Airplanes

The U.S. Navy said today it has demonstrated the successful integration of two of its key next-generation sea-based strike programs--the carrier version of the Joint Strike Fighter, and the all-new electromagnetic aircraft launch system.

Both the F-35C fighter and the EMALS launch technology are expected to see service eventually aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy's next-generation aircraft carrier, as well as other Ford-class carriers.

The F-35C is the carrier variant of the controversial Joint Strike Fighter, a $1 trillion military program that has been the subject of cost overruns and a wide range of other problems. … Read more

It's been only two weeks since taking paying passengers skyward for the first time, but Boeing's 787 Dreamliner has already had its first mechanical glitch.

According to published reports, Boeing and All Nippon Airways--the Dreamliner's launch customer--are investigating a landing-gear deployment problem that hit ANA's first 787 on Sunday. The pilots of the next-generation plane had to "deploy the landing gear using a manual backup system," Reuters reported, "after an indicator lamp suggested the wheels were not properly down."

No passengers were injured, and the plane is said to have already been … Read more

The era of American commercial airliners flying on biofuels is here.

A Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 from Houston yesterday became the first U.S. plane to fly passengers while using an algae-based biofuel. According to an article originally published in the Houston Chronicle, the Continental flight carried 154 customers while using the fuel blend, which was developed by South San Francisco, Calif.-based Solazyme.

"United Continental Holdings, the airline's parent company, estimated that the biofuel blend on the Chicago-bound flight reduced carbon dioxide emissions by an amount equal to what would come from the exhaust of a car … Read more

After years of waiting, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is finally flying passengers.

With an All Nippon Airways charter flight yesterday from Tokyo to Hong Kong the Dreamliner commercial era began, and not a moment too soon.

As anyone who follows aviation knows, the new airplane is one of the most anticipated in history, largely because it is made from composite materials and promises airline customers better fuel efficiency than almost any other plane in the sky. But while excitement for the aircraft is high, there is also a lot of eyes on it because of the fact that it has … Read more

After years of delays, and several months of preparations, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is about to make its first commercial flight.

If all goes according to plan, All Nippon Airways--the first Dreamliner customer--will initiate 787 service next Wednesday on a regularly scheduled flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong, USA Today reported Friday.

The flight is planned to take place a month to the day after Boeing handed over the first Dreamliner to ANA at a rain-soaked but gala celebration at the aviation giant's mammoth Everett, Wash., assembly facility.

Though the handoff was probably the most important event in the … Read more

You could be going into orbit and in one of the official snazzy NASA spacesuits, no less. That's if you are one of the elite group that the space agency chooses as its next cadre of future astronauts, of course.

NASA said today that beginning in early November, it will be accepting applications (PDF file) for its next class of astronaut candidates. These are the people who "will support long-duration missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and future deep space exploration activities," the agency said in the release announcing the upcoming application period.

If you have … Read more

EVERETT, Wash.--At long last, Boeing has handed off what may be the most important commercial airplane in its history, the 787 Dreamliner.

Heralded for years as the biggest technological leap forward in aviation in decades, the Dreamliner has represented both Boeing's greatest promise--an all-new energy-efficient plane made from composite materials--and the biggest thorn in its side.

Despite being beset by myriad delays, the Dreamliner has engendered passionate excitement and interest, and this morning, Boeing finally reached a milestone it, and the world, has been awaiting for at least three years: the delivery of the first 787 to its … Read more

EVERETT, Washington--If you know anything about airplanes, you're no doubt aware of the long travails of one of the most anticipated airplanes of all time, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

First unveiled before thousands of employees, press, and fans on July 8, 2007 (07/08/07), the plane was supposed to begin carrying paying passengers by 2008. But after years of delays of all kinds, the Dreamliner has yet to achieve that milestone.

But on Monday, Boeing is expected to finally reach the top of the hill with the plane, and will host a large crowd eager to see the … Read more

MOJAVE, Calif.--"We build spaceships."

That's the motto--perhaps the coolest ever?--of The Spaceship Company, the partnership between Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites, builder of the X-Prize-winning SpaceShip One and its younger sister ship, SpaceShip Two.

And on Monday, The Spaceship Company (TSC) formally opened what it calls FAITH, the final assembly facility for SpaceShip Two and the aircraft on which it piggybacks, WhiteKnight Two. At the celebration, Virgin Galactic showed off, for the first time at a public event, a replica of SpaceShipOne, as well as the actual WhiteKnightOne, SpaceShipTwo, and WhiteKnightTwo (… Read more