X Planes

Inside the high-tech, high-stakes competition to create America’s newest fighter plane. NOVA goes behind the doors of the world’s two largest aerospace companies to record classified meetings, climbs into cockpits to fly the most revolutionary planes, and examines the high-stakes battle waged between Boeing and Lockheed Martin to build the most capable and versatile fighter ever created—the Joint Strike Fighter. You’re on the front line as the two aerospace giants fight for a contract that will make aviation history and help protect America, and that could provide the winner total domination of the U.S. defense fighter industry.

NOVA visits the world's two largest aerospace companies to eavesdrop on classified meetings, fly revolutionary planes, and examine the rivalry between Boeing and Lockheed Martin to build the most capable and versatile fighter ever–the Joint Strike Fighter. Filmed over four years, this film reveals the breakthrough designs, heartbreaking setbacks, adrenaline-fueled test flights, and the winner of the most lucrative contract in military history.

Gas turbine technology gave birth to the turbojet engine during the 1940s, ushering in the jet age. Paralleling turbojet development, the fledgling rocket engine was ready to make a grandiose debut. But aeronautical advances weren't limited to propulsion technology - the time was also right for incorporating a swept wing into a full-scale aircraft. The Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak, D-558-2 Skyrocket, and X-3 Stiletto were among the first aircraft to blend airframe to powerplant in ways that would set the standard for many modern-day aircraft designs. These aircraft were at the forefront of a renaissance in aeronautical discovery, the likes of which have not been seen since.
Aeronautical history was made with these aircraft as they explored transonic and supersonic flight. One of the D-558-2 Skyrockets even became the first manned aircraft to exceed Mach 2. In this quest for knowledge, records were broken, mysteries solved, and a life was lost.
Author Scott Libis brings the story of these beautiful Douglas aircraft to life with more than 300 photos and illustrations.