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I'm Steve Watson, and I'm on a mission
to find America's most incredible new experiences...
Yeah, I'm driving a tank!
...new inventions...
I love it!
...and new destinations.
It's like a perfect vacation.
This is crazy.
I taste 10 G's in dogfight training school...
That just scared the [bleep] out of me.
That's just some weird magic stuff.
...a radical new technology
that gives us the power to make whatever we want...
I am truly amazed.
...cutting-edge electric engines
packing some serious horsepower...
That thing is sick.
...and a one-of-a-kind sandbox
where these are the toys you play with.
Yeah, baby.
This is the stuff Americans are doing and making.
This is actually happening.
Come along for a wild ride in search of the...
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
When most people think of Vegas,
they think neon lights and high rollers,
but did you know Vegas is also a hub of tactical air training?
Nellis Air Force Base, just north of the city,
is one of the world's largest military air-training schools.
Combat flying requires a rare skill set.
It may seem out of reach for most of us,
but it turns out about 10 miles south of the strip,
there's a civilian-pilot training center
where anyone can grab the throttle
and learn to be a fighter pilot.
First of all, you know, I'm a bit of a thrill seeker.
I'm glad you're an adrenaline junkie
because we're gonna pull 10 G's and set your hair on fire.
Well, right now we're at one G.
That's one times the force of gravity.
So if you're a 200-pound guy, at 10 G's,
your body weighs a ton -- 2,000 pounds.
So that's a lot of force put on the human body.
You've never experienced anything like that. I guarantee you.
Here's what I did today because I ain't no dummy.
I had a banana and a boiled egg, and that was it.
Tex, a.k.a. Richard Coe, is a retired F-16 fighter pilot.
He got such a rush flying combat missions
he decided to share that experience with civilians.
So he opened up Sky Combat Ace.
With packages that range from 400 to 1,800 bucks,
you can experience dogfighting
and extreme-combat flight training.
It's more than just a ride-along.
It's an immersive, you know, intense, interactive experience.
You're flying the plane.
So, Steve, you're the one manipulating the controls.
You're the one squeezing the trigger.
You're the one getting the satisfaction when you get a kill.
Before I can earn my wings,
I need to get a crash course in fighter pilot 101.
This is gonna be pretty intense.
Most people have never experienced
the kind of sensations you're gonna have today.
You could even black out.
WATSON: One of my classmates is a bartender named Alexi Marquez.
But from now on, we'll know each other only by call signs.
COE: "FNG" -- Freaking New Girl. All right.
You know what, you look like a high roller to me, man.
I'll do that.
You're in Las Vegas, baby.
All right, pray to whatever god you believe in,
go to the bathroom, and let's make it happen.
WATSON: Now it's time to find my ride.
I'll fly the $500,000 Extra 330LC,
the number-one advanced-maneuver aircraft in the world.
I'm about to get in the front, not the back --
the front of this plane.
And because people are crazy,
they're gonna give me the controls to said plane.
Here's the little, white bag. Hopefully that's not needed.
The wings are carbon fiber. It's stronger than steel.
Okay.
[ Engine turns over ]
The six-cylinder engine boasts an impressive 330 horsepower.
Ace...cleared for takeoff right now.
And I'm about to find out first hand what that feels like.
This is actually happening right now.
Here we go, baby.
I'm experiencing the power of a plane
that is climbing from zero to over 3,000 feet
in 60 seconds.
Oh [bleep]
There it is.
We're pulling up to 10 G's, more than an F-16.
That was a pretty intense response right there.
COE: Yeah, it responds, that's for sure.
The thrust-to-weight ratio
means it's ideal for aerial dogfighting
because there are absolutely zero prohibitive maneuvers.
Almost no airplane in the world has that feature.
If you can imagine it,
you can actually go out and try it in this airplane.
WATSON: Before official training begins...
All right, tell us you're ready on the radio, Roller.
Okay, let's do this.
...Tex takes the controls
and shows me some basic spins and rolls.
Here we go, baby!
Oh, my [bleep]
Beautiful!
WATSON: Okay.
WATSON: Now it's my turn to take the throttle
and learn some basic fighter maneuvers.
First up, the barrel roll.
COE: Okay, kiddos, we're gonna start with a crossover.
Pull when I tell you -- left pedal now.
One, two, three, go.
I'm working the controls to do a horizontal 360
and leapfrog to the other side of these planes.
Pull back in the stick. Oh, yeah! Neutralize.
Beautiful.
Thanks.
That was one sweet move.
Next up, gun training.
In this case, a specially designed system
like something out of a video game.
COE: This is the gun camera.
It's an optical targeting system
that's basically calibrated to protect when you have a hit,
and then you see smoke coming out of your opponent's airplane.
[ Gunfire ]
WATSON: School's out.
It's time for my first dogfight.
My opponent has the same exact arsenal
and just as good a plane.
COE: It's gonna be Roller versus FNG.
May the best man, and/or woman, win.
All right, kids, here we go. Ace 1 and 3, turn in.
Fight's on, fight's on.
You got the controls.
All right, FNG, it's go time.
There she is.
Uh-oh, she may be coming around!
I immediately lose sight of her.
All right, now, go vertical. Go vertical.
Oh, yeah, feel the G's. Whoo-hoo!
Thankfully, my man Tex has eyes on her and gives me directions.
Ease off the pull. Beautiful.
Suddenly, she's right on my tail.
Uh-oh! There she is. All right. Come left. Come left.
I try to roll away, but she stays with me, and then...
[ Gunfire ]
Oh, no! Ace 1's been hit! Whoo!
Damn it!
Nice work, FNG! Thank you!
Thank you! You just killed the host of the show.
Thankfully, I get a second chance.
All right, ready for your round two.
Time for a rematch.
Ace 1 and 3, fight's on, fight's on.
This round I'm not wasting time, so I make the first move.
[Bleep] we're going vertical, baby.
All right. You got the controls.
But then something goes wrong.
Oh, she's coming back.
[ Engine sputters ]
What just happened?
Almost like the engine quit.
Holy [bleep]
COE: Captured.
WATSON: I'm in the middle of training
at one of the only civilian dogfight schools
in the country -- Sky Combat Ace.
Here we go, baby.
But I've gotten myself in a bit of trouble.
[ Engine sputters ]
What just happened?
Almost like the engine quit.
We're flying backwards. Look at the smoke.
Holy [bleep]
That was crazy.
Turns out my instructor, Tex, is putting me through the paces
of an evasive maneuver called the hammerhead...
COE: Let's just do one more.
...where I go straight up as fast as possible,
and as the engine is on the verge of quitting,
I pull a 180 and fly down.
[ Laughs ]
It's horrifying...
I'm just [bleep] with you, brother.
...but that move has put me back in the dogfight
and in perfect position to take out my opponent.
Don't give up!
Locked and loaded.
There you go!
She's doing everything she can to get away.
Hard left! Hard left! Get with 'em!
But my aim is true.
She ain't gonna shake us that easy. Right there!
[ Gunfire ]
Whoo-hoo!
Yeah!
Victory roll.
Nicely done!
Best day ever, man.
With more vehicles on the road than any state in the union,
California is about pushing the limits
to get from point "A" to point "B."
In Big Bear, California,
a revolution in two-wheel technology is underway
from a new breed of electric mountain bikes
designed to go where no bike has gone before
to an experimental electric sport bike
that's being developed deep in the California woods
in the home of Dan Hanebrink.
How's it going? Good to see you.
HANEBRINK: I call this the Bat Cave.
This bike right here.
From the kitchen to the laundry room to the basement...
It is built from the ground up, okay, by us.
...Dan's cabin is a mess of creativity.
I love the fact that you actually live your work.
You have bikes everywhere. That's amazing.
Dan builds custom motorcycles and bicycles.
It feels great. It feels great.
MAN: Main engine start.
He's got street cred as a former NASA engineer,
and he's a six-time national mountain-bike champion.
So now he's putting his engineering expertise to work
opening up new terrain to mountain bikers.
HANEBRINK: I really wanted to ride in the wintertime,
so I kept thinking,
"How can I build a bike that will go in the snow?"
Standard mountain bikes...
Well, they just aren't made for the snow.
So Dan developed a series of new all-terrain bikes.
Each one is hand-crafted right here in America,
with an aircraft-grade aluminum-tube frame,
hydraulic-disc brakes, and super-fat tires
to handle any terrain, like snow and sand.
But those fat tires created a new problem.
If you start out with heavy wheels,
your vehicle is gonna be hard pressed
to ever have the performance, the range,
the ability to go on soft terrain.
Dan's answer -- shave every ounce
from the tubeless rubber tire and aluminum axle
till the whole thing weighs just four pounds.
The result -- record-setting success.
A Hanebrink bike became the first ever
to make an Antarctic trek.
The BBC rode two of our bikes to the South Pole.
It is absolutely a world's record.
It has never been done before.
But Dan wasn't finished.
To take his bikes to the next level,
he integrated a new innovation --
an electric motor assist.
This battery is half the size and weight
of a conventional lithium-ion battery.
We made it in the USA, and this one's good
for about an hour of running and roughly 20 miles.
Well, let's get out here,
Great.
Whoo!
I'm riding one of Dan's latest creations, the Hustler X3.
Just hit the throttle, the electric assist powers you
to 20 miles an hour.
It's like a hybrid car engine,
but the other power source isn't gas.
It's the pedals.
Combine the throttle and pedals,
and a determined rider could hit 35 miles an hour.
Holy [bleep]
My favorite thing about it -- all you're hearing is wind go by.
And it's just -- I mean, it's killer, man.
I tell you.
The price tag on this bike is north of 5,000 bucks,
about on par with high-end mountain bikes.
It just opens up so many different possibilities
of the things you can do on a mountain bike.
But Dan didn't stop with mountain bikes.
Just 45 minutes away,
where the mountain meets the desert,
Dan is fine-tuning another American-built innovation --
his fully electric sport motorcycle the Hustler X5.
It's not the only electric sport bike out there,
but it's the industry leader when it comes to range.
The X5 can travel up to 200 miles on a single charge.
He's hauling ***.
You'd expect a sport bike to sound like this.
[ Motor whines ]
But instead, it's more like...
[ Silence ]
The amazing thing is it's so quiet, just -- [ Exhales ]
And now I'm ready to ride it. Bring that thing over here.
I ain't scared.
As I ride off,
it's clear this bike has way more muscle than I thought.
I hope the power of this bike and the curves on this track
don't wipe me out.
[ Tires squeal ]
WATSON: From dogfights to snow bikes...
Killer.
...I'm traveling America checking out
what we're doing and making.
Right now, I'm riding
inventor Dan Hanebrink's fully electric Hustler X5.
Hell, we might be seeing the future.
The Hustler X5 maxes out at 80 miles an hour,
trading top speed for an industry-leading range
of 200 miles per charge.
Wow!
But the brushless motor has near zero friction.
Holy [bleep]
That means huge torque and instant acceleration.
So this bike will easily beat a gas-powered bike off the line.
Oh, my God! This is [bleep] awesome!
What do you think?
That thing is sick, man. That thing is sick.
You're out there, and it feels like
you're on very little to nothing,
until you hit that throttle all the way into high gear,
then you're like, "Yeah, I'm on something."
This is pretty cool [bleep] Thank you.
Today I'm in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
the home of Harvard, M.I.T.,
and a bunch of really smart people.
Behind the walls of this building
is a new start-up company called formlabs.
They raised $3 million in one month on Kickstarter,
and I'm about to find out why.
An IBM exec once predicted
no one would ever want a computer.
Turns out he was wrong.
Well, this may be the next unlikely game changer --
3-D printing.
The folks here are making a new American machine
that promises to unleash even more American innovation.
3-D printers create 3-dimensional solid objects
from digital models.
They're more precise and create less waste
than traditional manufacturing, making them a must-have tool
to rapidly produce models and prototypes.
But with a price tag that reaches six figures,
3-D printers are out of reach for small-scale innovators
until now.
This is a Form 1 that we're in the middle of building right now.
WATSON: Recent college grads Max Lobovsky and Luke Winston
head formlabs.
Their mission -- level the innovation playing field
by opening up 3-D printing
to small businesses and individuals.
Before the Form 1, this kind of technology
was just so ridiculously expensive.
Once you get this kind of power in a bunch of people's hands,
innovation's gonna speed up even more.
It's gonna be an amazing sight to see.
WATSON: 3-D printers are making headlines
for printing shoes, race cars, and even red-carpet dresses.
The basic idea behind 3-D printing
is that it's an additive process --
printing an item one slice at a time
by slowly layering material like plastic resin.
LOBOVSKY: You build the part up layer by layer.
So if you imagine, like, a 2-D printer draws an image
on a piece of paper.
If you repeated that process
and kind of built up layers of an image,
you could build up your part.
WATSON: So I got to see this thing in action.
Is this ready to go into production now,
LOBOVSKY: It's pretty much ready to go.
WATSON: There are already thousands of 3-D designs posted online.
I'm choosing a bracelet.
It'll make a nice gift for the missus.
Basically you put in the C.A.D. drawing,
and you just hit "form," and there it goes.
It does its thing.
And then you can see the process as it's going on, right?
WINSTON: On the printer there, it says "736 slices."
It prints each one one at a time.
The key to the formlabs printer is a powerful laser.
The laser draws on the surface of a plastic resin,
literally sculpting the five-inch bracelet.
And so how long does it take to print?
There's, like, a rule of thumb --
like 15 millimeters per hour, but when you compare it
to actually prototyping this through other means,
it's actually an extremely quick thing.
You don't have to send this out and have someone else do it
and sculpt it, send it back to you.
That could take weeks to get that done.
I am truly amazed.
WATSON: A platform then raises the now-solid surface.
The process continues layer by layer
until the part is finished.
It looks like it finished what it was doing.
Smell is strong.
WINSTON: There you go.
So go ahead and come on over here to the finishing station.
For the final step, we'll remove the plastic base
and clean the bracelet in alcohol.
What started out as a picture on a screen
has turned into this that came out of the 3-D printer.
Pretty amazing.
Along with plastic resin, it's now possible
to print metal, glass, and even concrete.
What areas could this help advance?
Custom implants -- skull injury --
a piece of your skull that fits
exactly the part that needs to be replaced.
To be so highly customized of something like the human body
is really amazing.
I mean, that's like just weird magic stuff.
WATSON: The real magic here is that a tool
once reserved for expensive specialty work
now has a $3,000 price tag,
putting us a step closer to home manufacturing
in the near future.
Instead of buying a chair at the store,
you'll be able to print it.
It was a picture on the screen, and next thing you know,
it turns into this that comes out of that machine.
That, to me, I think is pretty cool.
Today we're in Las Vegas, Nevada,
the world's biggest adult playground,
but I found a playground of a different kind.
These are the machines that help build America,
but today they're just for getting dirty
and having a whole lot of fun.
This is Dig This Vegas.
Located just a mile from the Las Vegas strip,
Dig This Vegas is a five-acre sandbox.
It's the only place in the world
where you can play with these machines.
The king of this playground is Ed Mumm.
I was building a house in Colorado,
and then I decided to do all the excavating work myself.
And in two hours, I was hooked.
And then I thought to myself, "If I'm having this much fun,
imagine the amount of people I can get
to do this sort of stuff.
WATSON: 250 bucks gets you 90 minutes of play time
on a bulldozer or an excavator.
I worked construction back in the day,
and I always wanted to test myself on the heavy equipment.
My trainer, Travis, is putting me through a series of trials
to see if I have what it takes.
I basically get out there
and have a good time with this big bad boy.
And if I pass these tests, I'll get a shot to do this.
WATSON: I'm Steve Watson, and I'm searching
for America's coolest new innovations and experiences
from the fast and furious to the next big thing.
And right now I'm in a one-of-a-kind
heavy-equipment playground,
and I have the controls of an 18-ton excavator.
Here we go.
First up, the basic job of an excavator -- moving earth.
Yeah.
Excavators have been doing the heavy lifting since 1835
when William Otis invented the steam shovel,
revolutionizing construction.
I can sit out here and do this all day long.
I mean, the power is amazing.
So much power in the hands of a skilled operator,
this excavator can move 150 tons of earth per day.
For the next test, Travis is letting me feel for myself
how 50 gallons of hydraulic fluid
under 5,000 P.S.I. of pressure
can power an arm to tilt this 18-ton machine on edge.
Oh, my God!
Now that I've mastered strength training,
it's time for excavator dexterity.
Travis wants me to pick up this basketball
and dunk it into that bucket.
Oh! Dang.
Scooping big piles of dirt is one thing,
but the challenge here -- operate the boom and bucket
with the motor skills of a surgeon to pick up this ball.
Ohh!
Damn it.
Oh, good. Even better.
There we go.
With that shot, I qualify for the grand prize --
living out the fantasy of every American
who's ever had car trouble.
Damage Incorporated.
[ Laughs ]
Oh, my God!
I just want to do this all day long, guys.
How are those windows still intact?
Smash those windows.
Yeah!
Look at that!
That's a work of art!
I can't take it.
I just -- That's beautiful.