The American PBS network has introduced a three-episode special that takes a fascinating look inside the world of commercial aviation. It takes the viewer way behind the scenes, exploring how luggage is handled in a maze of underground tracks. It describes airport design considerations, aircraft construction and maintenance, navigation and how in-flight medical emergencies are handled.

And that's just a sample of topics covered.

 

One segment centered on the world's busiest air cargo airport which I was surprised to learn is Hong Kong.

 

You should be able to view complete episodes once they have aired at this link.

 

http://www.pbs.org/show/city-sky/
 

Been there, seen that, or else something remarkably similar was on the BBC recently. I guess it's one of those international productions where they show the same video sequences but the narrative is voiced by an actor of the target audience's nationality. 

 

But that's not to knock it in any way - as such documentaries go, that is one of the better ones. I too was fascinated by the sheer complexity of what goes on. As a private pilot I get glimpses of that world, but the differences of scale are tremendous. It still amazes me that for a few hundred £ I can get to fly on an A380 costing a third of  a billion. The mere sound of the flight numbers EK016 - EK376 gets my mouth watering thinking of my next visit to LOS...

 

Learned to fly in the Cessna 172 (and the 150) half-a-century ago and I suspect there are a few others out there who may have, also. Until reading this BBC article, I wasn't aware that it was the most prolific aircraft ever produced with over 43,000 copies coming off the assembly line. More impressive is that it's been in production, with few changes, since 1956.

 

To you less enthusiast readers, there's a high probability that the cockpit crew piloting your next flight got its first taste of flying in this machine. In any case, perhaps this excerpt from the BBC link below may entice you to read on. If not, please forgive my parochial indulgence.

 

It was also a Cessna 172 that teenage West German pilot Mathias Rust used to fly into the Soviet Union – and land in Moscow in an effort to promote world peace. At the height of the Cold War, Rust was able to evade the world’s most formidable air defence system, boasting thousands of aircraft and missile launchers, and landed on a bridge on the edge of Moscow’s Red Square. 

 

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170302-the-plane-so-good-its-still-in-production-after-60-years