Tag: FLYING

Your tickets are booked. Your bags are packed. Your passport's been dusted off. It's finally time to take off for that exotic vacation you so sorely deserve, and to totally disconnect from the rest of the world... sort of. Sure, you probably won't want to spend too much time trolling through e-mails instead of strolling across the Île Saint-Louis. If you're like us, though, you'll still ...

As part of a DARPA initiative, Boeing is developing a search-and-rescue aircraft that combines a helicopter's hovering capabilities with an airplane's long flight range. According to Aviation Week, Boeing will test a 20-percent scale model of the disc-rotor aircraft, called the CSAR DiscRotor, in a wind tunnel sometime next year. The aircraft uses rotor-mounted blades, much like a chopper, so ...

Many major airlines offer Wi-Fi connectivity on flights, but according to ABC News, Singapore Airlines could allow passengers to send text messages or make cell phone calls on medium-to-long flights as soon as early next year. This service, which is part of an in-flight Wi-Fi Internet system being implemented, would be available on about 43 planes -- or half the airline's fleet. Of course, cell ...

A University of Toronto engineering graduate student recently set a new world record for man-powered flight. According to Physorg, Todd Reichert flew an ornithopter -- an aircraft that flaps its wings like a bird -- over a field in Tottenham, Ontario, Canada for about 19.3 seconds at 16 mph. It's the first recorded, sustained, man-powered ornithopter flight in history. Reichert filed a claim for ...

Finding somebody to tow your fancy glider thousands of feet into the air is hardly cheap or convenient, so Desert Aerospace has developed a jet-powered sailplane that can launch itself into the sky. The company's TST-14J BonusJet, which completed its first successful test flight this spring, will supposedly be cheaper than other self-launching gliders that are manufactured in Europe (although, ...

The day we've all dreamed of is finally here. A new flying car has just received approval from the FAA, officially bringing the world one step closer to Jetsonian utopia. The Terrafugia Transition is a two-seat, "light sport" aircraft that can fly for up to 460 miles at 115 mph, and carry up to 450 pounds. It only needs a 1,700-foot runway to take off, and, with electrically powered folding ...

A Swiss researcher has developed a mechanism for glider robots that allows them to land on any surface and then take flight again without human assistance. According to Popular Science, Mirko Kovac attached two needles to the front of the lightweight glider. The bot extends these needles as it's flying toward a surface, like a wood or concrete wall, and stabs them into it. It can safely hang ...

There once was a time, at the dawn of the commercial flight era, when major airlines were at the forefront of new technology. While its computerized reservation system may have been revolutionary back in 1960, it hasn't changed a whole lot since, and consumers have had to suffer because of it. Decades-old computers and convoluted networks have only served to exacerbate already strained customer ...

Last summer, Verified Identity Pass's (VIP) Clear -- a service that allowed travelers to bypass airport security checkpoints for a yearly fee -- went bankrupt overnight, and closed its doors. But according to a press release, the company has been purchased by new owners and they hope to revive the service in the fall. According to Gadling, AlClear, which recently purchased the assets for $6 ...

digg_url ='http://www.switched.com/2010/03/23/tsa-wants-to-use-bluetooth-at-checkpoints-to-follow-fliers-phon/'; Share In an effort to make air travel more efficient, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is looking into tracking travelers' cell phones. Naturally, this has privacy advocates up-in-arms. According to USA Today, the TSA would install a small chip at the entrance and ...

By sea, by air or by land, no terrain is out of the question for a New Zealand inventor's do-all vehicle. According to a Reuters video (watch below), Rudy Heedman has built a homemade hovercraft that uses a set of detachable wings to take flight when it reaches 44 mph. It's a child's (or adrenaline junkie's) dream come true. Once he leaves the water for the sky, Heedman is protected from death or ...

Share At possible risk to the user's health, many a geek's dream is finally coming true. According to the Daily Mail, the world's first commercial jet pack will hit the market this year. Costing a cool $75,000, the jet pack is much more than the usual DIY projects we've told you about. That's right; it's not just a rocket strapped to your back! The unnamed machine will be manufactured by ...

Most people suffer from a little bit of unease prior to takeoff, but a fear of flying can be a debilitating and crippling affliction. Severe cases can force people to seek alternate modes of transportation, or to even ingest illicit drugs. Virgin Atlantic has been attempting to quell those flight concerns through its 'Flying Without Fear' program that, according to the company, enjoys a ...

For today's frugal travelers, it might be hard to imagine a time when commercial flights were luxurious. But that's just what Pan Am offered back in the day. Anthony Toth, a global sales director at United Airlines, fell in love with this high-altitude decadence at an early age while flying to visit family in Europe. Now, Toth has taken his love to new heights. According to The Wall Street ...

Frequent fliers, get back in line. Verified Identity Pass's (VIP) Clear, a subscription service that amazingly allowed travelers to bypass security checkpoints for a yearly fee, recently announced that yesterday would be its last day of operation. Despite having pulled in nearly 260,000 users at $199 each, Clear has shut down all 18 of its hubs, citing financial strain as its rationale. If that ...