Long before the Golden State Freeway cut through the San Fernando Valley, Burbank was connected to Downtown Los Angeles by one of the most advanced light-rail lines of its time: The Pacific Electric "Red Cars".

Long before Burbank became the media capital of the world, and decades before Walt Disney brought a sleek monorail system to Anaheim, a visionary eccentric named Joseph Wesley Fawkes had a wild dream. He wanted to connect the small, newly incorporated town of Burbank to downtown Los Angeles via a flying, propeller-driven aerial trolley.