Wing flaps. A circular fuselage. Swept back wings. A little bit of the historic DC-3 exists in every plane that flies today. This masterpiece of engineering went against all received aviation wisdom when it was created in the 1930s, but the gamble paid off magnificently, and created a revolution. The DC-3 helped boost an economy still reeling from the Depression, played the lead role in the D-Day invasion, and through its versatility, rugged reliability, and economy, changed air travel forever.

The Airbus A380 is the largest airliner in history. As tall as a 7 story building and certified to carry over 850 passengers, it dwarfs even it nearest rival. But getting the world's only Super Jumbo into the skies was a gargantuan challenge in itself, taking nearly 20 years and costing upwards of $17 billion.

The story of how visionary geniuses from Lockheed Martins top-secret Skunk Works, rewrote the rule-book to create a plane that was all miracles. The SR71 Blackbird - the world's first stealth spyplane, is still the fastest, highest-flying manned airplane in the world.