This is not a broken turboprop engine. It's a new radical aircraft engine design by French engine manufacturer Snecma, one that will forgo the traditional bypass system and remove the engine ducting altogether while reducing fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and engine noise. Read More >>
BA is to today become the first European airline to approve the use of technology including smartphones and tablets during take-off and landing, following last month's EASA decision to green-light in-flight gadgetry.Read More >>
There's been debate for years about whether people should be allowed to use their phones on planes. And with safety concerns diminishing, we've collectively moved on to other grievances: namely how annoying it will be to listen to five different phone conversations at once while trapped in a small, airborne pod. Read More >>
The default emotions in airports are pretty much all negative. You're either late, exhausted, frustrated, hungry, regretting that MacDonalds, remembering all the crucial things that were in the checked bag you'll never see again, or composing a complaint letter/Tweet in your head. But airports are also beautiful. Read More >>
There's a pretty harrowing video making its way around the internet today showing a Boeing 777 as it makes an attempt (and proceeds to fail miserably) at landing. But it's no crash—thanks to an insane crosswind, it literally cannot land. Read More >>
Chinese manufacturers are experts at knocking off just about anything, from "Rat Ban" sunglasses and "Wee" gaming consoles to, yes, "HiPhones." But now it looks like they're very close to copying another American export: They're bootlegging their Boeing 747s. Read More >>
With so many people cooped up in a tiny cabin 30,000 feet in the air, it's inevitable that at least one flight experience in your life is going to be less-than-stellar. But some experiences are much, much worse than others. So if you're travelling this holiday season and that baby next to you won't stop screaming, just be glad you weren't on any of these flights. And if you were, we are so, so sorry. Read More >>
Because they only have their main engines for propulsion, today's massive modern jet liners can burn hundreds of kilos of fuel just taxiing from the boarding gate to the runway. That translates to multiple tonnes of wasted fuel every year and more than £675 million in added operating expenses. But with this new electrical wheel drive, airliners will finally only need their engines for flying, not driving. Read More >>
Budget flier Easyjet increased its average profit-per-passenger from £4.81 per seat to £7.03 over the last year, thanks in part to letting passengers pay a little extra for the luxury of pre-booking a seat in advance and trying to bag a nice one with an extra few millimetres of knee/magazine clearance. Read More >>
By the end of WWII, the basics of helicopter technology as we know it had generally been worked out and we'd begun to reach the aircraft's physical limitations. For the US Air Force, the solution to this issue running up against these performance walls was simple: blorb the best parts of a helicopter and jet together into the chimeric delta-wing Convertiplane. Read More >>
Commercial planes have gotten bigger and bigger over the past few decades, but the size of the gate at most airports have stayed the same. To circumvent this little infrastructural disconnect, Boeing's future 777x jet will have a massive wingspan that folds up upon landing. Read More >>
After last month's hugely celebrated decision by the United States FAA to overturn the personal electronics ban on flights, Europe's EASA has come to a similar decision. The Guardian reports that by December, passengers on European flights will no longer have to turn off their mobiles, e-readers, or laptops, though larger devices will need to be stowed during takeoff and landing. The revolution's going worldwide! Read More >>
Everyone loves talking about 3D printing, but now it's really hitting the big time: Rolls-Royce has decided that it's going to use the technology to help make its airplane engines. Read More >>
The 10th anniversary of Concorde's last flight passed recently, and while many long, flowing euologies were written about British Airway's most famous plane, everyone seems to have forgotten that Concorde, whilst impressive, was just one in a long line of supersonic planes. Heck, it wasn't even the first commercial supersonic plane to fly. Read More >>
Soviet engineering is often derided as effective but crude and simplistic, but that's a bum rap. The USSR produced a number of technologies that were as visually arresting as they were effective. Just look at the sleek, humongous, flying hammerhead named Ekranoplan. Read More >>
4
