Flying Heavy Metal is a five-part British television series produced by Ricochet and originally broadcast in the UK and Europe on the Discovery Channel, premiered on 19 January 2005, and subsequently repeated on Discovery Wings in the UK. It is presented by commercial Boeing 757 pilot and Iron Maiden frontman, Bruce Dickinson. In the series, Dickinson looks at, and often flies, a number of aircraft from across the history of commercial aviation. There are some quite "surprising" aerobatics done in rather large aircraft. Flying Heavy Metal is now repeated on the new channel from Discovery Networks UK called Discovery Turbo.

Episodes

Episode 1 - "Jet Race"

Air date: 19 January 2005 The development of the de Havilland Comet and the Boeing 707 herald the end of an era for propeller-driven airliners such as the Douglas DC-3.

Episode 2 - "Jet Set"

Air date: 26 January 2005 Jet travel becomes available to the masses with the development of the Hawker Siddeley Trident and the Boeing 727.

Episode 3 - "Size Matters"

Air date: 2 February 2005 Europe develops Concorde while Boeing develops the 747 jumbo jet.

Episode 4 - "Safer Skies"

Air date: 9 February 2005 Jetliner safety enhancements, including the automatic landing capabilities of the Hawker Siddeley Trident, the fly-by-wire capabilities of the Airbus A320 (and lack thereof in the Boeing 737) as well as other safety features currently in development.

Episode 5 - "Watch This Space"

Air date: 16 February 2005 New records in airliner size, fuel economy, and passenger comfort with the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787 (known as the 7E7 at the time). Also explores the wisdom of space airliner travel.

Programme credits

Series Producer - James Bates Producer - Dan Peirson Assistant Producer - Greg Chivers Production Manager - Amanda Rohan Flying Heavy Metal - Najam Ul Saqib