05x06 - Sky's the Limit

[bunniefuu]

you know, for every guy
whose wife is mad

'cause there's a truck
in the driveway,

Or the motorcycle
is blocking something,

You have a giant plane
in your house.

Yeah, thank you.

tonight, on jay leno's garage...

-Now we're up.
-Now we're up.

the sky's the limit.

Not a view most people get.

We're exploring
the relationship

Between automobiles
and aircraft.

What could go wrong?

I'm in a full stall right now.

cars that look like planes.

You feel like
you're in a fighter plane.

Planes that fly like cars.

I'm gonna give you the controls
and you're gonna fly

-For a little bit.
-Oh, that's just what we need.

And pilots that look like
mega movie star

-John travolta.
-I gotta land this thing. Jay?

-I can get in?
-Just don't start it up

-And take off.
-I'm tempted.

This was amelia earhart's car.

Wow!

that's amazing.

"it could be greased lightnin'!"

Now we're having fun. Woo!

you know, I've been
very lucky in my life...

Yee haw!

...And one of the many
perks of this show

Is getting to fly
in private jets.

I don't always fly private,

I'm still a man of the people.

But when I do, it's
a pretty special experience.

This is unbelievable.

You know, whatever
you think is the top,

There's always something
above that,

And this is above that.

This is the boeing bbj,

The ultimate private aircraft.

In fact, this one is being flown
by a friend of mine right now.

Come on, let's go meet him.

-Hey, john, hey, my friend.
-Jay!

well, thanks for doing this.

So who's flying the plane?

Jay, I always bring
another pilot.

folks, meet john travolta,

The ultimate triple threat.

And we also know him from shows
such as this one.

It's electrifyin'!

It's electrifyin'.

It's electrifyin'!

But most likely, you knew him
as your favorite

Disco-dancing greaser
with a heart of gold.

When he's not busy
swapping mugs with nic cage,

John's driving
one of his cool cars

Or flying one of
his many airplanes,

Like right now!

this is the living room area.

you know, this is bigger
than most new york apartments.

-I mean, it really is.

now, you know this jetliner

-Is based on an airliner.
-How many people would it seat?

About 148, 150,
depending on the model.

This is configured for 15,

So suddenly,
room for 150

Is turned into room for 15.

so this is
so far above first class.

Yeah, I'd say.

the boeing business jet,

Or the bbj,
as it's affectionately known,

Is packed from nose to tail
with luxury and comfort.

It's got a new tail fin
that makes it quieter.

It's got better fuel efficiency.

It even has
better air quality

Than commercial flights,

And thanks to
the increased fuel capacity,

It can travel over 6,000 miles,

So if you're craving
some italian,

Just hop in your bbj
for a quick bowl of spaghetti...

...In rome!

-And it's got bedrooms?
-It's got two bedrooms.

Come with me.

So here we have
a master bedroom.

oh wow, no seat belt?

-Well, it's underneath the...
-Oh, I see.

...The comforter there.

And there's
a bedroom next door.

-The guest bedroom?
-Guest bedroom.

and this is so
you can join that club

They're always talking about.

yeah, well, it used to be
the mile-high club,

In the old days,
in the '30s.

Now it's the five-

-Or eight-mile-high club.
-Eight-mile-high club,

Yeah, you wanna sh**t for
the eight-mile-high club.

Let's see what
the bathroom looks like.

yeah!

So if you wanna take a shower,

You've got this master
bathroom and a shower,

And it's tall enough
for guys like us,

'cause, you know,
got some headroom,

-So if you were...
-I mean, it's a full bathroom.

yeah, watch this.

You could just, uh,
recover from jet lag, right,

Take a shower.

Look at this,
look at the space.

Right over here...

okay, so.

Good day, mr. Bond.

Jay!

I gotta land this thing.

Jay?

Come on, buddy!

I'm not kidding!

in 1954, the cold w*r
was in full force.

In order to keep tabs
on the russians

And their, ahem,
indiscretions...

The goal was power,
superiority.

...Eisenhower demanded
a jet that could fly so high,

It would elude enemy radar.

They called it the u-2.

Not that u2.

This reconnaissance plane is the
ultimate intelligence machine.

It flies day and night
in any weather condition

And signals data in real time
from anywhere on the planet.

But thanks to its massive
hundred-foot wingspan,

The u-2 is the most difficult
plane to land

In the entire air force fleet.

Instead of the standard
three-point landing gear,

The u-2 only has two wheels,
one behind the other,

To keep the plane
as lightweight as possible.

Imagine trying to land a jet,

One that steers like a tank,
on a schwinn!

Oh, and did I mention

It has 3,000 gallons of fuel
housed inside the wings.

Believe me, there is
no room for error here.

So to help these pilots
touch down safely,

The air force has used
a pretty simple

And smart solution:

Another set of eyes
directly behind the plane,

Inside a speeding chase car.

So we're off to
the beale air force base

To see how chase cars have been
helping the u-2 land

For over 60 years.

all right, jay, so here we are

-With the u-2s model.
-Wow.

yeah, so that whine
you're hearing is actually

The cooling fan for
the transformer rectifier,

Which is a component
of the electrical system.

A lot of components
and subcomponents

On this airplane to keep
everything functioning properly.

how many miles would you say

This particular plane has flown?

tens if not hundreds of
thousands of miles, for sure.

Lots of flight hours
under her wings,

Doing the reconnaissance
mission out there overseas.

Well, this is essentially
a flying camera, isn't it?

-Essentially, yes, yeah.
-Wow. Very impressive.

and so, the sensor packages
that we fly with

Are pretty impressive, about


We'll typically put
our imagery sensors

On the nose
or in this aft compartment here

Called the equipment bay,
or we call it the q bay.

You wanna take a look
at the c*ck, jay?

-I would love to. I can get in?
-Yeah, go for it.

Oh, wow.

just don't start it up
and take off.

no, no. I'm tempted.

there you go,
just put your left foot in

And right foot in.

just like doing
the hokey pokey, yeah.

that's right.

There's been
a lot of modernization

That's occurred in this c*ck.

What was flown in the '50s,
'60s, '70s, and '80s

Was not this, so it's been
modernized through the decades

To keep pace
with our adversaries.

although the u-2 has been
updated over the years,

The way it lands hasn't changed
since day one.

Because of its
limited visibility

And high-lift wings,

An unassisted landing
is nearly impossible.

So a chase car
tears down the runway,

Driven by another u-2 pilot,

And counts the plane down.

six feet, four feet, two feet...

Welcome home.

once it lands,

The plane eventually slows down

And props are put under
the wings as supports.

and here's our dodge charger.

-Oh, very cool.
-So this is the vehicle

-We're gonna be in today.
-This is probably, what,

-A police pursuit package?
-That's it, jay.

well see, I woulda thought
in this day and age,

There'd be screens
and outside cameras

-So they could--but no.
-No.

They've not been able
to figure out a way

To replicate what you can have
in a car where you have

Another u-2 pilot
telling you right then and there

Exactly how high you are

-Off the ground.
-Yeah, plus I imagine

There's that camaraderie
thing going.

You know the other person, yeah.

it's nice to hear
a familiar voice after,

You know, that long
in the jet by yourself.

to avoid detection
from enemy radar,

The u-2 was designed to fly
as high as 70,000 feet,

Twice as high
as commercial aircraft.

That's basically like
flying in outer space.

That calls for
highly specialized

Supplies and suits.

so here we are at the
physiological support squadron

Here on beale air force base,

And this is where
our pilots actually come to

To get integrated
into the space suit

Before they fly in the u-2

And go to the upper reaches
of the atmosphere.

And how long
is the average pilot

In the u-2 on a mission?

It can be in excess
of 12 hours.

-Wow, okay.
-That's part of what

You're gonna see here
with the suit-up is,

You're gonna have
to take care of everything

That you'd need
to take care of normally

-In that 12 hours...
-Right.

...You're gonna have to
take care of in a suit,

So that's eating, drinking,
using the restroom,

-All those kinds of things.
-Right, okay. Wow.

So, actually, I'll go ahead
and grab some food here.

-Ooh, lot of stuff, thanks.
-I know.

you know, the chicken
looks delicious,

But gee, I'm almost tempted
to have the peaches,

-But it all looks so good.
-I know, right?

It's a whole meal right here.

is this a suppository,
or how do you use this?

you actually go,
and there's a port here...

ooh, stop,
you're making me hungry.

as far as using--

I don't know if we want to
go into using the restroom...

well, yeah, is there like
a depends kinda deal?

-What's going on?
-So let's just say,

You can drink as much water
as you want.

-Oh, okay.
-You gotta watch, uh,

The other stuff, the other
kinda things you're doing.

so it's like being an old guy,
yeah, yeah.

Well, if you're not sold on
joining the u-2 program yet,

Let's meet major kip,
our designated pilot.

There you go, it looks like
kip lost a card game.

This is what you'd wear--okay.

Yeah, absolutely.

Standard long johns,
they just keep you

From sticking to the suit,
and then like you talked about,

-The urinary collection device.
-Right, yeah, that's

-Very impressive looking.
-Thank you, thank you.

-I appreciate that.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Between the tube food
and the adult diaper,

I'd say being a u-2 pilot is
a bleak look into my future.

all right, jay, so kip's
gonna get integrated here,

And we're actually
gonna go ahead

And head out to the airplane.

We have a tradition
in the u-2 program

Where the maintainers
actually come out,

Bid the pilot farewell.

I'm gonna stand
right beside you.

You take a look,
here comes kip now

In his space suit,
ready to get in the jet.

so this is like the best job
in the air force,

Pretty much?

what other job
do you have in the military

When you can go fly
an amazing jet like the u-2,

And on the days
that you're not doing that,

You're out here
driving a fast car,

-Chasing a u-2.
-Yep, that's why I'm excited.

So there's basically
two responsibilities

When you're on chase car duty.

First, make sure
the pilot takes off safely.

Godspeed, kip.

raise your left.

Raise your left,
pogo free, pogo free.

-You can see the instability.
-That's right.

it's kind of like a fat guy
on a skateboard, you know?

You kinda say to yourself,
"wow, he's doing it,"

But it's, you know...

he's doing it,
it might not look...

you go,
"oh, that's picture-perfect,"

And then you see,
"oh-whoa-whoa," you know?

Wow. That's amazing.

Seems pretty easy,
for the most part.

And second, helping
the pilot land safely

Without destroying the jet,
k*lling himself,

Or k*lling us
in the chase car.

This is where things can get
a little tricky.

Well, here he comes,
here we go.

he's coming up
initial right now,

And he's gonna pitch out,
slow down,

And configure for a landing,

He'll put out
some drag devices

That'll help him
control the aircraft

At a slower...

Gonna start rolling.

okay, we gotta--
wow, look at that.

That's pretty cool.

So we're literally
getting under the plane now.

pretty much.

wow, that's--that's amazing.

Not a view most people get.

there's 10, 8, 7...

...Six, five, four, three,
little left rudder.

Five, four, three,
two and a half,

Two...One.

wow. Very good.

-That's a nice landing.
-That was beau--

That was perfect, wasn't it?
That was unbelievable.

Really, this guy
should be a pilot.

Coming up...

Well, I've had about 2 minutes
of my 20 hours of training.

-Should we go for a ride?
-We should, yes.

sure! What can go wrong?

-I'm in a full stall right now.

want your own plan

Like our friend
john travolta?

This is so far
above first class.

Yeah, I'd say.

Well, you're apparently
not the only one.

Check out the icon a5
personal airplane.

The icon uses an electronically
fuel injected engine

Called the rotax 912,

Which is used in a variety
of other vehicles as well.

It's lightweight,

Low-flying,

And amphibious.

Seems like a pretty fun way
to commute to work, huh?

So the whole idea
behind this thing is,

This is an airplane you don't
need to keep at an airport.

You could keep it
at your house, or in a barn,

-Or something like that.
-Exactly. Barn, backyard,

-Dock, boat lift.
-Okay, all right.

So if someone decides
they want one of these,

Do you need
an automobile license?

No, no; sport pilot license,

Minimum is 20 hours with
a designated flight instructor,

-So...
-Oh, so they would come

-And train, and 20 hours--
-yeah, absolutely.


a little bit of ground school,

A short, you know, 50-question
written test you have to take.

-Right, right.
-And then you're pretty much

Cleared to go fly.

Can it go from colombia
to miami?

-Uh, no comment, yeah.
-No, no comment, okay.

And how different is it
from flying a reg--

Is it more like driving a car,

-Or is it--
-it definitely is.

I would say this aircraft is
significantly easier to fly,

And to learn how to fly.

now, what does
something like this cost?

$389,000 is the 2019 models.

I mean, that's certainly
reasonable for aircraft,

-Isn't it?
-Yeah. It's not bad,

Especially if you consider
like how much

Some people spend
on their cars these days.

Yes, there are people
who spend a lot of money

On their cars.

We have no idea
who those people are,

But someday, we'll talk
to some of them, yeah, yeah.

And how long does it take
to make it airworthy?

Oh, I mean,
as soon as we take it off,

We unfold the wings,
put the tail tips on,

We're airworthy.

-So that's like five minutes?
-Five, ten minutes, yeah.

wow. Let's get airworthy!

so we're gonna release...

the first step is
to roll it off of the trailer,

Which can be towed
behind a standard suv

Or a truck, if you like.

little bit this way.

Unfold the wing.

the plane was designed for
one person to unfold each wing

In 90 seconds.

And you only have to be able
to lift about 20 pounds

-To do it.

And 5 to 10 minutes later...

-There it goes.
-There we go.

...We're ready to go.

Okay.

Pretty simple c*ck,
it looks...

Looks like the inside
of a '57 renault dauphine.

they definitely designed it

So it wasn't intimidating,

Easy to learn,
and really ergonomic.

So your hands and your eyes
kinda go where you feel like

-They should go.
-And this center control here?

that's everything.

So this is your throttle.

Most aircraft have
multiple levers,

Where this one
only has one,

So everything is electronic,
it does it for you.

-And this is left, right...
-Left, right, up, and down.

right, okay.

Well, I've had about 2 minutes
of my 20 hours of training.

Should we...
Should we go for a ride?

-We should, yeah.
-Sure! What could go wrong?

So we just drive
right into the water?

yeah, we're gonna
drive right in,

Make sure we don't
hit our wings on anything.

Get nice and straight,

And then we're gonna
go down the ramp.

-And we are in the water.
-And now we're in the water.

Hopefully,
we'll be buoyant.

I'm gonna go from gear down
to gear up.

how many feet do you need
before this will lift off?

with conditions like this
right now,

It'll probably take us
a little over 1,000 feet.

Kinda going into that wind
a little bit...

-Here we go.
-...And now we're up.

-Now we're up!
-Now we're up.

-I was gonna...
-Cool!

Oh, I didn't even know
there was an island out there,

Look at that one.

now we're gonna leave
the long beach tower,

And then we're going to
meet up with a second aircraft.

okay.

Well, hopefully, we'll just
see the second aircraft.

-We won't meet up with it.
-Yeah, ideally, yeah.

yeah, exactly.

he's off probably your side,
behind you.

-Oh, there he is.
-Yeah.

very cool.

so what I'm gonna do
is I'm gonna climb up to

About, um, 700, 800 feet
over the water,

And then I'm gonna
give you the controls

And you're gonna fly
for a little while.

oh, thank you very much,

That's very good,
that's just what we need.

Yeah, what could go wrong? Sure.

-What do I do here?
-All right. So flying around,

We're primarily paying attention
to, like, our horizon line,

So off into the distance.

So now, if we wanna do
a left-hand turn,

You're gonna bring the stick
to the left a little bit.

-To the left a little bit.
-Perfect, just like that.

gotcha.

Look, ma, I'm flying!

-It doesn't take much, does it?
-It doesn't, it's very light,

It's super responsive.

but ease of control aside,

Icon's safety features
really steal the show,

And I'm about to get
a firsthand demonstration.

I'm just going to kind of
reduce the power

Just a little bit.

Gears up,
I'll put our flaps down

So that'll get us nice and slow,

And then I'm just slowly gonna
start pitching up the nose.

You're gonna hear a
stall warning horn, mid-yellow.

-that's the stall warning horn.

okay, yeah,
the stall warning now.

so I'm in a full stall
right now.

no, we're in a full stall.

-Wow, okay, this is impressive.
-Isn't it? It's pretty light.

And then to recover,

Just lower the nose,
full power,

And then that's it.

So it's nothing scary.

-No, it's very cool.
-Yeah.

now, I obviously knew
genesah was gonna stall,

That's why I was
so calm and collected.

In fact, the icon feels
so safe and relaxing,

I actually fell asleep.

But there's no time for that.

This is the part
where I fly over malibu

And contemplate
new, risky insurance stunts

To keep the nbc lawyers
up all night.

Now, for another installment
of sad...But true.

You know, living in la
with all our traffic,

I've fantasized once or twice
about having a flying car.

Aha, take that,
non-flying automobiles!

I'm not the only one.

There have been
over 1,000 patents

For flying cars.

Some actually got made,

A couple flew,

But most, eh, didn't make it.

But one man got really close

To making his driving
and flying dreams come true,

And that man was
henry smolinski.

The idea was simple:

Put a cessna skymaster and
a ford pinto in a room together

And nine months later...

-...Aww, the ave mizar was born.

Once in the air,

This flying horse could cruise
at 130 miles per hour,

Fly a thousand miles,

And had a ceiling
of 12,000 feet.

Sadly, during a test flight
in 1973,

The right wing detached
from the pinto.

Who coulda seen that coming?

Ahem.

Sadly, during a test flight
in 1973,

The right wing
detached from the pinto,

Leading to the tragic end
of both the mizar

And its creator.

But I like to think
that somewhere out there,

Henry smolinski is flying
his pinto in the sky.

This has been another
sad...But true.

Coming up...

So I'm flying with an actor
and a guy named gonzo.

Hey, that sounds good.

John travolta shows us
the ultimate vip parking spot.

You have a giant plane
in your house.

-That's fantastic!
-Yeah, thank you!

Somebody built this!

Ever wanted to fly
a jet fighter?

Of course you have.

This is america.

I mean, what's not to love?

They're fast...

...Super cool...

...Extremely loud...

...Oh, and did I mention,

They're really fast!

But if you're like me,
just a civilian,

They won't let you fly one.

So how does one get
their jet fighter kicks?

Check this out.

This car is called
the 2 jet z.

It was built by a guy
named luis rodriguez,

And it's a real driving car,
that's the fun part.

But you feel like
you're in a fighter plane.

It really is
a low-flying jet,

It's unbelievable.

He really used his imagination
when he built this thing.

It's got a heads-up display
just like a real fighter jet.

It uses some
nissan chassis parts.

The engine is a toyota 3-liter
with a big turbo on it.

Weighs about 1650 pounds,

And with 627 horsepower,
well, you can do the math.

And unlike a real fighter jet,

It has some kind of
vegetable steamer

Off the exhaust there.

It looks cool.

I've gotta admit,
I thought it was

Some sort of exotic jet part.

And you go, no, no,
it's a vegetable steamer, so,

I hope he didn't tell his mom,

Because she's probably
really mad

Looking to find
her vegetable steamer.

You know, hot wheels
has a great contest

Where they have
just regular folks

Build outlandish cars

To see which would make
a great hot wheels toy.

And this one was chosen
and it finally won.

In fact, I was
one of the judges,

And I thought this thing
was just outlandish,

Just unbelievable,

'cause it's a real car,

It's not some prototype
you have to push onto the stand.

You really move,

But you really feel like
you're in a fighter plane.

Gooooo!

Meanwhile, back on
john travolta's private jet...

this is gonzo,
my first officer here today.

-Nice to see you, yeah.
-Nice to meet you, jay.

so I'm flying with an actor
and a guy named gonzo.

Hey, that sounds good.

I feel confident knowing
a man named gonzo

Is flying the plane.

That's about right,
yeah, okay.

-Well, this is fantastic.
-Aw, thanks.

How long you been flying
one of these?

I've been flying the big jets
for 20 years.

But I've been flying
for a total of 45 years.

The biggest plane
I've been rated on is a 747,

-And then the--
-well, that's the biggest plane,

-Isn't it?
-Yes, and then the 707,

And--all boeings,

And then the corporate jets--
you know,

The gulfstreams
and challengers.

well, time to let john get back
to his piloting duties.

And it's no surprise
he stuck the landing.

Now, if you think
your gated driveway is cool,

You haven't seen
john's private runway

That leads to his front door,

Where he literally
parks his plane.

all right, thank you very much.

you know, for every guy
whose wife is mad

Because there's a truck
in the driveway,

Or the motorcycle is
blocking something,

You are a hero to every car guy
who's arguing with their wife,

"honey, why can't--"
"no, your car looks ugly

Out in the driveway, no."

You have a giant plane
in your house.

-That's fantastic!
-Yeah, thank you!

This is a dream from when
I was like 13 years old.

I used to sketch drawings
of what I imagined

One day I could have,

With planes in the backyard.

well, you know what's cool,

The plane is not
in the backyard.

-The plane is in the front yard.
-Front yard,

-That's actually true.
-That's even better.

The cars are in the backyard.

-Oh, very nice.
-Yes, masterpiece.

'56 continental,
is that correct?

'56 continental, yep.

And that was the only year
it was the continental.

The next year, I think it turned

Into lincoln continental, yeah.

-Oh, look at that!
-Yes.

Here we have
the t-bird collection.

This is the first,
the '55 thunderbird,

'56, and then '57.

But this is always my favorite

Because it was the original
the basic.

-The first one, yeah.
-Yeah.

chevrolet's
plastic-bodied corvette.

back in 1953 when the corvette
was unveiled,

The rest of the industry
took notice.

Ford needed a car
to go head to head

Against the corvette.

The ford took
a little inspiration from this,

A little from that,

Added some comfort,

Slapped a v8 into it,

And the thunderbird was born.

And guess what?

Its first year on the market,

It outsold the corvette


this is the car--

You know, everybody has a car,

I don't know what yours was
growing up,

But this was the car I wanted

When I could get old enough
to buy one,

That was what I wanted.

can we take this one for a ride?

-Yeah! You should drive.
-I'd love to drive.

Let's do it!

Now we're having fun.

yeah, boy.

-Starts right up.
-Oh yeah, that's the way

-It should be.
-A 292 v8.

uh-huh.

How 'bout it.

-Tammie jo!
-Hey!

-Hi, jay!
-Good to see you,

I like your plane,
what is it, about a...

-Thank you!
-...Two-day trip from texas

-In this thing?
-Yeah, we have to stop for fuel

And directions quite often.

meet tammie jo shults.

She was one of the first
female fighter pilots

To serve in the navy,

But she's most famous
as the hero captain

Of southwest airlines,

Safely landing flight 1380
after an engine expl*si*n

Blew a hole
in the side of the plane.

Come on, I got
something cool to show you.

okay!

so I thought I'd show
our modern-day hero

A little something
from another hero

In aviation history.

This hangar we're in front of,

This was amelia earhart's
hangar,

This is where
she flew out of.

wow.

earhart!

She said she could,
and she did it.

in 1932, aviation pioneer
amelia earhart

Became the first woman
to complete a solo flight

Across the atlantic ocean.

perhaps the outstanding woman
of 1932.

this is a 1932 essex terraplane.

-You ever heard of this car?
-No, not really.

Well, the thing that
makes this car interesting,

And I think the reason
why I want to take you

For a ride in this one,

This was amelia earhart's car.

Wow!

at the height
of her celebrity,

Amelia earhart became the face
of many different brands,

Including hudson motor's
new car, the terraplane.

I christen thee
essex terraplane.

I imagine she must be one
of your heroes, amelia earhart,

-Is that correct?
-She is.

-She was an adventurous girl.
-Yeah, yeah.

I thought we could
drive around in this,

So you could kinda sit in
the same seat she sat in.

We'll go for a spin.

-Come on, let's go.
-All right!

so how old were you
when you first heard about

Amelia earhart?

I mean, did you want to be
a pilot as a little girl?

Did you want to be an astronaut?

What did you wanna do?

you know, I did,
I wanted to be a pilot.

Well, actually, my first choice
was to be a racehorse.

-A racehorse.
-No--a racehorse jockey!

oh, jockey.

You'd be the world's
tallest jockey, you know that.

I know, my parents told me
to give it up early.

So then I went for flying.

I guess I was into speed.

Now, did people try
to discourage you?

"oh, you're a girl,
you can't be a fighter,"

You know, the usual stuff.

the air force, um,
they just said no.

"we don't wanna see you again,
don't come back."

-Really?
-So I wouldn't say

I had a welcome mat.

-Right.
-No.

well, it must be
totally different now,

Because you must meet
young girls that come up to you,

And you're amelia earhart
to them.

Yeah, it's kind of fun
to get to meet

The new generation of pilots
out there.

Do you know, I needed to see
somebody doing it

To springboard me
out of my dreams

-Into a real race.
-Right.

I think dreams are
like the starting p*stol.

I mean,
they're just the beginning,

But you have to have
that beginning.

do you notice if people even now

Are sometimes surprised
when the pilot is a female,

-On the plane?
-Oh yeah.

I mean, I've had people
turn around and walk off.

They won't fly with me.

-They do?
-Oh yeah.

-Now, still?
-Probably one or two a year.

They would come on
and look at me and go,

"are you flying?"

I'd say yes, and they would
turn around and walk off.

Really?

I get paid the same
whether they go or not.

Yeah, yeah, that's right.

Now obviously, the defining
moment in your career

Is flight 1380.

That's the one where
an engine let go...

-Right.
-...And, I get, what,

It blew a hole
in the side of the plane,

-Correct, right?
-Yes, it created a hole.

now, were things
flying all over the place

-Because of the...
-Yes.

tammie jo was piloting a
flight from new york to dallas,

But shortly after takeoff,

The plane's left engine failed
with 144 passengers on board.

It's what tammie did next

That turned this trailblazer
into a hero.

when the expl*si*n happened,

It was a bit like a mack truck
hitting the side of you,

And we could see
the engine instruments,

So we knew the engine
had exploded.

It all seemed like we kinda
had it all under control,

And then, when we got
over philadelphia

And started to add power,

We realized that there was
only so much power we could add

Without making ourselves
skid sideways.

yeah, 'cause you'll be pulling--

-All your power's on one side.
-Right.

I just thought, "okay, lord,
we have come this far.

What am I missing
to get 90 degrees--

I mean, 30,000 feet we've come,

And now we just need


And I realize
we can pull off power

To get the nose around

And then add a little power
back in.

We landed slower and lower
than we planned,

-But we still made the runway.
-So I assume the next Sunday,

You are on time for church
that morning.

yes!

I try to keep in a pretty
constant communication

With the lord.

coming up...

"this car will be systematic,

Hydromatic,

Ultramatic."

a drive in john travolta's
prized thunderbird.

Let's lose this camera car.

heh-heh-heh, yeah, baby.

When designers run wild.

If you like crazy,
outlandish designers,

Then luigi colani
is the eccentric for you.

After a fairly timid start
designing for bmw,

Vw, fiat, lancia,
and alfa-romeo,

Luigi dropped
the repressed-designer act

And went on to create
some of the most unique

And inspiring prototype cars
and aircraft.

And although little things
like usability, rationality,

Or good taste aren't always
colani's strong suit,

He became one
of the most radical

And authentic designers
of our time,

With a catalogue of works

Spanning from
futuristic airplanes

To furniture to...I don't know,
whatever this thing is.

With colani, the skies
were never his limit,

And that's why it looks
like most of his work belongs

On another planet.

Sadly, colani has passed on but
his designs will always

Be recognized for their out of
this world style

Back in florida,

John and I have ditched
the private jet

For something
a little more groundworthy:

His 1955 thunderbird.

when I first met you,

This car was only 20 years old.

I know, isn't that funny?

-Amazing.
-That would be like

Buying a car from the '90s now.

-Exactly.
-Isn't that funny?

And yet it felt so long ago.

When I first met you,

The pilot episode of kotter,

-You did the warmup.
-That's right, that's right.

-That's the first time...
-And I'll tell you something

About that pilot,

It was something
I was astounded by.

Mr. Kotter, gabe kaplan,
had the big afro.

And horshack was making
a paper airplane,

And he threw it and it went
up in the air

And boom, it stuck right
in the afro on gabe's head,

And I went--which I realized
later was pure chance,

But I'm saying,
"how did they do that?"

-You were fascinated.
-"how were they able to make--

They must have practiced
all week throwing

-That paper airplane."
-I remember that they kept it.

yeah--oh, it stayed in,
I remember, yeah,

-It was very funny.
-But I bought this that year.

I wasn't making a lot of money
on the show,

But I had to get
some transportation,

I only had a motorcycle,
I had a 450 honda.

-Right.
-So I went to this store

On culver boulevard in la,

-And it was a t-bird store.
-I know that place!

Yeah, that was there
for years and years, yeah.

yeah, and they had
a bronze-colored '55

That they would sell me
for $2700, so I bought it.

And that's what I went--

For the whole first two years
on kotter,

I went to work
in that other '55.

And what's the first plane
you ever got?

it was called an ercoupe.

The plane that flew like a car.

It was meant for
doctors and lawyers

Who didn't have a lot of time
to study flying.

-So you can fly to the gig.
-Yeah.

And it was 20--
it was less than my t-bird.

-Really?
-It was $2500,

And my t-bird was $2700.

And I was amazed by that,
I said,

"how could a plane be
less money than a car?"

So what came first for you,
the airplane or the car?

they both were simultaneous
because

I had only two interests,
automobiles and aircraft.

-Right.
-Aircraft came about

The same time,
four or five years old,

But really, what started the
aircraft aviation interest was

Our family lived
on the flightpath

Of laguardia airport,

So the airliners were about


Above our house,

So I could almost
see the insignia

Of the different airlines,

And I was fascinated with them
as they flew by.

you thought,

"we're so lucky, we live
right in the airplane path,"

Which is the worst place
to live,

Where the cheapest houses are,

But you think,
"oh, we're so fortunate

To have all these planes
going over our house."

that's how I felt, you know?

-Yeah, yeah; your parents--
-it would distract me in school,

Watching them
out the school window.

but anything distracts you
in school, you know that, yeah.

yeah, that's true.

-yeah, baby.

Whoo!

there you go.

This is like
greased lightning.

How did that go in grease?

What were the three...

"this car will be systematic,

Hydromatic,

Ultramatic,

Why, it could be
greased lightnin'!"

there you go, there you are.

You know,
you could be in that movie,

You're very good.

-Oh, thanks.
-Yeah, yeah, I was gonna say.

That's still the biggest
movie musical of all time,

-Isn't it?
-Yeah.

Grease is of its own--
you know,

The idea that people
actually go every year

To the hollywood bowl

And they dress up
as the characters

To sing along
and watch the movie,

You know, 40 years later,

-It's wild.
-I know, it's great.

And it's 40 years later,
isn't that funny?

-Yep.
-It's so funny to stand aside

And watch your friends grow
and rise up in the business,

And you're always gonna think,

"how much bigger
is this guy gonna get?"

Then you become
the biggest movie star

In the world, so that's--

Congratulations, my friend.

congratulations
to you too, jay.

all right. Let's keep cruising.

-Let's keep cruising.
-Let's lose this camera car!

excellent.

for more cool cars,
go to jaylenosgarage.Cnbc.Com.

Buckle up, folks,
it's time to assess and caress

With donald osborne.

the three cars
we're assessing today

Appear to have
nothing in common,

Actually, they do,

They were all
inspired by aircraft,

Much like our appraiser,
donald osborne,

Inspired by, I'm guessing,
the dirigible?

-The graf zeppelin.
-The graf zeppelin.

So tell us exactly what
we're dealing with here.

well, jay, we've got
a 1935 voisin c25 aérodyne,

We have a 1958 saab 93b,

And a 1949 cadillac
series 61 club coupe.

okay.

Shall we start with the one
that's most airplane-connected?

sure, that would be the voisin.

our 1935 c25 aérodyne.

Gabriel voisin was
a pioneering aviator in France

Before world w*r I,
and in fact,

He flew around the same time
as the wright brothers

And helped develop planes

Through the very beginning
of the 20th century.

we can see clearly
in this car

His aviation background.

I mean, even just
from the most obvious thing,

These wonderful struts

Connecting the radiator
to the fenders,

Just like the struts connecting
the fuselage of an airplane

To the wings.

And all of the details are
just absolutely astonishing,

All very
aircraft-related,

The way the hood hinges come up,

The door handles,

All of these little details,

And this car also has
a really neat sliding roof,

Which is also powered
by engine vacuum.

The whole roof slides back.

You see this track?
There's a metal track here,

And the whole metal roof
comes back,

And it's curved
to meet the curve here,

And it covers
the back window,

But there's a window
in the roof as well,

So they line up perfectly

So you can still
see out the back.

I mean, it's--it's...
It's fascinating.

The downfall to me
was the engine,

It was a sleeve valve engine.

But they were very smoky
and dirty.

I drove one of these once,

And people were
literally chasing me,

Because it's supposed to smoke,

That's just the way they were.

Let's move on to this one.

here we have
a product of a company

That was making airplanes,
saab,

And saab is the svenska
aeroplan aktie bolag,

Which is the swedish aeroplane
limited liability company.

You could tell the saabs
were definitely aerodynamic

Not just influenced,

But this is a car
designed by aero engineers.

So this wasn't aerodynamics
for the look of it,

They're actually
practical aerodynamics.

It was so different
from any other car.

it also has one
of my favorite features

In cars of this era, of course,
the suicide door,

-Which is absolutely glorious.
-No manufacturer ever used

The term "suicide door,"
by the way.

They shied away from it,
for some reason.

they shied away from that
for obvious reasons,

But it's a three-cylinder car.

If you have
a problem with the engine,

You just unbolt it,

Take it out,
put it on your workbench,

Fix the problem,

Then you put it back in again.

I'll show you
my favorite feature,

If you can see it.

Under the dash,
you pull this chain, you see,

And it blocks off the radiator
with a window shade.

But completely unconventional,

The engine is in front
of the radiator,

It's got this
office desk fan here

That cools it,

It's just a fascinating
piece of equipment.

now we'll go to our third car
on offer,

The 1949 cadillac
series 61 club coupe.

now this is one of my favorites,

Because this is unquestionably,

At the time it was built,

The greatest car in the world.

You had a v8 engine
with overhead valves,

You could get
air conditioning,

You could get
electric windows.

You got an automatic
transmission.

This was also I think,
at least in america,

The fastest car you could buy
when it came out.

Well, of course,
this is quite interesting, jay,

Because automotive production
for the civilian population

Shut down in 1942
for the w*r effort,

But the great harley earl

Who started the art and color
section at general motors

Took his designers
to the factories

Where they were building
these brand-new fighter planes,

And one of them was
the p-38 lightning.

And frank hershey,

Who was the head of design
for cadillac at the time,

Was so inspired
by the twin fuselage

Of the p-38.

If you look at pictures
of the p-38,

You can actually
see the shape,

Not just in the rear fender,

But in the overall shape
of the car,

With the shape
of the front fender,

The roof,
the fastback styling,

It's like the c*ck
in the center of the p-38.

All right,
now it's my turn to guess

Which one of these
has increased in value the most.

Well, having passed on a voisin
just similar to that

A number of years ago
for $125,000,

I would probably say
that has increased the most.

so you are going to stick
with the french car.

Go with french car.

the cadillac, five years ago,

Like this,
in very good condition,

Might have cost
about $60,000.

So this car today
could bring up to $75,000.

The saab is also
a very fascinating car.

It's very much
more of a niche market.

Five years ago,
a saab 93b

Might have cost about $10,000.

Today, you could not
possibly find one

For less than $15,000,

The voisin.

They made 25 of the model,

And they made six
of this particular body style.

One of the six
sold five years ago

For $1.925 million.

This one today
would sell for $4.975 million.

The winner of our
appreciation sweepstakes...

...Is me.

...Is the fellow who didn't buy
the car for $125,000,

The voisin.