Aeronautics

Boeing completes flight certification testing for 787

Boeing announced today that it has completed flight certification for its 787 Dreamliner aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce engines. The final flight concluded on Sunday when ZA102, the ninth 787 to be built, landed at Paine Field in Everett, Wash., following a 90-minute flight from Billings, Mont.

The company will now submit the necessary certification materials to the Federal Aviation Administration so the 787 can carry revenue passengers. The first aircraft is set for delivery to launch-customer All Nippon Airways next month (Jon Ostrower of FlightBlogger toured ANA's first 787 earlier this month).

The flight testing and pilot training started … Read more

Will DARPA's 13,000-mph plane fly?

DARPA this morning launched a rocket carrying what's hoped to be an unbelievably fast unmanned plane that can fly at 13,000 mph, an unprecedented speed that would take it from New York to Los Angeles in less than 12 minutes and potentially deliver a military strike anywhere in the world in under an hour.

Designed to explore long-duration hypersonic flight, the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) was launched aboard a Minotaur IV Lite rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

It's expected to glide through the upper atmosphere over the Pacific at up to Mach … Read more

Planes to fly on cooking oil

Is it fair to imagine that some people just don't want to know about how certain things are done? If they did, perhaps their irrational side might overwhelm the blinkered side that helps them get through each and every painful day.

Does everyone want to know, for example, that the Boeing 737 in which they are strapped is flying on the detritus of some very fine french fries?

In the last few days, KLM and Thomson Airways, two European airlines, announced that they would be flying a plane or two using cooking oil.

In KLM's case, the BBC reported … Read more

Paris Air Show: Boeing and a whole lot more (roundup)

For aviation junkies, it doesn't get any better than the biggest air show of the year. CNET's coverage includes on-the-scene reporting from our own Daniel Terdiman.

Siemens hybrid electric aircraft debuts in Paris The serial hybrid electric drive train that powers the glider is similar in concept to that of the Chevy Volt. (Posted in Green Tech by Candace Lombardi) June 23, 2011 10:04 AM PDT

Raytheon sells high-tech situational awareness At Paris show, military contractor is showcasing new technologies, including one intended to allow commanders in the field to triangulate multiple sources of intelligence data. • Photos: Aviation world jets into Paris Air Show (… Read more

Boeing hosts Paris Air Show preview

In two days the annual Paris Air Show opens at Le Bourget Airport just outside the French capital. Aviation geeks of all stripes know the event is the biggest and best air show in the world, with just about every airplane you can imagine. And as it has always done, Boeing will be making the flight from Seattle to Paris to show off its newest aircraft, like the 747-8 and the 787 Dreamliner. There, the company will face off with rival Airbus and a number of smaller manufacturers like Bombardier and Embraer.

As part of his Road Trip 2011 CNET'… Read more

The transparent Airbus powered by your body heat

Some people believe the future is something to look forward to. And, indeed, there is some evidence that, for a small number of people--especially those who work at Facebook--that might well be true.

However, there are certain aspects of futuristic technology that might make you blanch a little over as you contemplate the difference between what you are now and what you might become.

For example, Airbus has today been in London presenting some of its more advanced dreamings about the future of air travel. They seem to revolve around a plane that has a see-through fuselage, no first class, … Read more

Secrets of Area 51: History, technology, and controversy

Area 51 is one of the most enduring mysteries and sources of speculation in American history.

Located inside the Nevada Test and Training Range, the flat, dry lake bed known as Groom Lake has been the home to some of the nation's most advanced espionage and weapons technology, hair-raising tales of Cold War brinksmanship, and possibly much worse, according to a new book about the top-secret military base.

In writing "Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base," Annie Jacobsen combed through thousands of pages of declassified material on American spy plane development, nuclear testing at Area 51, and the history of the CIA and Air Force's control of the base.

In the course of her research, she interviewed dozens of men who worked or lived at Area 51 and are only now talking to one another and the public about their time there. She also interviewed one anonymous source who suggested a deeply dark side of the research conducted at Area 51: human experimentation and psychological warfare (and, of course, a high-level cover-up).

I interviewed Jacobsen, along with Jim Friedman, who was a senior field administrator at Area 51 for 13 years, and TD Barnes, a radar specialist who lived and worked at Area 51, in Nevada near the edge of the enormous testing range and base. We drove up to the gate at Area 51, talked at length about the planes and other technologies developed there and dug into the controversy surrounding the most shocking parts of Jacobsen's book.

The interviews and footage originally aired on CBS' "The Early Show," and these three videos are extra footage and longer interviews about the topics covered in the book. First, a journey down the long Nevada highway and desolate dirt road that leads to the back gate at Area 51: the most intimidating gate you've ever seen. When we got there, there was broken glass on the ground, an ominous camera gazing down at us, and absolutely no one in sight. But I could feel the weight of eyes on me with every moment we were there (and I expected a blow-dart in the back at any second!). … Read more

Solar plane completes first international flight

After soaring into the skies early this morning, the solar-powered Solar Impulse plane has completed its first international flight, traveling from its home of Switzerland to Brussels in about 13 hours--without the need for fuel and without producing any pollution.

Flown by pilot Andre Borschberg, the plane took off from its home base at Payerne Airfield at 8:40 a.m., a bit later than planned due to foggy weather conditions. Climbing to an altitude of more than 3,800 meters (approximately 12,467 feet, or 2.36 miles), the plane headed toward France and Luxembourg, and landed in Brussels airport at 9:38 p.m. The plane was originally due to land at 9 p.m., but the early-morning delay extended the arrival time.

The first international flight was expected to be especially challenging. Not only does the Solar Impulse rely on the power of the sun to keep it aloft during the day, but the plane was also set to navigate through standard commercial air traffic and possible turbulence as it soared over the different countries.… Read more

A Russian airplane out of control in flight?

I've tended to avoid Russian airlines over the years, even when I lived in Warsaw.

Perhaps it's irrational. Perhaps it didn't help when a tale emerged of a Russian flight in which a 15-year-old happened to be at the controls. It didn't end well.

So when I saw the video that I've embedded, my rational and emotional sides held a dogfight. Was this for real? Could this be excellent trick Russian photography? Was this another case of some rather interesting Russian aviation?

I searched around some of the more serious aviation sites to see what … Read more