The Giant Of The Skies

The comprehensive Channel 4 series offering exclusive access to the story of the construction of the world's biggest and heaviest airliner, told through the people who made it happen. The Airbus A380 is more advanced than any airliner that has flown before and can fly non-stop a third of the way around the world. It is three times as long as a blue whale and five times as heavy. The tip of the plane tail is as tall as an eight storey building. The four Rolls Royce engines, built in Derby, cost the same as four tons of solid gold. This absorbing Channel 4 series documents the construction and assembly of the A380 by tens of thousands of people in teams from Britain, France, Germany and Spain. The components are transported thousands of miles by land and sea for final assembly in Toulouse. The multi-million pound wings are manufactured in Broughton, Wales. Their journey to France includes heart-stopping navigation under a bridge, where the water level must be precisely calculated to avoid disaster. There is no margin for error. Dramatic tests are carried out on the engines and landing gear but as delays creep in, the day for revealing the plane to the world has been set and behind-the-scenes tension mounts. Finally, the world's press, Heads of State, major airlines and ten thousand VIPs arrive in Toulouse to witness the historic test flight of the most ambitious plane ever. The test flight was a massive news event around the world. Later this year, Singapore Airlines will be the first carrier to launch commercial A380 flights. THE GIANT OF THE SKIES will have broad appeal as both a celebration of cutting edge technological achievement and as a gripping record of human endeavour under fierce pressure and real jeopardy.