Discoveries…America—Special Edition: Magic of Flight

This entry from Jim and Kelly Watt's acclaimed high-definition-filmed Discoveries…America series combines their characteristic stunning visuals and smart editing to showcase related topics built around the theme of human-powered flight. In Phoenix, AZ, early risers embark on a hot-air balloon flight, with viewers witnessing the process from start to finish, as the vessel's fabric is stretched across the desert floor and inflated first with cold air and then with hot in order to lift its basket of occupants. Powered kites—or ultralights—are about as bare-bones as airborne vehicles get, offering an exhilarating physical experience; although these contraptions have a motor and wheels, all of the steering is performed by human hands on the cross-members of the kite-like wings. Another fun sequence here takes viewers to the Kansas-based Cessna Aircraft Company, home of the single-engine Skyhawk—still one of the most popular small planes in the world. Other segments include visits to aviation museums (including Kitty Hawk and the Air Force Museum), a look at “powered parachutes,” and a segment on the ultimate aircraft—the space shuttle—and other vehicles at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Recommended. Aud: P. (C. Block)