After 80 years of saving lives, the Hawaii Mars and the Philippine Mars will finally be honoured as heroes.
Fire Guardians: Final Flight follows a scrappy team of pilots, engineers and mechanics as they re-awaken two slumbering giants. As fires rage more frequently all over the globe, this exclusive series is both timely and thought-provoking: these flying legends are a soaring symbol of hope that the world needs now more than ever.
EPISODE 1: HAWAII MARS
On a quiet lake in British Columbia, a legend awakens. After nearly a decade in slumber, the Hawaii Mars, the world’s largest flying boat, must rise once more for a final journey. Engineers and pilots, many pulled out of retirement, reunite to breathe life into this 80-year-old giant. From seized bolts and leaking rivets to balky engines and vintage equipment, every step forward feels like a race against time. Crowds gather lakeside as the crew wrestles with mechanical setbacks, hoping to see the aircraft’s thunderous roar one last time. With the Snowbirds flying in tribute overhead, the Hawaii Mars takes flight toward her museum home, an emotional farewell to an aircraft that once ruled the skies and tamed wildfires.
EPISODE 2: PHILIPPINE MARS
Eighteen years after its last flight, the Philippine Mars must awaken for the most perilous journey of its life; a 3,000-kilometer odyssey to Arizona. But the ancient giant resists. Engines belch smoke, rivets leak, and water seeps into its massive hull as crews battle oil pressure failures and corroded systems. Each test run across Sproat Lake devours thousands of dollars in fuel, while Pacific storms close in and winter’s grip tightens. An engine swap with its sister ship buys the team more time, but every setback pushes the mission closer to collapse. As the world’s last flying boat struggles to rise again, the question lingers: can this battered legend survive the skies long enough to reach its final home?
EPISODE 3: THE FINAL JOURNEY
As the mighty Philippine Mars makes its final journey, the crew faces one setback after another; an engine failure, oil leaks, and relentless Pacific weather that threaten to ground the historic aircraft for good. With Coast Guard support and round-the-clock repairs, the team battles dwindling odds to keep the world’s largest flying boat airborne. From tense troubleshooting on the tarmac to nerve-wracking test flights over Vancouver Island, every decision could mark the difference between triumph and disaster. At last, against all expectations, the Mars clears the Golden Gate Bridge and touches down in California, its final flight toward retirement at the Pima Air & Space Museum.