''First Flights'' was a half-hour televised
aviation history
The history of aviation extends for more than two thousand years, from the earliest forms of aviation such as kites and attempts at tower jumping to supersonic and hypersonic flight by powered, heavier-than-air jets.
Kite flying in China ...
documentary series
Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries.
Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film.
*Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...
. The series premiered on September 25, 1991, on
A&E Networks
A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company o ...
and ran for three seasons. It was hosted by former test pilot and astronaut
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.
...
, the first person to
walk on the Moon.
The series initially aired Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on
A&E in the U.S. The series focused on the technological
history of aviation
The history of aviation extends for more than two thousand years, from the earliest forms of aviation such as kites and attempts at tower jumping to supersonic and hypersonic flight by powered, heavier-than-air jets.
Kite flying in Chin ...
, from
early balloons and
gliders through war-time and mass commercial aviation, to experimental
hypersonic flight
Hypersonic flight is flight through the atmosphere below altitudes of about 90 km at speeds greater than Mach 5, a speed where dissociation of air begins to become significant and high heat loads exist. Speeds of Mach 25+ have been achieve ...
at the
edge of space. In the series, Neil Armstrong interviewed pilots and
aerospace engineers
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
. Archival footage and vintage aircraft were used to
recreate historic takeoffs.
Episodes
Episodes of ''First Flights with Neil Armstrong'' are listed below in the original
A&E Networks
A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company o ...
broadcast order. Season 1 traces the development of aviation technology from balloons to early post-WWII jet aircraft. Season 2 continues the story of atmospheric flight to the edge of space in the 1990s. Neil Armstrong had previously flown several aircraft featured in Season 2 during his long career as a NASA experimental
test pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...
in
Edwards, CA. Season 3 focuses on the development of particular technologies within the broader field of aviation.
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Production
During pre-production, the series was titled ''Test Pilot'' and the actor
Cliff Robertson
Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film '' PT 109'', and won the 196 ...
, who had portrayed the astronaut
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. As the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969 A ...
in ''Return to Earth'', was cast to host the show. Robertson backed out after the filming of flying sequences and pilot interviews had begun in England, the Netherlands, and the United States.
A&E agreed to allow the host to be changed, "as long as it was someone of at least the stature of Cliff Robertson."
The show's producer obtained a list of astronauts and pilots from the
Society of Experimental Test Pilots
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggest ...
, and being "naive enough to ... start at the top," approached Armstrong, asking if he would be interested.
[ "The fact that he show's producerran his company out of a small Pennsylvania town and not New York or L.A. may have appealed to the wary Armstrong," Michael Cascio, who supervised the show at A&E, later recalled; Armstrong accepted.][ Amstrong disapproved of the show's title and, after considering other possibilities, including ''Thumbs Up!'', the producers settled on First Flights.][
When the show premiered in the fall of 1991, a television reviewer criticized Armstrong's limited involvement onscreen,] and Armstrong agreed to a larger role, conducting discussions with pilots and historians, and flying the aircraft.[
]
Release
The series aired during prime time on A&E until 1993. After subsequently running on the History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
, ''First Flights'' was syndicated to PBS stations across the United States and Canada. The series also appeared on Bridges TV
Bridges TV was a Muslim television network in the United States. It was originally headquartered in Buffalo, New York. Premiering nationally in November 15, 2004, it was the first American Muslim television network to broadcast in the English la ...
. The series has been broadcast globally, including in the United Kingdom on Discovery Europe, the Netherlands on Evangelische Omroep
Evangelische Omroep (EO, English: ''Evangelical Broadcasting'') is one of the twelve member-based broadcasting associations contributing to the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system. It has as its mission to bring people into contact with Jesus ...
, and various channels throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Columbia House
Columbia House was an umbrella brand for Columbia Records' mail-order music clubs, the primary iteration of which was the Columbia Record Club, established in 1955. The Columbia House brand was introduced in the early 1970s by Columbia Records ...
and A&E Home Video
A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company o ...
marketed selected episodes on VHS. The complete series has been released by Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
, where it is available to customers with an Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
subscription.
Reception
Reviews for pre-released "advanced look" episodes were mixed. Jay Sharbutt, the senior television writer for The Associated Press, called the series "disappointing" because it did not give enough time to Armstrong. Reviews of subsequent episodes and the second season were positive. Brian Taves (fr) described the series as "an exemplary history of aviation. ...The selection and use of the historical footage is ideal and edited with unusual skill." "The show was an immersive experience with Armstrong looking at — and ultimately trying out — historic aircraft that were risky to fly," Michael Cascio, who supervised the show at A&E, later wrote. "It had the same appeal, in a milder form, as later docureality shows nd helped establish and embellish a programming template that populated Discovery, History and National Geographic in the years to come."[
]
References
Further reading
*
"Cable premiere"
''The Deseret News
The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...
''. August 13, 1991.
External links
*
* {{TV Guide , 289207 , First Flights
1991 American television series debuts
1993 American television series endings
A&E (TV network) original programming
1990s American documentary television series
Documentary television series about aviation
Neil Armstrong