Mighty Planes - Season 3 (2015)

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 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.

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.

The NASA Super Guppy is a jerry-rigged wonder, built from parts of 1950s planes. But her cargo is anything but retro. She has hauled vital aerospace hardware across the country in her 50+ years of service, including parts of Apollo, the Hubble Space Telescope, and Skylab. Now, after being grounded for eight months for major upgrades and maintenance, she and her dedicated crew are back on the job, picking up and delivering a multi-million-dollar payload on a challenging three-day mission.

She's the "Workhorse of the North," powering through the vast Arctic region, where conditions can turn deadly in seconds. Nolinor Aviation's 737-200 C is a combination cargo and passenger aircraft, delivering essential food, equipment, and workers to Meadowbank, the coldest mine on Earth. The gold mine depends on this super hauler four times a week, but common temperatures of minus 50 degrees often wreak havoc on the aircraft and her missions. Follow her on a typical job, which poses challenges that are anything but routine.

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.