When we think of radiation, we think scary. We think of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. We think of the Chernobyl disaster and radioactive boars running around Europe. Or we think of cancer—fatigue and hair loss. Do you think of bananas? Doubtful. Do you think of flying? Probably not. But there are doses of radiation thanks [...]
When it comes to having siblings, it tends to be a love/hate situation--sometimes a little more of one than the other (I can say that I know this from experience). And if there's anything more challenging than simply having siblings, working with them can be a completely different matter altogether. Some siblings, however, have made [...]
If you do an internet search for "chemtrails," your search results are going to be inundated with talks of conspiracy theories--I guarantee it. When I did a search of the term in google, for instance, the very first hit was the Wikipedia page for "Chemtrail conspiracy theory." The general theory (which you can read on [...]
Remember when in 1984 NASA and the FAA got together and intentionally crashed a B-720 aircraft in the name of airplane safety? Well, they’re back at it again—because who doesn’t like intentionally crashing stuff? Recently, NASA and the FAA put 10 crash test dummies to the test to help develop new crashworthiness guidelines for the future of [...]
Even centuries-old aircraft will look somewhat familiar to modern aviation enthusiasts. Early aviation engineers discovered pretty quickly there was a certain, standard structure for aircrafts that seemed capable of sustaining flight. Before there were documented stories, there were legends of men adhering bird-like wings to their arms, complete with plucked feathers and ancient glue-like substances. And [...]
When it comes to crash testing, it’s not such a big deal for cars. This form of destructive testing is often performed by car companies to ensure safety design standards in both crashworthiness and crash compatibility. For road vehicles, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rates vehicles on how well they protect their occupants [...]
Not your average flying fish A large, wide-bodied cargo aircraft, the Super Guppy refers to either of two variants: the first Super Guppy (SG), or the second “Super Guppy Turbine” (SGT). The aircraft was a successor to the Pregnant Guppy which got its name from its resemblance to (surprise, surprise) a pregnant guppy. Much like Frankenstein’s [...]
Mars, take heed (Lockheed, that is) Lockheed Martin is a leading name in aircraft manufacturing, particularly in the design, manufacture, and support of military aircraft. But did you know that Lockheed Martin also has interests that are, well, a little more out of this world? Lockheed Martin (and its heritage companies) has contributed to the space [...]
Teaching Dogs to Fly You might be familiar with the adynaton, “when pigs fly,” but how familiar are you with the notion of flying dogs? While Fido may not be sprouting wings any time soon, a select group of dogs in the UK have shed their limitations of four paws on the ground in exchange [...]
