17564 “ FLYING MACHINES ” 1970s NASA HISTORY OF FLIGHT / AVIATION DOCUMENTARY (ROUGH CUT)

This film is a silent version of the NASA film “Flying Machines”. It is most likely a “rough cut” from the 1970s, which shows how NASA researched and developed commercial and civil aviation using aircraft, aircraft models, and flying simulators. The film includes various aircraft types, from commercial passenger planes to fighter jets, privately owned light aircraft, the 1900 glider by the Wright Brothers, and more. The film is a Filmline production by Charles Bordwell for NASA, directed by Byron Morgan and Hugh Whittington, photographed by Hilyard J. Brown and Peter Goode, edited by Jack Reifert. The release version was narrated by Cliff Robertson.

A plane takes off (00:16). Altering scenes of planes flying and people speaking to the camera (00:22). NASA aeronautical engineer, R.T. Jones (01:12). “Flying Machines” title banner (01:28). A Boeing 747 four-engined jet aircraft lands (01:41). Scenes from a busy airport (01:50). A flying plane (02:20). Mimicked footage of the Wright Brothers flying in the Wright Glider as a kite in 1900 (02:29). A Boeing 747 (03:15). Planes driving on the airport runway (03:23). Doubled winged glider planes (03:42). A glider (sailplane) aircraft (03:49). Helicopter (04:01). A smoking aerobatic aircraft (04:05). LTV A-7 Corsair II aircraft (04:17). Aérospatiale/ BAC Concorde supersonic airliner (04:23). Aircraft aerobatics (04:28). Vought F-8 Crusader (04:35). Parachuting (04:44). An aircraft fare (04:50). Airbus A318 or 320 (04:59). Participants of the fare observe the aircraft (05:05). David Lockspeiser and his aircraft design: Lockspeiser LDA-01 (05:15). An aircraft factory (06:01). Planes driving on runways (06:50). Boeing 747 aircraft (07:18). Various airlines including Japan Airlines, Saudia Airlines, and TriStar Airlines (07:23). A conference (07:44). Graphics on aircraft construction and technology (08:07). Technical research is performed to increase performance of aircraft (08:47). Materials used include epoxy, boron fibres, and graphite (09:16). More technical research (09:53). Aircraft executive Pete Conrad (10:29). The Wright brothers’ glider (11:08). Model aircraft research (11:34). Carving of material (12:26). The finished model of a hypersonic aircraft (13:01). The model is used for testing (13:26). Employees in a control room conduct the testing and examine the results (13:53). The Wright brothers’ glider (15:24). NASA scientist Richard Whitcomb explains a model aircraft (15:48). A plane is rolled out of a garage (16:30). NASA’s Bell X-14B experimental VTOL aircraft is pulled across a field (16:40). A pilot flies the aircraft for testing (16:56). A Bell XV-15 tiltrotor VTOL aircraft (17:15). A man registers the aircraft’s flying results (17:40). Research is conducted using a flying simulator (18:08). A flying plane (19:18). Pilots enter a cockpit in a simulator and practice automated landings under various conditions (19:28). A conference (22:45). A pilot flies in circles (23:14). Spinning model planes are used for research (23:57). A pilot in an aircraft spins (24:42). A crash test is performed on a model plane (24:57). American Champion Citabria (7 ECA) aircraft (25:19). A pilot flying (25:58). A Grumman American AA-5 light aircraft (26:15). A Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighter jet (26:38). A Lockheed L-300-50A Starlifter aircraft (26:40). A model plane (26:43). McDonnell Douglas YC-15 (STOL) tactical transport aircraft (26:52). Sikorsky S-72 helicopter (26:57). Lockheed YF-12 interceptor aircraft (27:15). Douglas F5D Skylancer jet fighter (27:28). A pilot enters an aircraft (27:34). The wings move (27:48). Flying plane (07:55). A pilot wears a parachute (28:19). Northrop T-38 Talon training aircraft (28:28). Sikorsky S-69 helicopter (28:34). The Wright brothers’ glider (28:48). Aerospace executive R.B. Ormsby, Jr. (29:15). Kitty Hawk Ave. (30:29). A Boeing 747 flying (30:38). A Concorde aircraft (30:48). Sound tests are conducted on the runway (31:18). Aircraft (32:57). Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) modified Boeing 747 airliners are tested (33:11). The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Kitty Hawk Flyer used for the first powered flight by the Wright brothers in 1903 (34:27). A Bell X-1 rocket engine-powered aircraft (34:53). Boeing 747 shuttle aircraft (35:25). Credits (36:36)