airplanes

OAKLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT--As a big fan of airplanes, and plane travel, I'm excited to be sitting in the terminal here, waiting for my flight to Seattle. That's because starting tomorrow, I'll be covering three days of Boeing events, highlighted by the unveiling of the aviation giant's long-awaited 747-8 Intercontinental.

The next-generation of Boeing's iconic jumbo jet--probably the most famous airplane in history--is said to be highly efficient.

As Boeing puts it on its Web site:

The 747-8 Intercontinental is the only jetliner in the 400- to 500-seat market, stretched [18.3 ft] from the 747-400 … Read more

CHANGI AIRPORT, SINGAPORE--If you don't think airplanes can have paparazzi, consider the following scene.

I was here last month, having flown in from San Francisco the night before, only to wait about 18 hours for my flight to Calcutta, India. Carrying my camera around in search of things to photograph at what I had been told was one of the world's most-interesting airports, I spotted my most-desired prey: An Airbus A380.

But a clear view of the plane was blocked by some walls, as well as a locked gate lounge, and I couldn't figure out how best … Read more

commentary It's been eight years in the making so far, and has gone through any number of delays and problems, but Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is still one of the most-anticipated commercial airplanes in history. And with the plane's testing program under way for almost exactly a year, it is edging closer and closer to carrying its first passengers.

Now, fans of the innovative plane--it is made from 50 percent composite material and is expected to offer carriers up to 20 percent savings on fuel--can get a fix unlike any offered before. With Edgar Turner's new book, &… Read more

Before we get into today's Cyber Monday madness, we're taking a moment to pay tribute to Leslie Nielsen, who passed away yesterday at age 84 from pneumonia complications. His repertoire includes some of our favorites, like the "Naked Gun" series and of course "Airplane"--RIP to one of the most influential comedians of our time.

Today is Cyber Monday, the magical post-Thanksgiving day when online stores slash their virtual prices to give shoppers a hint of what happened in person on Black Friday.

According to Coremetrics, online sales on Black Friday went up 15.9 percent from last year, thanks to social-networking Web sites spreading the instant word on shopping tips and real-time inventory updates. The company also noticed a rise in "surgical shopping," with people focusing on specific products instead of randomly browsing.

Check out CNET's Cyber Monday Gift Guide to stay updated on today's best deals, including $89 Amazon Kindle e-Readers, console and computer games starting at 90 cents, and more.

Wilson also surprises us with a 4Loko that he picked up this morning for breakfast. The FDA actually banned all eight flavors as of this week after several kids died from alcohol poisoning, also called the Four Loko "aftereffects." Think we're kidding? Check out what happens to the dude who goes on a 24-hour Four Loko Diet.

Plenty of voice mails to play today, with special thanks to Blake Stevenson for making us this poster featuring MC TerrorByte and the Yu Tang Clan! Blake became the unofficial 404 artist after winning our 404 logo competition, so be sure to add him on Twitter and fan him up on Facebook!

Just as your engine is the most complicated and important part of your car, a jet engine is the centerpiece of a commercial airliner. Sure, the wing is important too, but the engines not only get from point A to point B, but also give the wing the airflow that it needs to do its job.

Recently I had the opportunity to walk through United's engine repair shop at the airline's maintenance base at San Francisco International Airport. If you've ever wanted to see the insides of a modern commercial jet engine, this was the place to … Read more

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif.--The flames were raging, and the cries of people trapped inside the plane were audible, even from well over a hundred feet away.

Yet despite the fire crews wearing heavy-duty proximity suits, blasting water from a pair of hoses, and a collection of fire trucks gathered near the burning fuselage, no one looked particularly worried. No lives were actually at stake.

This was firefighter training at Moffett Field, part of an annual process that the crews from the NASA Ames Fire Department and the nearby Palo Alto and Sunnyvale Fire Departments have to go through in order … Read more

Energized just by the rays of the sun, the Solar Impulse HB-SIA aircraft landed Thursday morning at its Swiss airbase after completing its first day-and-night flight.

Kept aloft for more than 26 hours by pilot André Borschberg, the lightweight, long-limbed solar plane made it into the history books by achieving the longest and highest flight in the history of solar aviation, according to the Solar Impulse team. Greeted by hundreds of cheering supporters upon landing at 9:00 a.m. Swiss time, Borschberg expressed his feelings about the historic journey.

"I've been a pilot for 40 years … Read more

A solar-powered plane designed to fly both day and night has succeeded in its first attempt at a 24-hour voyage.

Taking off from its base in Switzerland, the Solar Impulse HB-SIA soared into the sky at 6:51 a.m. Wednesday local time (9:51 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday), intent on staying in the air nonstop for 24 hours by flying through the night powered purely by the solar energy captured during the day.

"24 hours and a successful flight through the night!" read a post on the Solar Impulse Twitter feed posted at around 9:38 p.m. PDT Wednesday. "This is a milestone in putting fossil fuels behind us."

The Solar Impulse site tracked the progress of the pilot, Andre Borschberg, and outlined the itinerary and hopes for the entire flight. The plan was that the Solar Impulse would slowly attain an altitude of nearly 28,000 feet with the sun's rays both powering the propeller plane and charging its batteries to prepare for the night flight.

As the sun started to sink too low to continue providing energy to the solar cells (about two hours before sunset), Borschberg planned to begin a slow descent, hitting an altitude of around 4,900 feet by 11 p.m. local time. The goal at that point was to continue flying throughout the night and until the next sunrise using only the captured energy stored in the plane's batteries. The question was whether Borschberg could coax the batteries to supply enough juice to keep him aloft all night before landing at dawn on Thursday.

"Goal achieved for SI. Historic moment. Jubilation here in Payerne, Switzerland!" read another tweet posted Thursday night on the Solar Impulse Twitter page. Solar Impulse is calling the flight the longest and highest flight completed by a solar plane.

The Solar Impulse team originally planned the first 24-hour flight for last week. But a technical glitch with the telemetry transmitter, which lets the ground crew monitor the flight, kept the plane grounded until the problem was resolved.

The public can follow the flight and aftermath via the site's dedicated page, its blog, and its Twitter feed.… Read more

Ever found yourself struggling to stabilize that mobile device for optimum in-flight entertainment? Toronto-based Interaxon says it may have an alternative in the form of thought-controlled in-flight games that let you keep your hands (and gadget stands) tucked away.

Yes, soon enough, you may be playing the likes of Mario Kart on your way from coast to coast--with brain power alone.

Interaxon's system measures brain waves through electroencephalography (EEG) technology, reacting to alpha waves associated with relaxation and beta waves linked to concentration. As users relax or focus their thoughts, the interface translates their brains' electrical activity into a control signal the computer can understand.

Earlier this year, visitors to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver got to test a similar Interaxon system for controlling displays at one of three light shows. At Niagara Falls, for example, they had 15 seconds to harness their brain waves to choose the color for each of seven lights illuminating Horseshoe Falls.

The in-flight system involves a headset, a display attached to the seat in front of the passenger, and games specifically designed for use at 35,000 feet. It was shown off last month at On the Wings of Innovation, a global aerospace symposium organized by the Ontario Aerospace Council and the Ontario government.

At the event, executives from companies like Boeing and Bombardier played with brain wave-controlled software including a meditation title that helps travelers relax and a golf game that helps users improve concentration, focus, and even their golf game. … Read more