Name: How to Build
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2010-06-27

Overview

Britain's iconic and 'secretive' engineering companies reveal how they build the world's most amazing machines. The first part of the series "How to build a nuclear submarine" a documentary following the construction of the Astute nuclear submarine. The second part of the series "How to build a jumbo jet engine", the story of the thousands of people who design, build and test engines at Rolls-Royce’s manufacturing plants in Derby and across the UK, making Rolls-Royce a central part of life for the people of places like Derby. The third and final part of the series "How to build Britain's secret engineers" when the documentary team follows workers at a leading British company on a global journey, as they reveal a handful of their secretive projects including getting Chinook helicopters ready for front line service.

Seasons

Season 1

3 Episodes

2010

E01

A Nuclear Submarine

6/27/2010·60m

Fourteen years to design and build and costing around a billion pounds, nuclear submarine the Astute is one of the most technologically advanced and controversial machines in the world. For over a year the BBC filmed its construction inside one of the most secure and secret places in the country. The film features many of the workers including Erin Browne, a 19-year-old apprentice electrician who wires up the boat; Commander Paul Knight, responsible for the safety of the nuclear reactor; and Derek Parker, whose job involves moving massive pieces of the submarine that weigh hundreds of tons into position before the welding team join them together. Computer graphics go inside the construction of the submarine itself, giving a blueprint of the design, the life-support systems and weaponry. They also help to illustrate the areas that could not be filmed due to national security. The story takes a dramatic turn when an unforeseen event means the submarine has to sail into the open sea for the first time during one of the wettest and windiest weekends of the year.

E02

A Jumbo Jet Engine

7/4/2010·60m

The story of the thousands of people who design, build and test jet engines at Rolls-Royce's manufacturing plants across the UK, and the astonishing technology behind the engines.

E03

Britain's Secret Engineers

7/11/2010·60m

Workers at British defence contractor QinetiQ reveal a handful of their secretive projects, including robots to defuse roadside bombs.

Season 2

3 Episodes

2011

E01

A Super Jumbo Wing

11/13/2011·60m

Britain is one of the world leaders in aerospace manufacturing and there's one part of a plane the UK is reputed to make better than anyone else - the wings. It's often said that no matter what else is done and what innovations are introduced, the wing defines the aircraft. The A380 wing is the largest ever produced for a civil airliner, at 17.7 metres from front to back and 36.3 metres from fuselage to wingtip. The maximum length of metal in a single wing is 46 metres and the result is an aircraft with a tip-to-tip wingspan of 79.8 metres, making the A380 the world's biggest passenger aircraft. The film follows some of the people who work at the two main Airbus factories in the UK. In Filton, near Bristol (which has manufactured aircraft for almost 100 years, including Concorde) we meet engineers and designers at the company's cutting-edge research and development facility, and in Broughton, in North Wales, one of Europe's biggest factories, we meet the people who actually build the massive wing.

E02

A Super Car

11/20/2011·60m

With extraordinary access to one of the country's most secretive companies, this shows how Formula One racing team McLaren is now building a road car using some of their F1 technology. During the summer of 2011, McLaren launched the MP4-12C. It is claimed that this 168,500 pound super car is one of the most cutting-edge and glamorous machines ever built and shows British design and precision engineering at its best. The programme goes inside the McLaren factory, meets the team of engineers and McLaren boss Ron Dennis, and discovers how the car has been designed, tested and built from scratch, including its unique carbon-fibre 'monocell' technology and its engine - the first the company has ever built. Plus the film finds out what racing drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton think about the car and there is a look at how its sound was created in a studio. To build the car the company also had to build a brand new facility. The film follows events as production starts and discovers if the huge investment - and gamble - looks like paying off.

E03

A Satellite

11/27/2011·60m

Some of the best and most up-to-date communication satellites in the world are designed and built in Stevenage in Britain. With exclusive access to specialist manufacturer Astrium, this program shows step-by-step how to assemble one of the most complicated machines in the world. The team is followed as they construct a massive communication satellite; from the inner carbon-fibre skeleton to the fuel tanks and engines. At the Portsmouth site, the electronic 'payload' is built and then tested. It has to operate for a minimum of fifteen years - guaranteed, and so precision is everything; these machines are built inside rooms cleaner than the cleanest operating theatre. Once the satellite is built and tested, it is sent to France where solar arrays and antenna dishes are added before it is boxed up and sent for launch in French Guiana in South America. Finally, there is the tense countdown to lift-off - the most dangerous moment of the satellite's life.