Can This 1000 Piece Model Plane Fly 22 Miles!? | Toy Story Special

in 2009 in the non-award-winning series Toy Stories We Built This the world's biggest airfix model the Legendary Super Marine Spitfire as a full-size construction kit scale one to one and we're very proud of it we really are it does though have a serious shortcoming the one shared by all airfix models really which is that it only actually works in the imagination held out at arm's length or maybe dangling from a piece of fishing line from your bedroom ceiling it doesn't really fly this however does and it's given us an idea [Music] [Music] I was an amateur aeronautical engineer from a very early age back in those heady days of loud shirts and long hair you could pop down to the news agents and for about 9d Come Away with a small self-assembly glider kit with just a few bits of balsa wood and if you are Posh a rubber band you could hold in your 10 year old hands the key to the mystery of Flight it's a toy I've always remembered fondly and wanted to revisit but we could never find a challenge big enough for it until now so if you're watching from America these are the White Cliffs of Dover very evocatively named because they're white and they're in Dover 22 miles approximately over there is the nearest point of France and over there various jumped up little Hitlers like Napoleon and indeed Hitler have stood and looked this way and thought we'll have that whilst people have stood here looked into the Mist which is often present and said oh the continent is cut off before flight these islands were fairly safe from foreign tourists the cruel sea saw to that Shakespeare called England a precious stone set in the silver sea which serves it as a moat and other things a man in Tights might say but forsooth the Baldi Bard couldn't have imagined that 300 years later all that would change in 1909 Louis blerio struck a blow for comedy mustachioed Frenchman the world over by becoming the first man to cross the channel in an airplane Valerio flew over and landed just over there somewhere actually near the castle once that happened people must have realized the world is going to change pretty soon no decade was complete without a new cross-channel Aviation record of some sort there have been many more first Airship first helium Bloom cluster first helicopter First Auto gyro first passenger first woman first letter first cat in fact you'd be forgiven for thinking that in the 100 years since Valerio made his flight there would be no more cross-channel Aviation records to be set but there is we've found one first free flight model glider to cross from England to France so that's what we're gonna do if we succeed the 22 Mile flight will set a new British straight distance record for a toy glider that's the best thing I've ever seen that's just fabulous a toy glider that we are going to conceive and build ourselves here we go [Music] but our goal is loftier and altogether more symbolic than a simple cross-channel record attempt our flight will achieve closure for those thousands of people who as children like me slaved for hours over Bolsa blue and paper only to see the dream of flight dashed against the beaten Earth of reality but in the world of instant gratification Etc where is the incentive to build your own glider these days flying toys are very easy to come by and actually relatively inexpensive this helicopter for example costs about 40 quid and it's absolutely brilliant and this Piper Cub over here is made from expanded polystyrene it comes ready-made powered by a small electric motor you simply charge it up for a few hours and Away you go what could be better than that what you have to remember though is that when I was a boy radio control was inconceivably expensive and it was also very bulky and it wasn't really very reliable and the little model Aero engines that people had they cost a Year's pocket money so the only way to have a flying toy was to make something yourself like a glider or maybe something powered by a rubber band and you spent hours and hours and hours on your model and you loved it and then you just set it free I mean you knew it would probably end in disaster that you'd never see it intact again or maybe not even at all but still You released it from captivity and briefly just very briefly it was it was beautiful you'd invested your your wood and your tissue paper with the soul of a bird and as it soared away it carried with it or so it seemed the the dream of flight that humankind has harbored ever since we first looked upwards and saw the birds it was all worth it that's enough Noble sentiment if I'm to build a successful cross-channel glider I'm going to have to apply brains over optimism there are a few Basics to consider so here's a repeat of a simple flight test experiment I last made in the 70s I've made four small model gliders but on each one I've positioned the wings differently so here's the one with the sweat back Wings the the jet fighter design let's try that oh basic problem with that is that you need a huge amount of AirSpeed for it to flow jet fighters go very fast they have sweat back wings here's the same design again but with the wings straight out mounted at the bottom of the fuselage that had promise but it disintegrated because it isn't actually a very strong shape nor is it very stable here we've got the wings on the top of the fuselage they're still the same shape dead straight and flat right at the top that's better isn't it that's not bad finally we have the wings mounted on the top of the fuselage again but this time with dihedral that is the end of the Wings are higher than the root of the Wings I've also added a slight error Force shape so let's try this wait for the wind a second here we go if we were a proper program like Panorama that would have worked perfectly oh no what did you have to stand there for Dan take two foreign look at that winds induced a bit of a stall there but that that that's flight so a glider looks the way it does for good reason stability we need High slender wings dihedral and a decent fin at the back but even with all this in mind I still want to base our glider around a real model the sort that I might have made back in the day hello hello yes I was ah these are the sort of things I remember from when I was a lad the slings be Skylark that's the sort of shape I'm after because it needs to have a nice fat fuselage for us to pull our kitten yeah and it needs to look like the basic Baltimore glider that you spent for five years building if you grew up in the 70s hmm hang on slings be swallow that's a really classic toy glider shape I like this it's the right shape have you got it four or five times as big unfortunately not no but probably find some plans where would I get a plan from then you can always try the internet the internet you know I'd forgotten about that this is perfect the real slingsby swallow was an RAF training glider in the 1950s so it has the right sort of stable High Wing dihedral design and space inside for our kit after numerous and broadcastable attempts at searching Google for the word swallow we finally hit upon a company who could Supply us with the super-sized plans we need and there it is ready at first glance this retro design doesn't seem very aerodynamic quite an old-fashioned Wing shape it looks quite draggy it's an aeronautical term this I suspect we may have to think about that a bit it might be a 50 year old design at heart but producing the hundreds of balsa wood Parts is a gloriously 21st century process absolutely fantastic now watch this that looks as if it's just been printed but in fact the laser has cut the wood there is a dimensionally perfect Wing grip that represents probably an hour's work back in 1975 or whenever I was doing this I to make sure my rather nostalgic Choice won't lead to disaster over the channel we need to see how well the swallow flies so we get a friendly enthusiastic put it all together so we can test it out over dry land dry ish so here we are on a hill in Oxfordshire and this is where we find out if this design has what it takes to be a record-breaking toy airplane um there are lots of considerations in airplane design they can be designed for Speed or maneuverability or endurance or load carrying capacity I've chosen this design because it looks like one I made when I was 12. so let's see if it has the the endurance if it has the the soul of aviation in it to fly through this Valley if there's only one way to do this we've put all the work in now you just have to throw it off the hill and see what happens try not to muck it up number two [Applause] it's scaring the bird it's down there whoa well it's not broken that's a very good result by the standards of my childhood the airplane is still in one piece it's usable again that makes it a very good Landing in aviation terms but it hasn't actually gone very far so we re-trim the swallow removing some weight from the nose and give it another go [Music] look at that oh cause it's kind of gas [Music] he's good [Music] go on ah come on go on [Music] it's not the greatest it's still flying that's there that's landed that's more like it look at that we've moved two whole fields that is that's already better look that's gone at least three times as far as it done on the first flight just with a bit of tweaking of weight and balance that is the best model airplane I've ever been involved with that has gone well every other one I built only ever got about as far as that little Bush over there and look at that it's almost out of sight look at it we thought this was amazing it was only when we sent out be drenched lackeys down to measure the distance that we came in for a sobering shock on that rather good throw our glider reached a distance of 326 yards to merely scrape onto the beach at Calais our glider must cover 22 miles or 38 720 yards that's 120 times as far chucking it off the White Cliffs just won't cut it even throwing it off this hill nearly crashed it tall will have to throw it from as high up as we possibly can and that means using a hot air balloon and even then the glider will be at the mercy of that most British of opponents what we can't really do anything about is the weather the elements they are the things that nearly did for all [ __ ] and brown flying across the Atlantic and early did for the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk and so on they could completely scuffer it that is a very very big model but it's a tiny tiny airplane and France is ever such a long way away Louis blerio himself was almost brought down by the treacherous weather over the channel and he had an engine and our swallow will be doomed anyway if as I suspect its basic design simply isn't fit for aerodynamic purpose well this is the RJ Mitchell wind tunnel at the University of Southampton faculty of engineering and the environment here is our glider or sort of just over half of it and we're going to test I think for the lift drag ratio at various speeds and angles of attack exactly we can go as soon as you're ready are we ready we are go for wind tunnel so start fan perfect [Music] what we're actually trying to discover here is the swallows glide ratio that is how much it loses in height compared with how far it flies in distance for example I've estimated that to make it across the sea our glider needs a minimum glide ratio of 20 to 1. so for every foot it loses in height it must travel 20 feet forwards it's high drama in the Wind Tunnel as you can see a One-Winged airplane making excellent steady progress through the sky [Music] so giving the news doctor is it good or bad it's not good and it's not bad the lifter drag race is probably the order of about 14. it's not what you want for your long distance one 14 yeah it's rubbish isn't it it's not good I'm staggered that it's that bad we're going to need a better wing it's a bit annoying to discover that we'll need to design a whole new aerofoil and this problem added to issues like the fuselage sized the balloon launch Logistics and the weather is beginning to Cloud the simple childhood dream of flight that inspired the whole Endeavor but then I hear news of a discovery in a small Devonshire town that puts everything into perspective time to set my hat at a jaunty RAF angle and investigate so tell me a bit about the building first it used to be a school is that right indeed as a town grammar school from about 1550 until 1910 and then it stopped being at school it did replace my new build in the town right and what was it you found can you show me what myself and the builders found a large number of paper darts what's that bit made from that's a pen nib God so it is that's amazing how many of these did you find I think what about 20 now so these well at the very latest these can be from 1910 the very latest yes for the very end of the school period I'm sure but they could go back to the well to the 19th century could well be it really is amazing to think that even before the Wright brothers flight in 1903 children at this school were making these darts and dreaming of flight well it's good job I had my hard hat on hang on a minute oh Peter look at this oh my god look okay that's incredibly exciting look at that well that's a leap ahead that God I hope there's a date on that somewhere that's the classic Concord paper dart airplane wow that's amazing some urchin made that well at least a hundred years ago maybe 150 years ago or more and we used to make exactly the same one folded in fold it in again fold it in half put the wings down I think it would be okay to try it [Music] oh my word look at that did you get that that's amazing isn't it come on that is amazing that's been sitting in there for all that time and it still works and proves that the pioneering flight testers were more advanced than we thought to discover that Concord was actually the work of an unknown 19th century child is an uplifting and emotional moment and a quick experiment reveals that the same basic design is still in production by school children today children say their first word take their first step and then make their first airplane his history straight down the barrel not quite oh [ __ ] it went through the gap I've literally thrown the history of Aviation down through a hole in the floor [Music] decide to leave before I'm beaten to death by irate historians yet determined that our swallow will do those unsung pioneers of flight proud these people are aerospace engineering students from Brunel University we also have some expert era modelers on their way to help us and Minister for aircraft production is semi as you would expect so now let's glue Balsa while I've been out losing Priceless historical artifacts Sim and the engineering students have been hard at work designing a new wing for the glider which should improve its pathetic 14 to 1 glide ratio they've dispensed with the old bulky shape and instead have come up with a leaner meaner Wing design that'll cut drag and produce a lot more lift theoretical glide ratio of the new Wing is 29.3 but is that theoretical or have you allowed for the fuselage and that's the problem we haven't allowed for the fuselage in that figure and so we would be closer to 20 in reality which is really close to your figures it knocks the third off yeah because the fuselage is quite a draggy design I can't do much about it though because we need to keep the fuselage big to get all our kit in that's that's the problem we're stuck with a fat fuselage what let's say we want 30 miles yep to be on the safe size yep can you can your program calculate the launch height assuming it's 20 to one yes for us to get 30 miles what's it's around 8 000 feet we need to be releasing the Glide of 8 000 feet finally our plan is coming together we now have a launch height of 8 000 feet and with a glide ratio of 20 to one our gliders should comfortably make it Channel weather permitting but how you may be wondering will our free flight glider know it's supposed to go to France what's to stop it sodding off to Hastings our buffing Dr Ben has come up with a guidance system so this is our autopilot so in here we have gyroscopes we've got an accelerometer we have a GPS so it knows where it's going we also finally then have this AirSpeed sensor and you can work out how fast you go it's pointing where it wants to go it gets blown that way it knows that because of the accelerometers all those little servers will then automatically alter the control services turn it back on course and all that is in there well that's in there we're never gonna have time to test it properly but lots of people that do this all the time tell me it will just work so buoyed by that tried but not tested scientific endorsement we assemble the slingsby swallow Mark II [Music] situation update three days in this is mine and simmy's beautiful fuselage which is the squarest thing this side of Michael Gove over here the students are working on the starboard Wing working very hard on that they've been here since 10 30. over here there's more students they're working on the port wing similar level of progress you've got to add the ailer on a bit of covering and so on and then over here all the bits at the tail plane the fin and the rudder tail plane being sanded final shape compared with my childhood glider builds we're making rapid progress thanks to Modern inventions like super glues they really will stick anything [Music] this is something that's happened quite a few times already but I I stuck my thumb to the airplane with a straight blob of the cyano glue you can see that bit that's gone it's my flesh so after days in a hangar anointing the glider with our Blood Sweat and ravaged flesh after hundreds of pieces of Bolsa and more craftwork than a German nightclub the new and improved swallow is finally ready this I've come to realize is in fact a very British Endeavor we come here inappropriately dressed for the conditions we are a Motley assortment of experts and hobbyists drinking tea and working very long hours for no money in an old and Leaky Shed and yet I believe we have achieved greatness and here it is [Music] [Music] the slings be swallow lightly Modified by us and still basically a balsa wood glider just like the ones we all made as kids only a bit bigger but it will unite Nations finally a glider fit to carry my childhood Vision on its record-breaking flight we send the joyous news of our achievement to our cousins in Calais but in reply they send us not a bottle of champers but a giant gallic raspberry the news is this our glider our simple humble model has to be classified as a drone according to British Air Traffic Control which is fine they're very happy with that but the French don't really recognize it as a drone they don't like the idea of an unmanned aerial vehicle full of gizmos entering their airspace we've had a massive argument about it but they won't budge and we've also of course got the restrictions of the big lockdown because of some running and jumping competition that's going on in London and it's really annoying me to be honest I mean France La Belle France it is a wonderful place to go and drive around ride around on a motorcycle or a bicycle and yes you get castle by the side of the road it's very nice they have wonderful cheeses excellent local red wines it's a beautiful place but at a bureaucratic level they make us and the Indians look like school children they're absolutely hopeless but it doesn't matter because we've got a plan we've discovered another Channel that's perfect for our attempt this one is free of French hubris and Olympic interference but presents us with exactly the same 22-mile record-breaking challenge what's more we'll still be extending our giant bolster hand of friendship to a foreign power we're going to fly from Devon across the Bristol channel to Wales we can even make whales look a bit like France if we want to with some clever voice over and some accordion music and a picture of a croissant I prefer it actually this is better so we've swapped Calais for the valets and the British record will still be ours for the taking however we've had to admit that there is a fundamental flaw in our plan something more hopelessly optimistic than building a giant glider in the first place we've made the momentous decision that the balloon launch is a stupid idea because basically you only need the slightest puff of wind the slightest bit of rain somebody with an air rifle and it doesn't work properly and you lose the balloon it's no good we've decided we're going to go with a helicopter very much like this one we'll have one helicopter to film the flight For Your Entertainment and one like this to launch it and it's good because it can go up when we wanted to it can go up to where we want it to it can go up and down quickly if we have a technical problem or a camera doesn't work or something like that there is however a problem you can't just Chuck a glider out of a hovering helicopter for a start it could get tangled up in this bit the complicated mechanism up at the top and that would be a disaster furthermore the glider itself might be destroyed by the enormous downdraft so at the last minute Simi comes up with an experimental solution excellent you join us now at dunkers World Airfield where we have introduced this we call it the crate it's a sort of glider coffin upside down if you like because we're now going under a helicopter we can't simply hang the glider underneath it would start flying as the helicopter moves along so it's shrouded in this which hangs underneath the helicopter and then at the appropriate altitude the glider is released drops from underneath it and flies away [Music] well so if I can see which way around the glider goes I'm guessing the wings go in the long bit and the tail goes in the small bed how does the release work so we've got a power going up to the helicopter which turns this electromagnet on 24 volt electromagnet right that holds that down and then when we're ready the pilot will release the power to there and the glider will simply fall out through the opening at the bottom but as the glider drops below the glider inside the box is effectively in still air yeah as soon as it drops out into this it's going to be in a 15 20 knot headwind but the guys are not just fly up into the helicopter or back into its flocks certainly possible I've never done this before well that's why we're testing it you see as with most of Britain's newest ideas and quite a lot of her military equipment success ultimately depends on gaffer tape sure fine if that comes off it launches is it definitely going to stay on you sure Sydney another big concern is whether the crate will start spinning uncontrollably if it does it'll be impossible to stop and the glider might be destroyed even if the release system works so to be on the safe side we nicked the airfield's windsock to act as a stabilizer [Applause] [Music] this is the first time a glider has been in the crate this isn't the final glider this is the Prototype which you will remember being test flown off the hill we're not going to drop our proper one for the first time because that would just be too risky the success of this operation now everything we've done the wind tunnel the design the new Wings calculating the glide ratio building it in the hangar it all really hinges on Sims Woodwork and an electromagnet that we had left over from another project this actually has to work if this doesn't work I'm not sure what we can do in time for tomorrow [Music] yay the wind stop works that's tremendous time for the release mechanism here we go yes look at that I'm done that's the best thing I've ever seen that's just fabulous [Applause] foreign sin the ugly square box and then this beautiful thing drops out of it and flies it is Lazarus isn't it because that thing is like a tomb and then the glider lives it's raised except it's lowered that's a terrible analogy cut it out absolutely awesome sauce this is really just a very very convoluted and elaborate woodwork project but everything about it works all we need now is to do some bit of weather that's all we need and then we'll make model aviation history great if you have a time to talk about it let's do that [Music] oh yes the weather just as we're packing up and preparing to go to the pub the phone rings oh it's him it's Charlie from the Met Office let's see Charlie hello how are you rain I'll try later on then right thanks very much just bye bye is that off yes that's remarkable as a man who actually does speak like a weather forecast even though I was just asking him casually was saying well in the morning we'll see some bright sunny patches but with cloud cover increasing towards the middle of the day and there may be some light showers from three do you think he speaks on that at home his wife says you like a cup of tea darling I'm interested in the cup of tea approaching from the kitchen in a Westerly Direction temperature roughly 80 to 85 degrees C becoming colder it's just remarkable I thought I'd run up the telly anyway the gist of it is uh tomorrow is good in the morning but there will be quite a bit of cloud and the wind is favorable and the wind isn't favorable in the afternoon but with light showers developing and the cloud base increasing and lowering so tomorrow is pretty bad um which will mean Crossing from England to Wales will be difficult Scotland has seen some heavy showers with the risk of snowfall actually this isn't funny the bad weather forecast as feared could ruin everything we can only afford one shot at the record canceling the helicopters at this late stage would be prohibitively expensive the flight will have to go ahead [Music] good morning it's Friday it's launch day in a moment this will be hoisted Aloft and dropped from the special crate I will be jumping into a very fast boat which is why I'm dressed like this to pursue it across the Bristol Channel and the weather is not perfect to be honest but these helicopters and all these people cost a lot of money and we have no choice but to go for it on the plus side the glider is and the production crew think this is extremely funny piloted by me so what could what terrible thing could befall it it's difficult to imagine look look it's me moments before the launch I convened the crew to go over the perfectly Simple Plan Dover is now Devon and France is now Wales the balloon is now a helicopter and we launch from simi's gliber Coffin at a height of at least eight thousand feet if we want to set the 22 Mile record I'll follow in a speedboat so I can recover the glider when it hits the deck and there'll also be a second helicopter with a glider spotter to keep an eye on it simple we got that in the right position yes despite the early hour I'm experiencing that Same free song of excitement I felt as a 10 year old our glider is finally going to take wing fails but that obviously is a bit academic it's a free flight glider the whole point is you let it go and you see what happens and when the swallow drops out of that ugly crate it will be transformed from a scientific experiment into a magical thing and it isn't Magic really it's physics it's about aerofoils and weights and balance and airflow and all the other things we've talked about but actually it is Magic it's on the boat this is it the clouds are threatening the plan is convoluted but the team is ready working we appear to have reverted to impatient 10 year olds but in reality we are a crack team every second counts unlock the van sadly fatty carlswell our Australian cameraman has confused his van keys with a fun-sized Mars bar costing us vital seconds as the glider helicopter flies on oblivious we drive frantically to the harbor and our waiting speed boat [Music] I don't believe this yeah um there's absolutely nobody here boarding the glider recovery speedboat was meant to be like something from the opening sequence of a Bond film meanwhile our helicopter is already starting its Ascent to launch height there's no [ __ ] boat here chaos fast overtaking us it's up to the director to keep a level head the slipway to the harbor he's at the wrong [ __ ] place meanwhile in the chopper our glider spotted Tom is having his own doubts Dodger go ahead Tom uh we are currently at 4 000 feet above the coastline um slightly concerned about the amount in the Bristol Channel at the moment we can't see oxwich Roger can you stand by we have a slight boat problem as soon as we're in it we'll make a decision cloud cover is fast becoming an even bigger issue than the boat neither of our helicopters is permitted to fly in Cloud our Pilots have to be able to see the ground at all times on top of that two helicopters flying blind next to each other could end in what pilots call the drink especially when one of them is swinging a two-ton woodwork project on a road but look on the bright side our speed boat is now turned up meaning we will at least be able to recover the chopper Cruise [Music] uh golfer Oscar Alpha this is James just to confirm you are west of ilfrikham is that correct Roger almost ready for you to launch give us a minute or two to position uh currently if we launched from this location we would be almost directly into Cloud I can't see them can anybody see them the delay with our boat has meant the weather has closed in the helicopters rotors are now beating the base of the clouds Tom our glider spotter has an emergency remote control to abort the flight if it's about to crash into an orphanage but flight regulations say we can't launch if he can't see they will launch the glider might go into cloud in which case it'll have to abort it's an impossible situation we can't fly higher we can't launch into cloud and we can't wait any longer Tom is there a case for launching slightly lower so that we miss the cloud uh yes I would say so if we were in 500 police car base okay do The Descent by 500 feet and then we'll go for distance reducing altitude by 500 feet so that we clear the cloud the helicopter is forced to descend to 2 900 feet massively lower than the 8 000 we were hoping for to search for a break in the clouds James visual with your boat right there's the film Chopper there's the launch Chopper right this is James in the boat golf Oscar Alpha golf x-ray x-ray please launch at will at your discretion and Report when done thank you three two one go we can see that thank you very much that's gorgeous fabulous look at that I thought the pilot is engaged Roger autopilot engaged uh cloud-based not your fault Oscar Alpha thank you [Music] yeah all right Tom anyway our glider is finally in the air but the observant among you will have noticed something wrong shouldn't it be heading out to sea James we're getting a lot of pitching fluctuation at the moment actually I can see that from down here uh James the Tom it's quite difficult to see from here which way is it actually heading uh heading east along the coastline that's not right we're not sure if it's an autopilot malfunction or just a fear of the Welsh but either way the swallow appears to be heading back to base but then [Music] let's go the right way now yeah [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Music] looks lovely from down here as you look from up there is absolutely gorgeous [Music] look at it beautiful [Music] it really is a spectacular sight but nothing can disguise the fact that what with the weather the boat the autopilot and the miles bar we were just too low [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] two and a half miles that's hopeless [Music] sideways it's not work beautiful two and a half miles nearly 20 miles short of the record and still in sight of Devon the child's dream dashed Anew in adulthood [Music] but the next day Dawn's Recreation reveals a spotless Golden Sky Andrew our launch helicopter pilot has to take a bride to a wedding at lunchtime Tom our glider spotter from Brunel University is meant to be on his Saturday job delivering groceries for waitrose but history won't remember all that bunk I think we should try this again [Music] [Applause] [Music] I know I said yesterday that that would be our only chance and strictly speaking it was all these people helicopter pilot semi the boat man they're now all on very expensive overtime but look at the weather look at the sky it's clear the helicopter can go as high as it likes the problem is though you will remember we were going to extend a hand of friendship to Wales we were going to go from North Devon over to the Bay here at Oxford the problem is the wind today is a dead easterly it's going that way which makes it virtually impossible but then we discovered the Isle of Lundy down here directly to the west of our launch point and more to the point that is a distance of 22 nautical miles almost exactly the same as the channel that's where we'll fly to and I know it's not Wales and that's a bit disappointing but we thought for the purposes of this film we'll spell Lundy with two L's and we'll call it Grande let's go [Applause] [Music] [Applause] to the boat [Music] [Applause] [Music] they're going to go halfway between ilfrikham and Lundy wait for news of the gliders launch which you won't be able to see because it's going to be at least eight and a half thousand feet and then following directions from our satellite navigation tracker who's sitting on a Hilltop will learn how fast is going which direction is going in towards Lundy hopefully and Chase it and hopefully meet it as it comes into an elegant Landing while we head out to sea the helicopters describe huge ascending spirals over ilfrikan as they climb to launch altitude [Music] about God Roger six thousand feet sounds excellent so we're already more than twice as high as we were yesterday Roger seven thousand can you keep going [Music] tremendous [Music] we're now just shy of our 8 000 foot launch height but the weather is so good the Choppers can go higher than we ever thought possible nine thousand feet [Music] foreign [Applause] at a final altitude of 10 000 feet plus a length of rope we're ready [Music] the island is behind us and at sea level the wind is directly in my face as I look East so it's going to be behind the glider and it's going to go belting along it's probably going to have an airspeed of something like 35 knots everybody thank you yes it's fantastic foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign golf x-ray x-ray this is the boat can you give us an approximation of the glider ground speed please Roger 30 knots thank you [Music] James this is Tom not far away the glider seems to be tracking well towards foreign they're already a mile offshore with the Glide room we've only lost about a thousand well less than a thousand feet so yeah we need to crack up yeah this is the fastest boat in ilfriken but it isn't fast enough I do a quick calculation even though we can't see the glider yet I know we're never going to beat it to London it's just flying too well for that it's remaining relatively stable okay and do we think I know you don't know it exactly but is it a best distance Glide speed I would say it's looking very promising at the moment foreign but it may not clear the cliffs but if it lands on the beach I count that as a success it's going a mile per thousand feet now sorry two miles per thousand feet being told how well the swallow is flying is very gratifying but no match for seeing it with our own eyes but then we've made visual we can see you fantastic hello x-ray x-ray you're dead above us as I said you spend hours on it but it's all worth it that's miles up upper air turbulence is giving the autopilot a hard time but no matter wood glue and a few bits of finger have rewarded us with the gift of flight [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] thank you James this is Tom hello Tom go ahead glider is quite fantastic we're still we'll be we should cross the island at this rate at just under 2000 feet which will be absolutely fantastic we can land it where we like we can fly through the lighthouse Keeper's kitchen window continue sir foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] we have to dock our speed boat at a jetty ran the side of londy for the first time since Midway we're forced to lose sight of our toy although to be fair the Goodwill will be dampened if we drop all the camera kit in the sea oh what a shame we can't actually see it look it's I can see it it's just gone behind the headline in the I just saw that so there's the chopper I just saw the guy we'll see it emerge in a minute I think there it is can you see it [Music] the swallow soars over Lundy at an amazing 2 300 feet above sea level [Music] flying fantastically the GPS on the swallow has been programmed for the landing strip on the south side of the island until then technically it will be circling that point until it loses all its height but from the ground our toy glider is doing Victory laps [Music] foreign when you think if only I could have my bicycle at the top of a really long hill so I could enjoy riding downhill all day and it's the same with the Glide you always think if only I could throw it out of something thousands of feet high rather than just the bedroom window that's what we've done and that's what it will do fantastic I know it's only a toy glider but allow me to be a bit emotional about it after nearly an hour of heroic gliding it's time for the migrating swallow to land [Music] [Music] [Music] oh James this is Tom the glider has landed on Lundy how many feet would you say that is Off The Runway actually approximately 20 feet off the Runway 22 nautical mile that's just brilliant from almost Beyond the Horizon from the other world we are pioneers we are discoverers setting foot on this strange place with no cars in it so I head across the island to bring our glider home but like Captain Cook's Landing party first the swallow must survive an encounter with the natives it's a play one it says it's from Jamie's it's just somebody's made it I know which guy that is of Target he's a really stupid one luckily for them it takes the stupid ones so long to hike across the island that the locals have run away well done very nice thank you foreign [Music] if you look behind you very briefly you will see where our glider has come from ilfrikan sticking out over there only just visible in the slight Haze this has been a pioneering flight by a toy glider one that's never been made before and it's set off like the Mayflower or Apollo 8 not really knowing if this was possible but here it is the first and remember the first to do something stays in the record book forever in my lifetime there have been two very important announcements made concerning historic moments in aviation the eagle has landed and the swallow has flown [Music] [Applause] [Applause]

Channel: Naked Science

Views: 2,227,369

Keywords: doc, documentary film, documentaries, HD documentary, education, top gear, the grand tour, jeremy clarkson, richard hammond, james may, toy stories, james may's toy stories, 2009, bbc, airfix, james may airfix spitfire, spitfire, science, engineering, science documentary, hobbies, models, toys, james may toy stories airfix, james may top toys airfix, james may airfix full episode, aviation, planes, military planes, spitfire mk1, plastic modelling, bbc worldwide, rolls royce

Id: A555LYvAPp0

Length: 59min 3sec (3543 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 24 2023