Episodes

Episode 1 - Mega Truck

Prising open the Mega Truck’s metal skin will reveal its engineering secrets and their extraordinary roots in history and nature

Episode 2 - Super Airship

Aviation history is about to be made at Tustin Airbase, California, as Dragon Dream takes to the sky for the very first time

Episode 3 - Mega Lift Ship

Exploring the engineering breakthroughs within this steel giant will reveal surprising secrets of how the technology evolved, inspired by extraordinary lessons from nature and history

Episode 4 - Super Train

Using stunning CGI animation to explode open one of the world’s fastest trains to reveal the extraordinary technology that it depends on to race from Venice to Rome in less than four hours

Episode 5 - Mega Digger

How does the Mega Digger’s incredible 70-ton bucket mimic nature’s mightiest digger – the mole? Which device from an 18th century clock enables the PC8000 to rotate 360 degrees in only 20 seconds?

Episode 6 - Mega Lift Helicopter

How did the Air-Crane’s incredible jet engines evolve from a medieval cooking device? Why is a bat’s claw the perfect blueprint for the Air-Crane’s unbreakable steel cargo hooks?

Episode 7 - Ultimate Dragster

Rise of the Machines uses stunning CGI animation to explode open the fastest accelerating vehicle on the planet

Episode 8 - Aircraft Carrier

At critical moments, spectacular CGI will crack open the steel hull of the Aircraft Carrier and plunge us deep into its inner workings. Uncovering the engineering breakthroughs within this lethal leviathan reveals surprising stories of how the technology evolved

Episode 9 - Super Jumbo Jet

How do the A380’s shape-shifting wings mimic a bald eagle’s flexible feathers? How have the fan-blades inside the A380’s super-powered jet engines evolved from the slashing Samurai sword?

Episode 10 - Ice Crawler

How does the Ice Crawler’s hydraulic snow shovel mimic the anatomy of the giant Himalayan jumping spider? How does a lightning bolt help driver Steve navigate the steep mountain terrain in the pitch black of night?

Episode 9 - Super Jumbo Jet

RISE OF THE MACHINES uses stunning CGI animation to explode open the world’s largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, to reveal the incredible technology that transports 520 passengers 9,000 kilometers in ten hours.

Inheriting a two-hour delay, Air France’s senior A380 pilot Claude Godel must battle gridlock on the ground and turbulence in the air to guide the 500-ton jet from Los Angeles to Paris. Two-thirds of the passengers are anxious to make connecting flights, and Claude’s team must use all the technology inside this mega-machine to cut the delay.

To plot the fastest course across the Atlantic, Claude must find the most powerful part of the jet stream, a route that brings the aircraft towards dangerous turbulence. Peeling apart this double-decked giant will reveal five key inventions that keep the passengers safe and comfortable while cruising at 40,000 feet. How do the A380’s shape-shifting wings mimic a bald eagle’s flexible feathers? How have the fan-blades inside the A380’s super-powered jet engines evolved from the slashing Samurai sword? With 300,000 pounds of thrust and the world’s most advanced airplane wings at his disposal, every minute will count as Captain Godel streams through the skies at a speed of 950 kilometres per hour.

Credits
Producer/Director
for Discovery Canada, Quest
Distributed by Cineflix