Cutting-edge physics has driven military innovation for over a century, from Marie Curie’s x-ray machines of World War I to the quest for the atomic bomb during World War II. But these days, government defense departments are funding even more esoteric pursuits. We learned recently that the US Department of Defense is…
While the rest of us are still waiting for self-driving cars to become available, Google cofounder Larry Page and self-driving car pioneer Sebastian Thrun are already working on the Next Big Thing™ with Cora, the pilot-less air taxi from the ambitiously named Kitty Hawk aircraft company.
Last month, as a record-breaking heat wave swept through the southwest United States, dozens of flights were canceled when the blisteringly hot conditions made it hard for jets to take off. New research suggests this wasn’t a one-off event, and that global warming could make it increasingly difficult for planes around…
If you’re a nervous flyer, you’re probably going to want to skip this video, because after watching YouTube’s Linkerius fly so low to the ground that it looks like he’s perpetually going to crash, you’ll be terrified of ever stepping foot on a plane again.
The Libyan Air Force sure loves pulling wild stunts from inside its MiG fighter jets. This time we get to see the perspective of an insane low pass—and the plane flies so low that you’d think it was trying to land and touch down on the ground—from inside the cockpit. It’s a crazy new angle to the madness of flybys…
Building a wall between the US and Mexico is a bad idea, but building a wall between you and your seat mate while flying is complete and utter brilliance. As soon as you find your assigned seat the war over the armrest begins, but this tiny portable pop-up wall ensures both sides get equal use of it. It also prevents…
Satellites and autonomous drones have reduced our need for cutting-edge spy planes and stealth fighters. So Lockheed’s famed Skunk Works, creators of the SR-71 Blackbird, have now built a unique robot called the Spider that can crawl over the surface of blimps to find and fix tiny pinhole leaks.
The Air Force’s B-52 Bomber has been around since the 1950s and can hold up to 70,000 pounds of weapons. It’s a legendary beast that stretches 156 feet long, has a wingspan of 185 feet, and hits 40 feet tall. Known as the BUFF (that’s for Big Ugly Fat Fucker), it can hold nine weapons on each wing and 27 more inside…
The best part about flying on an airplane is that moment during the final approach: you look outside your airplane window and see the city where you’re about to land from way up above, and comment on why so many people have pools in their backyards and see how big the freeways are and delight at all the parks and so…
Overnight, Solar Impulse safely touched down at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania. That’s another 650 miles ticked off of its bid to circumnavigate the globe using only solar energy.
Following a full day of searches, military teams have announced that they have found debris, bodies and passenger belongings from the missing flight MS804 that crashed into the sea yesterday.
An EgyptAir Airbus A320 with 66 people on board has disappeared from radar above Egyptian airspace, somewhere over the eastern Mediterranean.
Here’s a British Airways Airbus A380 attempting to land at the Vancouver airport. You can see the world’s largest passenger airplane make its final approach and come so, so close to the ground—but then decide to abort and make a go-around instead. It’s crazy impressive to see such a big plane make a maneuver like this.
Just a great photo. Here’s the wall of fire display at the 2016 Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The silhouette of the plane against the giant dark orange and black flames makes it look more like art from some comic book than a real life shot.
Earlier this year, DARPA unveiled its latest concept design for a new vertical take-off and landing craft. Now, a working scale prototype has already made its first successful flight.
There really should be more flying boats flying around these days. They’re comically large and equipped with so many engines and their ability to take off and land on water is just so cool, from floating around to flying in no time. Here’s a collection of the biggest flying boats ever made, some of these were the…
When the DEA bought a spy plane in 2008, it was supposed to be a way to catch and transport dealers in Afghanistan. Instead, it turned into a corroding rust bucket in the desert, and a reminder of how dumb the government can be.
Here it is, folks, our first glimpse of the fully constructed Airlander 10. This floating behemoth measures 302-feet-long, which is 60 feet longer than a jumbo jet. If all goes well, the British-designed hybrid vehicle could see its inaugural test flight later this summer.
The UN’s panel on aviation has announced that airplanes should now be fitted with autonomous distress tracking devices which allow them to transmit their location during emergencies.