Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, working in conjunction with Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation and Pratt & Whitney recently presented two designs for greener airplanes to NASA. The result of a contract awarded in 2008, the ...

NASA and the Northrop Grumman Corporation have recently unveiled a new unmanned aircraft system named Global Hawk. It is the world’s first fully autonomous high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft designed for environmental science research and features unprecedented flight time and altitude capabilities. ...

Modern mass production methods were first introduced by the automobile industry, but when aviation industries tried to implement them, the ride was not a particularly smooth one. Drilling the wing of a B-24 bomber at Consolidated Aircraft Corp., Fort Worth, ...

Jet engine technology was one of those historical technological breakthroughs that happened in several places at the same time. The most important research and development work was carried out in England and Germany. This column will try and take a ...

Glenn Martin has recently showcased his unique jet pack during AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, the annual aviation convention of the Experimental Aircraft Association in east-central Wisconsin. The demonstrator of the Martin jet pack was Martin’s own son, Harrison, who showcased the ...

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to demonstrate a 400mph gyrodyne, called Heliplane. Heliplane is an air vehicle that combines vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and the low disk loading characteristics of a helicopter with the speed and ...

The U.S. Department of Transportation hopes to excite interest in biofuels to help the ailing airline industry. In order to do so, it joined hands with the X Prize Foundation to launch a competition to develop a new bio-jet fuel, ...

The Israeli firm “Paralight Aviation” has developed a unique aircraft designed to take aerial photographs under remote control. The system, including the craft itself and the controls on the ground, is entirely mobile, light, and according to the developers, exceptionally ...

For the first time in aviation history, Boeing flew a manned airplane powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Although unmanned fuel-cell based aircrafts were flown in the past, this manned flight is an important milestone in aircraft engineering, as fuel-cell vehicles ...

The Florida based company Velocity Aircraft produces unique sport-aircrafts, which can be assembled by the user. According to the company, their 4-seat canard aircraft is modeled after the successful Long-EZ design. The concept of homebuilt aircrafts could suit people who ...