Discovery Canada to Air Mighty Ships Spin Off - Mighty Planes

Wednesday, 22 February 2012 12:17

The sky’s the limit as Mighty Planes takes flight! The original Canadian series – a spin-off of the ever-popular Mighty Ships – premieres Sunday, February 26 at 8 p.m. ET/ PT on Discovery Channel with back-to-back instalments (and continues Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT through March).

Building on Discovery Channel Canada's internationally renowned home-grown hit series Mighty Ships, Exploration Production Inc. (EPI) extends the “MIGHTY” franchise, trading the sea for the sky in this new high-octane, high-energy, and high-altitude thrill ride. Mighty Planes delivers unprecedented access to the planet’s most impressive aircraft with a six-episode run featuring the world’s only flying hospital, the world’s first superjumbo passenger aircraft, the world’s biggest seaplane and more … buckle up and prepare to take-off!

Mighty Planes explores the art and science of aviation, on planes that soar to faraway places on astounding missions. From preparation, loading and take off, through the journey and to the landing and unloading, viewers will experience the high-stakes and high-stress jobs through the eyes and lives of the characters that make it all happen. Featuring the genius of flight technology with the aid of high-end CGI, shot in HD, and recorded in 5.1 surround sound, Mighty Planes captures all the action as it happens.

Highlights from the inaugural season of Mighty Planes include:

Mighty Planes: “Orbis”

Sunday, February 26 at 8 p.m. ET/ PT

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.

Mighty Planes: “Martin Mars”

Sunday, February 26 at 9 p.m. ET/ PT

In 2011, northern Mexico experienced its worst fire season in more than a century. Luckily, Martin Mars, the world’s biggest seaplane was there to battle the blaze! Martin Mars has a partner in firefighting – the Sikorsky S76 – which uses HD and infrared cameras, along with state-of-the-art laser technology, to guide the Canadian owned and operated aircraft to a guaranteed bulls-eye with every drop. Mighty Planes joins the four-person aerial crew when they answer the call for help as Mexico’s northern states endure countless wildfires that threaten to destroy vast expanses of wilderness.

Also this season on Mighty Planes, check out the “Airbus A380” – the world’s first full double-deck passenger aircraft, making it a groundbreaking design in aviation (March 4). Then, the Hercules LC-130 “Skibird” has one of the most challenging missions of all: it is the lifeblood of remote science camps in Greenland and Antarctica, carrying much needed supplies, fuel and crew to these far flung locations (March 11). Next, “Antonov 124” is the world’s largest serially manufactured cargo plane capable of moving everything from locomotives to whales anywhere in the world (March 18). And finally, in the super-charged season finale, Mighty Planes boards “C5-M Super Galaxy” for a mission into a war zone, from the initial briefing to crossing the Atlantic, and through the perilous descent into Bagram, Afghanistan (March 25).

Mighty Planes is produced by Exploration Production Inc. (EPI) in association with Discovery Channel Canada.