Why did the airplane cross the globe? To set some pretty impressive records. What does it take to circumnavigate the globe? In the case of Solar Impulse 2 (which we talked about here), it takes a bit of sunshine and a lot of patience. But what does it take to circumnavigate the globe without stopping or refueling? For [...]
Will drones help or harm wildlife conservation efforts? Drones continue to grow in popularity, and they increase in numbers, they continue to spark debate; such controversy is likely to only increase as drone technologies and capabilities expand (and as the Federal Aviation Administration continues working to regulate them). FAA recently amended its regulations regarding the [...]
The man who wore many hats (although it's possible it was just a snake that swallowed an elephant) While the name Antoine de Saint-Exupéry might not resonate with you right away, there’s a good chance that you’re more familiar with him—or his work—than you might think. Ever hear of The Little Prince (or Le Petit [...]
New Exhibit Takes Flight The Museum of Flight is kind of a big deal--in fact, it's the largest non-profit air and space museum in the world. Located in Seattle, Washington, the museum features over 175 different aircraft and spacecraft, tens of thousands of aviation artifacts, millions of rare photographs, dozens of exhibits, a world class [...]
What's cooler than being cool? The South Pole. Compared to the large amount of diversity on our good old planet Earth (there are more than 1.5 million different species of living things, FYI), few can survive the extreme cold of Antarctica. And just as not every bird can be an Emperor Penguin and chill on sea [...]
Of all the animals who have found themselves written into the annals of aviation history, perhaps one of the oddest instances involves a woodchuck named Tailwind. Woodchucks don’t just accidentally find themselves in the air (they’re groundhogs, after all), at least not that we can surmise. No, in this instance, this rodent was brought aboard [...]
Sometimes planes can't handle that heat--and that might mean they get grounded. While grounded flights are certainly the lesser challenge caused by extreme temperatures? it has many of us wondering why? Why do heat waves threaten flights? Too hot to fly Extreme heat poses challenges for airplanes—more so than extreme cold—due to the way heat [...]
Q: What does a spaceplane and a Dodo bird have in common? A: Neither flew before their demise (but I’m sure now, given the chance, both the X-20 and the extinct Dodo would be pros at some R. Kelly karaoke…but that’s just a hunch). And sure, there are probably more differences between a bird and [...]
Things are really heating up in the world of jet engine parts Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) are exacly what you might expect them to be: they are composite materials made from ceramic fibers embedded in a ceramic matrix. Simple enough, right? But what does ceramic have to do with jet engines? Sure, you might not think about [...]
The Air Force wants autonomous aircraft Autonomous aircraft might not generate quite as many conversations as their autonomous car counterparts, though they are far from unheard of; in fact, advances in aviation technology and automation systems already lend to most modern planes being highly automated. Pilots spend considerably less time at the controls now during [...]
