1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:06,320 The landscape of north-east Wales is just breathtaking but here 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:10,800 you'll also find the biggest manufacturing site in Britain. 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:15,800 For me, its beauty lies in its industry. Just look at this, 4 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:18,640 it's just stunning what's produced here. 5 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:24,600 For over seven decades, 6 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:29,040 Flintshire has been at the centre of Britain's aerospace industry 7 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:32,320 and some of the planes built here even broke world records. 8 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,240 The world is watching North Wales again as the engineers here 9 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,240 revolutionise air travel as we know it. 10 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:47,720 They create wings for some of the largest aeroplanes 11 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,280 to fly in our skies and the latest A350 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,320 has a ground-breaking new design. 13 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:57,200 To find out how they're doing it, 14 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,360 I'll be joining the team assembling one of these wings, 15 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:04,880 uncovering the surprising secrets of their engineering along the way. 16 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:07,080 Stunning, just stunning. 17 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:11,320 And finally, the ultimate test - I'll fly on these Welsh wings 18 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:15,080 to discover whether their innovative design is helping to create 19 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,720 the quietest and greenest commercial flight ever. 20 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,280 Do you really like flying this plane? Oh, yes. Do you? 21 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:45,040 'Number 242, Charlie Victor Hunter. Good morning again. 22 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:49,320 'Join crosswind and report left-hand downwind runway 22... 23 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,120 'IZ012.' 24 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,000 I love the north-west coast, just look at that view. 25 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,680 I grew up in Prestatyn and I used to sunbathe on that beach 26 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,720 down there and look up and see the aeroplanes coming in 27 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:05,720 and out of Liverpool Airport and think, 28 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:10,000 "One day I want to fly a plane." 29 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:15,000 It's taken me a long time to get there, but now here I am. 30 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:17,160 Hello, Prestatyn. 31 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:23,760 # All I want is a pair of wings to fly... # 32 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:26,680 On the radar, November 242 Charlie Victor. 33 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:31,320 We are 11 miles to the north-west. Request joining instructions. 34 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:35,400 I've recently qualified as a pilot, fulfilling my childhood dream 35 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:39,320 and this is the first time I'd ever flown low over my home patch. 36 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:44,000 What I didn't realise when I was growing up is that North Wales 37 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,600 is one of the hubs in the world for aeronautical engineering 38 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,040 and down there is where they build some of the best 39 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:54,000 parts of aircraft in the world. 40 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:02,440 Airbus Broughton is located on a massive 750-acre site in Flintshire. 41 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:05,560 Here they build wings and then transport them 42 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:09,800 on this extraordinary plane to the south of France. 43 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:13,000 Everything they do is on a gigantic scale. 44 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:25,920 And their latest ground-breaking design is taking 45 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:29,040 the aeronautical world by storm. 46 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,040 My little plane isn't as big but she's just as loved. 47 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:35,480 'November 2 Charlie Victor...' 48 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,600 I'm flying in to find out how these brand-new wings are setting 49 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:42,200 a new benchmark standard for fuel efficiency. 50 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,080 'You're parking on Bravo with the Beluga. 51 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:49,040 'So once runway vacated at Bravo, follow the marshal's instructions.' 52 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,720 It's cutting-edge stuff, we may never fly in the same way again 53 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:04,160 and it could all be down to some Welsh wings. 54 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:15,640 Broughton is famous for building wings. 55 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,280 The wings of an aeroplane are critical to how the plane flies, 56 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:22,880 its handling and its fuel efficiency and this year 57 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:27,920 they're celebrating 75 years since production first began on this site. 58 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:31,480 Today they're supplying some of the most popular airlines 59 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:35,320 in the world and that keeps around 6,000 Welsh workers busy 60 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:37,960 and I get to join them. 61 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:39,880 So you're the man in charge here? 62 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:41,880 Yes. Good to see you here. Welcome to Broughton. 63 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:44,600 This is where we build A350 wings. 64 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:49,440 The A350 is one of the most advanced aircraft in the world. 65 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,960 It's made of advanced materials, 70% of the product is advanced materials 66 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:57,680 and 53% of that is carbon-fibre composite. 67 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:01,440 Carbon fibre is a form of soft graphite, 68 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,080 just like what's found in the centre of a pencil. 69 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:08,560 It's mixed with plastic resin to make carbon-fibre composite. 70 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,800 It's tough, lightweight but extremely flexible. 71 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,800 We're currently building one pair, two pairs per month 72 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:18,960 but by the end of this year, we've got to get to five pairs per month. 73 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:22,800 Within a year? That's a five-times increase, that's correct. 74 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,680 I understand you know a little bit about engineering, Carol. 75 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:28,520 Compared to you, about that much. Would you like to join us? 76 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,080 I'd love it, I really would love it. OK, great. 77 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:34,600 The moment has come for me 78 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,160 to get hands-on experience in building one of these wings. 79 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:41,480 This uniform reminds me 80 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,680 of when I was a very junior engineer at the Dinorwig Power Station 81 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,400 in Snowdonia and, of course, we had the capped shoes or boots, 82 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:54,440 the boiler suit or overalls, and the obligatory hard hat. 83 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:57,320 Yes, sir. 84 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:04,120 They call this the washing line and you can see why. 85 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:06,960 Except here, we don't have clothes hanging down, 86 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,920 we had the skins or the covers of the wings. 87 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,320 This is the top cover 88 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,160 and this one here is a much more curvy bottom skin. 89 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:21,520 What's so remarkable about these is that they are the largest 90 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:26,560 single pieces of carbon-fibre composite ever made in the world. 91 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,440 That gives you some indication of just how revolutionary 92 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:32,640 this place is. 93 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:39,480 Good afternoon, Station 82. So to start with, safety, OK? 94 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:41,440 No near misses, no accidents. 95 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,880 It's the start of shift and we're all lined up for the team briefing. 96 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:49,000 Some of us will be supporting MSN25's removal from jig. 97 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:50,960 Any issues? 98 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:54,200 Right, thank you very much, guys, have a nice afternoon. 99 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,920 My first job is to move this two and a half tonne carbon-fibre 100 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:03,160 top skin of the wing into the jig so we can work on it. 101 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:04,840 To manoeuvre it around the factory, 102 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:07,480 we're using a special vehicle known as the AGV. 103 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:12,480 All right, Carol? Hiya. Your time to shine today. All right, then. 104 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,040 You going to help us out? Yeah, moving the cover. 105 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:17,360 Going to move the cover today. Is that for me? Yup. 106 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:19,440 I hope it's the right size. 107 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:22,880 I have got my certificate in forklift-truck driving. 108 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:26,880 It's not quite the same, is it? That's not going to help us today. 109 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,160 So I put this around my waist, do I? This is the dead-arm box. 110 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:32,600 What does that mean? Me colleague's going to be driving. 111 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:35,160 What does a dead-arm box mean? If there's a problem 112 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,800 and we're swinging and we're coming to a bollard, 113 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,120 if you think it's unsafe... 114 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,600 Yup. ..take your hand off that and the machine, AGV, will stop. 115 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:45,280 Just cuts out. Cuts out straight away. 116 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,040 And that's worth millions, isn't it? Er... 117 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:51,360 At a guess, I think probably 1.1 million, 2 million. Yeah. 118 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:53,600 So... One, two. Yeah, it's only... 119 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:56,960 It's only carbon fibre, eh? It's only money, isn't it? 120 00:07:56,960 --> 00:07:58,520 "It's only money"! 121 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:01,960 Ready? Good to go. Right, I'm sticking with you, Rossy. 122 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,200 This is brilliant, the way this moves. It's fantastic. 123 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:07,960 These wheels are incredible. 124 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:11,200 I think it's roughly about £8,000 a wheel. 125 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:12,760 Is it really? Yeah. 126 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,600 This is an extremely delicate manoeuvre 127 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:25,560 and you can feel the pressure. 128 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:29,320 The team knows that one false move could cost a fortune. 129 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:37,280 Take your hand off now and it stops straight away. It's looking like... 130 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:41,880 ..possibly may have to move this frame. Move this? 131 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:48,680 This AGV not only manoeuvres but it can also lift this heavy 132 00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:53,040 and expensive piece of wing. Going over the top? Yeah. 133 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:56,520 The first flight. First flight, yeah. 134 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,880 Luckily, it has just enough reach to clear the frame. 135 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:02,200 It's been designed by the Americans, is that right? 136 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,440 I think that's German. I think Kuka's... 137 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,720 Say that again, what was it? LIVERPUDLIAN ACCENT: German. 138 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:10,960 Stan Boardman. I know, yeah! 139 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:15,960 The next stage in the manoeuvre is to lift this delicate top skin 140 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:21,080 right up to the ceiling of the hangar and then across to the jig. 141 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,920 The frame uses 103 vacuum suckers just like the suckers 142 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:29,360 to hold your cuddly toy in the car but just a little bit more powerful. 143 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:35,600 I feel as though I'm attached to this wing now... 144 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:38,160 in some kind of ethereal way. 145 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:41,560 Go on, Carol, give it a full whack. 146 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:44,400 A bit of welly? Yeah, go on. Go, baby, go. 147 00:09:47,560 --> 00:09:50,960 She doesn't swing as fast, then, does she? No. 148 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:52,960 The quicker it's in the air, the safer. 149 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:58,560 But she's safe, tidy up there. 150 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:01,520 She's safe, she's not swinging and she's happy to be drilled in now. 151 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:04,440 No problems. So I'm going to take her into the jig now. Yeah, go on. 152 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:06,320 And then we're going to lock it down. 153 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,480 All right, I'll hold your paper. Thank you. 154 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:15,640 While I leave Rossy with the tricky job of positioning the top skin, 155 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,440 I'm going underneath to get my hands dirty 156 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,320 and come face-to-face with those carbon-fibre wings. 157 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:24,520 All right, boss, what are we going to do? 158 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,160 Basically, the machine comes in and drills all the cover 159 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:28,720 but it can't get in this area 160 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,000 because it clashes with the cantilever. 161 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,560 The pressure is on me now to drill the perfect hole. 162 00:10:34,560 --> 00:10:38,720 The drill I'm using here is powerful and, to stop costly mistakes, 163 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:40,360 it's completely automatic. 164 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:51,080 Perfect. One down, several thousand to go. 165 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,760 Although, I've got a sneaky feeling that someone's drilled some already. 166 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:57,880 That's it, a good hole. Thank you very much. 167 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:03,680 Choosing carbon-fibre composite over old-fashioned aluminium 168 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:06,640 has meant huge changes for the workers here. 169 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:09,120 I mean, the thing is, for someone who's a passenger, 170 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:13,200 what it's made of is so completely different, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. 171 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:17,640 Kind of the cleverness is hidden almost. Yeah, it was just metal. 172 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:19,480 We've worked with metal for so long 173 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:23,760 and now all of a sudden it's just different. It's like NASA. 174 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:27,400 It was like going from the cave to NASA. It was! 175 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:31,280 We were like cavemen. Cavemen to astronauts in a week. 176 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:36,560 AMERICAN ACCENT: Failure is not an option. 177 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,600 Working with carbon fibre has completely changed how 178 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:43,480 the wing can be shaped. 179 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:46,080 The curve in this panel could mean cheaper fares 180 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:50,280 for everyone as it reduces fuel burn by 25%. 181 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,920 To understand how, I'm going back to the basics of flight. 182 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:58,080 It's the wing that gives us lift. 183 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,280 Now, I'm going to show you just with a little drawing how it works. 184 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:05,600 So I'm going to draw my wing here and, generally on a wing, 185 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:10,600 the curvature on the top of the wing is greater than on the bottom 186 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:15,560 and there's a reason for that. So, this is my airflow. 187 00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:20,200 So when a wing is moving through the air, you see that a dot on this 188 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:25,240 bit of air coming over has to go all the way over the top of the wing. 189 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:31,320 A similar dot just travels underneath 190 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,240 and then they meet up at the back and then on they go. 191 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:35,880 Now, the thing is, when this one 192 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:38,240 going over the top of the wing travels, 193 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:42,600 it has to go faster than the bit of air on the bottom, 194 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,440 so what you get is you have high pressure on the bottom, 195 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:47,760 low static pressure on the top 196 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:52,320 and the high pressure pushes the wing upwards and that is the force 197 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:57,320 that we call lift or, when you look at an aeroplane, I call it magic. 198 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,480 It doesn't matter if it's a jumbo jet or a bumblebee, 199 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:06,600 they each achieve lift in the same way. 200 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:11,200 Now, if you don't believe me, you can do this at home. 201 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:13,880 Get a bit of paper, OK? Static pressure the same, 202 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,280 the weight of the paper is hanging down. 203 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:20,960 When I blow across the top, the pressure on the top will reduce 204 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:22,440 and we will have lift. 205 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:27,840 You see? 206 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:31,720 But once in the air, 207 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:35,880 the shape of the wing determines the way the aeroplane flies. 208 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:40,080 The best way to demonstrate is with a bit of aeronautical origami. 209 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:42,360 I think you're a bit of a neater folder than me, Carol. 210 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:44,760 Is that what it is? You're after speed. 211 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:47,200 And as a former fighter-aircraft designer, 212 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:49,200 Roy Scott knows all about it. 213 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:50,640 One of the main principles is 214 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,920 the angle of the wing relative to the fuselage, to the body. 215 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:56,560 So, for example here, what we're looking for is a very 216 00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:59,280 stable flight on a passenger aircraft. 217 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:03,560 What we do is slightly fold the wings upwards to give that 218 00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:07,040 upwards effect and that's called a dihedral wing. Dihedral. 219 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:10,360 Dihedral effect. Uppy wings. Yup. Yup. 220 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:12,040 And the Harrier Jump Jet, for example, 221 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:14,680 where we want an unstable aircraft because it can roll fast... 222 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:17,760 You worked on that as well. That's correct, yes, down at Thornborough. 223 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:21,080 ..the wings are formed downwards in an anhedral effect. 224 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:24,320 So if you look at fighter aircraft you can see that. Yup. OK. 225 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:26,840 So mine, theoretically, should go the furthest. 226 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,800 And mine should do the rolling and spinning and all of that. 227 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,600 OK. Three, two, one. 228 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:47,440 Yes! Yay! So yours was spinning quite a bit. 229 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,120 Mine somehow nosedived. 230 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,400 So maybe there was a secret paperclip in there. I think that's what it was. 231 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:04,320 Airbus is one of the biggest employers in Wales. 232 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,840 Building wings keeps a workforce of over 6,000 busy. 233 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:15,880 There are currently only a few completed A350s in service 234 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:20,880 but the pressure is on to supply 780 pairs of wings on order 235 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,040 to customers such as Qatar Airways. 236 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:30,000 But this factory has a long history of working against the clock. 237 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,600 'This is a bomber factory in Britain. 238 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:35,480 'The workers have arranged with their management and their 239 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:37,640 'joint production committee to build a bomber 240 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,360 'in the record time of 30 hours.' 241 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:44,320 This is Broughton back in 1943. 242 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:48,440 Here, a team from the factory are attempting to set a world record 243 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,480 to build a whole Wellington bomber aeroplane. 244 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:54,280 'You can get some idea now of the size of the bomber. 245 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:57,040 'It's almost 65 feet long.' 246 00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:58,400 During the Second World War, 247 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,600 while the men were fighting on the front line, women were 248 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:05,920 clocking into factories all over Britain to help in the war effort. 249 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,600 'The progress they are making speaks for itself. 250 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:12,480 'For it's only 10 o'clock, one hour from the starting time.' 251 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:16,520 Betty Weaver was one of the women trying to smash that world record. 252 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:21,360 She was recruited to work here from the local Co-op. She's 94 now. 253 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:24,760 The first day I turned up, there was two of us together. 254 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:28,160 We had our photograph taken to put on a pass. 255 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,160 I was handed the largest white boiler suit 256 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:34,840 I've ever seen in my life and a wooden box with tools in it. 257 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:39,440 And I didn't know which one to use or which end to start 258 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:43,080 but I was thoroughly taught for about three weeks. 259 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:44,680 Yeah. 260 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,280 And that was it, I was on my own. 261 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:51,800 So here was this massive production line and little Betty... 262 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:53,840 Big Betty. CAROL LAUGHS 263 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:59,000 So which job were you given, then, on the whole construction? 264 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:00,320 What was your job on it? 265 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:05,880 Well, it was the intercom inside the plane where the crew 266 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,680 kept in touch with each other. OK. 267 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:13,000 Two ladies before me used to run the cable through the plane... Yeah. 268 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,200 ..and there was a box there at each station... Yeah. 269 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,880 ..so that the pilot could keep in touch 270 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,240 with all of his... All the crew. 271 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:24,840 ..the navigator, the wireless operator, second pilot 272 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:27,360 and I connected the boxes up. 273 00:17:27,360 --> 00:17:29,600 And did that remain your job through the war, then? 274 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,480 Yes, all the way through. So everybody specialised in one thing? 275 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:37,520 Exactly. Because the wings and the fuselage were fabric, weren't they? 276 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:42,600 Basically, yes. The cover of them was fabric. Yup. 277 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:46,840 It was linen that they stitched on and they had to do 12 stitches 278 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:48,240 to an inch. 279 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:50,720 If there was one stitch missing, 280 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:54,640 it had to be undone and redone. No! Yes. 281 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:58,080 And then it was dumped over the top 282 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:00,600 until it was like the skin of a drum, more or less. 283 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:02,560 Really hard. Yeah. 284 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:06,520 And so the inspectors checked... Very, very strict. Very strict. 285 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:09,240 Well, it had to be, didn't it? Exactly. 286 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:11,960 People's lives depended on it. Absolutely, yeah. 287 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:17,080 Betty and her fellow workers gave up their weekend to try to break 288 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:18,640 that world record. 289 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:22,760 'Here comes the test pilot, Gerald Winnie, a really amazed man. 290 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,200 'He was planning to fly the bomber this afternoon 291 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,600 'but so fast has this aircraft been completed that they got him 292 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,840 'out of bed to put the bomber through its paces.' 293 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,960 It was wartime propaganda at its very best, 294 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:39,480 aimed to bolster spirit at home and put the wind up the enemy. 295 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:42,680 So, did they break the record? 'The record? 296 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,240 'Yes, they broke it, those workers. 297 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:49,480 'They said they'd build a bomber in their spare time in 30 hours. 298 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:54,480 'Its wheels lifted from the ground in exactly 24 hours and 48 minutes.' 299 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,960 How on earth that thing got off the ground, I'll never know. 300 00:18:59,960 --> 00:19:01,720 I really don't. 301 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:02,960 There we are. Yeah. 302 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:09,040 Broughton has a long history of producing aeroplanes. 303 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:12,000 In 1949, the Hornet took to the skies 304 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,040 after De Havilland took over the site. 305 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:18,000 The Heron was built in the 1950s and the Beaver 306 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,240 and the Chipmunk were also built in Broughton. 307 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:25,080 Some aircraft became flying legends, like the Mosquito 308 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:27,040 and the Comet Mark 4. 309 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:30,640 This sleek, silver plane was the fastest airliner of its day 310 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:32,000 to cross the Atlantic. 311 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:39,680 Now, then, this is the most modern production area of wings... Yeah. 312 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:45,320 'And I couldn't let Betty leave without a glimpse 313 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:49,200 'of the latest wings.' Look at all of this here. 314 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:52,400 Just go to this barrier. You all right? Yeah. 315 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:55,680 Wonderful. 316 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,640 That is one big piece of material, 317 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:01,440 it's not put together in any way, it's just made like one piece. 318 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:04,200 And that is the bottom of a wing there. 319 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:07,000 That's as big as a Wellington bomber would have been. 320 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:08,800 It is. It is, yes. Gee! 321 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,400 But there's no-one stitching fabric in here, Betty. 322 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:14,760 Thank goodness! 323 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:16,560 Ooh, what a job. 324 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:17,800 Unbelievable. 325 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,360 'I can't help but be astonished by Betty's story.' 326 00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:27,560 You can imagine all of those young girls, and men, 327 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:31,640 learning these incredible new skills in this, you know, 328 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:36,680 strange place, building bomber aircraft at a ridiculous rate. 329 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:40,080 Quite incredible, 330 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:43,360 but, you know, we should all be thankful that they did do it. 331 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:56,160 A Welsh wing is beginning to take shape. 332 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,040 With the top skin fixed on, 333 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:01,040 it's time for the next phase of work to take place. 334 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:06,320 And how things have changed from when I started out as an engineer. 335 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:10,280 As a woman, I was a rare sight in a male-dominated world. 336 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:11,800 But here at Broughton, 337 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,040 I've seen more women engineers at work than ever before. 338 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:18,400 One of them is Bridie Welsh, 339 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,760 and she's the expert when it comes to the skeleton of the wing. 340 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,720 Underneath, what you've got here is your spar, made of carbon fibre. 341 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:29,280 And this goes the whole length of the wing? 342 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:32,760 The whole length of the wing. Yep, to provide stability. Exactly. 343 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:35,080 And then we've got our ribs in between. 344 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:37,040 So, what's interesting about these 345 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:39,960 is they're made from aluminium instead of carbon fibre, 346 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:43,080 because the loads, the forces, are quite complicated. 347 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:44,520 Bridie and her team 348 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:48,000 design the complex internal structure of the wing. 349 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,040 That's because these wings do more 350 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,280 than just lift the plane off the ground. 351 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:55,480 They're also the fuel tanks for the aircraft. 352 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,720 The fuel tanks are right at the centre... Yeah. 353 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:01,400 ..and moves out to around about rib 28. 354 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:06,080 And how much fuel do the wings take? It's just under 100,000 litres. 355 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,800 Is it really? Yeah. That's massive, isn't it? It's a lot of fuel. Yeah. 356 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:11,880 And when the bottom is on, 357 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:16,640 the fuel is actually touching up against this, isn't it? It is. 358 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:20,600 Against this aluminium. So, how does that operate? 359 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:22,760 Do you have fuel pumps that take it through? 360 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:26,240 What we have is baffles, holes within the ribs, 361 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:30,040 which allow the fuel to move throughout the rib base. 362 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:33,640 Without it just being one great big slosh, I suppose. Yes. 363 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:37,840 So, you know when you go out on the town, do you go into Chester? I do. 364 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:39,160 OK. 365 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:41,560 And the lads chatting you up, beautiful young girl, 366 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:43,240 and they're going, "What you do?" 367 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,560 and you say, "I'm an engineer," what do they say? 368 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:47,360 They do get a bit of a shock, yeah. 369 00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:49,720 THEY LAUGH 370 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:51,160 I'm not surprised. 371 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:56,080 Older commercial aircraft have up to eight fuel tanks. 372 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,840 The A350 only has three. 373 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:01,360 One tank is under the main body of the aircraft, 374 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:03,720 while the other two are in the wings. 375 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:06,480 Between them, they hold enough fuel 376 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:09,480 to fly from London to New York and back again. 377 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,080 Oh... 378 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:16,120 Just coming up through an inspection hatch. 379 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:20,520 I'm inside the wing now, the big end, if you like, of the fuel tank. 380 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:24,840 Lots and lots of ribs stretching a long way in that direction. 381 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,680 You know, it's remarkable to think that this will be sealed 382 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:31,280 and the fuel inside here 383 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,160 will go through the pumps, and so on, into the engine, 384 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:37,880 and no-one will ever come into here again. 385 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,040 So many people working on this. Hello! 386 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:41,400 MAN: Hello? 387 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:42,840 CAROL LAUGHS 388 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,360 Our wing is nearly complete but, first, it needs a good clean. 389 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,360 It's transported to this huge hangar 390 00:23:57,360 --> 00:23:59,800 where they look for the tiniest bit of debris 391 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,840 that may have been left behind during its manufacturing. 392 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,520 I'm meeting local woman Beth Pickering, 393 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:10,000 who's one of the youngest managers on the site. 394 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:17,840 So, Beth, there are these FOD signs everywhere - foreign object debris. 395 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:20,320 So, none of it's allowed through there. 396 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:22,080 Nothing is allowed into there 397 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,400 that isn't already accounted for on our sheets. 398 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:26,400 So, I'm going to have to ask you 399 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,880 to empty your pockets of any personal belongings. 400 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:32,320 OK. Keys, phones. And put them all into this locker here. 401 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:34,720 OK. So, anyone's working in this area, 402 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:36,840 they've got to get rid of all this stuff? Yeah. 403 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,280 So, anything that we don't need on the aircraft, 404 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:42,240 we decant into what we call our FOD lockers. Yeah. 405 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:44,880 Any tooling that is needed we account for on the sheets, 406 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:46,840 so it's signed in and it's signed back out, 407 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:48,240 and this ensures the security. 408 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:50,280 Brilliant. OK, am I allowed to go in? Yes. 409 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,240 Now we can walk into the FOD area. Excellent. 410 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:01,720 If I just pass you this wipe. Right. 411 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,200 What we're going to do is just clean an area 412 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:06,680 to make sure that the cleanliness... OK. 413 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,880 So, if I wanted to clean under here, I can't actually see that. Yeah. 414 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:12,720 So, this is why we use a mirror, 415 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,040 just to make sure that we get a continued look 416 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:17,960 around all of the product, so you can see every single... 417 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:20,280 Yeah, I know, it's not like being at home, is it? 418 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:21,600 Cos you can't sort of... 419 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:23,960 You know, you're quite restricted in how you can move. 420 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:26,000 It is, so the mirror's really important, 421 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,160 to make sure that we don't miss any part of this bay 422 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:29,920 when we're doing an inspection. 423 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:32,240 Yeah. So you can see every angle. Yeah. 424 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:34,680 Oh, yeah, I can see it's picking up... So, how small...? 425 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,080 Cos I've got quite a bit there already. 426 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:41,520 How small an object would you be looking for? 427 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,360 So, we're looking for the tiniest of fibres. 428 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:46,680 So, when we're doing this clean and this inspection, 429 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:50,080 we're looking for any of the residue from the manufacturing processes. 430 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:53,360 Yeah. We were also doing trials and tests with our suppliers 431 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:55,640 to get our wipes to be as low-linting as possible. 432 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:57,600 So THEY don't leave fibres behind. 433 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,080 So even the wipes you're cleaning with don't leave fibres. Wow. 434 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:03,280 What are you like when you're cleaning your house? 435 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:05,880 BETH CHUCKLES 436 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:09,400 It's spotless. It's to the same standard. Right answer! 437 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:12,040 It's ingrained in you when you've been on the shop floor. Yeah. 438 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:16,920 So, after several months in production, 439 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:20,240 the 32-metre wing sits on the factory floor. 440 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:22,680 Tomorrow morning, it will leave Wales 441 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:25,520 and head towards the South of France. 442 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:29,240 It's the end of shift, and I've heard from my new buddies 443 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,720 there's a celebration around the corner in the social club. 444 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:36,920 From the bygone days of Vickers-Armstrong 445 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:39,200 to Havilland and British Aerospace, 446 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:42,080 veterans and ex-workers are getting together 447 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:46,160 to celebrate 75 years of aircraft production at Broughton. 448 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:47,960 I've been invited along 449 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,880 and there's no mistaking the pride still felt 450 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:52,800 by the people here tonight. 451 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:54,920 Hello, boys. 452 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:58,320 Everyone, in their own way, loved working here. 453 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:05,040 We were sheet metal workers. 454 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:10,040 And we were like a big family. Honestly. It was like a big family. 455 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:11,760 I worked in the plan room, 456 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,400 giving all the drawings out to the men when they came. 457 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,000 Members of your family have worked here? Oh, yes. 458 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:20,760 My sister, my brother-in-law, my late husband. Daughter-in-law. 459 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:24,400 Myself, my daughter-in-law. The whole family. Everybody. 460 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,480 I've been admiring all these black-and-white photographs 461 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:28,800 that are around. 462 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:31,560 I know. Which are mine. Which are yours, I know. 463 00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:36,560 30 years, I was in charge. Were you? Sorting this lot out. 464 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:41,640 I didn't realise you were a North Wales girls. I'm a North Wales girls. 465 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:43,320 Born and bred. 466 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,160 And our Betty's having a lovely time as well. 467 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:50,640 MUSIC PLAYS 468 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,240 An absolutely beautiful evening. 469 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:07,960 But it's time to go to bed. 470 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:13,080 I've got work again tomorrow. This site never rests. 471 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,520 Our wing is preparing to take its first flight. 472 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:23,880 Today, it's leaving Broughton 473 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:27,960 and is being transported to Toulouse in the South of France. 474 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:29,400 And it's catching a lift 475 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:32,800 on the strangest-looking aeroplane you will ever see. 476 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:39,760 Oh, beautiful. 477 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:44,080 SHE LAUGHS GLEEFULLY 478 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:46,600 Whoa! 479 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,600 This is called a Beluga, 480 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,360 cos it's shaped like a whale, a beluga whale. 481 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:57,920 Look at that high forehead. 482 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:01,840 It's like a normal aircraft with this huge bit attached to it. 483 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:03,400 It's absolutely stunning. 484 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:06,240 The company's got five of them, and it's used 485 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:11,240 to transport various pieces of a new aeroplane to Toulouse, 486 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,960 where they assemble all the wings and the fuselage and everything - 487 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:16,320 all goes to Toulouse. 488 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:18,720 That is extraordinary. 489 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:20,880 Oh, what a privilege! 490 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:23,200 MUSIC: Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz 491 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:39,640 'The last and most critical job of loading a wing onto the Beluga 492 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:43,080 'is down to the team, with a tiny bit of help from me.' 493 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,240 Are you ready, boys? We're going forward. 494 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:49,440 Just keep that on firmly, unless I shout "stop". Just let it go. 495 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:51,720 They might have a fault with the aircraft. 496 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:53,440 You spelt "forward" wrong. 497 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:03,000 'And I've literally only got inches on each side to play with.' 498 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:07,040 Do you see how close the edge of the wing is there to the aircraft 499 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:08,640 and at the other end? 500 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:12,160 This is the widest part of the wing, the root, you know, 501 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:14,280 the bit that attaches to the fuselage. 502 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:17,280 I just...! 503 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:23,120 This is a big plane. It's the company's workhorse. 504 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:27,800 But despite its size, it can only carry one A350 wing at a time. 505 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:31,360 I've managed to squeeze on board to help deliver our wing. 506 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:35,840 # I want to get away 507 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:39,960 # I wanna fly away 508 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:44,840 # Yeah, yeah, yeah 509 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,920 # I want to get away 510 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:51,080 # I wanna fly away... # 511 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:52,680 After a two-hour flight, 512 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:56,120 the Beluga touches down in Toulouse in the South of France. 513 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,880 It's here that Airbus receives thousands of parts 514 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:04,920 from suppliers in Spain and Germany 515 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:08,040 and the construction of the aeroplane begins, 516 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,840 just like a massive Meccano set. 517 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:14,160 Our wing is now carefully unloaded and transported 518 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:17,480 ready to be attached to the fuselage of the A350. 519 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:33,040 The site here in Toulouse is five times bigger than Broughton 520 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:35,360 and about 25,000 people work here. 521 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:36,640 But look at this. 522 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:40,520 This is where they start to assemble this fantastic jigsaw puzzle. 523 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:44,480 You've got the fuselage, the main body where we sit in an aircraft. 524 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:47,600 Then you've got these beautiful wings all the way from Wales 525 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:49,200 being attached. 526 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:53,400 You can see the tailfin going in, the horizontal tailplane, 527 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:54,720 the landing gear. 528 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:56,440 It's all coming together. 529 00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:58,720 And it's all being done quite quickly. 530 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,080 So, how many Welsh boys and girls are working in Toulouse? 531 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:07,360 We've got about 50 altogether. Yeah? 532 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:11,400 So, we've got design engineers, MAP engineers, 533 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:13,920 also got production, operations, quality. 534 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:15,840 It's exciting, isn't it? 535 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:19,280 And you, a boy from Mold... I know. ..coming to work in Toulouse. Yes. 536 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:21,920 Did you ever think you'd end up working in something like this? 537 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:23,360 No, it's exciting times for me. 538 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:27,400 I've been here for seven years now, my family, and I'm still excited. 539 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:29,560 Really? I enjoy getting up for work. I know, yeah. 540 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:35,560 See how beautifully that's milled there? Isn't that lovely? 541 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:37,160 It's lovely work. It's excellent. 542 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:39,360 'As Paul and I get to know each other, 543 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,440 'we realise we share a surprising link.' 544 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:47,480 I did a course once on milling and lathing in Wrexham Tec. 545 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:52,840 Very good. Yeah. I've been there myself. You were at Wrexham Tec? 546 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:56,880 Yeah, a long time ago. I bet mine was a bit further back than yours. 547 00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,920 Early '80s, I was there with Wrexham Football Club 548 00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:02,960 and they used to send us one or two days a week. Yeah. 549 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:06,640 Cos it's only across the way, next to the Racecourse Ground, so... 550 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:11,080 So, we operated in the same grease together, then, is that right? Yeah. 551 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:13,520 It was quite dirty, then, though, wasn't it? 552 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:15,840 You know, stuff spilling out everywhere. 553 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:18,080 I think it's gone a lot more hi tech now. Yeah. 554 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:20,800 There's a lot of inspecting to do, isn't there, 555 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:22,560 from the time the wing arrives 556 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:25,160 to when the fuselage comes and it's all fitted. 557 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,960 Yeah. So, there are, what, five test planes built? 558 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:31,000 There's five test aircraft... Yeah. ..which are on flight tests. 559 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,640 So, they do all the different tests that they go through. Absolutely. 560 00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:38,720 It's a good feat, especially when the first one of these went up last year. 561 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,960 Did you see it? Yeah, excellent, yeah. When it flew from here? 562 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:45,400 Yeah, we were all outside. First test flight? First test flight. Oh-ho-ho! 563 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:48,520 How exciting's that? Everyone was...pushing it up! 564 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:52,320 Yeah, all peddling! No, it was a sense of achievement, really. Yeah. 565 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:57,600 Until this point, the A350 had never flown. 566 00:33:57,600 --> 00:33:59,120 Three, two, one... 567 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:02,880 So, imagine the pressure on the test pilots as the whole world looked on. 568 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:04,200 100. 569 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:09,600 CHEERING 570 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:16,640 ..Fine. Gear stays down. 571 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:32,120 Getting the chance to step inside 572 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:34,800 these extraordinary manufacturing sites 573 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:38,960 makes me realise just how clever we humans can be. 574 00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:43,520 I've been told when the paperwork accompanying the aircraft 575 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:47,240 is as heavy as the plane itself, they've got things right. 576 00:34:47,240 --> 00:34:51,400 So, when we jump onto an aeroplane to go on our holidays, 577 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:54,480 most of us just take the whole thing for granted. 578 00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:01,080 This is my first look inside the fuselage. 579 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:04,600 Oh, wow. 580 00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:08,240 That is stunning. 581 00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:10,840 I've never seen anything like this before. 582 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:14,440 I mean, you can see the insulation, the different coloured installation. 583 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:16,200 That's to keep us warm as passengers 584 00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:19,480 and to stop the noise from coming in as well. 585 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:21,360 And then all the seats go in here. 586 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:24,240 You can see some of the tracks already laid down. 587 00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:29,280 This is 67 metres long, the whole fuselage. Which is... 588 00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:32,360 If you take an Olympic-sized swimming pool, 589 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:36,000 the length of that, and then you add on about 17 metres, 590 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:39,440 about 50 feet, that's how long it is. 591 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:43,440 And this flies over oceans. It's extraordinary. 592 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:45,160 So, where are the wings? 593 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:48,320 Well, they're fixed in between the doorways. 594 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:50,360 So, you can see here... 595 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:54,160 ..at the front of this door. 596 00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:57,720 And...doors to manual. 597 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:00,280 And the second set. 598 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:04,880 So, anybody sitting here is sitting alongside the wings. 599 00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:08,040 And you can see them flex beautifully in flight. 600 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:11,360 And the detail - I mean, everybody working on here - 601 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:13,680 of the electronics, of the air... 602 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:17,320 I mean, just everything, is actually quite extraordinary. 603 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:21,200 But this, actually, first class or not, is the best seat of all. 604 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:23,040 These... 605 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:24,680 Hello! Bonjour. 606 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:27,880 These people are working on the cockpit. 607 00:36:35,120 --> 00:36:38,040 Finally, our second wing has arrived from Wales 608 00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:39,920 and is being attached to the fuselage. 609 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:45,000 To finish it off, there are a couple of very important pieces 610 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,360 of French finesse to be added. 611 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:50,720 And here they are. These are called winglets. 612 00:36:50,720 --> 00:36:54,200 They're like a French extension to our Welsh wings. 613 00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:56,960 They're made of the same material, carbon fibre, 614 00:36:56,960 --> 00:37:01,080 and they make the wings look distinctive, elegant, graceful, 615 00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:02,480 cool, if you like. 616 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:04,360 That's not why they're fitted. 617 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:06,920 You see, what happens when the aeroplane is flying, 618 00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:10,840 you have a much greater static pressure underneath the wing 619 00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:12,600 than you do on top. 620 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:16,160 That's how you get lift, that's how the aeroplane rises. 621 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:18,960 But the problem comes at the wing tip. 622 00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:22,520 Because when these two different pressures of air come together, 623 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:27,520 they create mini-tornadoes behind the aircraft - vortices. 624 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:31,600 That creates what's called drag, or air friction. 625 00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:34,120 And what that means when you're flying a plane 626 00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:37,560 is that you need more power to go at the same speed. 627 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:40,640 And if you need more power, you need to use more fuel. 628 00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:46,680 To solve this problem, engineers turned to nature for the answers. 629 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,360 This is a tawny Indian eagle. 630 00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:58,640 For millions of years, birds have been the perfect flying machines. 631 00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:01,840 Airbus employs engineers to study nature, 632 00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:05,000 to learn valuable lessons from animals and birds. 633 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:07,840 It's called biomimicry engineering. 634 00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:10,520 By studying how this beautiful eagle flies, 635 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:15,560 they have unlocked the secret to the problem of those vortices. 636 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:20,640 Isn't he stunning? Yes, you. His wingspan is around two metres. 637 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:22,680 And he is a bird of endurance, 638 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:24,960 because he has to stay on the wing for hours on end 639 00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:26,480 looking for his prey. 640 00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:31,440 And he can only do that by using as little energy as possible. 641 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:35,000 Now, the A350 engineers have been studying... 642 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:39,120 effectively, the ruthless efficiency of his wings 643 00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:42,560 and using that natural technology, 644 00:38:42,560 --> 00:38:46,440 or elements of it, in the design of the aircraft. 645 00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:50,600 So, we're going to use... Yes, we are, and you're going to behave. 646 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:54,960 ..a slow-motion camera to record him flying 647 00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:58,520 and then play it back to you and you can see exactly what happens. 648 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:13,480 Dr Norman Wood is an expert in aerodynamics. 649 00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:16,520 He's been studying the performance of this bird 650 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:19,280 to improve wing design in new aircraft. 651 00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:24,040 It's magnificent. It's a beautiful bird, isn't it? 652 00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:28,120 Yes, a very good example of really perfect aerodynamics. 653 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:31,160 So, an eagle, built for endurance, 654 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:34,360 has to fly on the wing for very many hours. 655 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:37,400 Doesn't want to use too much fuel. No. 656 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:39,440 Its own energy, in effect. That's right. 657 00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:41,840 And it's exactly the same principle that replicated 658 00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:43,520 with the wings of the A350? 659 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:46,320 Yes... Light, with the composite. 660 00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:50,240 It's the very light wing, it means we can adopt new strategies, 661 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:53,600 because we're now using the carbon fibre. Yeah. 662 00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:57,280 And we couple that with this more detailed understanding 663 00:39:57,280 --> 00:40:02,320 of the specifics of the wing shape to get the minimum drag we can. 664 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:08,080 between a very light, efficient structure 665 00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:10,640 and a very efficient aerodynamic shape, 666 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:13,520 with the tips slightly turned up to reduce drag. 667 00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:18,560 Just as the A350 has the winglets. Just as we've done on the 350. Yeah. 668 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:20,960 And you can see the similarity straightaway 669 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:24,640 when you see the shots of the eagle as it comes towards us, 670 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:26,000 how it mimics... 671 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,600 Well, WE'RE mimicking its shape. Absolutely, yes. 672 00:40:28,600 --> 00:40:30,400 It's not mimicking the A350! 673 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:33,000 They'd got it right several thousand years ago, 674 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:35,760 and it's still with us, so it must be right. It must be right. 675 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:38,800 And as we've evolved over 40 years of Airbus wings, 676 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:41,080 you can see innovations coming in, 677 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:45,280 not just in the way we've adapted the shape, 678 00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:49,160 but going beyond that to see how the bird actually controls that shape, 679 00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:52,360 how it controls itself in flight. 680 00:40:52,360 --> 00:40:57,280 And we're now adapting those things into the wings on the 350 as well, 681 00:40:57,280 --> 00:40:59,200 so it reacts to its environment. 682 00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:02,280 Maybe not quite as effectively as the eagle, 683 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:03,920 but we're getting there. 684 00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:08,120 And it's coming in to land, flaps down. Flaps down, wheels out. 685 00:41:08,120 --> 00:41:10,280 Eyes on the target. 686 00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:11,720 THEY CHUCKLE 687 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:14,960 There's a good boy. 688 00:41:15,960 --> 00:41:18,360 There's a good boy. 689 00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:23,320 The new design of the A350 wing reduces fuel burn by 25%. 690 00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:25,760 And over half of that saving 691 00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:30,240 is by adding these small, yet ingenious winglet devices. 692 00:41:30,240 --> 00:41:33,040 It has a huge impact on the environment. 693 00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:36,960 A greener and more efficient flight thanks to the eagle. 694 00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:47,080 It's remarkable to think that a whole A350 plane 695 00:41:47,080 --> 00:41:49,000 takes just months to build, 696 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:53,760 from a jigsaw of individual parts, from factories all over Europe. 697 00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:59,040 And here it is - the first aircraft they've designed and built, 698 00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:02,480 which is more than half - 53%, in fact - carbon fibre. 699 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:05,720 And I'm standing under one of the incredible wings 700 00:42:05,720 --> 00:42:07,120 all the way from Wales. 701 00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:08,800 And you think inside, 702 00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:11,880 the journey in terms of the story that that wing has made. 703 00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:13,960 You know, we've got the ribs in there, 704 00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:16,000 we have the spar, we have the stringers. 705 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:17,360 It's just stunning. 706 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:19,440 And, of course, right at the very end, 707 00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:22,720 the upturned wings of the eagle, the winglets, 708 00:42:22,720 --> 00:42:27,040 which make this aircraft so incredibly efficient. 709 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:36,800 But one of the best things of all for me 710 00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:39,600 is that I get to be one of the very first passengers 711 00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:41,080 on board the prototype. 712 00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:49,640 This is one of the five A350 test planes to be built. 713 00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:51,560 And it's still being used by engineers 714 00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:53,480 to test the aircraft to its limits. 715 00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:58,960 And where better to go than straight to where I feel at home - 716 00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:00,360 the cockpit? 717 00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:03,120 Peter Chandler is the chief test pilot at Airbus. 718 00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:04,680 He was the brave man 719 00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:07,920 who took the very first A350 to the skies in 2014. 720 00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:12,320 Some impressive displays here, Peter. 721 00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:15,400 What are you testing in that first test flight? 722 00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:18,400 That first test flight... In fact, the first two flights, 723 00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:21,000 we were what we call opening a flight envelope. 724 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:22,720 So, the normal flight envelope, 725 00:43:22,720 --> 00:43:24,920 that's from the low speed to the high speed 726 00:43:24,920 --> 00:43:27,000 and from low altitude up to high altitude. 727 00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:29,000 Just checking the handling of the aeroplane 728 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:30,600 so that we can actually identify 729 00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:33,240 the natural characteristics of the aeroplane. 730 00:43:33,240 --> 00:43:37,400 What element of the wings has made the most significant difference, 731 00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:38,960 do you think, to the A350? 732 00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:40,520 I mean, the design of the wing 733 00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:43,040 is state-of-the-art in terms of the aerodynamics. 734 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:45,000 And the fact that we have the ability 735 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:47,680 just to very slightly extend flaps during cruise, 736 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:51,640 so it's basically changing very slightly the camber of the wing, 737 00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:55,240 only by maybe one or two degrees' extension of the flaps. 738 00:43:55,240 --> 00:43:57,960 This is interesting, cos the control column is over to... 739 00:43:57,960 --> 00:44:01,120 Well, to the right here, to the left if you're the captain. Yes. 740 00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:03,760 Yes, since the mid-'80s, with the A320, 741 00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:07,760 we've had these sides sticks as the means of controlling the aeroplane. 742 00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:11,000 Do you like flying with them? I find it very comfortable. 743 00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:14,360 And it just cleans up the cockpit so much. You've got a nice, clear view. 744 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:17,120 And, of course, the other advantage of having a side stick, 745 00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:19,040 if I could just show you... Yes. 746 00:44:19,040 --> 00:44:23,240 It allows us to have a table, which has two modes. 747 00:44:23,240 --> 00:44:26,520 We have a keyboard in there which is the interface 748 00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:30,240 which we can use for, for example, typing requests for weather. 749 00:44:30,240 --> 00:44:32,120 Perhaps the more important setting 750 00:44:32,120 --> 00:44:35,400 is that which allows you to eat very comfortably! 751 00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:39,120 Which is a major concern for all airline pilots. 752 00:44:39,120 --> 00:44:42,120 WOMAN: Ladies and gentlemen, in preparation for takeoff, 753 00:44:42,120 --> 00:44:43,600 please fold away your table, 754 00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:46,600 ensure your seat back is in the upright position. 755 00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:48,360 Thanks a lot for your attention. 756 00:44:48,360 --> 00:44:51,160 We're taxiing out to the runway now 757 00:44:51,160 --> 00:44:55,560 and the pilot, the captain, has changed the curvature of the wing. 758 00:44:55,560 --> 00:44:59,080 So, he's put this slats at the front down slightly, 759 00:44:59,080 --> 00:45:01,960 the flaps at the back down slightly. 760 00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:06,960 And that means that we can take off at a much lower ground speed 761 00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:09,960 than we would without this happening. 762 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:13,920 And that's because it provides greater lift at a slower speed. 763 00:45:13,920 --> 00:45:15,720 So, now... 764 00:45:15,720 --> 00:45:19,800 Oh, here we go. Off we go. Full throttle. 765 00:45:19,800 --> 00:45:23,000 He needs to get to what's called the speed of rotation 766 00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:25,240 so that he can pull back on the stick, 767 00:45:25,240 --> 00:45:29,600 the wings will lift us into the air, which is going to be beautiful. 768 00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:33,320 A350. 769 00:45:33,320 --> 00:45:34,680 Welsh wings. 770 00:45:41,320 --> 00:45:45,520 So quiet! The engines... I'm sitting right next to the engine. 771 00:45:45,520 --> 00:45:48,680 And up we go. Isn't that beautiful? 772 00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:04,360 It's very quiet inside. I've got my decibel counter here. 773 00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:09,080 It's showing around about 75, 76 decibels, which is... 774 00:46:09,080 --> 00:46:11,880 Well, if you consider that a normal conversation 775 00:46:11,880 --> 00:46:15,800 is around about 70 decibels, that's not bad. 776 00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:17,880 But the beauty of the two engines here 777 00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:20,240 and the whole configuration of the aircraft 778 00:46:20,240 --> 00:46:23,520 is what's called the noise footprint outside. 779 00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:26,640 So, you know, when you're sitting at home and you live near an airport, 780 00:46:26,640 --> 00:46:29,160 how noisy is the aircraft when it's taking off, 781 00:46:29,160 --> 00:46:31,600 particularly when it's at full throttle? 782 00:46:31,600 --> 00:46:33,680 And generally, with this aircraft, 783 00:46:33,680 --> 00:46:36,680 it's so quiet that the noise footprint 784 00:46:36,680 --> 00:46:41,640 is held within the boundary of the airfield, which is astonishing. 785 00:46:43,080 --> 00:46:44,840 I'm not in the cockpit. 786 00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:48,000 I'm in front of what we call the flight engineer station. 787 00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:52,240 From that station, my job is to conduct the tests. 788 00:46:52,240 --> 00:46:55,360 So, of course, I'm not able to handle the aircraft. No. 789 00:46:55,360 --> 00:46:58,600 Because I have no stick, no thrust levers! Yeah. 790 00:46:58,600 --> 00:47:02,920 What kind of things would you be telling the pilot to do? 791 00:47:02,920 --> 00:47:04,960 So, the first test we have to do 792 00:47:04,960 --> 00:47:08,040 in the first month after the first flight 793 00:47:08,040 --> 00:47:10,760 is to do what we call stalls. 794 00:47:10,760 --> 00:47:12,640 We have to stall the aircraft, 795 00:47:12,640 --> 00:47:16,480 which means that we have to bring the aircraft to a given point 796 00:47:16,480 --> 00:47:18,440 where it does not fly any more. OK. 797 00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:20,720 A lot of people, when they hear "stall", 798 00:47:20,720 --> 00:47:23,320 they think of their engine in their car stalling. 799 00:47:23,320 --> 00:47:25,360 It's nothing to do with the engines. No. 800 00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:27,960 This is all to do with the wings. Exactly. Yes. 801 00:47:30,640 --> 00:47:33,600 Finding the aerodynamic stalling point 802 00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:37,760 is one of the most important safety characteristics of any aircraft. 803 00:47:37,760 --> 00:47:41,400 It's something every pilot has to learn to recover from. 804 00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:44,360 But, thankfully, Stephane isn't going to be doing it today. 805 00:47:47,640 --> 00:47:50,720 Setting the VORs and... Yeah. The needles. 806 00:47:50,720 --> 00:47:54,240 It's much more difficult. Yes, absolutely. 807 00:47:54,240 --> 00:47:57,280 Do you really like flying this plane? Oh, yes. 808 00:47:57,280 --> 00:47:59,400 Do you? Indeed. 809 00:47:59,400 --> 00:48:03,240 It's a very beautiful plane and it handles very well. 810 00:48:03,240 --> 00:48:06,200 All the pilots are delighted to fly it, yes. Yeah. 811 00:48:11,560 --> 00:48:14,720 This is where my story ends. 812 00:48:14,720 --> 00:48:18,040 It's been an experience full of surprises 813 00:48:18,040 --> 00:48:20,680 and unexpected discoveries. 814 00:48:20,680 --> 00:48:22,280 But my full appreciation 815 00:48:22,280 --> 00:48:26,320 of how much goes into building an aircraft has only just begun. 816 00:48:26,320 --> 00:48:29,360 MUSIC: Sky High by Terry Devine ft Elfed Hayes 817 00:48:40,160 --> 00:48:41,800 I'm back in Broughton. 818 00:48:41,800 --> 00:48:45,720 And, sadly, the time has come for me to book my own takeoff slot 819 00:48:45,720 --> 00:48:47,960 and fly off home. 820 00:48:47,960 --> 00:48:49,960 This airfield has been at the cutting edge 821 00:48:49,960 --> 00:48:52,680 of aeronautical engineering for 75 years. 822 00:48:52,680 --> 00:48:55,440 And it had a golden age back in the 1940s. 823 00:48:55,440 --> 00:48:59,560 But it seems to me as though it's now within a new golden era. 824 00:48:59,560 --> 00:49:04,160 It really is at the forefront of aircraft design on a global scale. 825 00:49:04,160 --> 00:49:05,760 And it's fantastic, 826 00:49:05,760 --> 00:49:09,640 cos it's where I grew up, in Flintshire in North Wales. 827 00:49:13,160 --> 00:49:16,760 # ..Take a ride on the wings of freedom with me now 828 00:49:16,760 --> 00:49:19,160 # High in the stratosphere 829 00:49:19,160 --> 00:49:24,160 # That's me making little white lines up in the air 830 00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:30,400 # I like to watch the world go round Yeah, baby, I'm a global overseer 831 00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:32,720 # And I... 832 00:49:32,720 --> 00:49:36,080 # Sky high, yeah, yeah 833 00:49:38,680 --> 00:49:47,640 # Sky high, yeah, yeah 834 00:49:47,640 --> 00:49:50,200 # Come on, fly with me, yeah 835 00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:54,360 # Sky high, yeah, yeah 836 00:49:54,360 --> 00:49:56,360 # Yeah, yeah, yeah. #