Underfunded and antiquated.
About half a year trip.
"The Great Air Race of 1924" is an episode of "The American Experience" which is, not surprisingly, about an airplane race. But it's not the sort you would imagine...not a race you could do in a day or two or only a few hours. Instead, teams from several nations decided to circumnavigate the globe...in an era with open cockpit biplanes which were notoriously unreliable.
Although the US was originally at the forefront of airplane design, by WWI the country had fallen behind...way behind. American planes were primitive compared to European planes and so the notion of the US besting the likes of Britain seemed absurd. However, four planes did attempt the task and it took them almost half a year to finish this journey. This episode is all about this 'race'.
This is a mildly interesting episode....mildly. Some might love the topic but it was just okay for me and my daughter. But, as you'd expect with the series, it is well handled and they try their best to tell the story with enthusiasm.
About half a year trip.
"The Great Air Race of 1924" is an episode of "The American Experience" which is, not surprisingly, about an airplane race. But it's not the sort you would imagine...not a race you could do in a day or two or only a few hours. Instead, teams from several nations decided to circumnavigate the globe...in an era with open cockpit biplanes which were notoriously unreliable.
Although the US was originally at the forefront of airplane design, by WWI the country had fallen behind...way behind. American planes were primitive compared to European planes and so the notion of the US besting the likes of Britain seemed absurd. However, four planes did attempt the task and it took them almost half a year to finish this journey. This episode is all about this 'race'.
This is a mildly interesting episode....mildly. Some might love the topic but it was just okay for me and my daughter. But, as you'd expect with the series, it is well handled and they try their best to tell the story with enthusiasm.
