Learning to fly

Learning to fly or learn to fly may refer to:

To Fly!

To Fly! (1976) is a documentary film shot in the IMAX format. It follows the history of flight, from the first hot air balloons in the 19th century to 20th century manned space missions. It was created for performance at the National Air and Space Museum's IMAX Theater in Washington, D.C.

History

To Fly! was written by Jim Freeman, Greg MacGillivray, Tom McGrath, Francis Thompson, Robert M. Young and Arthur Zegart. It was directed by Freeman and MacGillivray, and edited by documentary filmmaker Alexander Hammid. In 1995, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

The movie was shown in 1979 at Six Flags Great America theme park's Pictorium and was the first movie shown at the new theatres.

To Fly! was the highest grossing documentary of all time before the release of Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004. It has grossed $86.6 million domestically and $120.7 million worldwide, which it has accumulated during its decades in release. The movie is still shown daily at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters is an American rock band, formed in Seattle in 1994. It was founded by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the death of Kurt Cobain and the resulting dissolution of his previous band. The group got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War II, which were known collectively as foo fighters.

Prior to the release of Foo Fighters' 1995 debut album Foo Fighters, which featured Grohl as the only official member, Grohl recruited bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both formerly of Sunny Day Real Estate, as well as Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear to complete the lineup. The band began with performances in Portland, Oregon. Goldsmith quit during the recording of the group's second album, The Colour and the Shape (1997), when most of the drum parts were re-recorded by Grohl himself. Smear's departure followed soon afterward.

Tom Petty

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Thomas Earl Petty (born October 20, 1950) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but is also known as a member and co-founder of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys (under the pseudonyms of Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr. and Muddy Wilbury) and Mudcrutch.

He has recorded a number of hit singles with the Heartbreakers and as a solo artist, many of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. His music has been classified as rock and roll, heartland rock and even stoner rock. His music, and notably his hits, have become popular among younger generations as he continues to host sold-out shows. Throughout his career, Petty has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Learn to Fly

"Learn to Fly" is the first single from the Foo Fighters' third album There Is Nothing Left to Lose, released in 1999.

Release and reception

The "Learn to Fly" single was released as a two disc CD set in the UK and Australia, as well as in Europe, and promotional singles were also released in other countries such as the US for radio play. In the US it was the band's first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 charting at number 19, and was the band's first #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It is also their highest charting on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart along with the 1996 hit "Big Me", reaching #13.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Jesse Peretz and won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video.

The music video for the song takes place on an commercial airliner, parodying the movie Airplane!, and by extension, the films Airport 1975 and its sequel Airport '77. Two airline mechanics (played by Jack Black and Kyle Gass from Tenacious D) smuggle and hide their narcotic known as "World Domination brand 'Erotic' Sleeping Powder" in the coffee-maker. This ends up incapacitating everyone who drinks the coffee. The take off sequence, in addition to the crew members hiding ulterior criminal motives, are a near shot-by-shot homage to the film Airport '77. The band, having avoided the coffee (choosing liquor instead), mirroring Karen Black's role in Airport 1975, find themselves forced to land the plane. For the video, each band member (Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, and Taylor Hawkins) portrays himself as well as several other roles, including an FBI agent who arrests the two mechanics.