Historical story

Labyrinth:flying

Change in aviation is slow. And there have been discussions for decades about how the ancestors of birds once chose the skies. What do we know about the origin of flies and what will the future look like? An episode of Labyrinth.

The evolution of flying

How dinosaurs — the ancestors of birds — once took to the skies has been something paleontologists have debated for decades. Did they do that by running really fast or by jumping out of a tree? Whether the Archaeoteryx, the oldest known bird, actually flew, will never be known. But the answer to the question of whether he was able to fly has come a lot closer through research.


Flying dino landing found

Adiël clog maker

Birds also lost their lives en masse

Adiël clog maker

Archaeopteryx had 'mental' ability to fly

Tom van Loon

Dino with bird lungs

Elles Lalieu

The rise of human flight

We take the plane more and more. But flying is not just a technique that fulfills the practical need to move people, animals and goods quickly from one place to another. Flying still gives us the thrill deep in our hearts. The same kick it gave the Wright brothers 100 years ago:the pioneers of aviation. How have their inventions all changed in the past century?


How flying changed our lives

Sybe Rispens

Flying with ground effect

Ir Edwin van Opstal

Record flight with flapping flying machine

Marije Nieuwenhuizen

Helicopter will flap its wings

Bennie Mols

The portable radar

Bruno van Wayenburg

The bird's-eye view

Birds and airplanes have more in common than many biologists think. For example, why does a swallow never crash during its sharp turns in mid-air? Also, birds in a flock do not form a random pattern, but there is indeed a hierarchical structure. Do birds that fly in flocks have a collective mind that allows them to move as one? Are they animals with a highly developed cognition or is there a complex instinct? More about the different ways birds move in the air.


Birds fly in hierarchical pattern

Maartje Kouwen

The magic of a flock of starlings

Fly show of swift is whirling

Tim van Oijen

Why a swift never crashes

Arno van 't Hoog

Antenna important for navigation

Elles Lalieu

Flying into the future

The inspection process in the field of aviation is long:you will only see everything that is developed in about 30 years. As a result, we are currently flying with outdated equipment. But new ways of flying are desperately needed. Because just as the Bronze Age once ended, so will the Oil Age. So now we have to think about airplanes for the future.


For sale:flying car

Sven de Jong

Then go into the air

Guido van den Heuvel

Small 'drones', a revolution in aviation

Guido van den Heuvel

Solar Impulse flies on sunlight

Sven de Jong

Space for Innovation

Roel van der Heijden