At Toronto’s Pearson Airport a six year-old boy experiences flight for the first time. He will cross the Atlantic Ocean at 700 kilometers per hour and land three hours later in St-Lucia. It is an experience he can barely imagine, and one he will never forget. A flight of this distance and speed seemed utterly unthinkable 100 years ago when the first “heavier than air” plane bumped along a frozen lake in Cape Breton before achieving liftoff for a brief, exhilarating moment. The Silver Dart was a first for Canada, indeed for the entire British Empire. First Flight illustrates how flight has changed individuals and revolutionized a country. It captures the passion of a group of aviation devotees as they painstakingly stitch the canvas wings and hammer together a replica of the Silver Dart, hoping to experience the thrill of flying the same way the early pilots did. We encounter Canadian astronaut Julie Payette who describes the exaltation of being blasted into space, and meet a young immigrant whose first flight will transport him to a dramatically different life in Canada. We also follow the training of a fighter pilot as he takes command of a CF 18 for the very first time. First Flight was directed by Leora Eisen and produced by Lesley Cameron. It will air on Oct. 8th at 8pm on CBC.