Flight of the Future - Science Fiction or Reality

Every other Wednesday we present a new video, so
join us to see the truth laid bare..
In the not too distant future strange craft will zoom
across our skies. These are not UFOs, they're not alien
craft from another planet, these are machines
developed and built by human engineers and
designers. Today's science fiction will become
tomorrow's reality. These are the aircraft of the future!
What you're about to see is a glimpse into the future
of aviation. Winged aircraft as we know them will
soon be a thing of the past. Across the world
designers are racing to create fantastic new aircraft
that can fly humans higher, faster, and further than
ever before. New military designs, airliners that can
take us to the edge of space and around the planet in
minutes, and new propulsion systems that will make
the jet engine obsolete forever.One casualty of this race for the future sits abandoned
on an airfield, this fighter was more advanced than
aircraft in service, but was already obsolete. It was
the loser in the engineering competition of the
century. In 1985 the United States Air Force
demanded a new fighter plane, one that would
incorporate the most up-to-date advances in stealth
and agility. Two multibillion dollar designs by rival
companies took to the air in a fight to the death. One
was the Northrop YF-23, it had diamond shaped
wings. The other was the Lockheed YF-22. The
winner would become the backbone of the US Air
Force, the loser a billion dollar pile of scrap.
A fierce fight was about to take place between the two
most advanced fighter aircraft ever built. The test
pilots fought to outperform each other. But after the
YF-23's wheels touched the ground it never flew again.
With its greater performance and agility, the YF-22
was chosen to take the US Air Force into the next
millennium. It is a truly remarkable craft, it is able to
reach speeds and perform manoeuvres far beyond
that of the front line fighter of the time, the McDonnell
Douglas F-15 Eagle.