The Federal Aviation Administration announced the launch of 169 new flight routes along the East Coast on Monday. These new flight paths are estimated to annually trim 6,000 minutes and 40,000 miles from US plane travel. The revamped trajectories, some of which extend into the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, come after seven […]
Watch NASA’s bizarre and bulbous Super Guppy cargo plane touch down in Alabama
After over half a century of loyal service, the world’s last remaining Super Guppy aircraft continues to dutifully transport NASA’s gigantic rocket parts in its cavernous, hinged cargo bay. On Tuesday, the Huntsville International Airport posted a video and accompanying images to social media of the rotund plane arriving from Kennedy Space Center. Perhaps somewhat […]
These wearables might protect astronauts from space ‘death spirals’
There’s an aviation term called the “death spiral”—when pilots’ skewed sensory perceptions contradict the accurate readings on their instruments, causing confusion and leading to bad course corrections. As the name implies, this often leads to tragic consequences—many experts believe such an issue contributed to John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s fatal crash in 1999, as well as […]
The Marines are getting supersized drones for battlefield resupply
On April 11, the Department of Defense announced that it was allocating just over $8 million for 21 new delivery drones. These flying machines, officially called the TRV-150C Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft Systems, are made by Survice Engineering in partnership with Malloy Aeronautics. The TRV-150C is a four-limbed drone that looks like a quadcopter on […]
Watch a heavy-lifting drone land a perfect delivery on an offshore wind turbine
An autonomous drone with the wingspan of an albatross is now trialing cargo restocks for a giant offshore wind farm in the North Sea. Overseen by the Danish wind power company Ørsted, the 128-pound unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)—roughly the weight of “a large baby giraffe”—is meant to cut down on time and costs, while also […]
This electric plane’s 2,000-mile journey is over. Now its Air Force tests begin.
On Wednesday, October 18, an electric aircraft powered by a single propeller flew into, and then out of, Joint Base Andrews, the military facility famous for hosting Air Force One. That planned stop at the Maryland base was part of a long journey from Vermont to Florida. Today, the aircraft, created by Vermont-based Beta Technologies, […]
Small planes are still spewing toxic lead across the US, EPA says
Airborne lead levels in the US have declined an impressive 99 percent since 1980 thanks to Environmental Protection Agency regulations, but leaded gas isn’t gone completely. While large jet aircraft do not use leaded fuel, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, over 220,000 smaller, piston-engine aircraft capable of carrying between two and 10 people still […]
Giving drones inflatable suits could help them survive crash landings
When entering into disaster scenarios, robots still have a major downside—their inability to recover when they inevitably crash into things. Scientists, however, have taken a page out of biology’s playbook, as they often do, to create a drone that can bounce back when met with various obstacles. Think of a bird landing on a tree […]
Are long flights safe for your health?
Currently, the world’s longest non-stop commercial flight takes 18 hours and 50 minutes: It connects Singapore’s Changi Airport to New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport. But is that trek necessary? With AI-assisted flight routes, electric planes, and other tech poised to change air travel, it’s only a matter of time before long-haul flights become […]