The Greatest Flight (DVD)

From England to Australia in a World War I Bomber..."Vimy I, cleared to land," radioed the control tower. "Welcome back to Darwin after all these years." With those words, the dream of Peter McMillan, an American, and Lang Kidby, an Australian, was realized: to recreate a 1919 flight from England to Australia that showed the feasibility of long distance air travel. This journey chronicles this record-breaking flight that marked the beginning of commercial aviation. Resurrecting original blueprints, McMillan and Kidby built a World War I era Vickers Vimy biplane bomber with open cockpit and cotton-covered wings, fitting it with modern engines and navigation gear. You'll witness the joy of cruising over the Taj Mahal and the aftermath of a crash landing on Sumatra. This story interweaves the 1919 and 1994 adventures, separated by 75 years but united in a common spirit of daring in The Greatest Flight.

• documentary
• nonfiction