Rise of the Machines — Season 1, Episode 6: Heavyweight Helicopter
Documentary • 60 min • 3 seasons, 30 episodes • ★ 7.9/10
Episode synopsis
This episode explodes open the world's only purpose built flying crane–the Erickson Air Crane–to reveal the extraordinary technology that it depends on to construct 120 giant steel transmission towers in only eight days. Chief Pilot Travis Harrold and his crew take to the skies to build a vital link in a new $1.6 billion power line across the remote Albertan prairies. Grappling the controls of this 10,000 horsepower hauling machine, the team must lift eight-ton steel towers high into the air and set them with absolute precision. At critical moments, immersive CGI will peel back the Air Crane's aluminum skin to plunge us deep inside her DNA. Exploring engineering breakthroughs within this aerial acrobat will reveal surprising secrets of how the technology evolved, inspired by extraordinary lessons from nature and history.
About Rise of the Machines
It is 2014 and the machines have not taken over…yet. The newest, most technologically advanced series from H2™, Rise of the Machines, reveals how the inventions behind the world’s most extreme machines have enabled them to evolve beyond humanity’s wildest imagination. This visually stunning series uses mind-blowing CGI animations to reveal the extraordinary engineering at the heart of the world’s most extreme machines. From the world’s biggest mega truck to the world’s fastest train to a revolutionary heavy lift ship, ground breaking CGI animation explodes the machines apart to reveal the ingenious inventions hidden under their skin that enables the teams who drive, fly and sail them to be at the top of their game. This series takes us inside these machines in close up detail and explores what helps these elite ships, trucks, trains and aircrafts rise above all others.