Wings was an educational television program aired on the Discovery Channel. Episodes were one hour long, minus commercials. Each episode consisted of a documentary about one airplane model or closely related series of models, typically an American airplane or helicopter built in large numbers and relevant to aviation history or to the abilities of the American armed forces. For example, some aircraft discussed in Wings episodes have included the DC-3, B-25, P-51, F-84, 707/KC-135, M/K/C-130, F-4, T-38/F-5/F-20, UH-1, A-4, A-12/SR-71, Harrier, 747/VC-25/E-4, Concorde, F-15, and YF-17/FA-18, to name a few. They were usually referred to as the "Great Planes". Some series of episodes, often six or eight at a time, would focus on a subset of airplane designs. Examples includes German military aircraft of World War 2, VTOL aircraft, or the "Strange Planes" series. A series of programs on Russian military planes was narrated by Peter Ustinov. The VTOL episodes each featured a category of vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft such as those that used thrust vectoring, ducted fans, tilt-rotors, etc. The "Strange Planes" series episodes each talked about a handful of aircraft in categories like "Giants", "Drones", "Strange Shapes", "Circles in the Sky", "Lifting Bodies", "Flying Wings", etc. For a few years the Aluminum Metal Toys, or AMT, modeling company issued a series of plastic scale model airplanes entitled the "Wings" series.
External links
- http://www.exn.ca/FlightDeck/Television/Wings.cfm
- http://shopping.discovery.com/Wings-Collection-DVD-Set.shtml
