In programme one of the series experts recollect the enormity of the achievements of early aviation pioneers like Samuel Cody. In 1906 he was hired by the army to design a man lifting kite, then in October 1908 he became the first man to fly his own designed aeroplane in the UK and by 1912 flying was a part of military strategy. The determination of these men to pursue their love of flying proved to be a huge benefit to the veterans of the Great War.

Gerald Dixon, Royal Flying Corps Pilot in the First World War, says: "Anyone who has flown solo will never forget that experience … I would like to pay tribute to all those people who fought in those planes - they were the bravest of the brave."

George Stephenson Reece, together with newspapers and clotted cream, made their way across the channel to Paris - when George got off the plane he was sick into his hat! The seeds had been sown for a new mode of transport but the public still needed to be persuaded that flying was safe.

Sir Alan Cobham heightened the public's awareness with his 'trail blazing' flying displays, culminating in the first flight from England to Australia. 150,000 people were waiting at the Melbourne Airfield to greet him.

With the threat of another war R J Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine created the Spitfire. Although he was battling with terminal cancer, he fought on, without the Spitfire history could have been very different.

In programme three Bob Doe, a pilot in the Battle of Britain, talks candidly about the first time he shot down a plane. "I really felt I had done something I didn't think I could do… but my overriding memory of the Battle of Britain was the terrible tiredness. We were on duty from half an hour before dawn to half an hour after dusk, which in August was a very long time".

Jackie Morgridge, a female Ferry pilot during World War 2 and one of the first commercial pilots, talks of her experiences flying aeroplanes from base to base and Len Reddington a civil pilot working for BOAC, reveals how he had to work side by side with the Germans during WW2.

In the remainder of the series aeroplane manufacturers adjust from wartime output to the growing demands of civil aviation and the age of the Jumbo Jet. Package holidays and the establishment of regional airports mean flying for everyone becomes reality. Concorde is born and aviation continues to evolve with increasingly automated craft. The series closes with present day flying and a look at the future of aviation and space travel - could this become the package holiday of the future?