aviation news

Forget those cigar-shaped dirigibles of yore. German-American collaboration has produced a tadpole-like airship that could debut within days, and make even a jaded Sky Captain take a second look.

Solar Impulse: The Solar Impulse is the prototype of a fuel-free aircraft that is designed to circle the globe on sunlight alone.   Solar Impulse/Stephane Gros

As environmental concerns increasingly shape the direction of technology, the future of aviation is no exception: scientists have been looking to replace fuel-guzzling aircraft with solar-powered variants, an innovation that, in addition to passing the green test, would also enable planes to linger in the sky for longer.

A few years from now, bird-watchers may be in for a double take: that flapping creature in the distance? Nope, not a bird. Mutant dragon fly? Nope--it's Darpa's latest unmanned aerial robo-sentinel, inspired by the flight mechanics of birds.

This fall, Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard and his team will begin test flights of a prototype of Solar Impulse, a sun-powered plane designed to circumnavigate the globe without burning a drop of oil. Piccard wants the project to demonstrate the potential of green technology, and he’s feeling the pressure. "We still have to prove that this plane will fly," he says.

This fall, Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard and his team will begin test flights of a prototype of Solar Impulse, a sun-powered plane designed to circumnavigate the globe without burning a drop of oil. Piccard wants the project to demonstrate the potential of green technology, and he’s feeling the pressure. "We still have to prove that this plane will fly," he says.

What happened to you, Holland? You used to be cool. As every popped-collar, half-witted frat boy and Bonnaroo-attending, blond dreadlock-wearing neo-hippie moron repeats ad nauseum, you were the country kindest to the kind bud.

Well, apparently Dutch robots aren't quite so accepting of a little puff now and then.

After frightening revelations that hackers have already managed to break into the computer systems that control huge swaths of the United States' power grid and other pieces of national infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reports that cyber-spies have broken into the Pentagon's Joint Strike Fighter program -- its costliest initiative -- and made off with several terabytes of sensitive data.

Unfortunately, there’s pretty much no way to protect jet engines from geese or other large birds. In fact, fastening some sort of shield over a jet engine could actually make things worse.

Unfortunately, there’s pretty much no way to protect jet engines from geese or other large birds. In fact, fastening some sort of shield over a jet engine could actually make things worse.

Intended for novice fliers who have received the FAA’s new, more accessible sport-pilot license, the A5 is a low-cost, seaworthy, easy-to-fly, easy-to-store aircraft that aims to bring personal flight to the masses. This sleek floatplane has folding wings that make it compact enough to tow home and stow in your garage.

Imagine a car veering off a lonely mountain road and tumbling down the embankment. Minutes later, a sleek aircraft zooms in quietly at 230 miles an hour, tilts its wings and rotors up, hovers, and sets down just feet from the wreck. The pilot and a medic load the injured driver into the aircraft and zip back to a hospital at twice the speed of a conventional helicopter ambulance.

Imagine a car veering off a lonely mountain road and tumbling down the embankment. Minutes later, a sleek aircraft zooms in quietly at 230 miles an hour, tilts its wings and rotors up, hovers, and sets down just feet from the wreck. The pilot and a medic load the injured driver into the aircraft and zip back to a hospital at twice the speed of a conventional helicopter ambulance.

It sounds like a Hollywood concept, but DARPA wants to make the submersible aircraft a reality -- and they need your help. This week, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency put out a request for designs: they want a vehicle with a 2,000-pound capacity that can cover an area of about 1,000 nautical miles, fly that distance in just eight hours, and -- by the way -- fly both above and below water.

For many, the word "apprentice" brings to mind the whimsical scene from Disney's Fantasia where Mickey Mouse, the poor peon to the sorcerer, creates a mess of his master's workspace when the brooms and buckets come to life in a magical musical number. The helicopter apprenticeship at Stanford University seems to contain some of the same elements of unrealism, as helicopters learn to fly and execute complex airborne tricks without a human pilot in the cockpit. In this case, however, there is science behind the magic.