Google’s executives could soon be enjoying their own private airport space ahead of winging their way to various far flung locations around the world, according to a news release from the Mineta San Jose International Airport. Signature Flight Support, in tandem with a company called Blue City Holdings which represents Google’s fleet of personal aircraft, will likely be awarded a 50-year lease on… → Read More
NASA hopes a new aircraft skin called STAR-C2 (smoothing, thermal, absorbing, reflective, conductive, cosmetic) will makes planes safer. Cessna Aircraft Company, the creator of STAR-C2 technology, was recently awarded a $1.9 million contract to further develop the tech for future airplanes. → Read More
There hasn’t been a radical change in commercial jet design since the first De Havilland Comet flew in 1949. It has always been wing-on-tube in favor of the integrated wing/tube like the B-2 bomber.However, Boeing was recently granted some patents on a number of radical design changes that look to quiet the skies for both passengers and listeners on the ground, creating a different looking… → Read More
There’s nothing quite like flying; it amazes me that it used to take 30 years to travel from east coast to west. Now, after a magazine and a quick snooze, you’re on the other side of the country.
The 747 is no doubt one of the most popular model numbers for commercial jets, and tomorrow Boeing is going to show off its newest version: the 747-8. → Read More
The X-47B is a new stealth unmanned aircraft intended for the US Navy. The plane is a large step toward virtual warfare, something claimed to help save lives. Not only does it require no human to fly, but it can take off and land on a carrier and refuel mid-flight, both considered one of the toughest challenges for today’s pilots. The X-47B has the ability to stay in the air… → Read More
Airplanes release greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere and require enormous amounts of fuel to fly. A Boeing 747 can consume up to five gallons of fuel per mile. But what if planes could be powered by electricity? Though they won’t replace passenger airliners anytime soon, small, zero-emission, electric planes are flying today.
Engineers have been pursing electric flight for decades. In… → Read More
It seems that Japan’s obsession with Gundam is limitless. What can follow after a 60-foot Gundam robot, a Gundam Cafe in Akihabara, or a 1.5m tall figure? Answer: a Gundam jet. → Read More
It’s not news that cargo planes aren’t the greenest way to transport heavy loads, but some companies are working on other ways to send goods through the air. Could blimps make a comeback as a greener cargo carrier? Speaking to an audience at the World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment in Oxford, England, scientist David King recently predicted that helium-powered ships could be carrying… → Read More
There’s more fallout from that botched Christmas Day terror plot, and it’s something regular readers will be familiar with. It looks like the man who tried to blow up that airplane had explosives stitched into his underpants. The result? A push for more widespread use of those full body scanners we’ve been talking about for some time now. → Read More
So the Federal Aviation Administration doesn’t like guys like you and me shining lasers into the sky at airplanes. But what about real scientists looking to use lasers for real scientific research? The current rules require, essentially, a spotter to look for aircraft within twenty five degrees of the laser. Obviously, this is extremely prone to human error. This sounds like a job for science! → Read More
You’ll soon be able to surf the Web on your BlackBerry or laptop while onboard a Lufthansa flight. The German airline said today that it’s re-introducing in-flight Wi-Fi, and that everything will be up and running by by the first half of next year. → Read More
This is what the Airplane of the Future may look like. Well, this is what coach may look like; first class passengers will still have seats made out of diamonds and sporks made out of solid gold. The new layout resembles a subway car or military aircraft, with rows facing each other in order to pack more people inside a cabin. → Read More
Airlines aren’t generally the swiftest on the uptake; their business practices are decades and decades years old and the age of the mobile phone has only just this year begun to make itself apparent to them. So I’m not surprised that it’s taken until 2009 for something as cheap to implement, yet important and helpful, as free wi-fi to start gaining ground. Alaska, my favorite Northwest airline… → Read More
A Coast Guard camera pointed at the Hudson River completes the story of the miracle landing from start to finish. Within seconds of the splashdown, passengers are evacuating and a quick minute later, the first boat steams full speed towards the downed aircraft. There isn’t any sound but the 10 minute video chronicles the entire event. The must see video after the break. → Read More
From Flickr
Now this is a feel-good story. All 135 people aboard US Airways flight 1549 are safe and sound after a soft water landing and escape into the frigid Hudson River on rafts.
I’m not a very good flier and I read this story by Steven Johnson about the relative safety of air travel. The money shot:
[MIT Professor Arnold] Barnett calculates that it’s more likely for a young child to be… → Read More
Row44. That’s the name of the company that plans to bring satellite-delivered Internet access to your laptop while you’re flying from finished New York to phony Los Angeles; everywhere in between, too. → Read More
WhiteKnightTwo, the plane that will eventually launch Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo just took its maiden test flight and the videos are already up. Watch them and see how weird this plane looks. What if regular commercial aircraft looked like that thing? We could just put all the noisy kids and crying babies on one side and enjoy some peace and quiet on the other. Click on for the videos. → Read More
These fancy, $100 bags are part of the ScanFast for Her Collection, Mobile Edge’s line of lady-minded laptop bags. (I guess generic, dark-colored bags are too aggressive and masculine for women. Wait, what?) As with other Mobile Edge bags, these are Transportation Security Administration’s Checkpoint Friendly. That means, theoretically, that you’re not required to remove your… → Read More
As if flying weren’t scary enough now we could have giant airplanes full of nuclear power plants that could transport “millions” across the stratosphere. Actually, this does make a lot of sense. Air travel has been essentially unchanged since the 1950s and any improvement over the fossil fuels currently used is long due. As for safety, ships and submarines have been using nuclear… → Read More
The superrich and political élite will be able to fly from London to New York in three hours once 2015 rolls around. A new supersonic jet, the Aerion, is in development that will be able fly at mach 1.6—that’s 1,217 mph. And it’s not like this is a mock-up or anything. The company has already received 50 $237,000 deposits for the first models. The supersonic jet is being… → Read More
Canadian travelers will soon be able to emulate their favorite CrunchGear blogger, Peter Ha, as they glom on to Aircell’s Gogo wireless internet service aboard their next international Air Canada flight. You’ll recall that Sweet Pete recently blogged from 37,000 feet using Gogo service aboard American Airlines. What fun we all had! You’ll have to wait until at least spring of 2009, as… → Read More
Owners of super-light laptops can appreciate the miracle of carbon fiber, a strong but light material being used more and more in high-end notebooks. Airbus is now using the same carbon fiber material in the wings of its new A400M military aircraft. The reduced weight of the wings “cuts the fuel consumption by at least 20%," said Dave Phipps, head of the Airbus carbon fiber research… → Read More
Hot off the travel-related press, is news that Jet Blue’s in-flight Wi-Fi service has added support for checking more e-mail accounts than just Yahoo! Mail and BlackBerry Mail, which were previously the only ones available. Jaunted.com has more details, including… [S]tarting today, you’ll be able to check your accounts at Gmail, AOL, Hotmail and Windows Live Mail, too. If your… → Read More
Does that thing look cool or what? I’d like one for playing games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil — total isolation, total darkness. Plus, no one would hear me scream and weep, unlike at my apartment. The object pictured is the top-of-the-line CAE-7000 commercial flight-sim system put out by CAE, a major provider of such things. Delta’s using the CAE-7000 to train its pilots… → Read More
Aside from gorgeous flight attendants (gah!), Singapore Airlines is now offering iPod and iPhone connectivity to business class passengers on flights between New York and Singapore. Flights between Los Angeles and Singapore will get the same feature some time in August of this year. According to a recent press release, The integrated 9-pin connection on KrisWorld uses a unique in-flight cable that… → Read More
When I say enormous, I mean enormous. We’re talking 500-ft wingspan here. The idea is it would be a permanent sub-orbital (60,000-90,000ft) base, powered by the sun and capable of carrying 1,000lb of gear. It could cruise around, taking high-res photos for map applications or meteorologists, or maybe a few of them could carry transceivers for bouncing signals around. Or, considering… → Read More
The constant attempt to ignore the person next to you on the airplane is about to get a little bit easier, thanks to Delta’s plans to install these Thompson Solutions Cozy Suite seats on all of its Boeing 777 and 767 airplanes by 2010. → Read More
We still find the idea’s merits to be dubious at best, but as of yesterday, cellphone calls in the air are possible. Air France is the first company to bring you the technology with a special Airbus A318 equipped with OnAir’s special picocell hadrware. Passengers were able to make calls at 30,000 feet without causing the wings to fall off, as well as make text messages and use other… → Read More
Boeing today test flew a hydrogen-cell battery airplane, the first manned flight of such a vehicle. This is important for a few reasons, notably because it could lead to cleaner air travel across the nation, and because if it takes off it could drive innovation that would trickle down to cars and other forms of transport. Right now hydrogen fuel cells are great for small planes, like the one… → Read More
Aircell, those guys who want to put WiFi on airplanes across the country, finally received the FAA certifications it needed to start building its equipment into airplanes proper. It recently finished its nationwide network of transponders that would bounce the signals up to the airplane, and with this last hurdle out of the way, we could conceivably start seeing WiFi-equipped aircraft this year. → Read More
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