Mighty Planes

It's been called one of the greatest submarine hunters in the world, and it's still one of Canada's best-kept secrets: the CP-140 Aurora. This Cold War legend remains a state-of-the-art spymaster, flying 17 hours straight to find ISIS targets in Iraq or exposing illegal traffickers around the globe. The Aurora must prove it still has the right stuff in an exercise to search for a mock submarine hiding in the Georgia Straight of the coast of British Columbia -- but her flight crew finds some unexpected obstacles.

Flying the T-38 jet trainer is the ultimate test for any pilot wanting to join the world's elite club of fighter jet pilots. 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.

This legendary flying behemoth, built from parts of 1950s aircraft, not only flies – she carries NASA's bulkiest and most cutting-edge aerospace components. The NASA Super Guppy 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 fly from home in El Paso, Texas to the Boeing facility in Long Beach, California to pick up a multi-million dollar payload. Fully loaded, the pilots muscle the bloated aircraft to the East Coast for delivery, making multiple stops along the way 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. The rugged Nolinor Aviation's 737-200 C is a combination cargo and passenger aircraft. In this episode, the flight crew delivers 4,500 kilograms of essential food, two pallets of vital mining equipment, and 57 miners from Val D'Or, Quebec 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 and 80 mph Arctic winds often wreak havoc on the aircraft and her missions. Follow her on a typical job, which poses challenges that are anything but routine.

This special episode celebrates the best of the series. From the planes that transformed travel, to the biggest passenger plane, as well as the mightiest plane of all – the all-around hero, the C130 Hercules. These are the shining stars of aviation's most impressive performers: Airbus A380, Trump 757, Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet, T-38 Talon, Martin Mars, Orbis DC-10, Antonov 124, C-17 Globemaster III, Skibirds LC-130 Hercules, P-3 Orion, and C-130 Hercules.