Beneath the Clouds Skies Above Britain

Once, except for the birds, our skies were empty.

Now, they're a crowded place.

It's like chaos, but it's controlled chaos.

Every day, 6,000 planes...

My pride and joy.

There's nothing we can't transport.

..and 600,000 people are in the skies above Britain.

Ah, yes!

Guiding every plane is a hidden army of controllers...

So, we've got no option right now but to stop arrivals into Gatwick.

..performing one of the world's greatest juggling acts.

Unlike a computer game, you can't hit pause. They're coming.

A place of adventure... HE LAUGHS

Well, that was fantastic.

..wonder...

When you're up there, nothing else matters.

..and danger.

The less you know what's in front of you, the better.

It gives you a sense of space and freedom

and a feeling that you're part of something bigger.

Every boy's little dream.

United 96, Runway 27 left, cleared for takeoff.

Line up Runway 27 left, behind.

The skies above Britain's airports are the most congested in the world.

Inside the tower, air traffic controllers face the monumental task

of shepherding all flights safely on and off the runway.

We are sitting beneath the busiest patch of sky on the planet.

We're handling 3,500 flights in this very, very small

patch of sky every day.

Air Portugal 363, behind the departing

British Airways Airbus 320, line up Runway 27 left, behind.

In air traffic control, we're trying to avoid the aeroplanes

hitting each other, which is kind of the goal.

Turkish 3 Romeo Alpha, contact landing control, 120.525.

Altitude 1,500 feet, QNH 1-0-1-9er.

Once a flight departs,

it's handed over to Britain's air traffic control centre, NATS,

where a 200-strong team of controllers

direct commercial aircraft through the complex network of highways

in the skies above 10,000 feet.

But away from controlled airspace, it's a different story.

Everything from small light aircraft

to hot-air balloons and skydivers

are free to roam in what's known as uncontrolled airspace.

This chaotic layer of the sky

is filled with the widest variety of aircraft

and is overseen by just one desk at NATS -

Flight Information Services.

..06.

'I mean, it probably doesn't look as hi-tech,'

writing on paper strips.

We've got a map with pins stuck in it,

but it's the best way that we found to work

as quickly as we can and efficiently as we can.

But there is one type of aircraft

which has always been difficult to keep track of.

Hot-air balloons,

they can move very fast

and they're very unpredictable as to where they're going to go.

Under the rules of the air,

everything has to give way to balloons.

There we go.

Welcome to my coffee hub!

You know, in general aviation through the 20th century,

the use of aeroplanes for mass transport,

suddenly flying's lost its allure.

Hot-air balloons have been Pete Dalby's obsession

for nearly 30 years.

You've got to put up with airports

and all the shepherding about and all the security.

Whereas ballooning has still got

that romantic sort of slightly out of the ordinary,

almost a home-made way of going flying.

Very nice conditions.

The first time I flew in a balloon,

I was just staggered, I was blown away by it.

I thought, "Why doesn't everyone do this all the time?"

Because it was just so amazing.

It's the sort of sense of freedom that you get.

It's so...peaceful.

And it's almost like you're still

and the Earth is just rolling beneath you.

I just love that idea of being in this amazing position

of being able to look down on everything.

It's totally serene, isn't it?

I suggest we go over these first, these little cots. Yes.

I think a lot of us are showmen.

We've got this big, beautiful aircraft and, you know,

you're in charge of it.

And so, there is that element of being a bit of a show-off,

a bit of a showman.

"Look at me in my beautiful, big balloon!"

All righty, brilliant.

Balloons first took off in 1783.

Today, 1,500 of them are in our skies.

Bend your knees!

The most dangerous part of flight in any aircraft is landing.

Boom!

Are we stopping or not? We are stopping.

Good. Hey! Sorry.

That's it, we're down.

We're down.

We're away. We are off! Easy as that.

There are nearly 20,000 aircraft

registered to fly in uncontrolled British airspace.

Unlike commercial planes, they are not bound by law

to contact NATS,

but pilots performing risky manoeuvres are advised to call in.

Today, pilot Sam Jones is taking his friend for a spin

in a Slingsby Firefly.

Good afternoon, pass your message.

What is your intended routing this afternoon?

Roger that, squawk 1177, Mode Charlie, A6 Ellis.

With the freedom of uncontrolled airspace comes added risk.

HE LAUGHS

Problems with commercial aircraft, very, very rare.

But with light aircraft, it is more common.

There's a schedule of maintenance

for the commercial airliners.

And although the privately

owned ones, they have to keep

their certificate of air worthiness, like an MOT,

faults aren't picked up in the same way.

Light aircraft are often single-engined with just one pilot,

so there's no backup if anything goes wrong.

Would you fly in a light aircraft?

Absolutely not, no chance.

Goodness me, some of these aircraft are so small,

they look like they should be flown with a remote control.

Shouldn't have somebody inside actually flying the thing.

Al and Willie have spent five years as The Wildcats,

flying Pitts Specials in aerobatic displays.

I'm really chilled and he's a grumpy old man,

that's really how it boils down to.

Absolutely right, he's grumpy and I'm really chilled. Oh, that's...!

They have just two more displays left to perform in a season

fraught with tragedy,

with two fatal accidents at British air shows.

OK, nose-to-tail, he's clean.

And he's off.

I guess my real buzz with aerobatics started flying in the Air Force.

Air Force is very much about flying fighter aeroplanes in a dynamic way,

not just keeping them flying straight and level

to go from A to B, like you might do in an airliner.

And that feeling of being able to move in all three dimensions,

complete freedom in the sky, is amazing.

Clear.

We maintain the aeroplanes ourselves to make sure that everything

that we want done is done.

It's checking the oil, it's checking the brakes,

it's checking that there's nothing loose on the aeroplane.

We take this incredibly seriously.

You know, reliance is...

My reliance on Willie is the most reliance I've had

on any other person in my whole life.

Today, Willie and Al are performing at Snetterton race track.

Designed in 1944 specifically for aerobatic use,

their Pitts Special biplanes are constructed around

a lightweight metal frame with wood and fabric-covered wings.

With a 260 horsepower engine,

they are fast, highly manoeuvrable aircraft.

I don't like fear and that's why I don't do parachuting.

The thought of jumping out an aeroplane terrifies me.

So, I have no inclination to go and do things that are scary.

I don't even like watching scary films,

so I'm not going to put myself in that position.

Throughout their ten-minute routine, it takes razor-sharp concentration

to fly upside down, pulling up to 5G within six feet of one another.

Ah, yes!

And go!

If I make one slight mistake, the chances are

Willie will bang into me and we'll both be dead.

If we die, the chances are someone on the ground will die,

so we have to get this right, there's no room for error here.

Bam!

Yeah!

Yee-ha!

It's more dangerous than, probably,

going out to play golf or fishing, I guess,

but it doesn't feel dangerous.

Nothing we do, we're not going up there

thrill-seeking in that way at all.

While some feel most alive airborne,

others are happiest watching from below.

Beautiful!

How is that not ballet? It is.

Just look at it. I am looking at it.

Marius is a devoted plane-spotter who lives in Essex.

Oh!

He's slowly ticking off a long list of aircraft.

Yellow tail. Voila.

Beautiful, that noise.

Right, MD. Come on, come on, please next!

Mustang coming in, Germanwings.

Is it? Yeah.

I'm a taxi driver.

I only work nights,

which gives me more time in the afternoon for my spotting.

I love meeting people, especially if they make the foolish mistake

of asking me, you know, what my hobby is.

If we get that far into a conversation,

I can go on for years.

If I didn't have plane spotting in my life, I don't know,

I can't really think of...

..of a life without aviation in it.

Marius has been fascinated by planes since he was 13 years old.

Well, this is my room. That's where I keep most of my collection.

A 400-scale miniature airport.

Even with ground support equipment,

all the small tugs and baggage carriers.

I will need a bigger one, so this is just temporary.

In this room at the moment,

everything you see in these boxes is well over ?10,000.

You could get a kit on eBay, for instance, for ?4, ?3.

It's cheaper than a pack of cigarettes.

And that's how I think about the stuff I buy.

I always go, "Wait a minute, if I'm dumb enough to pay ?6

"for a pack of cigarettes, what's ?5 for a model?"

At least I can keep the model but the cigarettes will me kill me.

I am addicted, I am hooked on it.

I mean, sometimes just laying them out on the mat, that's my drug.

I love to see them, I love to add to my collection.

If I had one million different models in my collection,

I would still go online and try to buy number 1,000,001.

Being in control of the real thing

is what drives air traffic controller Ady Dolan.

I remember talking to the first aeroplane that I've spoken to

at Heathrow Airport and I thought it was amazing.

Air Jamaica 1, clear to land, Runway 27 right.

That was it and that was the first transmission.

I even printed out the little strip and took it home.

It was an Air Jamaica flight from Montego Bay at Heathrow.

After 15 years of early starts,

the first red-eye arrival still holds a thrill for Ady.

Heathrow's rush hour starts at six o'clock in the morning

and finishes at about 11pm.

It's nonstop.

5 to 6, plug in, sit there, don't say anything for a bit.

Then suddenly in the murk,

you see those first pair of lights coming down the approach.

And then at bang-on six o'clock,

both approaches are filled with aircrafts.

And the thing is, unlike a computer game, you can't hit pause.

They're coming regardless of whether you stop them or not,

they're landing.

American 730, left turn, follow the greens.

Contact ground, 121.7.

'6 till 7 o'clock, it's all heavy traffic.

'It's 747s, A380s, big heavy jets,

'and they're landing constantly for an hour.'

There's one there, one there, one there. Every three miles.

But it looks absolutely fabulous

and it still gives me a buzz about coming to work, it's great.

KLM 1001, turn left, follow the greens, contact ground, 121.7.

Speedbird 246, vacate left,

follow the greens and contact ground, 121.850.

Scandinavian 523, vacate left, follow the greens,

contact ground at 121.90.

Below the more tranquil skies of Bristol,

Peter's planning to revolutionise hot-air ballooning.

He intends to do away with propane burners and instead,

use just the heat of the sun

to power the world's first-ever solar hybrid balloon.

That's quite exciting, isn't it? It is.

A team of expert machinists have stitched together the balloon

from 1,600 square metres of fabric,

which by absorbing the sun's heat, should generate lift.

It's the first time Pete and fellow balloonist Clive

have seen inside their creation.

Balloons have only ever been powered by propane,

which is obviously carbon heavy.

So, the idea is that we can try and prove

that even a carbon-heavy industry like ballooning

can become far more sustainable.

This has been a year in the making.

It's always a bit nerve-racking when they first come out

but more, it's excitement to get it out and fly it. Yeah, it is.

We want to do this, basically.

The balloon needs to be tested before being unveiled

in a few weeks' time at Europe's biggest ballooning event,

the Bristol Balloon Fiesta.

So, it's completely weak now when you go. Yes, believe so.

It'll be fine.

Well, we'll find out on test flight, won't we? Yeah, yeah.

For their maiden voyage, they need sun.

Thursday morning, clear sunshine, yeah.

Friday looks like we've got showers from...

Yeah. Oh, well.

..from word go, so Thursday morning it's got to be, hasn't it?

On the first test flight,

we're going to hold each other's hands. Like this!

Quaking in our boots.

If it works, the solar balloon will be the first of its kind

to fly in uncontrolled airspace.

Oh!

Oh, my God!

Wildcats Al and Willie have first-hand experience

of the risks of recreational flying.

2013, 2014 seasons, we displayed as a three-ship display team

and our third pilot was a chap called David Jenkins,

who was an amazing aerobatic pilot.

He was the British Advanced Aerobatic Champion

and he flew a completely different aeroplane to ours.

Ours are the old-fashioned biplanes, he flew a carbon-fibre Edge,

the sort of stuff you see in the Red Bull air-racing aeroplanes.

And we were flying an event, a remote air show here.

And Al and I were on the ground parked right here, actually.

David arrived about 20 minutes, half an hour after us,

and arrived and put on a few aerobatic manoeuvres.

It helped out with... The media were here, TV crews and press here.

And unfortunately, one of the manoeuvres, he didn't recover from

and he crashed in the field just over there.

I came rushing outside and saw Willie 100 yards ahead of me

running towards the accident.

There was the smoke and the flames.

I chased him and we lost a dear friend.

Our greatest concern then was getting in touch

with David's wife, Elaine, and being able to go and talk to her.

And that took a little bit of time to make happen and then really,

it was the emotional rollercoaster of everything around that.

And I suppose, then, for me, it was two or three days

of almost numbness about that,

trying to come to terms with what had really happened.

And it's not because it was an unusual occurrence for us.

Both Al and I had been flying for long enough now to have lost

double figures numbers of friends through aviation accidents.

You hope there's never going to be another one,

but each one is equally hard to deal with.

I lost my best friend and mission partner eight years ago

doing something very similar and what did I feel?

I thought, "How has this happened again?"

We got together pretty quickly afterwards,

probably within two days and sat down and said, "Do we carry on?

"What are we doing?"

There was no reason for his accident to impact on us,

it wasn't the same kind of aeroplane,

it wasn't doing the same sort of manoeuvres.

So, there was no real link to that.

We decided the best thing was to go on and we spoke to Elaine

and she was very clear that that's what he would have wanted.

David's crash was a shock to Willie's whole family.

Even to this day, there is not a day that goes past

that I don't think about David and...

And it's sad because, of course,

Elaine is in the same position as I am.

Elaine was a wife of a pilot

and for that to happen to another friend...

Yeah, it was very tough.

I don't think I would ever dare ask Willie to stop flying, ever.

Because I know what the answer would be.

He wouldn't, he wouldn't ever stop flying.

And because it's a passion of his, I wouldn't ask him to stop it.

I think Willie will know when he's ready to stop flying

and it's not now.

I think there may come a point when he's in his 80s

and I'm begging him to stop flying,

but I think he won't stop until he's ready.

Golf Zulu Zulu, roger, squawk 1177

with Mode Charlie, basic service.

There were nine light aircraft crashes in 2015,

with 16 fatalities on board.

NATS controllers are often the last person

a pilot in trouble will talk to.

Last year, there was a crash

and it was an aircraft that we used to speak to almost daily.

Because he used to fly from the Norfolk area

over to Ireland and back.

And he'd do that every evening and it would be, you know...

We don't know the pilots, but you get used to

particular call signs and, you know...

"Oh, hello, how are you?" Sort of thing, if it's quiet.

But he crashed and everybody was like, "Oh.

"That's, you know..."

We didn't know the people, so it's not sort of sad that way.

But it's sad in that we used to talk to him almost every day.

Regardless of the risks, for some,

the freedom of uncontrolled airspace is unbeatable.

I've done that slot, that slot and that slot.

For Julia, that freedom comes not from piloting a plane

but from jumping out of one.

How long have I been skydiving for now? 24, 25 years.

I started when I was 16.

At Hibaldstow Airfield near Scunthorpe,

ex-British and World Skydiving Champion Julia

is training in an attempt to win a new title.

I don't think people really understand truly

what happens up there.

I think they think it's more of a daredevil act.

We just jump out of an aeroplane.

But for us, it's a sport.

Most people think it's like a fairground ride,

where their stomach goes away and they don't really have control

of the feelings inside their body and it's nothing like that at all.

When you're up there, you don't think about anything else.

Nothing else matters, really.

You're in the moment.

Everything that you have on the ground,

the "manicness" of life is parked for a moment

while you're in free fall.

Julia has just joined the newly formed team, The Ex-Presidents,

after taking a break from the sport to have her first child, Chloe.

I had to stay on the ground for a year. It was hard.

When I turned up at the nationals last year,

I was three months pregnant.

And the moment I set foot on the drop zone,

I felt a lump in my throat

because I saw all this activity and I wasn't part of it.

Good jump? Yeah, it was all right.

You all right?

'The day that the new champions won the trophy,

'I said, "I'm going to get that trophy back next year."'

So, it gave me a motivation to get back in the air anyway.

Five months after having a Caesarean,

Julia is back to full fitness,

but late to start training with her team.

The National Eight-Way Championships are in just two days' time.

How are you feeling? What was Chloe, your daughter, like last night?

Normal. Woke up at four in the morning. Not too bad, I guess.

At times, she'll wake up maybe two or three times in the night,

but she only woke up once last night,

so I feel all refreshed and ready to go.

As I'm going to be anyway.

She quickly fed her, so now we can disappear for a couple of hours,

get some jobs done!

Hopefully get her to sleep.

I'd be lying if the first time, I think, after Chloe was born,

I guess it does cross your mind, "Ooh, wife!"

But that was it,

after the first flight, yeah,

it was just normal again.

Otherwise, we'd never get on with doing the stuff we enjoy doing.

Skydivers follow a set pattern of jumps,

but the team need their movements to become synchronised.

Plummeting to Earth at 115mph in formation

requires skill and concentration.

How did it go? Yeah, not bad.

It's going to take a couple of jumps to bed in, really.

It's all so new for us all, jumping together,

so it doesn't quite feel like we're there yet.

The team must exit the plane at exactly the same time,

holding on to one another.

Then as quickly as possible, begin their planned routine of manoeuvres.

You're using your arms and legs to deflect the air.

Depending on how you deflect the air, you can move forwards,

backwards, sideways, you can do turns, you can go up and down.

The aim is to complete as many formations as possible

during 50 seconds of free fall.

Excellent! Fall rate is a little inconsistent throughout.

Half the formation is up here and half down there,

so something we need to work on.

It's cold up there!

Nine hours and ten practice jumps later, Julia heads home.

Really enjoyed it. Go and be a mum. More tomorrow. Yes!

When I'm not skydiving or coaching,

she'll go in this here and I'll be exercising here.

I've got my weights here. And she'll just watch me, really.

It's as important for me to be exercising

and for her to see me as fit as I can be, really.

And it was difficult for me to do at first cos I thought,

"No, I should be spending my time with her and not exercising myself."

But then I thought, "Well, actually, if I stay fit,

"there's going to be a benefit to her."

I think some people, when they become mums

or they see mums skydiving,

they do wonder, "Why are they doing that?

"It's dangerous," et cetera, et cetera.

It's weird how people don't think that about dads,

but they do tend to think that about mums.

Want to do some sit-ups? You ready? Three, two, one.

Up. Good girl!

American 353, you're clear to stand 340.

Daily dedication to precision is critical for Ady.

It took two and a half years of training for him to become

an air traffic controller.

Continue on taxi via Alpha, hold short of Echo.

'Aeroplanes still excite me now,'

just as they did when I was a kid.

And seeing the aeroplanes flying around is fantastic.

It's almost like a choreographed dance where the aircraft

come in beautifully together and it all just kind of works.

Speedbird 604, turn left on Taxiway Yankee,

left on link 52 and Alpha,

hold short of Echo.

'It's kind of like a plane on a massive kids' play set.

'You've got all of these aircraft, which actually look tiny.'

We're talking about a 747 here, which is a huge, huge aeroplane,

and it looks like a toy.

And you feel like you can just pick the aircraft up and move them about.

My girlfriend knows that I never told her not to touch anything

but she can see that I'm very...

I'm very against anyone touching this stuff.

So, I am lucky.

She is patient, she is lovely

and I hope she puts up with me for a couple more years.

I have an obsessed boyfriend. I just got a new job.

I was volunteering it for a while and now I got the job

as a part-time sales assistant for a charity shop.

And he told me, "If you get any cool stuff

"regarding aeroplanes, please bring it home. Buy it for me!"

And I said, "I know, I know."

Pictures, I've got thousands.

Well over 10,000 photographs. First aid covers.

I paid about 6, ?7 for each one of these.

That's ?6, ?6, ?6, ?6, ?6.

So, I think it started as a hobby and now it's more than a hobby.

These are the 500-scale miniature people.

You need thousands of these. This is only a set of 32.

I'm going to have to get more of these.

I really love him for what he is.

Erm...

When I say his name, I just see aeroplanes. Marius, aeroplanes.

You cannot, like,

tear apart the image.

You're the same with cats! We were talking about getting married.

Yes, and he has, like, a whole scenario for this.

Again, aeroplanes.

And... No. What? OK.

Should I know something?

It should involve something with aviation, come on.

It's my wedding too, you know.

Aeroplane. Aeroplanes and cats, that would be the best!

Listen, we'll definitely have a discussion about the cake

being either shaped as a cat's head or an aeroplane.

But I'm not going to show up to the wedding in a car, that's for sure.

I'm either going to fly in with a helicopter

or jump out of an aeroplane with a parachute.

Weather makes life very interesting for aeroplanes!

There's a lot of fog around.

We had somebody that was going to go via Bristol earlier,

and the visibility in Bristol was 40 metres.

We've had two reports of the wind at 4,000 - 214 at 3 knots, and 320.

With no sign of sun in Bristol,

Pete's test flight of the new solar balloon has been scuppered.

I quite enjoy making bread because you get to the point

where you get really aggressive with it.

You know, when you're frustrated with the weather

and you can't go flying, you can beat a load of dough about.

Would you say you're addicted to flying?

Yeah, I think you're right. That's one good way of putting it.

I used to say years ago,

and I occasionally got told off for saying it, it's a bit like a drug.

Isn't particularly PC these days but, you know,

that's the best way I can describe it.

You know, once you've done it, you think,

"Yeah, can't wait till I do that again."

After weeks of overcast skies,

the day of the Bristol Balloon Fiesta dawns

and with it, a forecast of sun.

Sandbags. One and two.

It's the first opportunity Pete's had

to test his solar hybrid balloon.

And he's doing it in front of half a million people.

Look at it. Not a cloud in the sky, so it's going to be great.

Going to be brilliant.

That will do, actually, Clive.

I'm really looking forward to this flight.

It's always good to do something that's a bit of a first.

It's going to be a big learning curve

because this is the first-ever flight of this balloon.

So, we need to see how it works, how it responds.

But...once we get airborne, we'll find out.

Just pull that out a bit, Nigel, please.

There's always a buzz at the Balloon Fiesta,

with all these balloons around.

Having a new balloon to play with, a new concept in ballooning,

that's great fun as well.

So, hope the sun kind of creeps up, starts warming us and the balloon.

The moment of truth, Andy.

I wish I knew what I was doing.

Oi!

Nice knowing you, mate.

Thanks, pal.

Pete's experimental solar balloon

is one of 500 balloons taking off during the Fiesta.

Making sure they don't hit each other or anything else is priority.

You all know, those of you who have been before,

how important airspace and protecting our relationship

with Bristol air traffic is to us here in Bristol.

You'll be in serious trouble if you transgress into airspace

because Bristol are particularly busy this weekend

and so, they're happy to help

but we mustn't aggravate them by doing stupid things.

OK, have a great flight and be safe. Thank you.

If the wind blows any balloons close to the controlled airspace

around Bristol airport, they will be forced to land.

The airport is just five miles from the launch site,

and the air traffic controllers manage over 200 flights a day.

One stray balloon would ground all commercial flights

and cause lengthy delays.

They're all inflating now,

starting to inflate.

So, they should be getting airborne in the next five minutes or so.

MAN SPEAKS OVER RADIO

Hopefully, only the first one will call us.

And get some idea of the direction of drift

that they're all going to be taking.

OK.

It's the moment of truth for Pete's pioneering balloon.

How difficult is it to fly a solar balloon? Have you done it before?

No. This is our test flight.

How do you do it?

Once we've got it stood up, we're going to point

the black side of the balloon to the sun,

the black is a solar collector.

Once it's heated up enough,

then the balloon will start to lift off the ground.

Pete uses the propane burners to fill the balloon's

fabric envelope with hot-air.

All he can then do is point the black side of the balloon

towards the sun and hope it absorbs enough heat

to generate lift and get them airborne.

Let's do it. We're going to turn that way.

Turn, turn, turn.

Shall we have weight off? Weight off.

Weight off, weight off. Weight off. Weight off.

We're going. Hey!

THEY CLAP Solar ballooning!

THEY CHEER

Wow, Dave.

Yeah, we're working. This is working.

We're still going up.

If you were in a normal balloon,

you would have put in three or four burns now.

No burning!

Yeah, we're about 25, 30 feet a minute.

Steady climb, it's what we need.

They're up.

But the wind is turning the balloon away from the sun.

Are we going down? I mean...

We're going to lose that sun off that side,

so I do think we need to turn. We need to rotate left.

The balloon has side vents opened by ropes,

which allow air to escape and the balloon to rotate.

Keeping the black side towards the sun creates heat and lift,

while the white side cools the air inside to descend.

Take it steady on that. Slow and steady wins the day.

We're turning.

Yeah, we are turning, we're more or less level.

We're level flight.

We're pointed towards full sun.

And we're trickling along quite a nice direction.

Trickling along nicely, yeah.

Wow, Dave. Amazing.

A lot of things we do in life these days,

if you've got a nine-to-five job,

often we're doing mundane things and I don't exempt myself from that,

I do lots of mundane things in my day-to-day life.

But when I go ballooning,

there is always something different happening.

To me, that is one of the biggest appeals of it.

I know that it's going to be anything but mundane.

3925, flight number 12.

Luton connection at 1021.

'53 Juliet Delta, A320, stand by.

'More information at 1031...'

Delta Kilo Sierra, what is your ETA for the FIR boundary?

'ETA for the boundary will be...'

..135.260.

In Essex, Marius is updating his model plane collection

with a very special plane.

This is the one aeroplane that I love the most and it's the one

that I'm still trying to hunt down in real life.

Antonov 225 Mriya.

And this is unique because there's only one.

I've seen videos and photos but it's still on my spotting list.

Just look at the beast. I mean, come on, look.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven!

Let's just see...

There are rumours the world's largest cargo plane

is flying into the UK.

Right, engineers...

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

It is the 225. Yes!

Yes, it is the 225.

That's worth a drive from London all the way up to Doncaster.

It's what, 180 miles? Totally worth it.

Look at all these people.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,

ten cars and that's just for the approach.

Now, that's a proper spotter.

You see, you have people in their caravans driving around the country,

they take a week or two off or they consider this to be a holiday.

A small crowd has gathered outside Doncaster Airport.

It's moving.

No, it is moving!

Get on the mound.

Oh, my God, that's beautiful. Jesus Christ!

Oh, my God, great.

Just the sound of it.

Lovely, lovely.

It's coming round again.

Well, that's a bonus. That's a bonus.

Come on, you beautiful thing.

The six-engined plane can carry 250 tonnes of cargo

and needs 32 wheels to land.

This is officially the best day of my life.

What's up there? Is that the sky?

Are you looking up at the sky? Yeah?

After a year spent grounded while she had her daughter Chloe,

champion skydiver Julia is attempting to win another title.

If I was here 24/7 with Chloe and I didn't have anything else

happening in my own life,

I don't know if I would be completely fulfilled being a mother.

I think I just find it...

I feel like I've lost my own identity.

And I don't think that would be good for her.

Hello!

'I think it's important for her to know me as a person

'when she gets older.

'I didn't really know my mum when I was growing up, she was just my mum.

'And it was when she passed away, I found out'

that she had 18 motorbikes.

I was like, "Really?"

I didn't even know she had one motorbike,

I didn't know she rode a motorbike.

And I thought, "God, I've missed out on the woman that was my mum."

So, I then went and rode a motorbike to see how she felt

and I've been riding motorbikes ever since.

I absolutely love it.

The National Skydiving Championships

bring together Britain's best formation skydivers.

We're all quite excited.

We only started training a couple of days ago.

We've managed to do about 15 jumps together.

So, we are very much the underdogs of the competition.

Every team will do ten jumps,

performing a different routine each time.

Just roll up again? Roll it again.

With verbal communication impossible in free fall,

Julia and The Ex-Presidents first practice every move

silently on the ground.

It's a bit like synchronised swimming in free fall.

And it's great that every team,

we're all doing exactly the same formations.

We all have the same skydive to do.

And then it's whoever can complete the most number of formations

in the 50 seconds of competition time.

So, we get a point on every formation that we complete

and then the team with the most number of points

will win that round.

The ninth member of each eight-way dive team

wears a helmet-mounted camera.

The footage of each routine is reviewed by judges

to determine the winner.

Oh, look at this! How did you not see that?

Dealt with it. I think it was a great first jump.

A respectable first jump, wasn't it? Yes.

That'll do, that'll do for round one.

Quite happy with it. Move on to round two. Yeah.

We've got ten rounds, so we can't start resting

until all ten rounds are done.

There are 38 official formations

recognised by the International Parachuting Committee,

ranging from the side-body doughnut

to the cat accordion and zipper flake.

Each team member must maintain the belly-down position

and fall at exactly the same rate, creating maximum wind resistance.

Hello, gorgeous girl! Mwah! Hello!

After ten hours of jumping,

The Ex-Presidents have climbed to second place

and are just behind the favourites to win.

Four points in it. Anything could happen.

Number ten, guys. Right here, right now!

Ah! Let's have it!

It all comes down to the final jump.

A missed rotation or failure to complete a link

could cost The Ex-Presidents their chance at victory.

I've always been driven.

My dad always said to me, "If there's something that you want,

"it is there for you, it just depends on how much you want it."

I wanted to see how good I could be, I wanted to be the best I could be

and I still haven't got that yet, I'm still working on that.

It's a mental sport.

In terms of what we're actually asking our bodies to do,

it's relatively small.

So, why is it one team can do it better than others?

And I do think a lot of it is up here.

Taking gold in the Eight-Way Senior by just five points...

..please give it up for the new British champions,

The Ex-Presidents!

THEY CHEER

DANCE MUSIC PLAYS

Oh, overwhelmed, to be honest.

We were up against some guys that have been winning

for years and years and years in the eight-ways.

I wasn't expecting that.

Yay!

ADY: Speedbird 798 Hotel behind departing company, 320.

Line up Runway 27, right behind.

At London Heathrow, Ady is reaching the end of his eight-hour shift.

The runways go silent but the airport is still very much alive

because at a place like Heathrow,

you can't really afford to do essential maintenance work

during the day, when aircraft are landing and taking off.

So, there's a huge works party, will come into the airport

and they'll work on one of the runways every night.

Even if there's no work to do on that runway,

they will clean all of the light fittings,

they'll repaint all of the markings

and get everything ready for the next day.

I don't mind getting up at 4.30 in the morning and coming here.

I really enjoy it.

It's hard, it's tough.

It's a lot of aeroplanes, it's nonstop,

but I just get the job done and that's what happens every day

and it's brilliant to be a part of it.

Are we going to take the front off? We may as well, mightn't we?

In Norfolk, Wildcats Willie and Al rely on each other

for all their planes' up-keep.

A lot of maintenance is done after each trip,

so we clean the aeroplanes

and if you clean them properly after each trip,

then you will see little things that need the attention.

OK, just stick this underneath my wing.

Both pilots have day jobs with the NHS,

so their weekends spent flying are precious.

I can remember sitting in maths classes

or history classes at school,

looking at the window and seeing jets flying past.

And just thinking, "You are so lucky,

"I wish I was up there and not down here."

So, I have always, it's all I've wanted to do.

Thank goodness I managed to do it.

I don't know how I would have got through if for some reason,

I'd been told, "You'll never be able to fly,"

cos I was so desperate to do it.

We're probably going to be quite late tonight.

It's probably going to be 6.30, 7 before we get back,

so I shall see you then.

We shall see you then, enjoy your day. Bye.

He'll... If I can't text you, Rory will try and text you.

But it depends on what coverage we've got. Have fun, see you later.

See you later. Have a good day, Masy. I'll see you later.

See you later, guys.

I always have this agreement with Willie that as soon as they land,

they're to text me just to say that they're all right.

Even if they just say, "Landed, all OK," and then I'm happy

and I can get on with my day and don't have to worry about

what's going on at their side.

So, I can have my day run a bit more smoothly.

Today, Al and Willie will perform their 22nd and final

aerobatic display of the season at Leeds East airport in Yorkshire.

The planes on display include the historic Folland Gnat jet

used to train RAF pilots,

the vintage MiG-15,

and the Douglas DC-3 Dakota transport plane.

So, that MiG's on before us.

It's landing at 27 but obviously, we take 26.

So we'll backtrack whilst it's downwind, take on 26.

Depends how quickly we get refuelled.

OK, important stuff. Cup of tea? Yep.

A crowd of aviation enthusiasts has gathered at the airport.

Air shows in general are just a great thing.

You get modern stuff, classic stuff.

Personally, I like the old stuff, whether it's propellers or jets.

Doesn't matter.

Love aeroplanes. Just love it.

We stalk them at Coningsby and anywhere.

We just like the jets and everything.

You know, it's the highlight.

Red Arrows would be nice, but I don't think they're here.

Enthusiasm for aviation is still high.

But the air display industry took a massive blow in August 2015,

when a vintage 1950s Hawker Hunter jet crashed onto a busy road

during Shoreham Air Show.

11 people were killed.

The Shoreham accident, particularly tragic event because innocents,

and by innocents I mean people that weren't even remotely interested

in the air show, perished.

We know the pilot very well, he's a very good friend

and when we heard who it was, I think I was shocked for days.

What we do...

..is dangerous, erm...

..most people don't have the appetite of risk to do this.

Do I think I'm going to die in an aeroplane? No.

Is that cos I think I'm better? No.

It's because I think that I take every precaution that I can

to prevent it.

Smoke on. Go!

Stall turn, go.

Rolling, visual. Kicking, kicking, go.

No matter how humdrum my day or my week has been,

no matter how many muppets and morons

I've had to contend with in everyday life,

I can strap into my aeroplane and go and find a freedom

that I don't think you can find anywhere else.

It is something that every time I do it,

I'm grateful that I've got the opportunity.

It's not something you just get in the aeroplane and go.

But even that, an hour and a half in the aeroplane,

you get out the other end and you go, "That was still fun."

Even if it was cold, if it was noisy, if it was bumpy,

it's still fun.

If I do something, I put my heart and soul into it.

When you've landed from a display but there was one bit

you wish you'd done just a bit better,

you want to go and do that again.

And certainly with Al, it's striving for perfection together.

Flying with him six feet off my wing

is probably as good as life can get for me.

I've been all over the world, lived in some fantastic places,

done some fantastic things,

but I wouldn't swap any of that for this.

Climbing again.

That was one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced.

Amazing.

Next time...

Load the top belt! ..when speed is everything.

If they're not on the belt that time,

customers are going to be let down.

If you've got a flight that can't go,

we can stop the world moving.

When we're racing, it can be a bit hairy.

The last thing you want to do is run into an aeroplane, not healthy.