Pioneers in Aviation 1of3 The Early Years

The Early Years details the birth of American aviation - from the Wright Brothers’ earliest flights, through the turbulent era of the 1920s, culminating with the Great Depression. The Early Years documents the captains of the aviation industry as young men as they design and construct planes for America’s effort in World War I, begin flying the mail in the 1920s and develop the first passenger airlines. The episode concludes with the dramatic head-to-head rivalry between William Boeing and Donald Douglas, as the Boeing 247 and the Douglas DC-3 battle for command of the newly born commercial aviation industry.