Episode 9 - Super Jumbo Jet
RISE OF THE MACHINES uses stunning CGI animation to explode open the world’s largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, to reveal the incredible technology that transports 520 passengers 9,000 kilometers in ten hours.
Inheriting a two-hour delay, Air France’s senior A380 pilot Claude Godel must battle gridlock on the ground and turbulence in the air to guide the 500-ton jet from Los Angeles to Paris. Two-thirds of the passengers are anxious to make connecting flights, and Claude’s team must use all the technology inside this mega-machine to cut the delay.
To plot the fastest course across the Atlantic, Claude must find the most powerful part of the jet stream, a route that brings the aircraft towards dangerous turbulence. Peeling apart this double-decked giant will reveal five key inventions that keep the passengers safe and comfortable while cruising at 40,000 feet. How do the A380’s shape-shifting wings mimic a bald eagle’s flexible feathers? How have the fan-blades inside the A380’s super-powered jet engines evolved from the slashing Samurai sword? With 300,000 pounds of thrust and the world’s most advanced airplane wings at his disposal, every minute will count as Captain Godel streams through the skies at a speed of 950 kilometres per hour.