i fly?

I've had a lot of practice just

now.

Narrator: Next, Adam gets a

little more excavator excitement

than he bargained for.

Narrator: Adam and Jamie are

digging for dirt on excavator

viral videos.

So far, they've come up clean.

Yeah, baby!

Narrator: And last up is this

unlikely looking feat of

heavy-machinery athleticism.

It looks like a genuine video,

but is there some sort of film

fakery involved?

Can a backhoe really back itself

into the back of a truck?

What do you think of the

clip?

I like the clip.

I feel like it's real and like

it's possibly doable.

But i got to tell you, I'm a

little freaked out about trying

it on our own.

What'd you have in mind?

I'm feeling like we should

bring in an expert, somebody who

really knows their way around an

excavator to teach us some of

the tricks of the trade.

An excavator expert?

Exactly.

Narrator: Bay side, Adam and

Jamie roll up with the necessary

heavy equipment and a tough test

ahead.

Here's a conundrum.

What if you've got one of these

and you want to transport it

using one of these?

How do you get this into that

with no other piece of

equipment?

According to this clip, it's

totally possible.

Narrator: Maybe, but it's

certainly dangerous.

And to even attempt it, you're

going to need some coaching.

We've done a lot of crazy

stuff with heavy machinery over

the years, but what we're about

to attempt is, well, it's in a

league by itself.

Jason klapstein is a

heavy-machinery operator with

mad skills when it comes to

these excavators.

He can practically break-dance

with them.

And he and his experience is

what's gonna keep us, hopefully,

from dying when we attempt this.

So, which one is going do this?

I don't know.

Let's roshambo.

Okay.

Okay, 1, 2, 3.

Paper beats rock!

I do it! Whoo!

Narrator: So it's an excited

Adam...

Okay, get out of the way.

Narrator: In the driver's

seat.

First up, he plumbs our expert

resource for as much knowledge

as he can.

And then, in an intense,

hour-long planning discussion...

Make sure that you're nice

and square with the box edges.

Okay.

It's not designed do this.

Narrator: Jason and

Adam...

Once you're 180 degrees...

Narrator: Work out every

maneuver of their complicated,

technical, and incredibly risky

plan.

So if i do tip, the bucket

hits the ground instead of me

hitting the ground?

Narrator: It's clear that the

level of control and skill set

required to attempt this is a

huge step up for Adam.

To pull it off, he's going to

have to put in some practice,

which is dangerous enough in

itself.

Jamie and i have a lot of

experience in devices like this.

We've used them extensively on

the show over the past decade.

But our experience is of a

particular kind, of doing

discrete operations.

[ Laughing ]

Hey, this is scary.

This operation requires several

things to be happening at once,

and if they don't, things can

get very bad very quickly.

Pushing back?

No, this way.

So it is all about a super

coordination between multiple

moving parts.

Aah!

[ Laughs ]

Really?

Narrator: There are a number

of elements to think about at

once.

Coordinating the boom, the angle

of the bucket, and keeping close

control of the tracks will be

tricky.

Just like that.

Whoo! [ Laughs ]

Narrator: But Adam's ready,

or as ready as he'll ever be.

Let's do this, people!

I'm a little nervous.

We are just about to step into

the "i really hope I'm able to

make this work" category.

Excavator loading itself into

the back of a truck.

Starting out aligning yourself

with the back of the truck.

Seems perfectly straightforward.

Put your bucket in the back of

the truck.

Start to lift yourself up.

That's where the first problem

starts to occur.

Oh!

Adam should do fairly well

with this attempt.

But, you know, he's a little bit

of a mystery because on the one

hand, he's got a fine touch, but

then, on the other hand...

Whoa!

Well, he's sort of

twitchy.

This is not exactly what you

want if you're trying to climb

on top of something like this

truck with one of these

machines.

Narrator: Next on

"mythbusters," team duct tape

attempts a treacherous takeoff.

This is it.

He's going for it.

Narrator: And Adam takes a

myth-test break.

Oh, I've already gone to the

bathroom.

Narrator: Fasten your

seatbelt and stow your tray

table.

The mythbusters are attempting a

duct-tape takeoff.

We're back at new Jerusalem

airport for the final experiment

with our duct-tape plane.

Up to this point, we have played

it very safe.

We've only tested it on the

ground with the giant fan.

And we're ready to go.

This is gonna be the ultimate

test.

Narrator: For the ultimate

test of their duct-tape plane...

That's right, a duct-tape

plane... the team made a call to

the ultimate test-flight top

gun.

For our duct-tape experiment,

we're using test pilot

Dave morss.

He's flown over 40 prototype

aircraft.

Those are airplanes that have

never been flown before.

I think that makes him the

perfect person for this job.

He's gonna start off slow.

First, he's gonna taxi down the

runway.

Then, when he feels comfortable,

he's actually gonna take it up,

but only as high as he's willing

to fall, which is five feet.

Narrator: Make no mistake,

this is a risky business.

Even with a typically

low-altitude test flight, a

crash at over 50 miles an hour

with no hard-shell protection or

roll cage could be disastrous.

All right.

Let's see it down the runway.

Narrator: Before top-gun Dave

attempts flight, he needs to

thoroughly test the aircraft's

responses while taxiing.

He's a test pilot.

This is what he does.

So he's feeling it out to see if

it's actually airworthy.

Narrator: Flying a prototype

is all about feedback and feel.

The wind peaking at 30 miles an

hour when the plane is rated for

just 12 is dangerous enough in

itself.

But more importantly, it's

masking any feedback info from

the aircraft's control surfaces.

But there's good news.

With the wind easing, Dave

resumes his tentative taxiing.

And after one more earthbound

run, the team gets the signal

that Dave is ready to attempt

the world's first duct-tape

liftoff.

This is it.

He's going for it.

All right, i see the tail off

the ground.

Oh!

Yeah!

Whoo-hoo!

Yeah!

He's flying! It flies!

Airborne!

Airborne!

It's in the air, duct-tape

airplane!

Narrator: That was indeed the

maiden voyage of an aircraft

made of the world's most useful

sticky stuff.

Great job. Awesome.

Narrator: With the wind still

gusting over the 12 miles an

hour limit, that's as high as

Dave was prepared to go.

So, our duct-tape plane

actually achieved flight.

Now, granted, it wasn't a very

long flight and not a very high

altitude.

But look, these planes stock off

the line with regular covering,

no duct tape at all would have a

hard time flying in these gusty

winds.

I'm fully convinced that on a

calmer day, Dave could have

gotten a much longer flight at a

higher altitude.

The Wright brothers... their

first flight, only 120 feet.

We beat them.

Dave, you did it.

You flew a duct-tape plane and

survived.

You're still alive.

And I'm still here.

How did it do?

It was so much better than i

expected.

We're flying in gusty wind

conditions that exceed what the

airplane is recommended to fly

in with normal fabric on it, and

it's doing great.

It was a heck of a ride, but it

did great.

So successful experiment?

Confirmed.

Narrator: Myth confirmed.

The Internet would have us

believe you can heave a backhoe

into the back of a truck.

And Adam and Jamie are testing

just that.

But despite the obvious danger,

Jamie has crunched the numbers

and believes it is doable.

So, what brings all this

together and should make it

possible is the fact that our

excavator has tracks that have

80 inches of ground contact, our

truck has a bed that's 50 inches

off the ground, and so if you

lift one end of the excavator up

and put it on the back of the

truck and you do the geometry,

you end up with an angle that's

about 38 degrees.

Now, given that this particular

brand of excavator is rated to

run at 45 degrees, if it has

enough power to lift the other

end, we're golden.

Narrator: However, the proof

is in the practice.

And while Adam has practiced the

preplanned maneuvers, pulling

them off in a 10-ton vehicle is

an entirely different matter.

Perfect.

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

This qualifies as one of the

spookier things that I've ever

done on this show.

And by spooky, i mean that

tingling in your hands and your

feet when you're doing things

and at angles that just feel

totally wrong for your body.

Whoa-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!

Aah!

That's pretty steep.

Narrator: Steep, but that was

the easy part.

The crew gets ready to dial 911,

because now it starts to get

really tricky.

Well, he's got the front end

on the truck.

Now he's got to lift the other

end.

All right.

So now i come up and over and

down.

Narrator: With the machine

perched at a precarious angle...

Oh, hey, this is really not

cool.

Narrator: Adam has to

precisely and smoothly lift the

bucket and boom up and out of

the truck.

Any sudden movements could see

the excavator topple sideways

with Adam in the unprotected

cabin.

All right.

I got to go slower.

He's all sideways.

[ Laughs ]

That's got to feel really

wrong.

Make no mistakes, sitting 180

degrees while you're leaning at

a 45-degree angle just feels

plain wrong.

It's not cool.

My body is like, "ah-oogah,

ah-oogah!

Stop this."

There you go.

Now can you pick yourself up at

all?

Narrator: The next terrifying

step is to use the boom to lever

the back of the tracks up and

into the truck.

All the while, Adam has to

adjust the curl of the bucket to

prevent it from slipping, which

would cause him to topple.

[ Laughs ]

Now add a little bit more

lift.

All right.

Narrator: He also has to

monitor and adjust the height of

the weighty blade to stay

balanced.

You need to go to the

bathroom or anything?

Oh, I've already gone to the

bathroom.

Narrator: And he has to

retain smooth control over the

movements of the boom.

Boom down, stick out.

Narrator: But on the

home stretch, Adam's confidence,

just like the excavator, is

reaching new heights.

Holy crap. It's working.

You're in. Looking good.

Once i actually started to

lift myself, things feel a

little more like they're in my

control.

Narrator: But feeling like

you're in control is when lapses

of concentration happen.

Adam, remember which way is

forward.

Oh, right!

I got to push that.

That's right.

[ Laughs ]

That can be a problem.

Thank you. I owe you one.

Narrator: Adam, about to back

into the truck, had forgotten

he'd spun 180 degrees and back

is forward.

You're almost home-free.

Narrator: With that sorted,

he eases into the truck and

triumphantly complete the final

step.

All right, here's the moment

of truth.

Bucket off the ground.

[ Laughing ]

Whoo! I'm in!

That was scary.

Good job.

Narrator: Jamie's right.

It is a fantastic achievement,

but an exuberant excavator

achievement that should not be

attempted at home.

Well, you did it.

Another video that wasn't

fake.

It's like we have a whole

episode here of plausible and

confirmed.

Let get out of here.

Okay.

Want to know why we did what

we did and why we didn't do what

we didn't?

Go to

discovery. Com/mythbustersaftersh

ow and check it out.