Land-DAR uses lasers to improve safety of small plane landings

Airtext has released a simple laser altimeter for small aircraft to make approaches and landings safer. The app-controlled Land-DAR (Land Distance and Ranging) is configured through an iOS or Android app and calls out altitudes as the aircraft descends… Continue reading Land-DAR uses lasers to improve safety of small plane landings

Ingenuity helicopter lands new job as scout after “resounding success”

NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity has been given a new mission after acing its historic test flights. The drone will soon embark on some one-way flights to demonstrate its ability to act as a scout for the Perseverance rover.Continue ReadingCategory: Sp… Continue reading Ingenuity helicopter lands new job as scout after “resounding success”

NASA’s Mars Helicopter makes historic first flight

NASA has made history today, conducting the very first powered flight on another planet. The Mars Helicopter Ingenuity successfully took to the Red Planet skies for a brief jaunt, which will hopefully be the first of several.Continue ReadingCategory: S… Continue reading NASA’s Mars Helicopter makes historic first flight

Skyfront claims endurance world record for gas-electric multirotor drone

While their winged counterparts are designed to stay aloft for weeks at a time, multirotor drones are more renowned for their maneuverability. California-based drone manufacturer Skyfront was established in 2014 to push the flight duration boundaries o… Continue reading Skyfront claims endurance world record for gas-electric multirotor drone

Tiny wing-flapping drone gets tougher by going softer

Although wing-flapping micro-drones do already exist, the things tend to be quite fragile – and thus not ideally suited to real-world use. An experimental new one, however, utilizes a softer mechanism for greatly enhanced durability.Continue ReadingCat… Continue reading Tiny wing-flapping drone gets tougher by going softer

Stunning video shows just how quiet Joby’s eVTOL air taxi will be

Joby Aviation has been in semi-stealth mode for so long that this pair of videos released today comes as a real shock. Here’s our first proper look at the world’s most advanced eVTOL air taxi taking off, transitioning to horizontal flight, cruising and… Continue reading Stunning video shows just how quiet Joby’s eVTOL air taxi will be

Flapping Wings And The Science Of How Bees Can Fly

Jerry Seinfeld launched his career with Bee Movie, an insect-themed animated feature that took the world by storm in 2007. It posed the quandary – that supposedly, according to all known laws of aviation, bees should not be able to …read more

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Dragonflies’ self-righting mechanism could find use in safer drones

If a drone were to inadvertently end up upside-down while flying, it would be good if the aircraft could automatically flip itself back over again, to avoid crashing. Such may someday be the case, thanks to a recent study on dragonfly flight.Continue R… Continue reading Dragonflies’ self-righting mechanism could find use in safer drones

SpaceX plans world-first all-civilian space journey for late 2021

After last year carrying astronauts into space as part of a regular crewed flight program for NASA, SpaceX is now looking to extend this experience to everyday people. The company has outlined plans for what would become the world’s first all-civilian … Continue reading SpaceX plans world-first all-civilian space journey for late 2021

Airbus Helicopters’ Flightlab takes to the sky to test new technologies

Airbus Helicopter’s Flightlab flying laboratory based on the H130 copter has taken to the air for the first to perform a series of platform-agnostic in-flight tests of new systems aimed at ushering in next-generation aircraft technologies.Continue Read… Continue reading Airbus Helicopters’ Flightlab takes to the sky to test new technologies