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A legend of the Cold War, the CP140 Aurora, returns to prove its worth as a submarine killer, as it trains to protect Canada’s shoreline against a mock torpedo exercise.

The German Air Force is overhauling their entire fleet of outdated cargo planes, and replacing them with Airbus' latest state-of-the-art military aircraft, the A400M, which can haul massive loads.

The Airbus A380 is the world's first full double-deck passenger aircraft, a ground-breaking design in aviation history; we document the construction and delivery of a new aircraft, and Lufthansa's first commercial flight from Frankfurt to San Francisco.

Canada's northwest territories are rich in gold and diamonds, but running a mining operation in extreme Arctic conditions with very few roads can be tremendously challenging. Enter the Twin Otter, the rugged aircraft of choice in remote Canadian communities. Powered by two turboprop engines, the Twin Otter maneuvers like a bird and is capable of landing just about anywhere--on land, sea, and snow. Follow this mighty plane as she handles icy skies and frozen-lake runways on a series of critical missions.

These are the mightiest of mighty planes - aviation's biggest, fastest, strongest, and most innovative aircraft on the planet. Join us as we revisit massive marvels like the A380, supersonic wonders like the Blue Angels, and hospitals in the sky like the Orbis DC-10. From game changers to heavy lifters to frontier-busters, these are the planes that have transformed the way we fly, fight, conduct science, and save lives.

The T-38 Talon is a twin-engine, two-seat, supersonic marvel. It climbs 30,000 feet per minute, flies at a speed of 858 miles per hour, and rolls up to 300 degrees per second. If you can fly the T-38 with its unimaginable G-forces, you can fly just about anything. Go on a high-altitude mission in the greatest fighter jet trainer in the world and join three student NATO pilots who push the T-38 -- and themselves -- to the limit.

This is your first-class ticket to board the world's most magnificent flying machines. This series explores amazing aircraft and the men and women around the world who build, maintain, shepherd, and fly them. From the aerobatic artistry of the Blue Angels to the bravery of NOAA's hurricane hunters, and from Trump's flying luxury suite to the military's gas station in the sky, each episode is its own engrossing drama about people and Mighty Planes, coming together to tackle momentous missions.

In the series premiere, Mighty Planes joins the crew of the worlds only flying eye hospital for their most challenging mission to date. Orbis travels tirelessly around the globe, offering patients in developing countries precious sight-saving treatments. On the outside, it's a regular DC-10. On the inside, it has been stripped and re-designed to house a state-of-the-art ophthalmic hospital complete with an operating room, a laser treatment facility and a high-tech classroom from which student doctors in host countries can watch surgeries live on 54 video screens.

The Antonov 124 is the world's largest serially manufactured cargo plane; built to move Soviet military vehicles and equipment, now they're in constant demand moving everything from locomotives to whales anywhere in the world.

When lives are in peril on Canada's West Coast, the search and rescue plane everyone counts on is the CC-115 Buffalo. This Canadian Air Force legend can turn on a dime inside the dangerously boxed valleys of British Columbia, and take off and land on rugged terrain as short as a soccer field. Because the Buffalo responds to over 200 emergency calls every year, training the crew is vital to success. Follow the Buffalo crew on two training exercises: saving sailors in a sinking vessel at sea and searching for a missing aircraft.

SOFIA, the largest airborne observatory in the world, boasts a 17-ton telescope capable of making observations impossible for ground-based telescopes.

Baffinland Mines needs to get equipment to a remote mine in Nunavet to support shipping operations for the summer and have hired one of Volga-Dnepr's Ilyushin-76.

Hit the air with flying gas station Omega, a commercial aircraft turned tanker, built to refuel U.S. fighter jets while they are in flight. Follow this modified Boeing 707 as it lends support on a three-day U.S. Navy and Marine Corps exercise. Witness the midair rendezvous between aerial refueling tanker and fighter jet. The slightest bit of turbulence or the smallest human error can prove fatal. On this mission, however, it's a mechanical issue that puts the entire operation, and Omega's reputation, in jeopardy.

Meet a battle-tested Mighty Plane with a nose for adventure and danger. The P-3 Orion Kermit once hunted Soviet submarines but now hunts deadly weather. It slices through the eye walls of hurricanes with one objective in mind: to collect information that will save lives. Loaded up by NOAA with data sensors, recording devices, and airborne radars, this laboratory in the sky is one smart (and tough) cookie. Go where no plane was ever meant to fly as Kermit flies into today's worst tempests, including "Frankenstorm" herself, Hurricane Sandy.