David Jason: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

'I'm David Jason

'and I'm on a journey to discover the machines

' that made America and changed the world.'

You know you are mad?

All the best people are.

'I'm travelling by plane, train, and automobile in the footsteps

'of pioneers and inventors down the west coast of America.'

And you kick ass!

Yes.

No, I really, really enjoyed that.

'I will take in some of the best all-American scenery...'

Good Lord, look at that. That is just wonderful.

'..and reveal how this part of the world has led the way

'in adventure and enterprise.'

Look where she's going.

'I will discover the stories

'behind some of the world's most legendary machines.'

You're responsible for the nation's treasure.

Exactly.

Come along, James, off we go.

'At last, Del Boy makes it to Hollywood.'

You don't get much closer than that.

'Join me on my big American adventure.

'Many years ago, before I was an actor,

'I trained as a car mechanic.

'I'm also a helicopter pilot and I have a lifelong love affair

'with motorbikes.'

- Is this it? - This is it.

- You ready to go flying? - Let's go.

'So this is my trip of a lifetime.'

'Over five weeks, I will travel by all means of transport

'through Washington state and Oregon,

'taking in the breathtaking scenery

'to arrive in the Golden State of California

'and finish 1,200 miles later in the City of Angels, Los Angeles.

'My journey begins in the Pacific Northwest in the city of Seattle.

'Here, I will sample the luxury of 1930s aviation...'

Oh, yes, now this is kitted out for me.

'..drive the car that changed the world...'

Whoo-whoo.

'..and take to the footplate of a vintage timberland steam engine.

'There is surely no better way to start a great adventure

'than by a floatplane.'

Is this freshwater or is it seawater?

This is freshwater.

'I'm flying in a legendary de Havilland Beaver.

'It's the workhorse of the Pacific Northwest

'and perhaps the best way to take in the glorious mountains

'and forests of Washington state and its biggest city, Seattle.'

Is that Seattle?

There's Seattle right down there, yes, sir.

'Once a frontier town,

'Seattle boomed during the 1896 Klondike gold rush.

'It's still booming today and is the home to huge corporations

'like Microsoft and Amazon.'

It's about this time that you'd say, "You do know that there isn't

"a runway down there?"

Oh, there's a huge runway, 20 miles long.

Yeah, I know.

'I'm coming into Seattle with a splash landing.'

I must say, it was a great experience.

It was lovely.

'Planes have always been big business here.

'And they don't get much bigger than Boeing.

'For over 100 years, Seattle has been home to what is now

'the world's largest aerospace company.

'Swapping my wings for wheels, I want to find out how did Boeing

'grow out of a frontier town.

'It all started here in 1916.

'This is the former shipyard building

'known as the Red Barn.

'And it was the first home of the Boeing Company.'

Oh, blimey.

It's like a kit you buy and you put it together with glue, doesn't it?

That's what it looks like.

It's all wood.

Amazing.

'The story goes that in 1915 William Boeing went for a joyride

'in an early aircraft

'and decided he could make one better.

'And the result is flying from the ceiling.'

That's the floatplane, of course.

Yeah, I've just been on that.

Well, not that one, but...

Look at the floats on it.

Look.

They're all wood.

Amazing, isn't it?

Is that the beginning of Boeing?

It absolutely is.

That's our very first aeroplane. The B&W.

Right.

Right, so, named for the initials of Mr Boeing and his partner

who helped him start the company, Conrad Westervelt.

Right. But why a floatplane?

There weren't any airfields in those days.

But there is a lot of water, as you probably noticed.

- Yeah. - Right, right. So that's why.

Bill Boeing came to this area for timber.

A timber baron.

All of his wealth is in timber.

And yet he introduces some of the very first metal aeroplanes

in the United States.

And this is the Model 40, this is an air-cooled engine.

And with that engine on this aeroplane,

they saved almost 500 pounds of weight.

Yes.

And that could then be used to carry mail.

How did it happen, the transition between mail and passengers?

You see that door right there? Inside is a seat.

It was to carry employees from one field to the next.

Oh, was it?

And then they realised that, "Well, we're not carrying an employee

"or mail. Maybe we can get somebody to pay to go for a ride."

Now, there were about seven stops on the way

between San Francisco and Chicago.

So if they arrived at a field and there was a pile of mail to go,

passengers would be left behind.

- No! - Right.

The mail had to go through.

So, a year after they start operation, they really started

thinking seriously about carrying passengers.

So the aeroplane that followed this was a passenger aeroplane.

And they realised that this is the future.

'I'm amazed that a timber merchant who made a small floatplane

'would become the biggest aircraft maker on the planet.

'50 years after it was founded, Boeing built the plane

'that changed the world.'

'It's Monday September 30, 1968,

'roll-out day for the Boeing 747.'

'Two and a half times bigger

'than anything that Boeing had built before,

'this is the actual prototype that was rolled out 50 years ago.'

Oh, blimey.

This is stripped down to the bone.

It's like the skeleton, isn't it?

How on Earth can a thing this size leave the ground?

Who thought of it?

Well, it almost looks like him and he's still scratching his head

about how he's going to get it off the ground.

Well, come on, I'm going to get up and see where the pilot sits.

'It's hard to believe that half a century ago

'this 747 took its first flight into history.

'On board were three people,

'two pilots and an engineer.

'Co-pilot Brien Wygle, now 93 years old,

'has come back to the cockpit to relive that amazing moment.'

Ah, here he is.

The very man.

- Brien, lovely to meet you. - Glad to meet you.

You fit better than I do.

Well, for a big aeroplane, it doesn't have much room up front.

I understand that you were on the very first flight of this.

- Yes, yeah. - This actual 747.

The actual aeroplane, yeah, I was here.

- You were there? - Yeah.

Brien, did you have a lot of trepidation when you were sitting

on the end of the runway with the engines going?

No.

Knowing you've got 400 tons to get into the air?

I think we had butterflies when we were waiting.

We were waiting for the weather

and finally we decided to go.

'Designed and built in just 26 months,

'the largest civilian aircraft ever made hurtled down the runway.'

Now, it lifts into the air.

You must have felt a bit of relief for that.

- Oh, yes. Oh, I think so. - Do you think?

The more we went along, the more relaxed we got

because so far everything was working.

This aeroplane was a delight.

It was tailored just right.

It felt great to fly.

Of course, it was a big machine but it responded beautifully.

It wasn't all perfect sailing, though, was it?

No. We had one incident.

And one of the flap segments hung up.

- It got jammed a little. - Yeah.

So, we decided that it was a good idea to go in and land.

'After a one-hour 15-minute test flight,

'Brien and the crew safely brought the 747 back to Earth.'

If you think back, though, Brien, to that very, very first flight,

what did it mean to you?

I think you feel proud that you're part of this team

that's putting this marvellous machine together.

'This is Brien and his chums leaving the aircraft.

'They've made history

'but they're dressed like they've just left the office.

'The 747 opened the world to everyone.'

There was a period when flying abroad meant 747, so that was it.

Yeah, yeah.

She certainly did change the aviation world.

We wouldn't have got halfway around the world

without this little baby.

Yeah, that's what did it.

'I have discovered the birth of Boeing

'and now I want to experience the glamour

'of those early days of aviation.

'I've come to the Historic Flight Foundation to try my hand

'at the controls of a flying legend.'