Experimentals

Don’t see a video screen?Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page.If that doesn’t work, click here to watch on YouTube. The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT) said earlier this month that students there had created and flown a small remote control aircraft made of concrete, but their level of success may […]

While Terrafugia continues to work on their Transition roadable-aircraft design, on Monday the company unveiled a plan to develop a four-seat, plug-in hybrid electric car capable of vertical takeoffs and landings, with fly-by-wire controls. The TF-X design is “designed to be a flying car for all of us,” says the company website. It will be […]

Don’t see a video screen?Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page.If that doesn’t work, click here to watch on YouTube. Harvard University researchers have demonstrated a fly-sized UAV that actually mimics insect flight. The researchers spent 12 years developing the robo-fly, which uses piezoelectric devices that contract and release when power is switched on […]

Jetman Yves Rossy, the man who flies strapped to a small wing powered by four small turbines, has been scheduled for flight displays at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013. Rossy previously flew in the U.S. back in 2011 when he made a successful flight over a section of the Grand Canyon (video), but the flight was […]

To realize the potential of electric flight, batteries are key — they must be safe, powerful, affordable, and long-lasting — and several of the speakers at this week’s CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium are working to address these issues. Winfried Wilcke, a researcher in an IBM lab in San Jose, Calif., is studying the potential “Mount […]

An array of experts in a variety of aircraft technologies, from batteries to aerodynamics to photovoltaics, are gathering in Santa Rosa, Calif., for this week’s 7th annual CAFE electric-aircraft symposium. Representatives from NASA, IBM, Pipistrel, MIT, UCLA, and more, are convening to share the results of their latest research and contribute to creating the next […]

Solar Impulse, the one-of-a-kind solar-powered airplane from Switzerland, flew above the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on Tuesday as the crew prepares for a flight across the U.S. next month. The aircraft took off from Moffett Field about 7 a.m. with Bertrand Piccard at the controls and flew above the bridge at about 3,500 […]

Don’t see a video screen?Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page.If that doesn’t work, click here to watch on YouTube. As part of an annual festival to encourage its engineers to develop creative ideas, Hyundai recently exhibited a “flying car” based on a quad-copter design. The aircraft has four sets of four propellers, with […]

New airplanes were scarce at last week’s Sun ‘n Fun show in Lakeland, Fla., but a new electric ultralight motorglider held center stage at the new LSA Mall, attracting a constant stream of curious visitors all week long. The ElectraFlyer ULS was first seen last summer at EAA AirVenture, just a few days after its […]

The airplane industry is eager to push into emerging markets, and that’s evident this week with robust attendance at the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition, taking place in Shanghai Tuesday through Thursday. Organizers said they had registered a record 6,284 people to attend the event, with more than 180 exhibitors on site and 34 […]