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The Machines That Built America

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Plane Pioneers
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The Machines That Built America

S 1 E 2

Plane Pioneers

Jul 18, 2021 | 43m 11s | tv-pg v | CC

In 1910, airplanes are a novelty, fragile wooden concoctions that float in the air–and crash. But that doesn’t stop two young dreamers with a passion for this newfangled machine from imagining a very different future: one in which planes carry millions of passengers across the country, even across the seas. To realize that vision and create a lucrative new market, William Boeing and Donald Douglas take on automobile titan Henry Ford, infamous Dutch aviation giant Anthony Fokker–and each other. It’s a high stakes battle involving courage, risk taking, bold innovation, even industrial espionage… and not every business will last. But for the surprising survivors, the prize is worth it: the joy of flight and astonishing profit.

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