. >> aviators like charles lindbergh and amelia earhardt were the astronauts of the day, pushing to go higher, fut and faster. >> aviation was the hot ticket in those days. >> you might say walker of ft. wayne, indiana, was born to fliechlt as a boy no one could imagine what the future held for this son of an architect, although his childhood mischief would offer some ominous foreshadowing. >> my big delight was to make a model airplane made of balsa wood, go up on the roof, send it off and see how long it took it to crash. >> many of the military's top brass had disdain for the aeroplane. but some in uniform did believe. none more outspoken and zealous than billy mitchell. >> billy mitchell believed that air power could be decisive in warfare and that the next war would be won by air power. >> mitchell's visionary idea that the united states should have a separate air force made him some enemies, but it also made him friends. many of them, world war i pilots like captain robert oles. >> this is my dad. >> his son can still remember hearing the fly boys spin their yarns. >> i used to s